There are few stories regarding the keeping of the Sabbath in the Old Testament. I would like to refer to two stories. One is before the Law was given and the other after. Both speak to the purposes of the Sabbath.
In Numbers 15 we read about a man who went out on the Sabbath to gather sticks which was against the Sabbath regulations. How often we are out gathering sticks when we need to rest in worship. This story speaks against the busyness of our lives and there is a time to stop the busyness.
In Exodus 16 Moses commanded the people to collect enough manna on the sixth day so that they would not need to collect on the Sabbath. Some had seen what had happened to manna when it was kept from one day to the next so they went out on the Sabbath to collect the manna and there was none. This speaks of trust. The Sabbath is a day of trust. When we think that if we don't collect our manna on the Sabbath our family will starve but God says, "Trust me in this. I care about your family more than you do. Just trust Me."
Mark Buchanan says, "Cease from what is necessary. Embrace what gives life." We need to cease from our busyness and trust God with what is necessary and then go out and embrace life.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Three Views and a Fourth
Christians have generally one of the following three views of the fourth commandment.
First, there are the seventh day Sabitarians. Those in this group believe that the Old Testament Law re the Sabbath remain unaltered for the Church. Paul doesn't think so in his letter to the Colossi ans.
Second, there are the Lord's Day Sabitarians. The only difference here is the shift in the day and the Laws are transferred from the Sabbath (Saturday) to the Lord's Day (Sunday). This cannot be correct for the same reasons as the Seventh Day Sabitarians are wrong.
Third, There are those who are Lord's Day observers. This is my stand. The Sabbath has been fulfilled in Christ and we gather on the Lord's Day to celebrate His resurrection and to worship Him. There has been a shift from rest to worship.
Today there is a fourth option which is no option at all. There are those who have marginalized the Sabbath or the Lord's Day and it has become an inconvenience.
First, there are the seventh day Sabitarians. Those in this group believe that the Old Testament Law re the Sabbath remain unaltered for the Church. Paul doesn't think so in his letter to the Colossi ans.
Second, there are the Lord's Day Sabitarians. The only difference here is the shift in the day and the Laws are transferred from the Sabbath (Saturday) to the Lord's Day (Sunday). This cannot be correct for the same reasons as the Seventh Day Sabitarians are wrong.
Third, There are those who are Lord's Day observers. This is my stand. The Sabbath has been fulfilled in Christ and we gather on the Lord's Day to celebrate His resurrection and to worship Him. There has been a shift from rest to worship.
Today there is a fourth option which is no option at all. There are those who have marginalized the Sabbath or the Lord's Day and it has become an inconvenience.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Photo of the Day
On my daughter's twenty first birthday I started a new hobby. I decided that I would take at least one phot each day which I put into a file called photo of the day. Since that day I have taken a photo every day however, there are three days missing in September when my car was broken into and my camera was stolen. I have taken pictures of clouds, trees, flowers, snow, ice, sunsets, people, houses, cars, animals and more. It means that I take my camera with me when I go for a walk, go to a meeting, go for a drive.
So what does this have to do with the fourth commandment? One thing I learned by taking a photo every day was that I looked at things around me differently. Instead of seeing a pond cover with ice I saw the unique patterns made by the cracks in the ice. My mind needed to change in the way I looked at things and the world around me. That is the way it is with the fourth commandment. We need to have a mind change in which we look at the keeping of the Sabbath. It must change from being just the Sabbath of the mind to the Sabbath of the heart which makes us stop and look at the fourth commandment with new eyes.
So what does this have to do with the fourth commandment? One thing I learned by taking a photo every day was that I looked at things around me differently. Instead of seeing a pond cover with ice I saw the unique patterns made by the cracks in the ice. My mind needed to change in the way I looked at things and the world around me. That is the way it is with the fourth commandment. We need to have a mind change in which we look at the keeping of the Sabbath. It must change from being just the Sabbath of the mind to the Sabbath of the heart which makes us stop and look at the fourth commandment with new eyes.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Fourth Commandment
This coming Sunday our study brings us to the fourth commandment. I have been asked many questions re the keeping of the Sabbath and during this week I intend to address these questions. However, we would certainly welcome your questions so we would invite anyone to use this blog to send your questions. All you need to do is click on the "comment" at the bottom of this blog and it will open a new window which will allow you to make your comment or ask you question and then you can either publish your comment immediately or you can preview it first by using the appropriate buttons at the bottom of the page.
