Random Ramblings: December 23, 2017

Posted on December 23, 2017 by Don Merritt

Season’s Greetings to One and All!

You may have noticed recently that like many other bloggers I’ve been on a holiday break the last few days, and I wanted to let you know that this will continue over the coming week as well. She Who Must Be Obeyed has informed me that we will be on the road over the next week visiting locations in multiple states for the holidays…

That takes care of the general ‘housekeeping’; there is a matter of urgency I wanted to mention:

You’re not going to believe this, but yesterday morning I was listening to the news on the radio and I heard that there is going to be a local event today (December 23) in a certain town. I don’t recall what the event was, sadly, because my mind was blown at the way they gave the date. Did they say “Saturday” or the 23rd?

No!

They called it “Christmas Eve-Eve-Day”. “… (the event) will begin at 10 am Christmas Eve-Eve-Day”.

Dear Friends, I’ve had it− this simply must stop!

There is no such thing as Eve-Day − it is a contradiction of terms; a complete non-starter. The term “eve” is a contraction of the word “evening”; it used to be spelled “eve’” but we’ve dropped the apostrophe in recent decades. Here, let’s put it slightly differently: When you say “Christmas-Eve-Day” what you are really telling someone is “Christmas Evening-Day” which makes no sense whatsoever and thus you sound ridiculous. Yes friends, that means that there is no such thing as “Christmas Eve-Day” or “New Years Eve-Day”. Honestly, I’m not sure I can be held responsible for what I might do the next time I hear someone say that…

Whew! Well I’m glad we’ve got that all cleared up; henceforth we can all communicate more betterly and clearly.

And now I’ll wish you all a great Saturday evening-afternoon!

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The Ultimate Test

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Don Merritt

Genesis 22:1-19

Everyone knows this story, and I’m sure you don’t need me to retell it: God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to God, and Abraham obeyed God’s instructions. At the last moment God stopped him and provided a ram as a substitute for the boy.

The theological implications of this scene could (and does) fill hundreds of volumes of scholarly discussion. Since we are looking at this through the lens of the Christmas story, I thought we might focus on these verses today:

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (22:15-18)

The entire story of Abraham is centered around the birth of Isaac, for Isaac was the key to God’s covenant relationship with Abraham, the Son of Promise. The Hebrews author tells us that Abraham’s faith was so strong by that time that he was thinking God would simply raise him from the dead if he had been sacrificed, and I’ll take his word on that. Yet Isaac, as critical a player as he was, was not the Son who would die for our sins and be raised again from the grave… but this story sure points us in that direction!

In this case, God provided the sacrifice in Isaac’s place, and in the case of the Son of God, God provided the sacrifice in our place; amazing.

The faith and obedience, yes obedience, that Abraham displayed in this scene resulted in God’s restatement of His promises to Abraham, a sort of confirmation of their covenant. Perhaps this took place because of Abraham’s lapses during the course of their relationship, or perhaps it was to instruct the generations that would follow; I don’t know. What I do know is that Abraham, as a model of faith for all of us, sets the bar very high in this scene, and I doubt strongly that any one of us could meet his standard; I know I wouldn’t.

Thankfully, God has already provided the last sacrifice for sins.

It would be easy for me to say here that we need more faith, and I would imagine everyone would agree with that. Yet it would also be a bit absurd, for faith isn’t the kind of thing you just pick up at the store, or force upon yourself. Faith is the natural outgrowth of relationship, in this case that would be relationship with our Lord and with others who follow Him; it is a lifelong pursuit and all of us are works in progress.

I suppose we could call it a journey; it certainly was a journey for Father Abraham.

Where will our journey take us in the weeks that lie ahead? That’s the real question.

 

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The Gate

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Don Merritt

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John 10:1-18

Introduction

This passage is figurative. (John 10:6) There are 8 components of the extended metaphor in this section: The shepherd is the caretaker and owner of the sheep. The sheep (flock) are the animals that the shepherd loves and cares for. The thief is the one who tries to steal the sheep away from their rightful owner, the watchman is the one who opens the gate only for the shepherd, the hired hand watches the sheep, but lacks the dedication of the shepherd. The wolf is a predator that terrorizes kills and scatters the flock, and the sheep pen is the protective enclosure in which the flock is kept for safety during the night.

