Randy Green's Blog, page 424
November 16, 2013
How, and how not, to build character
The Apostle Paul wrote, We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope [Romans 5:3-4].
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
I live a life of affluence in an affluent society. I have all I need or want and give my kids all they want. I have so many worldly toys to play with, I am like a little child in a toy store. I cannot make adult choices and commitments in life because I am impossibly distracted by so many opportunities. It's more fun to go with the flow and not have to commit. I eat free lunches rather than earn my keep.
Trouble is, there is no such critter as "free lunch". Someone paid for the lunch, even if I ate for free. So my free lunch meant I loafed on the back of someone else's labor. This is the way of today's society in the good ol' USA.
How can I expect my kids to develop character, unless they experience the sufferings which can lead to real character. Am I really doing my kids right when I make their life so easy? Fact is, I am harming them by stunting their growth spiritually, emotionally, and in all ways.
As a Christian I need to do much better than the world. I need to be salt and light to the world by means of the Gospel, not mimic the world in affluent living. We cannot serve two masters. Either we serve the Lord or we serve affluence. Country club church is not the Gospel.
November 15, 2013
What does Rahab the harlot have to do with the Passover?
In Joshua 2 two Israelite spies sneak into Jericho to survey it, in preparation for an Israelite attack. Rahab the harlot, who lives in Jericho, joins Israel's side and conceals the spies from King Jeri. She asks the spies to save her family and herself when the attack comes, meaning she wants to be an Israelite proselyte.
Well, the two spies swear an oath to her to do so, but itemize three stipulations which she must meet if the oath is to remain in force:
1. the cord of scarlet required to be tied to Rahab's window
2. only those inside Rahab’s house would be saved
3. the promise was for Rahab & family, no one else
There is an uncanny parallel between the spies' stipulations to Rahab and the Lord's stipulations to the Israelites for the Passover event in Egypt. Do you recognize them? Well, you need to get your own copy of Joshua: Volume 6 and learn the answer!
Well, the two spies swear an oath to her to do so, but itemize three stipulations which she must meet if the oath is to remain in force:
1. the cord of scarlet required to be tied to Rahab's window
2. only those inside Rahab’s house would be saved
3. the promise was for Rahab & family, no one else
There is an uncanny parallel between the spies' stipulations to Rahab and the Lord's stipulations to the Israelites for the Passover event in Egypt. Do you recognize them? Well, you need to get your own copy of Joshua: Volume 6 and learn the answer!
November 14, 2013
Words, Phrases, Sentences, and More
What's in a name anyway? Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Suchlike banalities are common enough, are they not? Trouble is, they promote a mentality on the same level as such bromides.
Words are indeed crucial in the Lord's economy, dear friends. By His Word the Lord created the heavens and the earth. Man is like the grass which grows on the rocks. Having no root it pops up in the morning and shrivels up in the evening.
Not so with the Word of God however! The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind...EVER!
Because of this character in God, He cannot relate to us unless we to are people of our word. We must ALWAYS honor our oaths, never speaking only to be nice while having no intention of following through with what we say.
Words are indeed crucial in the Lord's economy, dear friends. By His Word the Lord created the heavens and the earth. Man is like the grass which grows on the rocks. Having no root it pops up in the morning and shrivels up in the evening.
Not so with the Word of God however! The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever (Isaiah 40:8). God is not a man that He should lie or change His mind...EVER!
Because of this character in God, He cannot relate to us unless we to are people of our word. We must ALWAYS honor our oaths, never speaking only to be nice while having no intention of following through with what we say.
November 13, 2013
Oh, dear. What’s next?
Life insurance. Death and disability insurance. Automobile insurance. Homeowners insurance. Retirement plans. Obviously we frequently wonder what tomorrow will bring, do we not?
If we know where to look, we can find some trustworthy answers. Only one person knows what tomorrow will bring. That Person is God, and He revealed a goodly amount of insight to us...sort of like pulling back the curtain of time a bit and giving us a sneak peek!
May I suggest we start a group of folks who want to explore this issue. We can read my book "Kingdom of Eretz, A Biblical Allegory of the Church Age" together. Then we can share our perspectives and decipher the meaning of this allegory.
Who's in? All volunteers will need to get the book from Amazon CreateSpace or Amazon Kindle, as a paperback or as an eBook. So let the chase begin!
If we know where to look, we can find some trustworthy answers. Only one person knows what tomorrow will bring. That Person is God, and He revealed a goodly amount of insight to us...sort of like pulling back the curtain of time a bit and giving us a sneak peek!
May I suggest we start a group of folks who want to explore this issue. We can read my book "Kingdom of Eretz, A Biblical Allegory of the Church Age" together. Then we can share our perspectives and decipher the meaning of this allegory.
Who's in? All volunteers will need to get the book from Amazon CreateSpace or Amazon Kindle, as a paperback or as an eBook. So let the chase begin!
