Jude 1a (Part I) "Jude" the meaning of the name itself - Notes about the joys of studying bits of Hebrew - Notes: Meditating - Jude Again!

Jude - or in Hebrew - Judah; - - - which in the briefest of translations is rendered, "Confess -- God!"

Jude - or in Hebrew - Judah; - - - a combination of the root words:

Jhwh - a name so often referred to as: ..... "The Most Holy Name" of God.

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'Yada' - meaning "to confess, praise, give thanks."

The HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, provides a slightly more expanded version of 'Confess - - God!' - rendering the meaning of Judah as:

"to acknowledge or confess sin, God's character and works, or man's character."

Consider then, whether or not the name Jude is an especially apt name for this epistle which is specifically addressing apostasy (Jude 1:4) and calling on the saints to earnestly contend for the faith in opposition to that apostasy (Jude 1:3).

After all, Jude is challenging both the early church and the church throughout the ages, perhaps especially the church of today, "to acknowledge or confess sin, God's character and works, or man's character" - in line with the teachings of God Himself - - - in spite of the inclination of many in every society, perhaps especially in our society, to rationalize away mankind's need to recognize God's holy nature in juxtaposition to our own unholy sin and our own ungodly character which, left to itself, is quite busy producing that sin.

Further, Jude is challenging each of us to earnestly contend for the faith as it was first handed down by the apostles, which includes not only deciding to privately 'acknowledge or confess sin, God's character and works, or man's character,' but also to encourage others who name the name of Christ to do the same.

Is the church of today coming inline with this teaching? Should we be contending for the faith in response to apostasy today?

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Before we prayerfully seek to understand godly ways of 'earnestly contenting for the faith', let's see quickly if we can discern how 'yada' having been added to 'Jhwh' could even result in the above definition for the name 'Judah'. After all, if there is a need to contend for the faith, we would not want to misunderstand the epistle that is calling us to 'contend'.

A quick overview of the word 'yada' in a Hebrew lexicon shows that the form of the verb which is found in the dictionary is itself also 'yada'. Although English dictionaries typically list the infinitive form of verbs (sans the 'to'), Hebrew dictionaries do not follow suit. Instead, Hebrew dictionaries list what is called the 'simple' or 'light' or 'qal' form of the verb, which more specifically would be the third person masculine singular perfect tense (which is a type of past tense).

Thus, cutting to the chase, 'yada' would be translated as 'he knew/has known'.

However, there is more to 'know' about 'know':

'Know' or 'yada' in the 'qal' form also means: he learned to know, he found out, he distinguished, he learned by experience, he considered, he admitted, he acknowledged, and/or he confessed.

When a man has 'found out, learned by experience, admitted, acknowledged, and confessed' the truth about God, including 'learning by experience' about God's grace, he will have also had to admit the truth about himself and his own sin.

So, yes, amazingly enough, thanks to the Hebrew lexicon, along with just a little bit of information about Hebrew verbs, it is exciting to discern for ourselves how the workbook listed above came to the definition that it did (though I'm a bit confused by the tense......?).

Either way, HAW's definition for 'Judah' also seems to corroborate the testimony of the rest of scripture, that such a confession flows out from us naturally when the scales have fallen from our eyes, and thus, when we have finally begun to behold Him for who He is.

Then is it safe to assert that 'yada' could also be defined thusly? - - - a confession flowing forth, reflecting again some semblance of that which one has begun to come to know (by the gift of faith).

Quick questions: If we have come to know Him more, in a real and personal way, will our confession change in some way to express that which we have come to know? How often should we be checking to see if our confession has changed any of late?

Quick prayer: May we come to know Him more......

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Is there more in this most holy name of the Holy One (Prov. 9:10 - NAS), and is there more in even the name of Jude, that clarifies for us at least some of 'that which is being made known' to man - - - about God?

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While exploring some modest beginnings of the answers to those questions about these two Hebrew names, it is helpful to keep in mind that, unlike English, with its extensive, and therefore powerful vocabulary, Biblical Hebrew has a surprisingly small vocabulary (the example of the Hebrew word 'yada' and its various types of 'knowing' is just one illustration of this type of difference between the two languages).

However, each Hebrew word found in the Bible is fraught with very specific meaning, as each root, each prefix or suffix, and/or each combination of roots, adds layer after layer of rich substance worthy of our understanding.

Those who come humbly before Him, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit while studying, giving diligence to study in order to discover more and more of this richness, find that each and every little part of the Word is a precious parcel with surprising and amazing truths that keep echoing and reverberating promises and cautions which are a guide to our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105), helping us to come to know and confess more fully that spirit of worship which should be growing in our hearts day by day as we behold more and more clearly the God of all grace and mercy.

However, the sections of each word are not all we have as a guide when we study the Word of God. Even more richness and more insights are implied and taught by each letter within each word; more depth than any of us could keep track of if we actually started sorting through each and every window which this means of coming to know Him provides, inference-unto-inference, layer-by-layer, promise-built-upon-promise....

Furthermore, historical context, and, of course, textual context lend that much more richness, nuance and meaning to one's understanding of the the Word of His power.

Thus, as we study His Word, may we rejoice in the radiance of His glory, as we learn more and more about the exact representation of His nature, the one who upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb. 1:3).

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Learning more, however is not enough. We should be living out all that we learn through our study of the Word (James 1:22).

In order to trust in His Word to bring that about in our life, it is helpful to 'hide' His Word in our heart (Psalm 119:11).

How does one effectively 'hide' His Word in our heart?

Certainly one can memorize scripture, and towards that end, this blogger's most recent effort has been to set the text of Jude to music and memorize that text in its entirety (and hopes to share an audio file of that with you soon...., that is, if some tech-savvy sons help with that project....). However, having memorized the text merely left a growing hunger for more.

What more can be done than to have memorized the text itself?

One important way of truly hiding His Word in our heart is to meditate upon His Word.
The word 'meditate' and its various forms was only used in the Bible 24 times. On the day that his bride came to live with him, Isaac had gone out to meditate in the field toward evening. That event was the first and only example given to us in the Bible of a specific man setting out to meditate at a specific time in a specific place (Genesis 24:63). Of course, he was not the only man of God who purposed in his heart to meditate. Then why is this one story about Isaac of value today? Certainly this was not something that Isaac slipped into his life for a minute here and there between other responsibilities. Isaac purposed in His heart to set aside time for meditation. Shouldn't each of us as believers do the same in our own lives individually? The pastor nor the Sunday school teacher nor a husband nor a wife can purpose this for us. But God does long for us to meditate upon His Word.

When God calls on His people to 'be still and know that I am God', does that not also indicate His call to us to meditate upon Him? (Psalm 46:10)
But is that all that meditation means? The psalmists encourage us to meditate upon His works, His doings, His wonders, and His glorious majesty (Psalm 77:12, Psalm 119:27, Psalm 143:5, Psalm 145:5).

