Category: Calvinism

Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on May 1, 2K8

May 1st, 2008

1 – “And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”” (1 Samuel 15:20-21, ESV)

RAF: Like Eve in Eden thinking it was better to add that the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil shouldn’t be touched either, so here, they thought they could do one better than just following what God commanded. Whether it be subtracting or adding to what God says, either makes us God. And He will not stand for it. Many believe it is good and right to add works in salvation, that it is noble and higher than simply believing God to be justified. But in the end, it isn’t what He commanded. We cannot make His Word better.

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Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on April 30, 2008

April 30th, 2008

1 – “ Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.” (1 Samuel 2:12, ESV)

RAF: It is not enough that our children are “our” children in that we know the Lord. It is not enough that they be the children of priests, or even priests themselves. Do they know the Lord? This is the critical thing. This is what we need to raise them to, to know God for themselves.

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Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on 4/29/2K8

April 29th, 2008

1 – ” And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.” (Judges 13:1, ESV)

RAF: It is amazing in this book to see how long the People of God can walk in obstinance before they feel the pain of their fall and cry for recovery. Over and over. – Heavenly Father, give me a heart that repents at the drop of a dime. Do not let me grow so hard and cold that long times pass before I feel the woeful state of my soul and fly back to you.

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Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on 4/25/2K8

April 25th, 2008

1 – “ Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today.” (Deuteronomy 27:1, ESV)

RAF: The whole of God’s words to them is seen as a unity. It is spoken of here as the “whole commandment” in the singular. While the New Covenant believer is not “under the Law”, nevertheless, every word God speaks is precious, and to be considered. By it, we know His heart and mind in a vast variety of situations and circumstances.

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Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces – 4/24/2K8

April 24th, 2008

1 – “Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God said to him.)” (Deuteronomy 10:9, ESV)

RAF: Now, as we are a “royal priesthood” 1 Peter 2:9, and we receive the “earnest of our inheritance” Ephesians 1:14 in the Holy Spirit – we see that the Levitical priesthood was a type of the Christian. As their inheritance is God and not earthly plots of ground – so ours. Imagine, we inherit the fullness of God.

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Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on 4/23/2K8

April 23rd, 2008

1 – ““But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.” (Numbers 35:16-21, ESV)

RAF: Murder is distinguished from manslaughter by these 3 things. To be “murder” it must bear at least one of these elements:

a. Use of a weapon. b. Predisposition of hatred or enmity. c. Premeditation by lying in wait.

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Margin notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces on April 22, 2008

April 22nd, 2008

1 – “”Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”” (Numbers 27:16-17, ESV)

RAF: What a beautiful prefiguring of Christ. Even though he is about to face death, his heart is concerned for the people – that they might not be Shepherdless. Though it was on their account that he would not be crossing over, nevertheless, he loves them – as they are God’s people. And one cannot truly love God, and not love those upon whom He puts His name and calls His own. Moses could only consign them to the care of another like himself – Joshua. But Jesus consigned us to another like HIMSELF, the Holy Spirit. John 14:18 / 1 John 2:7-11

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Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white spaces – April 21, 2008

April 21st, 2008

1 – ““This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. And every open vessel that has no cover fastened on it is unclean. Whoever in the open field touches someone who was killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel. Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.” (Numbers 19:14-19, ESV)

RAF: This ministry of cleansing one another from this defilement was not carried out by the Priests, but by anyone who was clean in the congregation. It was ministry one to another.

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Margin Notes: Things I scribbled in the white places.

April 11th, 2008

“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.” (Genesis 25:29, ESV) / Temptation always argues that the immediate “pinch” must be met, even at the expense of the long term consequences; even at the cost of eternity.

” So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.” (Genesis 26:6-7, ESV) / Like father, like son: Our children often pick up our thought patterns and responses to things. May they learn from us how we trust Christ!

” When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”” (Genesis 27:1-10, ESV) / Isaac knew full well the words spoken to Rebekah, but wanted to put Esau in his rightful place anyway. He was sinning against the revealed will of God. But Rebekah had little faith that the Lord would see to it His will was done in the face of Isaac’s sin. So she sinned. No one else’s sin every justifies ours. To respond sinfully to sin – is still entirely wrong.

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The FEAR of the Lord

April 1st, 2008

What is the fear of the Lord?

The phrase appears on the pages of Scripture nearly 30 times. Yet quantifying it seems to be somewhat difficult. This is especially true when we consider passages like 1 John 4:18 where we are told perfect love casts out all fear. How then are we to understand the idea of an ongoing fear of the Lord, and yet a full comprehension of His love?

The answer seems best answered in the context of Proverbs 1. A fitting passage I think for what has been termed in our culture “April Fool’s Day.” Here is wisdom for all of us “April’s fools”.

The Writer of the Proverbs opens his powerful and majestic book with a preface describing what he was after in penning it: “To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity.” (vss. 2-3) And then as a summary of his stated direction, and to put in one phrase what he is going to explore throughout the following chapters he tells us: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

In short, if I am catching his drift rightly, he is giving us a worldview of staggering proportions in an amazing economy of words. In essence, I believe he is simply stating, that the fear of the Lord, is to live life in God, fully aware that we are all held to an absolute standard of righteousness, which will be judged and administrated in absolute justice, which will end in absolute fairness wrought out in the context of righteousness and justice. In other words, it is to recognize that God’s standard of righteousness – is the standard of righteousness all are judged by. That in His righteousness, justice must be done, and cannot be perverted or neglected – there are no plea bargains. And that all of this is carried out on an absolutely level playing field – in perfect fairness to all involved, without perverting justice or lowering the standard.

Fools want to live in a universe that has a curved standard, a flexible justice, and fairness perceived mainly in relationship to themselves. But the wise man, sees the universe God’s way – through the lens of God’s own righteousness, justice and equity – and thus flees to God for mercy in Christ – where all of these are met in Him. Fools do not fear God. They dismiss these concepts. The wise – fear the Lord. Not living in terror, but in the mercy and grace that fear leads them to in our Savior.