November 12, 2013
What’s God’s Name Anyway?
Do you know what would be fantastic? To personally know God, now that would be fantastic! Well, it would be pretty difficult indeed to truly know someone without knowing his name. This applies equally to God.
If we want to know God, then we need to know His name. Someone is thinking, "I thought His name is God." Uh, that would be a no. The word God depicts deity, just as the word man depicts humanity. No person's name is man because that isn't a name. By the same token the word God is not a name.
Well, then, what is God's name? I have answered that question exhaustively on innumerable occasions throughout my Heavenly Citizens series. Each of the first five volumes—Genesis through Deuteronomy—covers that topic, but Genesis offers the most in-depth and thorough presentation.
You may purchase your copy of each of these books from Amazon Kindle and Amazon CreateSpace. Better yet, get your local bookstore to get you a copy...and while you're at it, tell them they should carry the books in their store!
If we want to know God, then we need to know His name. Someone is thinking, "I thought His name is God." Uh, that would be a no. The word God depicts deity, just as the word man depicts humanity. No person's name is man because that isn't a name. By the same token the word God is not a name.
Well, then, what is God's name? I have answered that question exhaustively on innumerable occasions throughout my Heavenly Citizens series. Each of the first five volumes—Genesis through Deuteronomy—covers that topic, but Genesis offers the most in-depth and thorough presentation.
You may purchase your copy of each of these books from Amazon Kindle and Amazon CreateSpace. Better yet, get your local bookstore to get you a copy...and while you're at it, tell them they should carry the books in their store!
Sundays Are Great!
Greetings! one and all.
I am pumped today because it's Sunday! Under the Law of Moses the Sabbath was the day of rest, and the Sabbath was and always is the seventh day of the week, aka Saturday. More specifically, the Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and concluded at sundown on Saturday.
Then along came the prophet like Moses (Deut.18:15), viz., Messiah Jesus, and fulfilled the Law of Moses. He followed this up with dying on the cross as mankind's sin offering, then was put in a tomb, rose out of death on the third day, and ascended into heaven. He is there now serving as our great High Priest, while sending the Holy Spirit to indwell us and transform us into His image. Having fulfilled the Law, Jesus instituted a New Covenant, aka the Church. The Church is the spiritual family of God, with the fulfillment of the Law and death to sin and resurrection to new life being its makeup.
The day Jesus rose out of death was the first day of the week, aka Sunday. Hence the Church's day of rest is Sunday, the Resurrection Day, not the Sabbath. The New Testament notes that the disciples met together on the first day of the week, and refers to this day as the Lord's Day (Rev.1:10). I am pumped for Sunday because it is the Resurrection Day. I can't wait to be promoted to eternity to be with the Lord, which is far better (Phil.1:23). Sundays remind me of this imminent happening.
I am pumped today because it's Sunday! Under the Law of Moses the Sabbath was the day of rest, and the Sabbath was and always is the seventh day of the week, aka Saturday. More specifically, the Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and concluded at sundown on Saturday.
Then along came the prophet like Moses (Deut.18:15), viz., Messiah Jesus, and fulfilled the Law of Moses. He followed this up with dying on the cross as mankind's sin offering, then was put in a tomb, rose out of death on the third day, and ascended into heaven. He is there now serving as our great High Priest, while sending the Holy Spirit to indwell us and transform us into His image. Having fulfilled the Law, Jesus instituted a New Covenant, aka the Church. The Church is the spiritual family of God, with the fulfillment of the Law and death to sin and resurrection to new life being its makeup.
The day Jesus rose out of death was the first day of the week, aka Sunday. Hence the Church's day of rest is Sunday, the Resurrection Day, not the Sabbath. The New Testament notes that the disciples met together on the first day of the week, and refers to this day as the Lord's Day (Rev.1:10). I am pumped for Sunday because it is the Resurrection Day. I can't wait to be promoted to eternity to be with the Lord, which is far better (Phil.1:23). Sundays remind me of this imminent happening.
November 10, 2013
Of Nerds & Squints & Other Assorted Characters
What do CSIs and Squints have to do with Deuteronomy 21? Hmm... That's a toughie. If you want to know the answer, purchase your copy of Deuteronomy: Book III, Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. It's very interesting.
November 9, 2013
Kingdom of Eretz
Did you know...? I have already expounded upon all five books of Moses. These consist of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The five Bible books together are known as the Law of Moses, aka Torah. Each and every verse of this major section of Scripture is vetted in detail. The Law of Moses is the foundation for the entire Bible. If you want to know the Bible, to really get a handle on it, you need to begin at the beginning and understand the foundation.