Have you ever felt that your work or survice has become a drudgery? If it has then this commandment is for you. We all need to be rest and restoration.
Have you ever felt that your work or survice has become a drudgery? If it has then this commandment is for you. We all need to be rest and restoration.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Knowledge of the Holy
This week we are looking at the third commandment so in preparation for this lesson I reread A. W. Tozer's book, The Knowledge of the Holy. I knew that this was good preparation for how we as Christians misuse the name of God, we do it because we do not have a knowledge of the Almighty.
He says in the final chapter: "When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the Church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old."
He also said this about the Law and this I quote from the chapter called the Grace of God: "There never was a time when the law did not represent the will of God for mankind nor a time when the violation of it did not bring its own penalty."
The Church needs to come to grips with The Knowledge of the Holy.
He says in the final chapter: "When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the Church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old."
He also said this about the Law and this I quote from the chapter called the Grace of God: "There never was a time when the law did not represent the will of God for mankind nor a time when the violation of it did not bring its own penalty."
The Church needs to come to grips with The Knowledge of the Holy.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Process Theology
In my study on the third commandment I came across process theology which is another way in which God's name is used in vain. One of the attributes of God is that He is unchanging. To change implies either getting better or getting worse. For God to get better would mean that He is not perfect or complete but is working toward that while to get worse would mean that He would be less than what He was. Both of these contradict the fact that God is complete, God is infinite and God is unchanging.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Does God want me to...?
I received a letter from a farmer who said that his tractor had broken down and last summer is one month old round baler had burnt. He then asked me, "Does this mean God wants me to quit farming?"
I know he wants a definite answer but I am not God nor can I speak for God. The only thing I can do is to offer the farmer some guidelines. I cannot be presumptuous and think that God will give me a definite answer for him, He may but He most likely will not.
The guidelines I passed on to my friend were: God does speak through circumstances; through His Word and through His people. One should not rely on circumstances alone but circumstances can make us stop and take stock of the situation. He should search his own heart, search the Scriptures and seek Godly counsel. God does speak to us but are we listening?
I know he wants a definite answer but I am not God nor can I speak for God. The only thing I can do is to offer the farmer some guidelines. I cannot be presumptuous and think that God will give me a definite answer for him, He may but He most likely will not.
The guidelines I passed on to my friend were: God does speak through circumstances; through His Word and through His people. One should not rely on circumstances alone but circumstances can make us stop and take stock of the situation. He should search his own heart, search the Scriptures and seek Godly counsel. God does speak to us but are we listening?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Reductionistic Theology
This is a new term for me even though I have always understood what it means. One way that Christians break the third commandment is through reductionistic theology. A prime example of this is open theism that states that God is not all knowing about the future. If God does not know the future then He is less than God and that is taking the name of our God in vain.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I Love Your Law
While I was walking this morning my mind kept coming back to the Ten Commandments and how I loved to meditate upon them. As I have been studying the Commandments these past few weeks I began to understand what the Psalmist meant when he said, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” (Psalm 119:97)
Now I know that the Law does not bring me salvation or make me holy but the Law does show me the majesty and the holiness of my God. As I meditate upon the Law I marvel at His majestic grace that when I realize that I cannot live up to the Law He reaches down in grace and declares that I have been made righteous by the blood of His Son that was shed on the cross.
A few years ago I wrote the following as I was studying Psalm 119 and I had come to verse ninety seven.
The Psalmist refers to the Scriptures by many different names. One of the common names that he uses is “The Law”. The Oxford English dictionary says that it is a rule or a system of rules that regulate the members of society. Another definition is that it relates to “the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present.”