Certainly His works, His doings, His wonders, and His glorious majesty can be found throughout scripture. Even the short book of Jude includes references to all of these things. Yes, even the name of the book of Jude is proving to be an endless source of wonders upon which to meditate (more on that below, not that this post has no end......, for it will end..........., it just won't cover everything that could be said on the subject of 'the name of the book of Jude'.....).

When should one meditate; and how? Day and night, and with our hearts (Psalm 1:2, Psalm 77:6).

Why should one meditate? Is meditation only for the purpose of hiding His Word in our heart so that we won't sin?

In the Old Testament, God actually promised the people of Israel that He would provide success to all of those who meditated upon His law (Joshua 1:8).
Now we are 'free from the law' though, right? So do we need to meditate upon 'the law'? Yes! Although New Testament Christians are no longer under the law, all scripture is useful for training in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16). We all still need our newly born spirit to join forces with the Holy Spirit and be busy about the task of 'putting to death the deeds of the body' so that '(we) will live' as He promised us we will (Romans 8:13).

Examples of this 'training in righteousness' via all scripture, including the law, which have helped me personally in my efforts to understand our calling to 'love one another', include portions of Old Testament law which some have come to call 'case law' (aka: laws that are examples of what is and is not responsible and kind).

One such example of case law includes the admonition to not muzzle the ox when he is threshing the wheat (Deut. 25:4). My children like to smile when we are making cookies and remind me of this verse, as they like to think that they should be free to eat all of the cookie dough that their heart desires! Cookie dough and raw eggs and muzzling oxen aside, my children know that there are times when they should not eat what is being prepared for various reasons, whether those reasons have to do with having enough for later (practicing hospitality), or health questions (just how much cookie dough, if any, is prudent today?). In other words, they realize that they should be led by the Spirit, and not by the law - towards legalism or ridiculous liberality. But they do not know this naturally. Neither does the oxen who, left to himself, would not help with the threshing, but merely enjoy the grain.

So, that's a family story of mine, but do those 'case law' lessons apply to the New Testament church? It seems that even Paul thought so (see I Corinthians 9:1-19 & I Timothy 5:17-18).

Thus, this particular 'case law' helps us to understand righteousness by helping us to know the parameters of love, and further, it helps us to understand our need for guidance in our day to day walk, thus, it helps us to remember that we should turn to the Holy Spirit as our sure guide.

But what about the promise of success to those who meditated on His law? Does that promise still apply to the saints today? Many believe that it does, though 'success' today would not necessarily be material. What would 'success' be for us today then? Might it not be fulfilling God's call and purposes in our lives? If so, then yes, it seems more than reasonable to believe that meditating upon His Word, and thereby hiding it in our heart more solidly, would indeed help us to 'succeed' by helping us to honor and obey Him, His Word, and His Holy Spirit. Will such individuals not have a better understanding how to walk in The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and thereby honor Him who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life?

Towards the end of meditation, then, let us come before the Holy One who is able and willing to reveal His grace and mercy to us. Let us see Him for who He is. Then let us meditate upon what He reveals to us, that His revelations will be securely 'hid' in our hearts.

May God Himself bless these efforts.
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No single overview of any Hebrew word will clarify all.

All that being said, this blogger is not claiming to be any scholar at all, but one who loves to meditate upon the Word, and while meditating, joys in discovering at least some of the added richness which can be discovered when the layers of each word are considered in light of the whole context of the scripture in which it is found.

Not that all of those layers have been discovered and discussed here, but this is, at least, a start towards coming to know that which He has made known.

Therefore, this blog is merely a compilation of the layers which this blogger has discovered to date and has only begun to ponder......

Blessed be His holy name!

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Jude - or in Hebrew - Judah.

Looked at another way, 'Judah' is a combination of:

Yhwh - or - 'The Most Holy Name,' (and here, summarizing merely the technical aspects of the name: yod-heh-vav-heh, often listed in English as Yhwh, listed in Strong's Concordance as entry H3068, often referred to as the tetragrammaton, rendered in the Kings James as 'LORD' with all capitals, rendered 'Jehovah' by both the NAS and Young's Literal Translation, technically only used in the Old Testament, as it is a phenomenon of the Hebrew language; the Jehovah's Witness cult alleges that the tetragrammaton was initially found in the New Testament, though it was later removed - which sounds intriguing but be cautious if you begin studying online and run into this intriguing idea - check out the source for your information.....; Yhwh, first introduced to us in Genesis 2:4 "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens;" and lastly left with us in Malachi 4:5 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful coming of the Day of the LORD." Furthermore, there were times when He chose to not make Himself known by the name Yhwh, but instead by another name, as we see in Exodus 6:2-3 "God spoke further to Moses and said to him, I am Yhwh, and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai (God Almighty), but by my name Yhwh, I did not make Myself known to them.")

Yhwh - which is 'the essential name', or the name by which God is always to be remembered according to the Old Testament (Ex. 3:15),

Yhwh - by which name, we are saved, according to both the Old & New Testaments (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13). Yes, by the time Jesus came, and lived, and breathed, and taught in Israel, this holy name of God was no longer spoken; therefore, when Jesus began to use this name, He was actually revealing this name to the whole world, over the course of time, in order that the world might be saved through Him.

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'Dalet' - - Yes, in the formation of the name 'Judah', there is just this one significant modification: there is a 'D' or 'dalet' right in the middle of the name of The Holy One (or, might one say, right in, or possibly into or at least to or towards the heart of God?), which, as we shall see in just a moment, is extremely meaningful to those of us who are blessed to love His name today (Psalm 5:11).
Yhwh is a most holy name, historically and eternally, and indicates how much more holy He is than anything else, especially anything touching sin. But even the angels who never rebelled against Him are humbled by His holiness (Is. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).

Looking further at the meaning of the name Yhwh, that holy name indicates, through its etymology, not only 'to be', but also 'to create' - indicating God's self-existence, yet His causative force in the existence of all else.

No one knows today what the original vowels in this holy name were, as no vowels were ever indicated in the original Hebrew script. Furthermore, in time, it came to be that no one ever spoke this most holy name of God, except for the high priest, and that only once each year when he entered into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), in order to come before the mercy seat of God and seek both to honor Him as God and to humbly ask for forgiveness for all of His people, admitting the nature of the unholy souls of the people during the preceding year, admitting the sins those sinners for and with those sinners, all of which is in such stark contrast to His holy nature - - - and the high priest doing all of this, and calling upon the only name by which we may be saved, for the purpose of reconciling us, His fallen creation, back into fellowship with Him - the Holy One.

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In spite of the fact that we do not know for certain which vowels were originally in the tetragrammaton, it is interesting to note that one particular set of vowels results in a word which might have been the name for God, and which is actually a combination of the abbreviated forms of the perfect, the participle, and the imperfect forms of the verb 'to be', and would thus mean, "He who will be, is, and has been," which is a highly plausible consideration. After all, even if that was not the original set of vowels, that possible name for God is perfectly in line with that which God's Word says about Himself (Ps. 102:27, Is. 41:4, 44:6, 48:12, Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8, Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13).

