It has been a LONG time since we spent some time together! We had a wonderful time in Israel.....I just haven't been able to find words to express how absolutely awesome it was!! After our return from Israel, there was Christmas and a house full of family........good times! And there has been the snow! I must admit that all this snow has had an adverse effect on my attitude!!! The snow began while we were in Israel; then we had heavy snow over Christmas (measured in FEET!!). That snow had partially melted when the next round began......and on and on it goes.....you get the picture! I have not been doing well with this!!!
So I think it's time to stop focusing on what I CAN'T control (the weather!) and return to focusing on what I CAN control (my attitude!). Now, in the interest of full disclosure, let me admit that I have also taken some degree of control over my location and am now in the Sunshine State spending time with family and friends! No snow here:) But back to my "resolution" to adjust my attitude. This is, I believe, really a matter of choice.......an act of the will. I CHOOSE to adjust my attitude. I CHOOSE to realize that no matter where I am, what the weather is, what the circumstances happen to be......life is not about me. I CHOOSE to fix my eyes, focus my attention elsewhere.
And so I'm excited.......I'm excited to be returning to this blog and our study time together. I'm excited about what God will teach us as we spend this time focused on His Word. I'm excited about what God is already teaching me as I CHOOSE to adjust my thinking. And I am CONFIDENT that my attitude will improve as I stop focusing on things that are out of my control and focus on what really matters!!!!
"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2 NASB)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Friday, November 26, 2010
Looking Back and Looking Forward
I'm so excited! We're in the final countdown for our trip to Israel! Monday is departure day, so we're spending the weekend doing final preparations......laundry, making lists and checking them twice (!!!), packing.......LOTS to do!
I said all that to say that I'll be away from the computer for the next few weeks while we are traveling. I'm sure I will have SO much to tell you when I return. Talk about opportunities for worship.....WOW!
So, today let's take one more opportunity to review what we've learned so far as we are examining this broad worship topic. We saw that in the Old Testament the glory of God is linked with the presence of God among the Israelites in the tabernacle. In the New Testament, we saw God's glory dwelling in the lives of believers. The tabernacle was a specific dwelling place and God's presence was evidenced by a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. When the cloud was taken up, the people of God would set out. If the cloud did not move, they did not move. This required an unconditional surrender by God's people.
What about you and me? What does it mean to us to be called the temple of God? What is our level of surrender?
We have so much more to think about and we'll do that when I return from Israel. We'll begin by going back to the tabernacle, looking at the pathway of the priest through the tabernacle and what each of the pieces of furniture in the tabernacle represents.
Until then, as we enter the season of Advent and look forward to the celebration of our Lord's birth, I pray that our focus this season will be on the Reason for the Season......Jesus! Let's worship Him!
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
I said all that to say that I'll be away from the computer for the next few weeks while we are traveling. I'm sure I will have SO much to tell you when I return. Talk about opportunities for worship.....WOW!
So, today let's take one more opportunity to review what we've learned so far as we are examining this broad worship topic. We saw that in the Old Testament the glory of God is linked with the presence of God among the Israelites in the tabernacle. In the New Testament, we saw God's glory dwelling in the lives of believers. The tabernacle was a specific dwelling place and God's presence was evidenced by a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. When the cloud was taken up, the people of God would set out. If the cloud did not move, they did not move. This required an unconditional surrender by God's people.
What about you and me? What does it mean to us to be called the temple of God? What is our level of surrender?
We have so much more to think about and we'll do that when I return from Israel. We'll begin by going back to the tabernacle, looking at the pathway of the priest through the tabernacle and what each of the pieces of furniture in the tabernacle represents.
Until then, as we enter the season of Advent and look forward to the celebration of our Lord's birth, I pray that our focus this season will be on the Reason for the Season......Jesus! Let's worship Him!
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Back to the Original Question
It's been a few days since I've had opportunity to sit and think with you about the topic of worship. And I've missed you! Let's go back to our original question.....what is worship anyway? Is it a single event that occurs maybe once a week? Is it a lifestyle? Have you drawn any conclusions yet?
We're also going to revisit the question that was left hanging at the end of the last post. You may remember that we looked at the placement of furniture in the tabernacle and then gave some attention to the cloud over the tabernacle that signaled God's presence. Since a few days have passed, you might want to go back and review. We closed that post by pointing out the reality that the time came when the cloud of God's presence no longer hovered over the temple, that God's presence had left the temple.
Today let's look into the New Testament, at the Gospel of John and continue to ponder that thought. This may be some heavy thinking for us this morning!! But let's do it anyway :) Jump right in to the first chapter of John's Gospel and read verses 1-2 and 14. What do these verses tell us about God's glory? Where did it now dwell?
Remember back to the end of the last post. Herod had rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, but there was no cloud signaling God's presence. What do these verses in John indicate would happen when Jesus went into the temple that Herod had rebuilt (the one usually referred to now as the "Second Temple")? If Jesus was in the temple, where was God's glory?
Also reflect on this.....just before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples together in an upper room and told them He was going away, back to the Father. However, He promised not to leave them alone.....that He would send the Holy Spirit who would be in them. He said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." (John 14:23). In other words, God would dwell in them.....in those who would believe in Him.
Now read 1 Corinthians 3:16 and I Corinthians 6:19-20......note references to the temple, the Spirit of God and the phrase "dwells in you". Now think about this......where did the glory of God first dwell? Then where was it seen? (Remember the passage in John 1). And where does His Glory, His Spirit now dwell?
And here's the big question today.....how does understanding all this affect the way we worship? What does it mean to you that God calls you His temple? What effect does that have on your life? And how does this relate to worship?
And this brings us back to the original question I posed to you as we began this journey. What is worship? Is worship just the name we give a particular church meeting? Is it just the singing we do at the beginning of the "worship service"? Or is it much more than that?
We're also going to revisit the question that was left hanging at the end of the last post. You may remember that we looked at the placement of furniture in the tabernacle and then gave some attention to the cloud over the tabernacle that signaled God's presence. Since a few days have passed, you might want to go back and review. We closed that post by pointing out the reality that the time came when the cloud of God's presence no longer hovered over the temple, that God's presence had left the temple.
Today let's look into the New Testament, at the Gospel of John and continue to ponder that thought. This may be some heavy thinking for us this morning!! But let's do it anyway :) Jump right in to the first chapter of John's Gospel and read verses 1-2 and 14. What do these verses tell us about God's glory? Where did it now dwell?
Remember back to the end of the last post. Herod had rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, but there was no cloud signaling God's presence. What do these verses in John indicate would happen when Jesus went into the temple that Herod had rebuilt (the one usually referred to now as the "Second Temple")? If Jesus was in the temple, where was God's glory?
Also reflect on this.....just before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples together in an upper room and told them He was going away, back to the Father. However, He promised not to leave them alone.....that He would send the Holy Spirit who would be in them. He said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." (John 14:23). In other words, God would dwell in them.....in those who would believe in Him.
Now read 1 Corinthians 3:16 and I Corinthians 6:19-20......note references to the temple, the Spirit of God and the phrase "dwells in you". Now think about this......where did the glory of God first dwell? Then where was it seen? (Remember the passage in John 1). And where does His Glory, His Spirit now dwell?
And here's the big question today.....how does understanding all this affect the way we worship? What does it mean to you that God calls you His temple? What effect does that have on your life? And how does this relate to worship?
And this brings us back to the original question I posed to you as we began this journey. What is worship? Is worship just the name we give a particular church meeting? Is it just the singing we do at the beginning of the "worship service"? Or is it much more than that?
Friday, November 19, 2010
What Happened Next?
What happened after the work on the tabernacle was completed, after everything was in place "just as the Lord had commanded Moses." Let's find out! Read Exodus 40:34-38.
Continue to mark the word "tabernacle". Also mark "tent of meeting" and "cloud" in some distinctive way. For example, with the word "cloud", you might just draw a cloud around the word. Keep it simple!
Continue to mark the word "tabernacle". Also mark "tent of meeting" and "cloud" in some distinctive way. For example, with the word "cloud", you might just draw a cloud around the word. Keep it simple!
- What happened after the work was finished and all the furniture was in the tabernacle? (see verse 34)
- What did the cloud represent?
- What do you learn from all the references to the cloud?
- Does this relate to what God said to Moses in Exodus 25:8? How do they compare?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Do the Details Matter?
That's a question I'm often faced with....how about you? In fact, I'm often told I'm paying too much attention to the details, that I just need to focus on the big picture. In terms of our topic of worship, do the details matter? I heard a discussion of this very topic on the radio yesterday as I was driving around town. Does how we do a particular thing matter, as long as it gets done? Let's begin to think about that as we continue to explore what the Bible teaches us about worship.
Today we will turn our focus from the instruction to build a tabernacle to the furniture that God instructed Moses to place in the tabernacle. You'll find this in Exodus 40:17-33. Read those verses and then mark the word "tabernacle" just as you did yesterday. Also note the phrase "just as the Lord had commanded Moses." Carefully note each piece of furniture and where it was placed in the tabernacle.
Think about these questions:
Today we will turn our focus from the instruction to build a tabernacle to the furniture that God instructed Moses to place in the tabernacle. You'll find this in Exodus 40:17-33. Read those verses and then mark the word "tabernacle" just as you did yesterday. Also note the phrase "just as the Lord had commanded Moses." Carefully note each piece of furniture and where it was placed in the tabernacle.
