Hosea 13-14

Not too much on the specifics in this chapter, just something that stuck out to me. Intermingled among the prophetic word of destruction is always this sense of renewal. With backsliding comes refreshing and a return to God. Despite the prophetic word of impending disaster, the gospel hope of the new life always runs concurrently. Should disaster fall on our nation, the people of God will not cease for the kingdom of God is expanding and cannot be stopped even by the gates of Hell. Winter means only that Spring is right around the corner, not that life has been extinguished; God merely desires our repentance and a lifting of prayer to Him.

Jeremiah 23

One of my favorite chapters in this book for many reasons.
First, we see that the shepherds have failed to do their job and instead of caring for the sheep, they have scattered them and left them unprotected(vs1). Even today, the so called shepherds of God's people have let their flock down and instead of protection, guidance and care, we have self-serving false shepherds. This is the primary cause of the problems in our society, not money, not health care, not whatever else...it is bad spiritual leaders leaving their flocks unguarded. Thankfully, God is the great shepherd and in verse 3 we see that he gathers the flock out of all the nations. He will set up true shepherds(4) and we will not be lacking. Verse 5 and 6 shows us that Christ is the Great Shepherd. Verse 7-8, no longer is the deliverance from Egypt the defining reflection for the church in that era, but it would be the deliverance from Babylon, and likewise for us today it is our deliverance from the bondage of sin. Verse 9-15 is a diatribe against the false leaders and well worth reading. Notice that wormwood is given to them as a drink of judgment. This is reminiscent of that same spiritual judgment found in Revelation. Verse 16-20 is a description of the errors of the false prophets and the judgment that will befall them. Notice their primary sin, "they speak a vision of their own heart." Is this not what we see from every false prophet today. These leaders today case the people of God to error, to sin and they take advantage and steal from the people of God. The NT is clear as well in their judgment, it will be handed to them with more ferocity than that given to others. If we desire to lead, let us lead in bringing people to the Word of God and in the guidance of the Spirit, and if we follow, let us not be led away from that same foundation.

Psalm 52-55

Psalm 52 and 53 help to describe for us the state of the evil and the wicked in this world. It also describes these people as the enemies of the peopld of God. But, thankfully, in chapter 54 and 55 we see that God is our savior, He is our vindicator, our helper and the one who upholds us. When all else fails, we have the pleasure and the promise of 55.22, "Cast your burden on the LORD And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." If only we would count on God as much as we count on ourselves.

Genesis 38-40

the lesson of Chapter 38 is fairly simple in that Judah initiates and then compounds his sins by yoking himself to unbelievers. What we shouldn't miss is that the line of Judah was also made prominent by the restoration that can come only from God.
Chapter 38-39 bring to light a few points. First(vs.2), we are always at our best when the LORD is with us. Second, Joseph's success was a result of God's presence and his hard work. God does not work or bring success to those who are lazy, the means and the ends are both a part of God's plans. Third, non-believers often benefit because they attach themselves to Christians and reap some benefit from God's influence. This is true even today in our world where many nations reap the benefits of Christian principles infused into society, even when that society openly rejects the gospel message and its implications. Fourth, success is not measured by our position, but by our faithfulness. This is evident that God continues to bless Joseph throughout these two chapters despite his status in society. Lastly, we should not expect that the world will always remain true to its promises, but we should remain faithful to ours for our reward comes from God.

Hebrews Chapter 1-2

In reading this book, we cannot forget that one of the main goals of the author is to exalt Jesus Christ and to show how He is the fulfillment of God's salvific promises.
In the first three verses of Chapter 1 we are given some important information: First, we have a timeframe of events in that we are now in the last days. These days are not, as is often portrayed by those looking for an immediate return of Christ, merely the final days of the world as we know it, but the days that are taking place after the death and resurrection of Christ. We have been, are, and will remain to be in the last days. Second, the author tells us that the Son was active in Creation. Lastly, the Son is divine, the Son upholds all things providentially and the Son is the one who purged our sins and now sits in glory.
The rest of chapter 1 then goes on to show why the Son, jesus Christ, is elevated above all, divine, not merely just man, but the God-man.
The author then moves on to show how if the neglect of God's word in the past was met with punishment, so much more will be our judgment if we neglect the words of salvation given by the Son Himself. We are shown that the world to be will be governed not by angels but by man, and not just any man, but the Son. Despite the perceived tragedy in His death, the Son will rise again to take the throne, for his death was merely the means of deliverance for God's people. God is, and will, put all things into sujection to the Son. May we be one called part of the brethren(vs. 11) and not merely subjected as an enemy. Lastly, Jesus died to release us from the fear of bondage, to the devil, to our sin, to our fear of death, for none of these can hold sway over us anymore, although to those who do not believe we can rest assured that these fears remain. Let us rest in God's word knowing that for whatever reasons He has determined to aid the sons of Abraham in a way that even the angels are destitute of hope.

I Corinthians 4-6

Paul's writing in these chapters is very practical so it is unfortunate that his teaching is so underutilized in the church today. In chapter 5 we see that him explain how proper church discipline is to be conducted and yet today in the church we are more than willing to have old leaven remain with the new so that the whole lump is ruined(vs. 6-7). In chapter 6 we see another clearly distinguished line which is litigation between believers in the courts. This again is blatantly disregarded today and we should remember Paul's words that it is better to be defrauded in this worlds than to bring dishonor to the body of Christ by bringing a brother in Christ in frontof the magistrate.
Verse 11 in chapter 6 is a great reminder that all of us came from sinful pasts and are justified and sanctified by the Godhead, a most precious promise and one that we can bring to the sinner who desires salvation.
The remainder of Chapter 6 teaches us a little about sobriety, not concerning alcohol, but in humbly going through life, not asserting our privilege but merely living within our means. This will allow us to remain "not under the power of anything"(vs 12) and prepared to do the will of God and not merely what pleases us. We must remember that we are not a temple unto ourselves but our body is a temple of God and thus we must bring our whole being into submission.

Acts Chapter 4-5

Here we see the Spirit working in the Apostles to produce a boldness that makes such an impact in the city that the religious leaders start to become concerned. Their preaching on the resurrection was forceful, and in contrast to many preachers today, they unhesitatingly declared that salvation is found in NO OTHER name than Jesus Christ.(4.10-11) When confronted, Peter and John continually remark that they must do the will of God and not men, a response that we must remember today. Our conviction and our testimony should not be molded by society, government or anything else except God's will alone.
In verse 4.28 see that the Apostles have no misunderstanding concerning the unfolding of God's eternal plan where they see the death of Jesus as the fulfillment of God's desires for only through that death could life be given to men. Bascially, all of history leads to that point of the death and resurrection and now all future unfolds the expanse of His kingdom and all periphery events are made important only because God's eternal plan is to seek and save men and the passage of time is required for that to happen.
We see in the end of Chapter 4 a great sense of community in the church and in 5.4 we see the corollary which is that even within the community, God truly does give individuals material possessions that they are responsible for and "own." We will be judged by how will use our possessions.
We close with one of my favorite passages, that concerning the testimony and wise words of Gamaliel. What this teaches us is that we cannot thwart the Spirit, if we work in our own power and in our own motives we will fail, but if we follow the will of God in humble obedience, we can never ultimately fail for those who come against us are not fighting us, but God.