I think that both definitions could apply to the Word of God. It is a system of rules that govern society. Many codes of law have been based upon the Ten Commandments that are given to us in the Word of God. If society would follow the commandments that relate to how we live with each other we would need less policemen and everyone would feel much more secure.
However, the Word of God is also very much like the scientific laws. Scientific laws are unchanging according to society whims and fancies. Even in a lawless society the scientific laws cannot be broken. The Law of God is much like that. You cannot break the law as much as you can be broken by it. One cannot defy the law of gravity and if one tries to by stepping out of a high rise window one is likely to be broken by the law. The only way one can defy the law of gravity is if another law is in place, a higher law, such as the law of aerodynamics. It is the same with God’s law. The only way that we can be kept from being broken by the law is that there is a higher law, the law of grace.
It is not common for a person to love the law if they are a law breaker but if they are obedient to the law they will love it because it protects them. Traffic laws keep us from chaos on the highways. We lived for a year in a society that didn’t obey the traffic laws and driving our car in that society was always an adventure. We were so grateful to return to our homeland where people had respect for the law.
The law was never meant to be a burden. It was meant to free us. The Law of God is not a burden but a way to our freedom. I am grateful for the law and I have learned to love the law as the Psalmist did.
Now I know that the Law does not bring me salvation or make me holy but the Law does show me the majesty and the holiness of my God. As I meditate upon the Law I marvel at His majestic grace that when I realize that I cannot live up to the Law He reaches down in grace and declares that I have been made righteous by the blood of His Son that was shed on the cross.
A few years ago I wrote the following as I was studying Psalm 119 and I had come to verse ninety seven.
The Psalmist refers to the Scriptures by many different names. One of the common names that he uses is “The Law”. The Oxford English dictionary says that it is a rule or a system of rules that regulate the members of society. Another definition is that it relates to “the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present.”
I think that both definitions could apply to the Word of God. It is a system of rules that govern society. Many codes of law have been based upon the Ten Commandments that are given to us in the Word of God. If society would follow the commandments that relate to how we live with each other we would need less policemen and everyone would feel much more secure.
However, the Word of God is also very much like the scientific laws. Scientific laws are unchanging according to society whims and fancies. Even in a lawless society the scientific laws cannot be broken. The Law of God is much like that. You cannot break the law as much as you can be broken by it. One cannot defy the law of gravity and if one tries to by stepping out of a high rise window one is likely to be broken by the law. The only way one can defy the law of gravity is if another law is in place, a higher law, such as the law of aerodynamics. It is the same with God’s law. The only way that we can be kept from being broken by the law is that there is a higher law, the law of grace.
It is not common for a person to love the law if they are a law breaker but if they are obedient to the law they will love it because it protects them. Traffic laws keep us from chaos on the highways. We lived for a year in a society that didn’t obey the traffic laws and driving our car in that society was always an adventure. We were so grateful to return to our homeland where people had respect for the law.
The law was never meant to be a burden. It was meant to free us. The Law of God is not a burden but a way to our freedom. I am grateful for the law and I have learned to love the law as the Psalmist did.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
What's in a Name?
In Biblical times there was power in knowing some one's name. When Jacob was wrestling with the angel at night the angel asked him his name so that he could bless him. When Jacob asked the angel his name the angel refused to tell him as it would have given Jacob power over the angel. Many Scriptures tell us that there is power in God's name. The power comes in the form of authority. When Jesus says, "Ask in His Name" He is giving us His authority. That is one of the reasons why it is wrong to use God's name lightly. When we speak in His name we speak with His authority and His authority He guards carefully.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Predictions
At the beginning of this year one prominent Christian broadcaster made his annual predictions about what would happen in the year of our Lord 2008. Now I don't recall his predictions but I did go back to the predictions he made at the beginning of 2007. One of the predictions, and he claims that God gave him these predictions, was that there would be a major terrorist attack on the US which may include nuclear weapons. This did not happen. What was his explanations? He said that Christians heard his predictions and prayed and thus God stopped this from happening.