However, before initiating the Heavenly Citizens series I wrote my first book. It is title Kingdom of Eretz and is available from CreateSpace and Amazon Kindle. It is much smaller in pages than any of my Heavenly Citizens books, but it is no less ambitious. It is a Biblical Allegory of the Church Age, consisting of any exposition of two chapters in the Bible. You may purchase your copy from http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
However, before initiating the Heavenly Citizens series I wrote my first book. It is title Kingdom of Eretz and is available from CreateSpace and Amazon Kindle. It is much smaller in pages than any of my Heavenly Citizens books, but it is no less ambitious. It is a Biblical Allegory of the Church Age, consisting of any exposition of two chapters in the Bible. You may purchase your copy from http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
November 8, 2013
Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes
Did you know that my book on Deuteronomy includes the entire Book of Deuteronomy? That is correct. Because of space considerations, it was divided into four books. Books I-IV are available from Amazon CreateSpace Amazon Kindle. Get your copies today! My Heavenly Citizens series offers full-length analysis of entire books of the Bible. It not only teaches the Bible, but it also role models for the reader how to study the Bible. It not only provides the reader with a fish to eat, but it teaches the reader how to fish for himself.
November 7, 2013
Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes
The first nine verses of Deuteronomy 21 detail a procedure to be used, when murder was committed but the murderer was unknown. Imagine watching one of the CSI TV series or Bones. A corpse is discovered in some secluded location. There are no witnesses to the crime and the corpse isn’t talking either. What to do?
Well, on TV the scientific nerds and squints commence to gathering materials from the landscape around the corpse, and from the corpse too. Then they retreat to the laboratory and see what they can find out from their collection of materials. Finally, as more and more evidence is examined and new revelations come to light, a light bulb comes on over the head of one of the actors and he or she exclaims, “I know who did it!”
Well guess what? It doesn’t usually work like that in reality! It didn’t usually work like that in Old Testament Israel either. So much for Plan A. That left the Lord with Plan B, which He shared with the Israelites in Deuteronomy 21:1-9. Let’s spend our time today studying this plan. You may read the full account in Deuteronomy Book III.
And now let us betake ourselves to another studio. Deuteronomy 5:3 might be a wee bit befuddling to some folks. At Mt. Sinai the older generation of Israelites received the Law. On the plains of Moab in our present text the Israelites of a younger generation were about to receive the Law. How then did Moses assert that the Lord didn’t make His covenant with their fathers, but with them?
Hmm. I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s 1939 description of Soviet Russia. He referred to them as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”! They were a tough nut to crack. But not to lose heart, dear heart. Let us wade through the confusion and decipher the cipher.
Moses and all the Old Testament saints had an Oriental mindset. They didn’t fraternize with Aristotle much. Their way of reasoning and concomitant mode of expression did not jive with the Occidental mode, and vice versa too!
Moses was not claiming the Lord at Sinai did not make a covenant with the older generation. He stated that the Lord’s covenant was not SOLELY with the older generation. His covenant was with Israel, with all Israelites throughout ALL generations.
So did the Lord give the Law to the generation of Israelites who were at Mt. Sinai? No, He did not. Did He give the Law to all Israelites of all generations? Yes, that is precisely what He did. It is in this context we are to interpret Moses’ words in verse 3, brothers and sisters. You may read the full account in Deuteronomy Book I.
Well, on TV the scientific nerds and squints commence to gathering materials from the landscape around the corpse, and from the corpse too. Then they retreat to the laboratory and see what they can find out from their collection of materials. Finally, as more and more evidence is examined and new revelations come to light, a light bulb comes on over the head of one of the actors and he or she exclaims, “I know who did it!”
Well guess what? It doesn’t usually work like that in reality! It didn’t usually work like that in Old Testament Israel either. So much for Plan A. That left the Lord with Plan B, which He shared with the Israelites in Deuteronomy 21:1-9. Let’s spend our time today studying this plan. You may read the full account in Deuteronomy Book III.
And now let us betake ourselves to another studio. Deuteronomy 5:3 might be a wee bit befuddling to some folks. At Mt. Sinai the older generation of Israelites received the Law. On the plains of Moab in our present text the Israelites of a younger generation were about to receive the Law. How then did Moses assert that the Lord didn’t make His covenant with their fathers, but with them?
Hmm. I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s 1939 description of Soviet Russia. He referred to them as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”! They were a tough nut to crack. But not to lose heart, dear heart. Let us wade through the confusion and decipher the cipher.
Moses and all the Old Testament saints had an Oriental mindset. They didn’t fraternize with Aristotle much. Their way of reasoning and concomitant mode of expression did not jive with the Occidental mode, and vice versa too!
Moses was not claiming the Lord at Sinai did not make a covenant with the older generation. He stated that the Lord’s covenant was not SOLELY with the older generation. His covenant was with Israel, with all Israelites throughout ALL generations.
So did the Lord give the Law to the generation of Israelites who were at Mt. Sinai? No, He did not. Did He give the Law to all Israelites of all generations? Yes, that is precisely what He did. It is in this context we are to interpret Moses’ words in verse 3, brothers and sisters. You may read the full account in Deuteronomy Book I.
