“Israelite Rage Room?”

April 28, 2024

April 28, 2024

Read Deuteronomy 12, Psalm 143, Acts 21

Did you know that they have places that you can go and let out your pent up rage? These rage rooms are designed to be a fun and strangely therapeutic way to release some frustration in your life. You go and put on the proper safety equipment and goggles and then you enter the room and smash until you are rage free… or until your wallet can’t afford the things you are breaking. That’s right you pay for your experience by the things you destroy.

We read in Deuteronomy 12 about the original order from the Lord for Israel to smash and destroy the idols and other objects of worship from the nations around them as they entered into Canaan. “These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. 2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places” vv. 1-3. That sounds like the ultimate thrill for a man, but this would be harder than Israel knew. The reason God wanted them to destroy these things was for their own protection and to keep them from wandering away from the Lord, tempted by the practices of the other religions.

God warned them to be fully obedient to his commands. “Be careful not to be ensnared by enquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” 31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshipping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. 32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it” vv. 30-32.

What do you need to smash and destroy in your life that is keeping you from completely following the Lord?

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Posted by John Weldon

“Spiritual Food”

April 24, 2024

April 24, 2024

Read Deuteronomy 8, Psalm 136-137, Acts 17

What’s your favorite food? Growing up mine was tacos. I could eat 4-5 as a kid easily. We all need a good diet of food to remain healthy and be able to have the energy to do the things we do each day. Have you ever thought about the concept of having spiritual food to provide you with the ability to serve the Lord and walk in your relationship with the Lord? Our spiritual food is like real food. We need a variety of different types to have a balanced diet of spiritual nourishment to live for the Lord. Here in Deuteronomy 8 Moses reminded the Israelites that while they lived on the Manna in the desert for forty years, they also were feed by something else more importantly. “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” v. 3. The Word of God is the main way we get our nourishment as spiritual food but there are other spiritual disciplines we can practice too! Practicing spiritual like prayer, fasting, witnessing, serving the church, Scripture memorization and meditation, Sabbath rest, worship are just a few of the things we can do to feed our soul and maintain the energy to do follow Christ.

Jesus said something like Moses said when he had finished his interaction with the woman at the well in Samaria. The disciples returned bringing food for Jesus but Jesus was no longer hungry, He had been filled up by something else. “Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” vv. 31-34. Jesus had been spiritual filled by serving the Lord and ministering to the Samaritan woman.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Not To You But For You”

April 6, 2024

April 6, 2024

Read Numbers 26, Psalm 101-103

When you read the Bible it is important to remember that the Bible is not written to you originally but it is for you to read today and for your benefit. There are a few exceptions to this statement in the Bible. For example, in John 17 Jesus prayed for the future believers who would believe in Him because of the disciples. In Psalm 102 we find another instance of this. Verse 18 reads “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD” v. 18. We may read the psalm or other parts of the Bible and it will bring praise to the Lord as we have seen God’s promises come true and see how God acts and interacts with his creation. I want to urge you to read the Scripture and not to just read it as a historical account but allow it to bring forth praise to the Lord for who He is and what He has done.

What have you read today that will cause you to praise Him? Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Lessons from Seeds”

March 21, 2024

March 21, 2024

Read Numbers 10, Psalm 80, Mark 4

Soon it will be time for people to start planning and planting their gardens for the year. If you have ever done that before you know that there is a lot of time and effort that goes into sowing and reaping. Do you have a favorite fruit or vegetable from the garden? I love the smell and taste of fresh tomatoes from the garden. In Mark chapter 4 we have a few lessons that use the imagery of a seed for Jesus to get his point across.

The first parable is the parable of the seeds. Four distinct seeds that are sown have four very different results. Jesus explains this parable to his disciples so we are not left wondering what the meaning might be. Jesus plainly explains, “The farmer sows the word” v. 14. The word of God is sown into the lives of many people but the results may vary based on the conditions in which it was sown. Some seed is sown on the hard path and it doesn’t take root. “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them” v. 15. Still other seeds are sown on some rocks. Jesus said it had no roots either. “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” How many people at the first sign of trouble or hardship want to bail from their faith and give in when they feel like it’s not the way they expect it to be. The next seed is thrown among thorns. “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” vv. 18-19. What types of worries do we allow to take us away from our trust in God? Only the seeds sown in the “good soil” are the ones that take root, grow, and continue to produce a crop. How can you till the soil around the lives of others so that when you sow the seeds of the Word of God they will grow, take root, and in the end produce a crop?