Now I cannot speak for him and maybe he did hear from the Lord but I am sceptical. Does God speak to us that way today? There will be times that He does but usually He speaks through His Word. The writer of Hebrews tells us that in the past God spoke to us through the prophets but in the last days He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The making of predictions has a way of bringing ridicule on the church and though we are not looking for favour from the world we cannot stand in the market place and claim that we speak for God. Many who do this, and I am not judging this broadcaster, are really using the Lord's name in vain or discrediting the name of the Lord.
What about a prophet whose prophecies do not come to pass? The writer of Deuteronomy tells us in Deuteronomy 18:21,22 that the prophet has spoken presumptuously and that is not a message from the Lord. Let us not use the name of our God lightly. This is a violation of the third commandment.
Now I cannot speak for him and maybe he did hear from the Lord but I am sceptical. Does God speak to us that way today? There will be times that He does but usually He speaks through His Word. The writer of Hebrews tells us that in the past God spoke to us through the prophets but in the last days He has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The making of predictions has a way of bringing ridicule on the church and though we are not looking for favour from the world we cannot stand in the market place and claim that we speak for God. Many who do this, and I am not judging this broadcaster, are really using the Lord's name in vain or discrediting the name of the Lord.
What about a prophet whose prophecies do not come to pass? The writer of Deuteronomy tells us in Deuteronomy 18:21,22 that the prophet has spoken presumptuously and that is not a message from the Lord. Let us not use the name of our God lightly. This is a violation of the third commandment.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Golden Cow
Some people don't like the Old Testament because they see God a revengeful God. They see Jesus in the New Testament different than the God of the Old. However, when I read the Old Testament I see a very tender hearted God pleading over His children who have turned to other gods which are not really gods at all.
In our age one of those gods is materialism. John White in his book, The Golden Cow, asks why should God be upset when His people become materialistic. He goes on to show how materialism is an idol because it takes God off the throne and replaces Him with another and that other is not things as much as it is self.
Materialism is like a scarecrow in a melon patch. The scarecrow is placed there for a purpose and that is to serve us but in time we end up serving the scarecrow. We have to move it, fix it, care for it but we value it because we control it. Our idols are like that. They are a man made, limited object that needs our attention and care. But we can see it and we can control it and in the end the idol is not the god but we are.
There is no God but God.
In our age one of those gods is materialism. John White in his book, The Golden Cow, asks why should God be upset when His people become materialistic. He goes on to show how materialism is an idol because it takes God off the throne and replaces Him with another and that other is not things as much as it is self.
Materialism is like a scarecrow in a melon patch. The scarecrow is placed there for a purpose and that is to serve us but in time we end up serving the scarecrow. We have to move it, fix it, care for it but we value it because we control it. Our idols are like that. They are a man made, limited object that needs our attention and care. But we can see it and we can control it and in the end the idol is not the god but we are.
There is no God but God.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Visual or Verbal
We live in an age that has replaced the verbal with the visual. We say that seeing is believing and we want to see the evidence. In churches we have followed this pattern and the spoken word is being replaced by drama and movie clips. So what is the problem? Why is it that the second commandment speaks against the visual representation that we may use to help us worship God. Someone said that we cannot worship the right God in the wrong way. God tells us clearly in His Word that He is a spirit and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
A few years ago in Thunder Bay we had an historical church tour and our church whose building was built around 1905 was one of the churches on the tour. The Ukrainian Orthodox church was also on the tour not because of it's age but because of its beauty. Inside the church there were many icons and when we asked about these icons we were told that they did not worship these icons as idols but they helped them worship the God behind the icons. So what is the problem? The problem is that God is a spirit and we are not to have any physical representations of Him.
In the Bible we read often about God appearing but never in a form that we could describe. He was in the burning bush but He was not the bush. He was in the Shekinah cloud but was He the cloud? We also read that God spoke or that His Word came to someone.