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But back to that 'D' or 'dalet' or 'door' right in the middle of the tetragrammaton (or, in the heart of God?)! What could be so significant in that one letter in that particular word?

Well, let's start with this seemingly small detail: The sound for /d/ is taught to children by a direct association to the Hebrew word for 'door', which is 'dalet'. To help the student of Hebrew remember the symbol for this sound, the Hebrew letter 'dalet' is written, or drawn, very much like a picture of a door to a tent.

So then, there is actually a door made for us to enter into the worship of The Holy One, a door provided through the house of Judah (Micah 5:2, Luke 3:33).

Thus, that one letter changes the Most Holy Name of God, a name which we are unworthy of even saying, into a word which indicates the plan of salvation and brings us to a place where we can see how it is that by the The Most Holy Name, we can be saved!

In case you missed that 'slight of hand', where, in one pen stroke, the name of The Holy One (Prov. 9:10), the one who is and who creates, yet who is beyond our reach because we are so unworthy; yes, that holy name was changed into: Confess (and come to know, and worship) - - God (as your very own God who loves you enough to die for you and reconcile you, even while you are sinners, to Himself)!

How was the One who was beyond our reach suddenly one whom we might confess as our very own God? By the door, and Jesus himself is that door! (John 10:7)

Yes, Jesus, who came and dwelt in human form, in human flesh (John 11:14); and flesh is a temporary dwelling place, like unto a tent (II Cor. 5:1); He is that door, that 'dalet' bringing us to the heart of God! (John 10:7)

Jesus, from the house of Judah! Jesus, bringing the world into a place where non-Jewish peoples may also, as did those 'of faith' in the Old Testament, 'Confess - - God!' in light of the promised Savior, the Messiah who was to come from the house of Judah!

Yes, by means of The Door, peoples from all nations are being brought before The Holy One, to come to know Him, and to confess to Him that He is God, that He is righteous, that He is Holy, that we fall short of His holiness because of our unholy sin, but, glory be to His name, that He is love, that He promises that His mercy endures forever. And that is only the beginning of coming to know The Holy One, Yhwh! Praised be His holy name!

(aside: many speak of praising His mighty name, but when this blogger searched for a scripture that referred to His mighty name, that did not come up directly at all....... praising his holy name did come up, and praising Him for His mighty acts did as well, but not praising Him for His mighty name......., why might we prefer to think of praising His mighty name rather than praising Him for His holy name...???)

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So then, the name Judah all by itself means ever so much to us today:

We need to confess that God is, has been, and always will be Holy God, while we are His creation. Further, we need to praise Him and give thanks to Him for being the only, wise, Creator God.

We need to confess that we, unlike Him, are unholy and sinful. Furthermore, we need to praise Him and give thanks to Him for providing a door by which He is willing to bridge the fathomless gap between us and Him.

Jude - or Judas - the same name as the betrayer of our Messiah.

Jude - or Judas - a book written from one who, as the brother of Jeshua, also betrayed our Lord. After all, it is reported in the book of John that His brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5). - - - Yes, many of us know the pain of various types of rejection on the part of family members towards ourselves. Isn't this type of betrayal one of the most painful betrayals of all? If we want anyone to have faith in us, isn't it our family most of all? But even Jesus was betrayed by His own earthly family! Certainly this grieved Jeshua and the Holy Spirit in Him. It must have hurt Jesus very much. --- But did this Jude, the brother of Jesus, in any sense betray Jesus with a kiss? That is, did he pretend a love of Jesus in the midst of His betrayal and lack of faith in his brother, in any way shadowing Judas the more obvious betrayer of our Messiah? (Luke 22:47-48) There is no clear indication that Jude, the brother of Jesus, did anything specifically against Jesus besides not believing in Him, and even believing Him to be a bit deluded (####). However, that was, in my own opinion, missing the mark by not giving honor where honor was due. Do any of us do the same: Have any of us directly denied Him, betrayed Him, and/or outright disbelieved Him? Do any of us, after confessing our need for Him as Savior, seek, at least superficially, to love the Savior and Messiah, yet in our heart, we are actually still betraying Him by choosing to set our heart on things of this earth instead? Even worse, do any of us still believe that we are serving Him, yet we were, or even are, neglecting to love Him by loving others as He would have us do? (Matthew 25:41-46) --- Truly, as Jude did, we all need Jesus to be our Savior!

Jude - or Judas - the fourth son of Leah, who was more steady than his elder brethren who had succumbed to adultery or deceitful, murderous vengeance (Genesis 34-35). But, just as all mankind has done, the Old Testament Judah was jealous of the favored son - wanting to be 'equal' before the Father (thus, at least in essence, an utterly equal king, equal at least with the favored brother, who, alone, is worthy that others should bow down to Him!) (Genesis 37:4, Genesis 42:6, Philippians 2:8-11). Similarly, the New Testament Judas was jealous of the ointment that was used in Mary's act of repentance, love, and worshipful devotion to her Jeshua (John 12:1-7). Do we seek to withhold time or substance that should be used to worship Him as Lord, God, and King, or do we, like Mary, worship Him with the best we have to offer up to Him?

####(see also Romans 3:20).

Jude - or Judas - the Greek form of the name Judah. It was not only the immediate family of Jesus who betrayed Him. His own people, His national brethren (the Jews, named after the tribe of Judah), betrayed Him into the hands of the Gentiles, fulfilling the now increasingly clear understanding of the two comings of Messiah: the first coming, as the Son of Joseph (the suffering one) - which bears witness that the second coming which has also been promised, when He shall come as the Son of David (the ruling king), shall also be fulfilled! Hallelujah!

Jude, and all of the Jewish people who betrayed Him unto death were the contemporary brethren of this first Messiah, the Son of Joseph (the suffering one). However, when Meshiach shall return, and His brethren see Him for who He is, they will be surprised to find the scars in His hands, feet, and side; but when they do, they will mourn, for all of His brethren have betrayed Him (Jew and Gentile alike, Zechariah 12:10). Most of us have not experienced the pain of being betrayed by our whole nation. However, there are still modern day examples of men (and sometimes even women) who are being betrayed by their own people. Often times, such betrayal is brought against people who have been serving in such a way that demonstrates their willingness to 'lay down their lives for their friends' (as did Jesus, John 15:13). The ironic sort of pain which one of these men or women experience would also be a very painful experience for anyone to go through. Our Lord Jesus must have also felt this pain much more grievously than anyone who has ever experienced it! After all, He was more than willing to lay down His life for every single one of us, but we all betrayed Him to that death.

Jude - or Judas - the betrayer of our Lord, whose betrayal was illustrated in such amazing ways in Jeremiah 11:4-17, a passage in which there was one called to care for the sacrifical lamb(s), to keep an eye on the worthy sacrificial lamb(s), meeting the need of the lambs, experiencing the love for such innocence which should have to be victim for our sins because of the vile nature of our sin. But instead of responding to the Lamb of God with love and compassion, one sees the Jewish brethren respond to the Lamb of God from a perspective of pride, greed, jealousy, fear and more (are the Gentiles any better?). It was these devastating vices which drove Judas, as well as the leaders of Judah and Jesus' brethren, the Jews, to despise and betray Jeshua haMeshiach, the Son of Joseph.

Jude - or Judas - written to us, others who have also, in such a great number of various ways, rejected, denied, and betrayed Him! Each of us should be humbly aware of the plethora of ways in which we have betrayed Jeshua haMashiach. We probably cannot know all of the details of the evil nature of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). Furthermore, our focus should be on Him and His calling in our lives, not on ourselves (Psalm 46:10, Phil. 3:13), but we can certain see, and confess Him, if we will simply take time to be still and look at the vast difference between our self-centered selves and our loving, giving, and selfless God.

Jude - or Judas - Yes, we have all betrayed Him! But that is not the end of the story, glory be to God!

What should our own response be to our sin and His sacrifice for it? Simply this, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." (I John 1:9)

Confess His mercy in light of your sin today!

Then let Him be praised!

Yes, Jesus, Yeshua haMashiach, reached out to the brother(s) who had rejected Him (Mark 3:14-27) and He lifted them up! Jude had not only rejected his own brother when he rejected Yeshua, he rejected the Son of God! But Yeshua did not reject him, did not judge him, and did not punish him.

Rather, Yeshua, filled with love, took on his brother Judas's guilt and carried it away on the cross in order to make a way for not only Jesus, but Jesus' Father, the Holy One, to fully forgive and pardon Jude as well. The end result was not only that Jude was restored to his brother Jesus here on earth (Acts 1:14), but Jude also became the brother of Jesus in heaven forever (Hebrews 2:10-18)! A son of God Himself!

For that to happen, Yeshua really and truly actually forgave his brother Jude fully and completely!

The result in Jude's life was praise indeed! (Jude 1:24-25)

He is ready to forgive each and every one of us too, even though, all of us, in differing ways, have betrayed Him as well! If you have not accepted His forgiveness for your own sins yet, you can receive His forgiveness now! Don't delay!

Once any of us accept Him by faith, we each become a son of God, called to do His will (Matt. 12:50), and to serve each other (Matt. 25:31-46), and by doing so, be holy before Him. Therefore, we are also called to be brothers of Jesus for all eternity, just like Jude (well...... some of us become daughters as it were.......).

But Jude didn't glory in being the brother of Yeshua either in the flesh, nor via adoption by our heavenly Father.

Instead, he gloried in being the servant of Jesus Christ!

Why might that be?

More on that in the next post........

Mom's Commentary: Genesis 1:1a (Part IV)

We have seen that there have been a lot of beginnings just in Genesis.

Was the beginning mentioned in Genesis 1:1 just any old beginning?

Was it the beginning of God, perhaps? No!

Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? Habakkuk 1:12a

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2

God inhabiteth eternity according to Isaiah 57:15. He also liveth forever and ever according to Revelation 4:10. His years shall have no end Psalm 102:27. (also see Romans 16:26)

So God didn't just 'show up' for the first time at 'the beginning'. He not only has always lived, He will always live! Glory!

Better yet, He didn't wind up the universe and then take a nap:

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? Isaiah 40:28a

And even better than that, if you accept Him as God (and allow His love to help you fix what's not working in your life), He promises to take care of you:

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27a

But what about that first beginning? Again, was it just any old beginning?

No, there is a huge lesson for us in THE BEGINNING.

No one said it better than the psalmist:


Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.


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He is the beginning.

He is the end.

He is the beginning and end of all praise.

May we praise Him in all that we do!

Glory be to God.

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Mom's Commentary: Genesis - Introduction

'In the beginning' are the first words found in the book of Genesis.

And the name 'Genesis' itself means much the same as those first words of the book. After all, 'genesis' and 'genus' and 'generation' are similar in root and meaning. The words 'birth' and 'begetting' are associated with the word 'genesis' as well. Here is the most pertinent portion of the 1828 Webster's Dictionary's definition:

"The act of producing, or giving birth or origin of anything; the process or mode of originating....."

There are various beginnings introduced throughout the book of Genesis, which is why some people call Genesis, "The Book of Beginnings."

What other 'beginnings' are there in the Bible besides the beginning of this universe and all the things therein? Are all of the beginnings that are found in the Bible good beginnings?

a. There is the beginning of the good news: the hope and promise of a solution to our sin. The good news continued to be expressed throughout the time of Genesis in several ways:

--through the promise that 'the seed of the woman' would overcome Satan, crushing his head, as told in Genesis 3:14-15 Paragraphs 10-15 of John MacArthur's "The Promise of Redemption--Part One" are packed with incredible insights into this promise of God to bring about salvation. (e.g. - it took faith for Adam to name his wife 'Eve' which means 'life' after they had just been handed the sentence of 'death')
--through the sacrifice of a lamb which pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God
--through the gospel in the skies (My first intro. to this subject came from D. James Kennedy's The Zodiac, I concur with the review at amazon.com re: this book. -- It was in reading this book that, after having named one of my children, I realized that his name had extra meaning because of the archer in the sky who points to Christ....... which made the book particularly special to me at the time. If you want to observe the constellations and read through this type of material, then you might want to consider purchasing or checking out H. A. Rey's The Stars - It is amazingly accessible! - Now I just need to make more time to explore the stars some more with my children!)
--through gospel messages found by linking the geneology from Adam through Jesus, sometimes referred to as 'The Names Code' - 'The Acrostic of the Names - Code'
--through the story of the flood the gospel is also seen: the nature of Christ's salvation and the provision of the Holy Spirit as well as baptism is seen in the story of the great flood and Noah's ark (with Christ pictured as the ark: if we are in him when we pass through judgment, both Christ and those in Him are lifted up, above judgment, by the workings of the Holy Spirit), as well as the Noahic Covenant
--the gospel is seen through God's covenants with Abraham and his descendants
--the gospel is also expressed through 'types and shadows' throughout the rest of the book as well

b. There is a beginning to prophecy forthtold in Genesis 3. The promise that 'the seed of woman' will crush the head of the serpent is the first prophetic telling. It is of no surprise that the first prophetic forthtelling pointed out what is to come about through Christ.

c. There is the beginning of the sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3) even before the fall of man. Later, God expressed in scripture what He wanted from and for His people during the sabbath. He explained that after detailing a proper understanding of a life lived to Him for context. The context is found in Isaiah 58:6-14, with the information pertaining directly to the sabbath being in the last two verses of that section.

d. There is more than beginning to agricultural work. First, there is working the garden to dress it and keep it Genesis 2:15.

Then, after the fall, there is the beginning of working the earth to bring forth sustenance (bread and produce). This argricultural necessity after the fall is filled with symbolism which Christ referenced often in His dealings with the people of Israel.