Think about these questions:
- How was the tabernacle to be constructed?
- Did the people have the freedom to build it any way they wanted?
- Whose instructions are these?
- Does this account give you any perspective on the way God is to be worshiped?
- Do you think God cares how we worship Him?
- In other words, do the details matter?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Role Model
We've spent the last couple of days looking at Genesis 22 and beginning to study what we can learn from this passage about worship. As we begin today, let's look at this same passage from another angle as well. Not only "what do we learn from this passage", but what do we learn from Abraham about worship? In other words, how is Abraham a role model for us? Let's begin there. How did Abraham worship God? What can we learn from that?
One of the things you may have noted is that God gave Abraham specific instrucftions about how he was to worship Him. Today we're going to begin to look at another Old Testament worshiper - Moses - and we're going to see that God gave Moses some specific instructions as well. The instructions to Moses include how God's people were to approach Him in worship and a detailed design for the tabernacle where they were to worship. As we look at this tabernacle structure, we're going to see a pattern for how believers can properly worship God and experience His presence. Through it all, we're going to continue to learn about God, about His character, about what an awesome God He is!!
This examination of the tabernacle will take several days, so let's begin today in Exodus 25:8-9. Read those two verses and do three things: mark "God" as you did before (I use a red triangle); mark the word "pattern" (I draw a squiggly line over it); and mark "tabernacle" and "sanctuary" (I mark these the same way, with a rectangle around the word).
Now that you've done that, also read Hebrews 8:1-2,5 and mark the same words. We're doing this to compare Scripture with Scripture. This will increase our understanding. Review your markings and think about what you learn from marking those words. Then consider the following questions:
That's an awesome thought, isn't it? A place to meet with God!! That God desires to meet with us!! WOW!
One of the things you may have noted is that God gave Abraham specific instrucftions about how he was to worship Him. Today we're going to begin to look at another Old Testament worshiper - Moses - and we're going to see that God gave Moses some specific instructions as well. The instructions to Moses include how God's people were to approach Him in worship and a detailed design for the tabernacle where they were to worship. As we look at this tabernacle structure, we're going to see a pattern for how believers can properly worship God and experience His presence. Through it all, we're going to continue to learn about God, about His character, about what an awesome God He is!!
This examination of the tabernacle will take several days, so let's begin today in Exodus 25:8-9. Read those two verses and do three things: mark "God" as you did before (I use a red triangle); mark the word "pattern" (I draw a squiggly line over it); and mark "tabernacle" and "sanctuary" (I mark these the same way, with a rectangle around the word).
Now that you've done that, also read Hebrews 8:1-2,5 and mark the same words. We're doing this to compare Scripture with Scripture. This will increase our understanding. Review your markings and think about what you learn from marking those words. Then consider the following questions:
- What did God instruct Moses to do?
- Why?
- What did you learn from marking "pattern" and "tabernacle"?
- How is the tabernacle described?
That's an awesome thought, isn't it? A place to meet with God!! That God desires to meet with us!! WOW!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
What Can We Learn Today?
Today we're going to look at Genesis 22:11-19. Read those verses and once again mark every reference to God. Also mark "the angel of the Lord." Then answer some questions:
In Genesis 22:12 the word "fear" is the Hebrew word yare which in this context means to have reverence toward God, to trust Him, to respect Him. It does not mean to be afraid of Him! God is reverenced when a person respects Him for who He is. Think about how Abraham showed his "fear" of God. How do you and I show our "fear" of God?
If you have not already marked "Abraham" and "burnt offerning" in these verses, do that now. Then answer some more questions!
Who provides the ram that dies in Isaac's place? What does this picture for you? Something to think about.....
- What did the angel of the Lord stop Abraham from doing?
- Why did the angel of the Lord stop Abraham?
- How does this relate to Genesis 22:1 and what God was doing to Abraham?
- What did the angel of the Lord tell Abraham God would do as a result of his obedience? (v 15-18)
In Genesis 22:12 the word "fear" is the Hebrew word yare which in this context means to have reverence toward God, to trust Him, to respect Him. It does not mean to be afraid of Him! God is reverenced when a person respects Him for who He is. Think about how Abraham showed his "fear" of God. How do you and I show our "fear" of God?
If you have not already marked "Abraham" and "burnt offerning" in these verses, do that now. Then answer some more questions!
- What did Abraham offer to God as a burnt offering?
- Where did the offering come from?
- What does Abraham learn about God from verse 14?
Who provides the ram that dies in Isaac's place? What does this picture for you? Something to think about.....
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