The next parable that uses a seed is called the “growing seed.” Seeds are planted and mysteriously they grow day and night. If we take the seeds to be the word of God again it produces growth. This growth could symbolize spiritual growth in Christians or illustrate the divine sovereignty of God in how He works in the lives of His people. It is possible to see how we must be patient and trust the Lord to work in our lives or the lives of others too. In the end, the harvest comes. This often symbolizes judgment and when the time is right God will reap the seeds He has sown.

The final seed illustration in Mark 4 is the parable of the mustard seed. Critics often use this very to cry foul at the Bible and say it’s wrong. “It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground” v. 31.  The next sentence says, “Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants” v. 32. It’s often said the mustard seed is not the tallest tree, which is true, but we have to read carefully and in the context of when and where this was written. The key is “garden” variety trees. Also, one must keep in mind this was written to a first century audience in Palestine and not to someone viewing the great forests in northern California. Jesus used the mustard seed to show how just a small amount of faith can grow into something much bigger.

What seed parable grabs your attention most? What other seed parables do you know from the Bible?
What else do you read in these three chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Then I Understood”

March 14, 2024

March 14, 2024

Read Numbers 3, Psalm 73, Colossians 1

What is something that has perplexed you in the past or caused you to question something you thought was right? How did it turn out? Was it like you thought or not? Asaph, the author of Psalm 73 is perplexed by what he sees around him. Specifically, how the wicked and the godless and the arrogant seem to have the easy road. A feeling of envy had to start to settle in with him when he looked at the lives of those who did not worship the Lord. “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” vv. 2-3. We may be tempted to think along the same lines today.  We see the lives of the people around us who do not care about a walk with the Lord, and we might be envious of their lifestyles.  We see their freedom in how they live out their lives without the authority of God’s Word over them. The devil whispers in our ears, “you could have that kind of life too, if you just forget about God.” The psalmist captures their mindset, “This is what the wicked are like— always carefree, they increase in wealth” v. 12. Again, the temptation to throw it all away returns, “Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning” vv. 13-14.

Then, in verses 16-17, Asaph has his “ah ha” moment. “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” vv. 16-17. It was only after Asaph had entered the temple and learned from the Lord about the ultimate fate of the wicked. Asaph realized like we all need to that nothing escapes God. People might seem to get away with things or be living “the life” but in end it all comes down to ruin. Asaph is thankful for the Lord’s guidance in his life. “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory” vv. 23-24. The temporary pleasures of the earth are nothing compared to the spender of Heaven and Asaph knows it is good to be near God. What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, and themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Just One Sentence”

March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024

Read Leviticus 22, Psalm 65, Ephesians 3

If you have been reading my journaling thoughts semi regularly from this year you know I am reading anywhere from 3-4 chapters a day and writing down some of the things that I reflect on after I read the chapters. Most of the time what I write or the amount of what I write directly corelates to the time I have in each day. I often try to write a little something from each chapter, but this is not always the case. I also worry that if I go too long, I will lose whatever audience I may have to start! Three chapters are a lot of material to cover. There is a lot to take in when you or I read three chapters, even shorter ones. Today I want to just focus on one sentence and dwell on that today in my reading. If you are reading the Bible and your focus is to get through it in a year’s time (which is what I am doing this year) you might be tempted to just read to check off the box to knock out your 3.5 chapters a day. You also might be tempted to try and soak everything you can from the chapters you read and that is a lot of thoughts to gather. I want to help you see the “tree” through the “forest” tonight and just simply focus on one verse. You can do this too. Read a day and see what verse or sentence stands out to you most in your daily reading. Don’t feel guilty to try and soak up every drop of God’s Word and then you can get some rest or move to other things. As people, we cannot really drink in the riches of God’s word all at once anyway. It would be like trying to drink from a fire hose. I’m not trying to tell you to back off and read or study less, only to tell you that it doesn’t have to be the same each day or reach a certain level. So here is the sentence that stood out to me most today as I read.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” vv. 20-21

These two verses are a reminder to me about what kind of God I serve. God is capable to handle anything because of who He is. How often do we sell our selves short when we come to God in prayer and ask him for help or strength or to work in a situation we might be facing. It’s his power “that is at work within us.” “At work” meaning that God is in the middle of doing something not yet finished. We should be encouraged that this is not a promise for just the Christians in the first century but also for us today. That’s where the “thought out all generations” comes in.