The seed planted to produce food has to die to itself to multiply.

The seed of the weed, however is another matter. It must utterly die. After the fall, when the ground was cursed so that it would bring forth thorns, the one who tilled the ground pulled up the thorns - concerned with getting rid of them to the point where they will not go to seed (and after they are pulled, they can still go to seed, depending on the stage of life in which they are found when they are pulled). Thus, when the land was cleared of such troublesome weeds, what happened to the pulled weeds? My contention is that they were cast in the fire in order to utterly destroy the seeds. I mean, when I pull weeds that might go to seed, I don't want them in a compost pile that might let them escape back out onto the property, only to multiply! Only good seed should be suffered to multiply if we wish to further the yield of the land.

d. There's the beginning of child bearing with Cain and Abel. A humbling beginning, but hope comes forth with Seth because of the promise of God to this appointed son (Seth means 'set' or appointed, but is translated pillar or foundation in some translations of Isaiah 19:10). It was Seth's line that was appointed to carry forward the Adamic Covenant. As noted above, the names of the children who carried on the Adamic, then Noahic, then Mosaic, and finally the Abrahamic covenants all point towards the coming of Christ. (as per the bible-codes.org site).

e. There is the beginning of the first marriage, between Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:19-25) This marriage relationship is latter used to illustrate both the relationship of God as husband to the nation of Israel, as well as the relationship between Jesus and the church.

[Are we beginning to see a pattern here? The gospel message points to God's redemptive plan in Christ. The first prophecy points directly to Christ as God's solution for our 'uh-oh'. The sabbath points to the glory of God established by His Word. Agriculture and all of nature point to God and Christ. The descendents of Adam who are chosen as covenant children point directly to Jesus as the Lamb of God. - and so the Bible proceeds from beginning to end....., except when people reject that purpose, at which time, God ends up stepping in sooner of later, as in the next story, at which time, few people were left seeking His face.......]

1. Here's a beginning that occurred in the land of Shinar:

And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Genesis 11:6

In this Bible story, the Story of Babel (Genesis 11), people have imagined to do something which God will not even permit. He had given a command to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1 NAS), and the people had come up with a plan which would not have been in keeping with the spirit of that command. They planned to make us a name, lest we be scattered (Genesis 11:4),

Oh, how we want to make a name for ourselves instead of exalting His name above every name! Satan certainly helped to encourage this vile plan, though it is likely that few if any of the people in the land of Shinar had any idea what Satan's actual purpose was.

Well, God had promised not to send another flood, but something had to be done soon, because this was one command He expected to see fulfilled one way or another.

Thus, He came up with a plan to force the issue:

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build to the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:7-9

One might say that this was the 'end' of that 'beginning'. It was an end to keeping all the people in one place to corrupt all of them into worship of a god other than the creator God. However, if one observes structures used in worship throughout the world, one sees various stylized versions of a ziggurat (such as in Egypt, as well as India, China, and South America - see paragraph 17). So it seems that the influences behind the Tower of Babel have persisted.

God didn't approve of the plan to make us a name, lest we be scattered. He disapproved to the point that He brought an end to their plan without further delay.

When my children were young homeschooling students, we made ziggurats from cardboard, and then we took them out to the woods. They were encouraged to walk away from their ziggurats which would fade away, so they could walk towards God, whose glory will not fade, and who seeks to bestow blessings from His glorious bounty upon all those who seek His ways. (ziggurats are understood by many to have been used in the worship of the moon god - with the crescent moon found on islamic mosques and flags present in archeological artifacts from about the time of Abraham - you can read more about them here if you like).

May we walk away from our plans - from any gods of our own making, from making a name for ourselves, from making a place for ourselves apart from Him, and may we instead walk in His ways, with His leading as confirmed by the Word: beginning and persevering diligently through those things which He calls us to.

May that help us to grow in unity, in virtue, in knowledge, in temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and most importantly, love.

May that be a light to others to come to Him.

.............

Growing in Prayer - Examples of Prayers in Genesis (Part I - Ch's 1-10)

We can cast all of our concerns upon Him:

Casting all your cares upon Him; for he careth for you. I Peter 5:7

.............

Going through Genesis, looking for examples of prayer, worship, etc., a peculiar kind of perspective came to light. Well, it was peculair to me. Some of you may have noticed these kinds of things before, but it has utterly passed under my radar screen until now - at least, as a theme through scripture!

.............

First, just to point out the obvious background:

0) At ground zero, creation week itself, God's Word showed up in this universe which He had created. His Word was gloriously powerful in creative force. Further, His Word made evident the incredible designing/engineering capabilities of God! His Word may or may not have said much more than is recorded, but what is recorded shows Him to be a glorious God!

Then the alleged peculiarities begin to show up:

1) Before the fall, Adam walked with God in the garden and scripture says that God commanded Adam regarding the food he should and should not have eaten (Genesis 2:16-17). No comment from Adam is recorded - no praise, nothing.

Nothing? Hmmmm, well, okay. It's His Bible, right? His Word.....

1b) Lots of people wonder about walking with God in the garden. How many people wish they could have been walking with Adam? Really, I do look forward to fellowshiping with Adam in heaven someday, but I never longed to walk in the garden with Adam! I only have wanted to walk in the garden with God Himself.

God is utterly glorious! Man? Not so much: Only as much as God shares His glory with us..... Wow!

2a) Later, Adam and Eve heard the voice of God walking in the garden (Genesis 3:8 - that's how the King James puts it anyway.... the NAS and NIV put it differently, but the KJV makes some sense to me in light of what the NAS and NIV had to say).

But back on track: Assuming it was actually a 'voice': Was that voice even talking to Adam? If it was, that wasn't important enough to mention!

2b) By that time, Adam & Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit.

In response to their disobedience, the Bible records a conversation between God, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, with the serpent no longer speaking. (If he said anything then, it was of no consequence to us.) (Genesis 3:9-19).

There is finally a comment from Adam. When? Once it was time to start explaining himself in light of the first sin in the whole world! Rather humbling, don'tcha think? I mean, what would you do if God asked you to explain how you knew you were naked? Adam tried to explain....... Did he try to make excuses? What was that like, anyway? Glad he had fig leaves on, no?

Whatever all Adam was trying to do, the first recorded words of man were........... humbling at best.

When God spoke to Adam and Eve after the fall, His words were still glorious. He was both just (handing out appropriate consequences for those who decided He wasn't really 'God' after all), yet promising a way to access His mercy, grace, and love anyway!

Adam's words aren't of much regard, really. They are there 'for the record.'

God's words right after the fall are entirely different. Gracious and glorious.

What a contrast between God's Word at the onset of creation & after the fall, and man's first *recorded* words.

3) God even recorded for us His talk with Cain prior to murdering his brother (offering him a chance to avoid murder). Nothing Cain might have said in response has been noted.

God's words to Cain, however, are vital to us still today.

After the murder, something of Cain's words finally make it into the Bible! Let's see - for one thing he lied! Need we go on further? Yep, lies. That's what crops up the *second* time that any of mankind's words are recorded in scripture.

Still nothing great about man showing through here. (Genesis 4:1-15). Ouch!

3b!) Not a word from Abel is recorded in Genesis, or anywhere else in scripture.

However, Abel 'speaketh' to us today according to the faith chapter, Hebrews 11! (Hebrews 11:4)
So what is Abel still speaking - and how? What clues are there, anyway? The only thing we know is that he relied on a sacrifice that was accepted in order to find forgiveness of sin in his life.

What did the acceptance of that sacrifice require of him?

Faith in a promise/instruction. Abel is still speaking to us today about the results of faith in a promise. The promise came from outside of himself, and the faith came from outside of himself as well. The promise, and the faith in that promise both came from God. Thus, Abel's testimony lifts up the Promise Maker and the Faith Giver, and illustrates his/our failures and need of the Promise Maker. Yep! humbling again!

But the love of God changes all of that 'low life' aspect of man showing through here!

His love lifts us up. He is the lifter of our head in spite of ourselves! (Psalm 3:3) Nothing we can do can lift us up above our sin.

But He can.

The glory is all God's.

The glory does not go to those who were lifted to the Faith Hall of Fame. The glory goes to the one who lifted them up to the Faith Hall of Fame in spite of their failures.

The glory does not go to those who 'do better than Cain did' today, either.

He lifts up those who lift up the glory of His promise, who glorify Him!

He seeks to lift us up today as well! He does it the same way today as He did in the case of Abel: by granting us faith in a promise - in His promise. (Now we should still be speaking about that to mankind - something He can grant us the faith to do as well.)

Glory be to God!

4) Men began to call on the name of the Lord when Adam's grandson Enos, the son of Seth, was born (Genesis 4:26). Someone has recently pointed out to me that the name Y-hw-h was in the text when Eve named Cain - - and they are only now calling on His name when Enos is born? This confuses me to some extent, so to date, I still do not have much comment here. Just a lot of confusion about the delay........

But it's pretty amazing that men would call on the name of the Lord at any point in time. Where does the glory go in that case? To mankind who is in desperate need of Him? Oops! Nope! The glory goes to God yet again!

The really amazing thing is that God listens! Mankind does a terrible job of listening to Him, but He listens to us and cares for each of our thoughts anyway. He thinks about US a LOT: (Psalms 139:3-4, & especially Psalms 139:17-18)

That is amazingly glorious!

Praise God for His tender kindnesses!

5) There are, however, times when man walked with or talked with God, with the story of Enoch being an extremely wonderful example (Genesis 5).

So what does Enoch have to say to us? Anything?

Enoch is remembered today for having walked with and talked with God, but not a word of what Enoch said when he was 'walking and talking with God' was important enough for us to need to know about it! *giggle* (amazing really!)

5b!) Even though Genesis did not specify any words from Enoch, what was important was 'his testimony' which God honored later in Hebrews 11:5!

Now, the NAS and NIV render the testimony as one given to Enoch (like as if it was there only to let Enoch know that He was accepted so closely by God). However, if that testimony was given to Enoch, I'm inclined to think the KJV's rendering is still appropriate: Any testimony that God has given to Enoch has the ability to uplift others. So Enoch can share his 'testimony' with us whether it was given to him or it arose from His own life's experiences (provided from God, of course) as a statement to us.

Certainly if Abel is still 'speaking', Enoch is still sharing forth his 'testimony/witness', no?

Well, that is my understanding to date.

People usually think of a 'testimony' as including words. But that isn't necessarily important. Enoch's reputation now precedes him...... What is that reputation?

Well, let's examine scripture: What was Enoch's testimony? "that he pleased God" (Hebrews 11:5) - - -

His reputation is not that he was eloquent, or had clever things to say when He walked and talked with God, or anything, just 'that he pleased God.' Nothing else mattered from that incredible life - except that he pleased God!

Any clue as to what he did that pleased God?

He had faith.

How do we know? From the very next verse in the Faith Chapter, Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please [God]..........!"

So there it is. We gotta have faith!

Enoch had faith - the very existence of his faith is all that we need to know to 'hear' his testimony about pleasing God.


6a) God spoke to Noah about the ark, and Noah obeyed (Genesis 6:13-22). It is true that actions speak louder than words. They did in the case of Adam & Eve, Cain, and Enoch too. Certainly all we hear is Noah's actions. Not a word from him here - not any words used in prayer in particular.

[but don't you think that he did pray to God in faith, and don't you think that his prayer life had something to do with his getting a ticket on the ark?]

6b) It happened again! God spoke. Noah obeyed (without any of his words recorded *again*) (Genesis 7:1-5).

6c) God spoke to Noah and told him it was time to leave the ark, he, his family, and all the animals (Genesis 8:15-17). Not even a sigh of joy or anything from Noah recorded here! No long psalm of praise - not even a short one! Nada!

The message should be pretty clear:

God gives the instruction, the important thing for those who trust and fear Him is simply to obey - IN FAITH.

6d) Noah built an altar and offered burnt offerings, but there is no mention of specific prayers - though certainly he prayed then (Genesis 8:20). I mean, this is a dramatic moment in history - at least to Noah and his family. No more ark building! No more ark rides! Well - there was the monumental task of starting over, but the ark ordeal was over. Yet not a peep from Noah or his family is able to make it into God's word at this time!

God's incredible word and work says all that needs to be said.

6e) In response to that sacrifice which Noah offered after leaving the ark (the sacrifice which pointed to the promised savior - in indication of faith, no? - which pleases god, right!?):

Sure enough, God was pleased and promised certain things that make life easier for man - like, no more floods! (Genesis 8:21-22). But still not a word from this monumental man, Noah.

6f) Going into chapter 9, there is still no word from Noah, but there is more said by God almighty! Blessings for Noah, some new, post-flood guidelines, a covenant, and the rainbow, - without one word mentioned from Noah's mouth (Genesis 9:1-17).

[When Noah finally speaks in the Bible, it is related to family dysfunction, and the curses that arise from family dysfunction. Is that glorious of man or something? *sigh* - not at all.]

6Z) What does the Faith Chapter tell us about what Noah 'said'? That by being 'moved with fear' and constructing an ark 'to the saving of his family', he condemned the world - (along with becoming the heir of righteousness - for his faith, of course. All of this was accomplished by faith.) (Hebrews 11:7).

[Remember, faith is a gift of god - lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8).]

........

So thus far, ten whole chapters into Genesis:

--God spoke and created (a huge power, more powerful than all the stars together; yet concerned about all the little details - such as laminin which both holds us together, and bears testimony of Christ's sacrificial love........ wow! - what detail in our lives is not important to that kind of God? What solutions can He create for us about anything that can arise in our lives? What couldn't He deal with?) End result? God is wonderful!
--God explained both wonderful blessings and safety standards for Adam & Eve - - End result? God provides everything we need - we simply need to listen to Him. God is wonderful!

--God's voice was heard walking in the garden (how cool is that!?)
--God asked a question because the safety standards had not been observed....... (how gentle is that?)
--Adam explained his sin.......? How does one do that? no, only admit... / Some people see this as not a narration/telling-back what happened, but as excuses. I mean, Adam didn't exactly try to stop Eve and protect her or something. So, what's the deal if they were ?excuses? - the first words recorded from man were excuses? How humbling is that?
--God spoke forth the inevitable penalties which applied, since safety standards were not observed. How just is that?
--God spoke forth a promise in the midst of the penalties........ a creationary God having created a solution for weakness in others who were itty bitty but thought they could be huge like Him. Why did He do that? Because of love! What incredible love!
--God warned Cain. Again, what love.
--God exposed Cain for what he was and punished him after Cain refused to heed God's warning. God exposed Cain by asking him questions - and Cain's own testimony exposed the lack of truth in his life in spite of God's warning *&* invitation (truth sets us free/obedience keeps us safe; lies tyrannize us/disobedience brings disaster......). God can bring us to Him if we embrace the truth, but for Him to be a just God, all untruth will have to be destroyed - along with those who cling to it.
--Abel, who didn't have much to say about the sacrifice that made him famously righteous before God, who didn't have much to say about being murdered, speaks his testimony still today: faith makes the offering God calls us to rely upon effective. What made him worthy of the grandiose list in Hebrews 11? Faith in A PROMISE FROM SOMEONE ELSE. That promise giver is pretty incredible!
--Enos, Seth's son, had to be born before men began to call upon the name of the Lord. God listened anyway.
--Enoch, who talked with God, doesn't have any of his words recorded, but it is said of him that he pleased God (and only faith pleases God........) Again, that faith is IN A PROMISE FROM SOMEONE ELSE. So what's so glorious? The PROMISE GIVER!
--God spoke the fear of God into Noah's life (why? to preserve Noah), and Noah got good and busy - with plenty of diligence to last a lifetime!
--God spoke promises and new guidelines for the post-flood world.
--God provided Noah with both a promise and with faith.

That's it for the first 10 chapters. (Yes, Abraham will talk to God, and so will others in other portions of Genesis and the Bible - but that's a lot of years from Creation to the time just before Abraham to have such a humbling view of mankind's 'words', especially in light of the glory of God's Word!)

.........

Conclusion? God is amazingly wonderful.

Man? Not so much.

However, God values faith in the sacrifice He has ordained, Jesus Christ!

He also desires to walk and talk with us today. Even if we cannot walk and talk with Him on the level that Enoch did, He does desire fellowship with you. After all, that is why Jesus died - to reconcile us to Him, so we can fellowship with Him again.

Glory be to God in the highest!

.

Mom's Commentary - Genesis 1:1a+

Genesis 1:1a+ In the beginninng, God

" 'In the beginning God . . . ' (Genesis 1:1). Not matter, for matter is not self-causing. It requires an antecedant cause, and God is that cause. Not law, for law is but a name for the course which all creation follows. That course had to be planned, and the planner is God. Not mind, for mind is a created thing and must have a creator back of it. In the beginning God, the uncaused cause of matter, mind, and law. There we must begin."

My son has been collecting the AmblesideOnline books for a little while now so that they will be in his own library as an adult, and we added The Pursuit of God by Tozer to his collection for Christmas.

He just finished reading it and had to share this quote with me, and now I just had to share it with you.

From A. W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God, Chapter 5, "The Universal Presence", which begins with a quotation from the Psalms:


Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Psalm 139:7


.

Mom's Commentary - Genesis 1:1a (Part 2)

Genesis 1:1a In the beginning

[In Part 1, the last questions revolved around what God was beginning to do in us as individuals. What new works has He begun? What new songs might He have given us might be another good question to explore in that entry someday.......?

Now let's consider the same questions about 'us' as one body.]

What is God up to now? What is God doing universally (not politically or in the cosmos so much - but what is going on in the 'our/us' mentioned in the Lord's prayer)? What is God doing in 'our' life as one body (Romans 12:15)?

Do we need any new beginnings with Him as a body?

If so, in what does God want 'us' to begin to grow next?

For one thing, 'we' certainly do need to purpose to grow in unity!

Till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13

In order to grow in unity, we all need to grow in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. Certainly we can grow in the knowledge of the Son of God. Can we grow in faith?

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth. II Thess. 1:3

So do unity, faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, and love all grow and mature together? In searching for answers directly from the scripture to answer that question, it seems that the Bible does directly relate faith and 'hearing the word of God' - as per the writings of the apostle Paul.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 (see also Galatians 3:2)

Is hearing the word of God all there is to it, then? No!

Hearing the word of God and receiving faith by hearing is only 'a beginning'!

According to II Peter 1:3-9:

--We have been given promises which have produced the beginnings of faith (Hallelujah!)(faith - fido.....a rope or cable which makes fast - draws...... 'to believe, to obey')

--that we might partake in the divine nature! (Amazing! - what an opportunity! - the definition of divine that would pertain to our 'partaking in the divine nature' would seem mostly to be: proceeding from God, as in divine sayings or works, apparently above that which is human! - Does it not seem, then that we should be, in our new nature in Him, something above the human nature - via the nature He wants to share with us - knowing this, that the 'above human nature' all comes from Him, not us!)

--we are to give all diligence (constant effort to accomplish without unnecessary delay or sloth!)

--add virtue to our faith (faith is a gift, it enables us to add virtue - and what a definition! 'strength from straining, stretching, extending'....etc. - - faith empowers us to strain, stretch, and extend beyond ourselves, particularly to be in keeping with God's desires, which produces strength, aka virtue! What a hope and power there is in His Word! But some strain, stretch, and extend themselves for their own purposes, such as those who have fasted for vain reasons. God's reasons for fasting include more than being sensitive to His spirit in intellectual worship, or even open to direction about 'change' in one's heart. God's reasons include giving the bread not eaten to those who are oppressed and poor, along with releasing the bands of wickedness not only in our lives, but through prayer and fasting, God releases bands around us, etc. Isaiah 58:1-8)

--then add knowledge to that (more knowledge than what produced the initial faith.... 'a clear and certain perception of that which exists, or of truth and fact, the perception of the connection and agreement or disagreement and repugnancy of our ideas!)