The Set Up

1-5: He begins with the thief; the thief enters the pen by any manner other than through the gate. He sneaks in by some form of subterfuge for the express purpose of stealing the sheep away from the flock. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd, who is recognized by the watchman as the legitimate shepherd. In addition, he is also recognized by the sheep who love and trust him. He calls them by name (has a deep relationship with them) and they will follow him where ever he goes. They will not follow anyone who is not the shepherd, because they are strangers to the sheep; they only follow the shepherd.

The Gate

7-10: Jesus begins to make His point here. Jesus Himself is the gate; no one enters the flock except through Him. If they enter the pen through Jesus, they will be saved and have life to the full. The thief on the other hand, enters the pen by a means other than Jesus; his motive is to steal, kill and destroy. The sheep do not follow such a person.

The Good Shepherd

11-13: Jesus is not only the gate, but He is the Good Shepherd. He is the “good” shepherd because when all others run away, He will lay down His life for the salvation of the sheep. His caring is so great for His sheep that He will die for them.

Conclusion

14-18: In this final section, Jesus sets out the theology of His coming sacrifice on the cross. He will willingly lay down His life for His flock. No one will take it from Him, for His act is voluntary. It is authorized and ordained by His Father in Heaven, for it will result in the redemption of all Mankind. This act will not only seal the salvation of His sheep, but redeem Mankind back to fellowship with God, something that has been absent from creation ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. This will also highlight the separation of those within the flock, and those without the flock; nothing will ever be the same again.

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Sunday Sermon Notes: December 17, 2017

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Don Merritt

Title: Mary’s Story

Text: Luke 1:26-38

Six months after Elizabeth became pregnant; the angel Gabriel pays a visit to Mary in Nazareth: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Have you ever read legal notices in the newspaper? Years ago I read some just to see what they were all about and I couldn’t believe that so many of them began, “Greetings from the State of Nevada, you have been sued.”

“Greetings” indeed!

Mary’s reaction to the greetings Gabriel brought her was a bit similar: What kind of greetings would these be, am I in trouble?

In one sense, maybe she was in “trouble” for she was to become pregnant before she was married to Joseph, her betrothed. Yet this would be no ordinary pregnancy, for God Himself would be the Father of her child, and her conception would be from the Holy Spirit who would “come upon” her. Her son would be named Jesus, and would be known as the Son of the Most High, sitting in the throne of David forever and ever, ruling God’s people in glory; He would be the Savior of the World. In the process of telling her all of this, he also mentioned that Elizabeth had conceived in her old age and was already in her sixth month of pregnancy; Mary marveled at this. It should also be noted that she received the news a little better than poor old Zechariah, for she said: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”  What amazing faith!

Soon, she would pay Elizabeth a little visit…

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Luke 1:39-45

In a scene reminiscent of 1 Samuel 1-2, Mary arrives at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth and as the text tells us, two interesting things happen when she enters the house. First, the unborn John the Baptist leaps for joy upon hearing her voice, and then his mother Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. You will recall that the angel had told Elizabeth that her son would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he was born, and this has been borne out; now Elizabeth herself utters a more or less prophetic message.

Elizabeth became the first human to ever proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

If nothing else, we see in this scene that Elizabeth, in spite of her joy at conceiving a child in her old age, and in spite of being joyous at the important role her son would play in redemption history, that she was fully aware that Mary was carrying the greater of the two, and that as a result, Mary was the more blessed.

What does this tell us some 2,000 years later?

It tells us that this child whose birth we are celebrating now, was no ordinary child, that he was God incarnate. It tells us that this child was/is the One who would change everything and that this change would be for all time. It tells us that in our celebrations, the birth of this child is not to be treated as an afterthought or an “oh by the way” kind of thing, for it is well and truly The Point.

Everything else is fluff.

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 1:46-55

May this be our song; may this be our prayer.

I doubt that I need to say more.

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More Adventures

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Don Merritt

God’s investigation of Sodom found that the outcry He heard was all too true, and He destroyed the city and everyone in it, except for Lot and his family. Sadly, Lot’s wife met her doom when she just had to look back and became a pillar of salt. Afterwards, Lot had some trouble with his daughters… and his troubles and travails continued. Of course it’s hard to forget the choices Lot made a few chapters back.

Abraham and his clan moved on to Gerar and made a mistake or two…

Genesis 20

Abimelek was the king of Gerar, and for whatever reason, Abraham told Sarah they were going to try the old “she’s my sister” trick again.  Once again, she was taken into the household of a pagan king, and this time God intervenes quickly in the form of a dream with Abimelek:

But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” (20:3).