The Bible does not say that seeing is believing but it does say that we walk by faith and not by sight. John White in his book The Golden Cow says this about evangelism. "(We think) unless I could somehow get him to a meeting where...Unless I could somehow get him to read...Unless I could introduce him to ... What is wrong with my reasoning? It is wrong simply because it reveals that I can only believe an invisible God will work if I can see some visible means by which He will do so."
Remember, seeing is not believing but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
A few years ago in Thunder Bay we had an historical church tour and our church whose building was built around 1905 was one of the churches on the tour. The Ukrainian Orthodox church was also on the tour not because of it's age but because of its beauty. Inside the church there were many icons and when we asked about these icons we were told that they did not worship these icons as idols but they helped them worship the God behind the icons. So what is the problem? The problem is that God is a spirit and we are not to have any physical representations of Him.
In the Bible we read often about God appearing but never in a form that we could describe. He was in the burning bush but He was not the bush. He was in the Shekinah cloud but was He the cloud? We also read that God spoke or that His Word came to someone.
The Bible does not say that seeing is believing but it does say that we walk by faith and not by sight. John White in his book The Golden Cow says this about evangelism. "(We think) unless I could somehow get him to a meeting where...Unless I could somehow get him to read...Unless I could introduce him to ... What is wrong with my reasoning? It is wrong simply because it reveals that I can only believe an invisible God will work if I can see some visible means by which He will do so."
Remember, seeing is not believing but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Friday, January 18, 2008
WWJD
In thinking about the purpose of the Ten Commandments and how they can tell us what God is like and what a perfect life would be like they cannot bring about that perfect life. I was then struck by the WWJD signs and thought that though we may be able to try and do what Jesus would do that would no more bring righteousness than the Ten Commandments can. Jesus did not come to be an example, though He is a great example, He came to be a Saviour. When we try to follow Jesus' example we will run into the same frustrations as trying to live by the Ten Commandments. All that will happen is that we will see our own failure. There are many examples but only one Saviour. It may be a wonderful thing to try to live as Jesus did but He never intended that we try but to trust Him and to receive His righteousness.
I will not go into the whole marketing and exploitation of bracelets and pins and other WWJD items. That will have to be another entry.
I will not go into the whole marketing and exploitation of bracelets and pins and other WWJD items. That will have to be another entry.
What does our worship say about our theology?
In studying the second commandment I kept thinking about how our worship portrays our theology. Do we put an emphasis on service or on worship (check the announcements)? Do we place a high value on Scripture and Scripture reading? What does our music say about our theology? Is it God centred or man centred? Do we place a high priority on the preaching of the Word and in the preaching is it Biblical or topically centred? And finally our prayers, do they focus on man and his needs or on God and His glory? Just wondering.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
No God but God
The first commandment tells us that there is only one God and He is God Jehovah. When the board of the Bibles For Missions set their mission statement we made it clear that the Bible is the Word of the Triune God. We did not want anyone to say that we all worship the same God and therefore equate Allah and Jehovah.
I read on one church's website this statement: We honour all paths to God. There is only one God and He is the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah.
I read on one church's website this statement: We honour all paths to God. There is only one God and He is the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah.
The Ten Commandments
I have decided to use this format to help me formulate my thoughts as we work through the Ten Commandments Sunday evenings.
The first question that comes to my mind is "Why the Ten Commandments?" and secondly, "What is the purpose of the Commandments?" In this age of grace do the commandments have anything to say to us?
Because the Commandments are God's moral law I believe them to be timeless. They clearly show what God is like and how we have failed to live up to the standard. Clearly they show us that we need Christ's righteousness.
More later.
The first question that comes to my mind is "Why the Ten Commandments?" and secondly, "What is the purpose of the Commandments?" In this age of grace do the commandments have anything to say to us?
Because the Commandments are God's moral law I believe them to be timeless. They clearly show what God is like and how we have failed to live up to the standard. Clearly they show us that we need Christ's righteousness.
More later.
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