"Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.
My intercessor is my friend
as my eyes pour out tears to God;
on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend."
Job 16:19-21
Do you ever watch shows like "Law and Order?" I don't watch alot of TV but I watch "Law and Order: SVU" from time to time. The defense attorneys on the show drive me nuts but I have to admire their tenacity. I don't know that they always believe their client is innocent but they fight for them nonetheless.
When I first read (and paid attention to) this Scripture, that's sort of the picture that came to mind. I'm the defendant in God's court and Jesus is my attorney. Having Jesus acting on my behalf is very important to me. Sometimes it feels like I don't have anyone to fight for me so it means alot of have Jesus acting in my defense. 1 John 2:1 says that Jesus, the Righteous One, speaks to the Father in our defense. Hebrews 7:25 says that he lives to intercede for us.
I like how Job uses the word "friend" twice in this passage. It was important to him to have a friend who has God's ear. It's important for us to have a friend who pleads with God on our behalf. This friend loves us, cares for our well-being, and wants us to be in communion with God. God radically changed our relationship with him when he came as Jesus to make a path for us to have direct communication with him. What a great act of mercy, huh?
We can rest secure in the knowledge that Jesus is on our side (if we are on his) and is listened to by the Father. Through Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we have a place in heaven. Praise the Lord!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Nehemiah 9:5b-7a
Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. You are the Lord God...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
God is Greater!
The Bible cracks me up. 1 Samuel 5:1-4 is an awesome telling of the power of God before all other gods. Here's what happened:
The Philistines (you remember them? They were the annoying group of people who were always picking on the Israelites) went into battle against the Israelites and captured the ark of God. They took it to the temple of their god, Dagon, and set it next to the statue of Dagon. They did it to demonstrate Dagon's superiority over God. But imagine their surprise when they went into the temple the next day and Dagon was on the ground, facedown, before the ark! So, they picked him up and the next day he was on the ground again, only his head and hands had been broken off and were lying at the entrance to the temple.
Now at first reading, I sort of pictured God slapping Dagon upside the head and sending him flying to the floor. But then the verse in Philippians came to mind-
"Because of that obedience, God lifted [Jesus] high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth- even those long dead and buried- will bow down in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11 (MSG)
The ark was the tangible representation of God's presence to the world. Any other gods didn't stand a chance. I'm not biblical scholar but I think that the devil masquerading as Dagon couldn't handle being in the same room as the Lord and fell in submission because...
"... our God is greater than all other gods"!!
(2 Chronicles 2:5b, NIV)
The Philistines (you remember them? They were the annoying group of people who were always picking on the Israelites) went into battle against the Israelites and captured the ark of God. They took it to the temple of their god, Dagon, and set it next to the statue of Dagon. They did it to demonstrate Dagon's superiority over God. But imagine their surprise when they went into the temple the next day and Dagon was on the ground, facedown, before the ark! So, they picked him up and the next day he was on the ground again, only his head and hands had been broken off and were lying at the entrance to the temple.
Now at first reading, I sort of pictured God slapping Dagon upside the head and sending him flying to the floor. But then the verse in Philippians came to mind-
"Because of that obedience, God lifted [Jesus] high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth- even those long dead and buried- will bow down in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11 (MSG)
The ark was the tangible representation of God's presence to the world. Any other gods didn't stand a chance. I'm not biblical scholar but I think that the devil masquerading as Dagon couldn't handle being in the same room as the Lord and fell in submission because...
"... our God is greater than all other gods"!!
(2 Chronicles 2:5b, NIV)
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hearts Intertwined
I love God. He's so beyond anything I know or can imagine. He is pure, loving, gracious, merciful, powerful, passionate, good, mighty, eternal, attentive, and awesome- just to name a few. For some reason beyond my comprehension he is all those things in an abundance to me.
We've been reading about King David in our Bible study this week. We talked about him today and the thing that really jumped out at me was the fact that God called him a man after his own heart. I started thinking about what that would mean for me if God called me a woman after his own heart. I decided that I want my heart to be intertwined with God's. I want our hearts to be so meshed that people can't tell us apart. So I made a vow to God. I promised him that I would throw off the things of this world that try to wrap their way around my heart. I asked him to show me the things that bring him joy so they can bring me joy as well. I asked him to break my heart for what breaks his. I asked him to make me passionate about the things he's passionate about. I made a solemn oath to give him everything I am and all that I have.
I decided that I needed a daily visual reminder of my promise. I needed something that I could glance at and remember my oath. Since I'm constantly looking at my hands, I decided a ring would be the best thing. God took me to the perfect store and showed me the perfect ring (in the perfect price range, might I add- ha, ha). It's a simple sterling silver band and it looks like a single strand of rope, folded over and each end is hooked together. It's impossible to tell how it would come unhooked because each end is hooked to the other. This is a poor description but the point is that it would be impossible to unhook these loops. That's how I want my heart to be with God's.
We've been reading about King David in our Bible study this week. We talked about him today and the thing that really jumped out at me was the fact that God called him a man after his own heart. I started thinking about what that would mean for me if God called me a woman after his own heart. I decided that I want my heart to be intertwined with God's. I want our hearts to be so meshed that people can't tell us apart. So I made a vow to God. I promised him that I would throw off the things of this world that try to wrap their way around my heart. I asked him to show me the things that bring him joy so they can bring me joy as well. I asked him to break my heart for what breaks his. I asked him to make me passionate about the things he's passionate about. I made a solemn oath to give him everything I am and all that I have.
I decided that I needed a daily visual reminder of my promise. I needed something that I could glance at and remember my oath. Since I'm constantly looking at my hands, I decided a ring would be the best thing. God took me to the perfect store and showed me the perfect ring (in the perfect price range, might I add- ha, ha). It's a simple sterling silver band and it looks like a single strand of rope, folded over and each end is hooked together. It's impossible to tell how it would come unhooked because each end is hooked to the other. This is a poor description but the point is that it would be impossible to unhook these loops. That's how I want my heart to be with God's.
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