In the dream God told the king to return Sarah to her husband unmolested, which he did.

Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”

(20:8-10)

For the second time Abraham has been found out and stands in shame before a pagan king, and this time, he makes the situation worse…

Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” (20:11-13)

It looks to me like there is more “fear of the Lord” in this pagan court than there is within Abraham at that moment; everything he has just said makes him look worse− what will become of him now?

Abimelek showed Abraham and Sarah a great deal more courtesy and respect than either deserved in 20:11-16 and I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he did so out of “fear of the Lord”. God healed everyone He had prevented from conception, and the scene ends, leaving me in wonder and amazement; what was Abraham thinking?

Whatever it was, once again God showed His faithfulness to all concerned, after all, Abraham was His covenant partner and Abimelek was an innocent party… and we have another message of hope for Christmas. No matter how we might wander from wisdom and good judgment from time to time, God remembers His promises, and works things out for His covenant partners. While I don’t think I’ve ever known a Christ follower who has erred quite like this, we all mess up, and I find comfort in this story.

How about you?

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The Way

Posted on December 16, 2017 by Don Merritt

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John 14:5-14

In essence, this is Jesus‟ “final briefing” to His disciples. Judas is gone, they were shaken by his betrayal and Jesus opened this chapter with words of comfort, followed by Him telling them that He was about to die. They didn’t understand the last part of His “going away” and thus we open with Thomas asking about this point.

5-7: Here is Thomas’ fateful question, and Jesus’ classic reply: “I am the way the truth and the life” Jesus follows this by adding that if you “knew me you would know the Father”, and then says something we often overlook: “From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” He tells them this because of the fact that Father and Son are One. Note also that Jesus tells them again that He Himself is the way to the Father. Like last week, this puts everyone on notice that there is no alternate way to salvation: It is Jesus and Jesus only.

8-11: Phillip is the one who goes down in history for this classic in which he says that Jesus should go ahead and show them the Father, and that will be good enough! Jesus, ever patient tells them that if they have seen Jesus, they have also seen the Father. The message is that they are the same. If nothing else, they should believe this because He has performed in front of them the miracles to prove it.

12-14: Here we have the transition: “I tell you the truth” that takes us into a different discussion. Jesus leaves the matter of who He really is and the evidence to support it and goes into the new age that is about to dawn. He tells them that in this new age, He will do anything they ask in His name so that the Father will be glorified. Note that this is to glorify the Father and not to glorify the disciples.

We really can’t leave this section without noting the discussion that follows. Jesus goes on to tell them about the coming of the Holy Spirit, and about how they will be blessed if they obey His commands. Notice that asking for things in His name, the Holy Spirit and obedience are all linked together. Jesus was not telling them that if they say the magic words, “In Jesus’ name” will get them everything they want in life. Instead He is telling them that if they walk with Him, obey His commands and work to glorify God, then He will bless them and aid them in doing His work. One could make a case for an implied covenant here.

Along those lines, consider the things that He has commanded for us to do. In chapter 13 it was to love one another. In chapter 14 He instructed them to obey His commands, and in chapter 15 He commanded them to bear much fruit. In Matthew 28 He gave the Great Commission to the church. What are you doing this week to obey Him?

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High Level Negotiation

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Don Merritt

Genesis 18:16-33

For me, this passage is amazing, one of the most amazing in all of Scripture. I say this for two reasons, first because we see into the mind of God as he considers what to do next and second because we see Abraham actually influencing to some degree, God’s plan through his intercession.

The visit mentioned in the previous post has ended and the Three are leaving Abraham’s place to go into town, for they have received information about the terrific conditions in the city of Sodom; they intend to investigate these allegations. As they are walking, the Lord considers whether or not He should tell Abraham what their mission is (18:16-19).  Then the Lord seems to have decided to brief Abraham and he said:

“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” (18:20-21)

For most of us, we think of Sodom and Gomorrah as places full of wild sex parties of all sorts, but that wasn’t what the “outcry” was really all about. If you read carefully the passages dealing with Sodom, you will see that these wild carrying-ons included mass rapes involving children and whole families; this place was no pleasure den, it was a house of horrors. Yet there was an outcry so not everyone was willing to indulge, and hence, the Lord wants to investigate before acting.

In 13:22-33 Abraham enters the picture and asks God not to judge the innocent with the guilty, asking that he spare the city for the sake of 50 righteous, then 40 and step by step on down to 10 righteous, and God agrees. God’s purpose in judging remains the same; if this is true, then He will put a stop to it, but He will spare those who were not part of the debauchery.

Abraham was cited multiple times in the New Testament as a model of faithfulness. Abraham had a relationship with God, a covenant relationship, and when he went to God to intercede on behalf of the righteous of Sodom, God granted Abraham’s requests; He answered Abraham’s prayers.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a relationship with God, a covenant relationship. We also can have access to His presence to bring intercession for the righteous in various situations. What does this story tell us about God’s willingness to hear our prayers for the righteous?

Yes, exactly, there’s some Christmas hope for you!

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God Drops by for Dinner

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Don Merritt

Genesis 18:1-15

I must admit that it felt kind of weird typing the words “God drops by for dinner”, but that’s what happened. Abraham was sitting outside his tent one day when he sees three men approaching; they were God− Father, Son and Spirit.

No, I don’t think it was God and two bodyguards; what would He need bodyguards for?

Being a gracious host, Abraham offers something to eat and drink, and they accept. He tells Sarah to get busy baking bread; he selects a perfect calf and tells a servant to prepare it for roasting; the Three would be there for the day it would seem, for it takes a long time to go from flour to bread and from a living calf to a roasted one… They would be visiting for quite some time, just as close friends like to do.

I wonder how often we spend time with God just visiting…

Abraham returns to his Guest with milk and curds. “Where is Sarah?” He asks. (Notice they knew his wife’s name?).

Abraham says that she is in the tent.

Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” (18:10)

Sarah, listening at the opening of the tent (wasn’t she supposed to be making bread?) chuckles to herself at the thought of becoming pregnant at 90 and the Lord wanted to know why she was laughing; she lied. “Yes you did laugh” was the Lord’s reply…

The Christmas Story is all about an impossible birth, and so is Father Abraham’s story. From an earthly point of view, neither story can be true, and ever since that time, people who do not have ears to hear, have dismissed both as mere myth. Yet both really took place, for nothing is too hard for our God. Abraham’s is a story of promise, the Christmas Story is a story of promise fulfilled and I can’t help but think that of all seasons of the year, this is the most hopeful, for if nothing else it reminds us of the hope we have in Christ… if only we could stop hustling and bustling long enough to have eyes that see.

We’ll pick up the story here next time, and when we do we will have a rare glimpse into the mind of God at work: see you then!

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A New Covenant

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Don Merritt

Jeremiah 31:31-37

Jeremiah has set out a picture of trouble ahead. He has cited curse after curse from the Old Covenant that God will invoke against Israel and Judah because of their unbelief that resulted in broken commands. In chapters 30-33 Jeremiah tells of a new age that would follow; hope for the future after the disaster of the present. We pick up the story in 30:31 where he tells of the new covenant that God has planned for His people.

God had been a husband to Israel, and Israel had been unfaithful to God; shattering their covenant obligations. God’s people would be newly united under a new and different covenant; one in which His laws would be written not on tablets of stone, but upon their very hearts. They would be moved not by outward regulations, but instead by inward motivations to do right by God. They would come into relationship with God not by accident of birth, but by a desire to be His people. These would come to know Him because He had forgiven their sins, as opposed to those in the past who had only known of Him. They would not be taught about God, for they would know God in relationship.

Beginning with verse 35, we see that the very God who has established the laws of nature would be as reliable in keeping His promises as are those natural laws of His creation. God would remain faithful to the “descendants of Israel” just as surely as the sun will shine. The only question that remains is: Who are those descendants?

New Testament parallels

Jesus, in Matthew 21:43-44 told the Jews that the kingdom would be taken away from them for their unbelief. Paul, in Galatians 6:16 refers to the church as “the Israel of God” and Peter in 1 Peter 2:9 “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession”.

Hebrews 8-10 deals with the Apostolic Doctrine of Two Covenants. Chapter 8 in particular is interesting for our study today. Consider 8:6 ff. Here we see our Jeremiah passage quoted (Heb. 8:8-12). The author’s comments are instructive: The New Covenant is superior to the old and founded on better promises. (8:6) Something was “wrong” with the Old Covenant (8:7) God found fault with the people and foretold of a new covenant (8:7) Of course the thing wrong with the Old Covenant was that the people did not keep it. The Old Covenant is “obsolete” (8:13 and will soon disappear. In truth, it disappeared in less than a decade (70 AD) after Hebrews was written, and God’s promise for redemption was fulfilled.

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Photo of the Week: December 13, 2017

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Don Merritt

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