So… what one verse stood out to you today? Maybe you didn’t read the same chapters I am reading. What verse or sentence stood out to you most? What are your thoughts on it? Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“For He… Has Made the Two One”

March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024

Read Leviticus 21, Psalm 65, Ephesians 2

Our culture loves to divide us. Identity politics like race, economic class, and men and women are just a few of the ways the culture loves to divide us. How are you tempted to divide people? Sometimes I divide people by their various beliefs or by their worldview. We want to understand people and what they think, but we all must be careful not to allow how we divide people to keep us from interacting with them or shutting the door to the gospel with them.

During the first century, early Christians had learned that God was not about division but about unification. No longer did they see the Gentiles as apart from God, they recognized that God brought Salvation to not only the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. Paul wanted to remind the Gentile Christians in Ephesus that while they were once apart from God, and the Jews; they were now one with them as Christians. A big dividing wall for the Jews and Gentiles was Circumcision. “Remember that formally you who are called Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” …remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” vv. 11-12. Paul reminded them that even though they were separate, now they were one. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” v. 13.

The Bible does divide people, but not by skin color, or money, or any other physical trait we might possess. The Bible divides people by their behavior and actions. We are called sheep or goats, we are either children of God or children of the Devil, we are heirs of the kingdom of God or we are headed for eternal separation from God. Paul reminded the Gentiles in Ephesus that they are “fellow citizens of God’s people and members of God’s household” v. 19.

What else do you see here in these three chapters?  What repeated words, or phrases stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

A List of Do’s and Don’ts”

March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024

Read Leviticus 19, Psalm 63, Galatians 6

Have you heard someone summarize the Bible with the phrase, “The Bible is not a list of Do’s and Don’ts?” They are trying to encourage us not to look at the Bible simply as a book that says, “Don’t do this…. Do this….” On one hand, the Bible is much more complex that a list of rules that we can check off. But there are some passages where it does become a list of commands we need to follow. Leviticus 19 is just one of those passages. As you read through these verses you might start grouping the laws into categories in your mind. Sone laws you can read and find immediate agreement with, “Do not steal, do not lie, Do not deceive one another…” v. 11. Then you might read other verses that cause you pause and question why that is a law. “Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material” v. 19.

We must remember that there were different types of laws in the Old Testament times. The moral law, the civic laws, and the ceremonial laws for sacrificial systems. Only the moral laws and laws that are repeated in the New Testament are still applicable for Christians today. We no longer have to offer sacrifices because of Jesus ultimate sacrifice on the cross and we are not bound by the civic laws of the nation of Israel because we do not live in that forgone nation. Think of it like moving from California to Georgia. You no longer have to abide by the laws of California if you live in Georgia. We might not understand some of the civic laws in Leviticus 19, but they were most likely to call Israel to live differently than the nations around them. They were to be a “light to the Gentiles.”

Leviticus 19 is a reminder that there are some Scriptures that are black and white. Things that we can easily read and understand. The obedience is the harder part. Knowing what to do and then doing it are two different things.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words and phrases stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon

“Slave”

March 1, 2024

March 1, 2024

Read Leviticus 17, Psalm 61, Galatians 4

The word slave is not a word that brings up good vibes. We know that Old Testament slavery is different from that of the chattel slavery that took place in America almost 200 years ago. It was voluntary and had limits and God gave protections for slaves against any mistreatment. Much of the Bible deals with this topic, both in the Old and New Testaments. Many of the New Testament authors used slavery as an analogy for connecting a spiritual truth to their readers too. This is the case in Galatians 4 with Paul.

Paul compared the Christians to “sons of God” rather than that of a “slave.” Paul explained that as sons and daughters of God we have blessings that a slave does not have. “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” vv. 6-7.

In the middle section of Galatians 4, Paul uses this analogy to ask the church in Galatia, “Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” v. 9. The church had turned back to their old ways and beliefs that were based in the law of Moses and not from freedom that Jesus had brought on the cross. (The book of Galatians is the only Pauline epistle where Paul forgoes the pleasantries and goes right to taking them to task in the opening chapter of Galatians.)

One interesting little nugget that stands out to me is that Paul records the reason that he met the people of Galatia in the first place. “As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself” vv. 13-14. Think about that, whatever Paul’s plans were, they may not have included a connection with the people he wrote the letter to, but because of an illness he had it put the two parties together. I hope that reminds us that good or bad that comes our way, God will use it for His purposes, and we can too.

The last section of Galatians 4 Paul compares the two sons of Abraham. “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.” Paul was encouraging the Christians to live in such a way as they are sons of Isaac and free. We should do the same as well and live in the grace and freedom that God has given us through Jesus. We should not desire to go back and live in the slavery that we once did according to the Law without Christ. “But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” 31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman” vv. 30-31.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon