Thursday, Ordinary 24/Proper 19-- Sept 11
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Meditation
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19 could have been the basis for the old Beatles’ song, All You Need is Love. They had been asked for a song which could be understood by everyone and cross all national lines. Love. Love crosses all boundaries.
It is generally agreed that the Apostle John wrote the epistles, and his audience was most likely non-Jewish Christians, since there were few references to Old Testament lessons. The lesson was about love. “Love one another.” Simple. To the point. Clear and inarguable. Christ followers were about loving one another, not about evil and hatred.
John specifically addressed those who had shown hatred in the past from Cain to some contemporaries of John. He called those who hate equivalent of murderers. Anyone who didn’t show love was dealing with death.
How could hatred be seen as deadly and the equivalent of murdering someone? When someone has enthusiasm and passion about something, but a group of malicious types put it down intentionally, ala ‘Mean Girls’ then there is a death of sorts. Hatred kills the spirit in people. Love causes the spirit to flourish and bloom.
The Old Testament Lesson in Exodus culminated in the exodus of the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Pharaoh had told them to leave. They had gathered their belongings and the several million, trudged out of Egypt.
Now the short route would have taken them across the desert to the north—where the trade routes followed. But God knew that if they took that short route, they would end up having to fight, and they needed to gain some sense of God’s love for them in a new way.
Moses carried Joseph’s bones, fulfilling a pledge out of love and reverence. The Hebrews marched south along the peninsula. No one has the clear and absolute documentation of the route, but there are many theories.
The Lord directed them to cross the Red Sea. The latter could be interpreted as the Reed Sea or as some have acknowledged, the Gulf of Suez and Aqaba have all been labeled the Red Sea. Archeology unearths more possibilities than we knew before. However, much of the archaeological digs are under Arab control and cannot be accessed for study by Christians and Jews. In the same way that the mosque on the Temple Mount, was built over where Solomon’s Temple was built but excavation is not allowed to prove it.
None the less, the message was God’s love for the chosen people of Israel helped change Pharaoh’s heart until he not only allowed them to leave, but demanded they leave. God’s love for them shone in the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day—a constant reminder that God was with them.
God’s love was revealed in the constant support and answers to prayers. The Psalmist listed the many requests of the Hebrews where God answered by intervening with a miracle. The Red Sea parted. The Jordan River reversed its flow. The mountains and hills danced…perhaps a euphemism for an earthquake. Geologists said the Jordan River reversed its flow multiple times because of earthquakes.
God’s love worked all those aspects together. The trek down the Peninsula and over to Mt. Sinai, where Moses saw the burning bush, received the Ten Commandments and gave the world a basic formula for good behavior all increased the fortitude of the Hebrews and taught them what God would and could do for them. Did they learn it immediately?
No. Like the rest of us, they had to learn the lesson several times before it sank in. We often repeat our mistakes until we grow in faith enough to trust God’s love for us. And if we can trust God’s love for us, we can afford to turn to others and give out the same love.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 24, Proper 19
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 114;Exodus 13:17-22;1 John 3:11-16&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19
Psalm 114
Exodus 13:17-22
1 John 3:11-16
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)
1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 John 3:11-16
King James Version (KJV)
11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, thank you for your love for us that has taught us how we in turn can be loving towards others, even when others hate, we can still love, even as Christ first loved us.
We also lift up those, who lost a friend or family member in the terrible terrorist attack on 9/11. There are many more suffering terrorist attacks. We think of the journalists, James Wright Foley and Steven Sotloff's families and friends and lift them all in prayer for comfort and peace. Bind the power of the evil in this world. Help us to find ways to stop ISIL/ISIS from their murderous ways.
In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19 reiterated the universal law of God: Love one another. Just as Christ loved us, we are to love others. We can trust that God knows best—he demonstrated it in the Exodus of the Hebrews---and that the continual love which God gives us becomes an umbrella for all our activities. Love covers a multitude of sins. We can love regardless of whether we agree with someone. My mother and I would disagree about many things, but the love between us was absolute and constant. God’s love is even stronger and we can trust that love in every aspect of life.
In this day of terrorism—by ISIL/ISIS in the Middle East—on a murderous rampage against Christians and Jews and anyone who disagrees with them, we seek your love. John said there would be people who hated us because of our love for Jesus and each other. It has never been truer than in today’s headlines of the villainy of murderers. Help us not to become like them. May we exemplify Jesus’ love all the more in all we say and do.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19 could have been the basis for the old Beatles’ song, All You Need is Love. They had been asked for a song which could be understood by everyone and cross all national lines. Love. Love crosses all boundaries.
It is generally agreed that the Apostle John wrote the epistles, and his audience was most likely non-Jewish Christians, since there were few references to Old Testament lessons. The lesson was about love. “Love one another.” Simple. To the point. Clear and inarguable. Christ followers were about loving one another, not about evil and hatred.
John specifically addressed those who had shown hatred in the past from Cain to some contemporaries of John. He called those who hate equivalent of murderers. Anyone who didn’t show love was dealing with death.
How could hatred be seen as deadly and the equivalent of murdering someone? When someone has enthusiasm and passion about something, but a group of malicious types put it down intentionally, ala ‘Mean Girls’ then there is a death of sorts. Hatred kills the spirit in people. Love causes the spirit to flourish and bloom.
The Old Testament Lesson in Exodus culminated in the exodus of the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Pharaoh had told them to leave. They had gathered their belongings and the several million, trudged out of Egypt.
Now the short route would have taken them across the desert to the north—where the trade routes followed. But God knew that if they took that short route, they would end up having to fight, and they needed to gain some sense of God’s love for them in a new way.
Moses carried Joseph’s bones, fulfilling a pledge out of love and reverence. The Hebrews marched south along the peninsula. No one has the clear and absolute documentation of the route, but there are many theories.
The Lord directed them to cross the Red Sea. The latter could be interpreted as the Reed Sea or as some have acknowledged, the Gulf of Suez and Aqaba have all been labeled the Red Sea. Archeology unearths more possibilities than we knew before. However, much of the archaeological digs are under Arab control and cannot be accessed for study by Christians and Jews. In the same way that the mosque on the Temple Mount, was built over where Solomon’s Temple was built but excavation is not allowed to prove it.
None the less, the message was God’s love for the chosen people of Israel helped change Pharaoh’s heart until he not only allowed them to leave, but demanded they leave. God’s love for them shone in the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day—a constant reminder that God was with them.
God’s love was revealed in the constant support and answers to prayers. The Psalmist listed the many requests of the Hebrews where God answered by intervening with a miracle. The Red Sea parted. The Jordan River reversed its flow. The mountains and hills danced…perhaps a euphemism for an earthquake. Geologists said the Jordan River reversed its flow multiple times because of earthquakes.
God’s love worked all those aspects together. The trek down the Peninsula and over to Mt. Sinai, where Moses saw the burning bush, received the Ten Commandments and gave the world a basic formula for good behavior all increased the fortitude of the Hebrews and taught them what God would and could do for them. Did they learn it immediately?
No. Like the rest of us, they had to learn the lesson several times before it sank in. We often repeat our mistakes until we grow in faith enough to trust God’s love for us. And if we can trust God’s love for us, we can afford to turn to others and give out the same love.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Ordinary 24, Proper 19
Bible Readings
http://legacy.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 114;Exodus 13:17-22;1 John 3:11-16&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19
Psalm 114
Exodus 13:17-22
1 John 3:11-16
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)
1I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 John 3:11-16
King James Version (KJV)
11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, thank you for your love for us that has taught us how we in turn can be loving towards others, even when others hate, we can still love, even as Christ first loved us.
We also lift up those, who lost a friend or family member in the terrible terrorist attack on 9/11. There are many more suffering terrorist attacks. We think of the journalists, James Wright Foley and Steven Sotloff's families and friends and lift them all in prayer for comfort and peace. Bind the power of the evil in this world. Help us to find ways to stop ISIL/ISIS from their murderous ways.
In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Thursday, Ordinary 24, Proper 19 reiterated the universal law of God: Love one another. Just as Christ loved us, we are to love others. We can trust that God knows best—he demonstrated it in the Exodus of the Hebrews---and that the continual love which God gives us becomes an umbrella for all our activities. Love covers a multitude of sins. We can love regardless of whether we agree with someone. My mother and I would disagree about many things, but the love between us was absolute and constant. God’s love is even stronger and we can trust that love in every aspect of life.
In this day of terrorism—by ISIL/ISIS in the Middle East—on a murderous rampage against Christians and Jews and anyone who disagrees with them, we seek your love. John said there would be people who hated us because of our love for Jesus and each other. It has never been truer than in today’s headlines of the villainy of murderers. Help us not to become like them. May we exemplify Jesus’ love all the more in all we say and do.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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