--then add temperance (We may satisfy our appetites if we have the means, but not indulge them, as indulging them increases them yet never satisfies them - increasing them over and over again, which dulls our spiritual appetites. How much do we really need in order to satisfy healthy appetites pertaining to our physical selves? That differs from person to person. We each need to learn to listen to our appetites to take note when we are actually satisfied, as they are able to inform us as to how much we need in order to be 'satisfied' with regards to sleep, activity levels, diet, etc.... (Here is an example: What we eat can be an uncomfortable topic: but it is an important one. Health issues can impact weight gain, that is a different issue altogether. If one actually struggles with listening to his/her own appetite to learn to recognize when they are satisfied, there are ways to learn how to listen more attentively. One way is to calculate the approximate caloric need for a given person using a scientific equation that is fairly accurate. That would provide a starting place. One could use that as a ballpark figure, then increase or decrease food intake to the appropriate amount of food in order to either gain, lose, or maintain weight as decided in prayer and praise. Next, notice when requirements change due to change in activity levels, physical cycles, age, health, etc. In working this way, many have learned to watch for subtle indicators that help to signal 'satisfied' to the brain.) This does not require austerity and long faces. Even fasting is not to be accomplished with long faces. (Matt. 6:16) So no groaning allowed! Replacing the groaning with praise for what we do have (which might focus on non-food items) would help to increase spiritual sensitivity, and decrease an appetite on overdrive. Developing healthy appetites in non-food interests helps as well. Diligence and strength-of-will (or virtue) is often required when changing the appetites and drives from 'overdrive' or even 'underdrive' to 'normal-healthy' levels. Again, no long faces! Satisfying our fleshly appetites may be done joyously, with thanksgiving to God, and with love towards those with whom we have opportunity to fellowship, in order to help meet their needs with love and joy as well. It is important to note that no more attention should be given to our appetites than that. For example, as Charlotte Mason, an incredible English educator from a century or so ago, said in her book Ourselves (written to inform students regarding basics of applying good character), "while you are eating, talk and think of something more amusing than your food," and "Never think of your meals till they come" (save for the cook who should think how to prepare, not how to eat what is being prepared; and we should also take time to thank God for the food He does provide). [Volume 4, pg. 14 of the Original Homeschooling Series (highly recommended reading!)] But enough on temperance for now!

--and thereby be enabled to add patience (...endurance without murmuring.... submission to the divine will..... constancy in labor.... bearing offenses without anger.... Each of these goals is more attainable when we are not expecting to fulfill lusts of the flesh, but merely meet our fleslhy needs with thanksgiving when we are able to do so, and being thankful for what we do have even when we are unable to fulfill our fleshly needs. Patience is also more accessible when we recognize that we need to give up ownership of everything we have, even our reputation. As Bill Gothard puts it, our reputation doesn't matter, and God is big enough to deal with His own reputation. (paraphrased version of Gothard's take on the subject)).

--which results in increasing ability to develop godliness (...reverence for the divine character...obedience. To be Christ-like - which includes bringing glory to God, obedience in all things; sacrificial love, even to the point of death if need be - for the benefit of others).

--leading then to brotherly kindness (affection, kindness...syn. tender.....) To be kind, we actually invest our time, energy, and/or our resources in others' lives... 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' Matthew 6:21. As Bill Gothard shares in his videos, if we are kind to others, it develops a real love in us towards them, because we have invested treasure into their lives.)

--resulting ultimately in love (.....devoted, .....strong attachment to.....)

Would this not then result in unity within the body, with the 'we' who love Him and serve him?

..............

Okay, with the verses and definitions that was a bit choppy. So what would be a paraphrase of II Peter 1:3-9? How about this?

Due to God's gift of faith which binds us to Him and draws us after Him, we are able to give constant attention to exerting our will towards strength/virtue in the realms of moral excellence, helping us to have more knowledge about God, ourselves, others, and proper stewardship of those things which we have use of to serve Him - being humbled before Him by the strength of our various fleshly desires, we can trust him to provide us yet more virtue/strength to be patient in well doing and patient with others, producing godliness, inspiring brotherly kindness wherewith we invest treasure into their lives, producing in our own selves, love for the brethren.

Which produces unity.

So, does faith, knowledge of the Son of God, love, and unity increase and grow together?

When the faith is from God, yes, it must.


Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.... that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27

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The Lord Is My ____________

Some of the ladies at church encouraged us to begin listing what God has meant to us each day, using the format found in the beginning line of the Twenty-Third Psalm.

David gave quite the example when He said, "The Lord is my shepherd."

I'm sure I won't blog on this entry daily, but I'll make entries as time permits....... starting here:

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--2/4/11: The Lord is my Shepherd: Several years ago, my family was actually at the state fair (we don't attend often for one reason or another). When we went through the livestock barns, I had an opportunity to cuddle a lovely ewe lamb. She was beautiful, soft, cuddly, warm, and wonderful. I was in love, to be sure. My husband saw it all over me and shepherded me as far away from the livestock as fast as he could....... He knew he might not be able to tell me 'no', but that it was not the time for us to tend even one lamb....... /// Fast forward to today. Our church has a Wednesday evening ladies' class which is going through W. Phillip Keller's A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Keller has a lot of experience working with flocks of sheep, and even owned his own flock for eight years. He spoke of the loving care he provided for his sheep, and of the amazing relationship that develops when the good shepherd lays down his life for his flock. His writing reminded me of the time when I nuzzled that precious ewe lamb, and the Holy Spirit reminded me that Christ loves me the way I loved that ewe lamb. /// It is not time for me to be a shepherd, but it is a time for me to be a ewe lamb in the flock of the Good Shepherd. What a precious thing to have such a good shepherd to care for us! /// Then, while going to sleep, I recalled Bill Gothard's talking about Psalm 51:8 which says Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Now, I was already familiar with what is said about shepherds who break the bones of lambs who go astray. After breaking the bones, the shepherd carries the lamb next to his heart until the lamb can walk again. During that time, the lamb learns to love the voice of the shepherd and learns not to stray. --- THEN I recalled Psalm 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Might that be because not only is a good shepherd to us, but he was a faithful follower of his own 'shepherd', His Father in Heaven????? ...........

--1/25/10: The Lord is my why and wherefore. (We've had slow days in our school work: our daughter is in training to begin taking responsibility for her own school work at a new level - and our sons have been going back to some of their notes/questions from various Basic Seminar in Youth Conflicts sessions, in order to draw conclusions and set goals somewhat independently. / That provided time to go through notes made on paper about Genesis last week, and rework them quite a bit with the help of Notepad, blogspot, Biblegateway, and an online 1828 Webster's. In the meantime, my flesh/pride, etc. has tried to interfere with this wrong attitude or that. It took some effort to battle with that pride/flesh, when I'd rather do something else. But it was cool to win the battle for the day! And the reason for persevering? The Lord is my why and wherefore.......) .

--1/24/10: The Lord is my healer. (God gave direction to my husband to seek help from our chiropractor when my shoulder pain became persistent and increased in intensity over time, even though at other times, I needed a different nutritional or medical solution for joint pain. I am grateful for God providing direction through my husband when we didn't have the funds for 2nd opinions right now. Wow! It is also amazing that God has allowed the human mind to understand some of the complexities of our bodies, which are so fearfully and wonderfully made; and that there are men who are well studied enough to work in such a healing way.) Thank you God for giving my husband good direction and for sharing this particular healing knowledge with mortal man. Thank you that our bodies can respond to healing hands this way!