Fifteenth Day of Lent - Thursday - Mar 20
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I apologize for the delay. Some days have more interruptions. 
But I trust God's plan. 
Meditation
The Fourteenth Day of Lent elaborates who God is from the Old Testament Psalmist’s praise of God and the lesson in Exodus, to the New Testament epistle to the church at Colossae.
The Psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator, who holds our world in the ‘palm of his hand’ (metaphorically). God is greater than we can imagine. We could speak from now until the end of this world and we could not adequately describe God. Despite our attempts to create an ‘image’ of God, we fail.
The children of Israel in their Exodus, wandering around the desert and living a simple but rugged life, grew weary of the food, the walking, the daily routine and the time it took to get to the Promised Land. Yet, the greatest God, King above all others, cared enough to respond to their prayers and give them meat and manna, after their provisions were exhausted. This greater than all other gods, God of Creation, loved the chosen people to put up with their whining and give them what they asked for, just as a parent gives a child what they beg incessantly for.
However, it is in Colossians that we truly discover the essence of Christ. The early Church argued the aspects of Jesus. What he truly human? Fully God? The Nicene Council discussed it and developed the Nicene Creed; similarly the Apostle’s Creed arose out of discussion of the Council of Milan, though some see an earlier genealogy for it. Much of how we understand Christ is drawn from this passage.
First—No one can see God, but Jesus is the visible likeness of the Invisible God. (Light of Light) v15
Second—Jesus is the first born of all creation—the true Son of God, begotten not created—“superior to all created things” v15 because
Third—Jesus, as the Word of God, brought all things into being. Jesus was with God at the beginning of our time that set in motion the universe (or multiverse, because I believe God is infinite and omnipotent enough to have created more than one universe—I don’t box God into being a small God, only capable of a human six day creation). In fact, the apostle mentions, what St. Augustine categorizes are levels of angels: thrones, powers, rulers(dominions) and authorities, things visible and invisible. v16
Fourth—Jesus was before all things and holds everything together v17
Fifth—Jesus was first born among the dead—the first to rise again, so Christ is alive, not dead and there is definitely a resurrection of the dead. While the Nicene Creed acknowledges Christ’s resurrection, the Apostle’s Creed celebrates the resurrection of all the dead. v18
Sixth—Jesus was truly God, because it pleased God for ‘all of himself to live within Christ’ so Christ was fully human and fully God. v19
Sixth—Jesus is all of these things so he is in the unique position to reconcile us to himself, so we as sinners, can come into the presence of God and Jesus can “present us holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” So, we get to gain access to the highest power in the entire universe and we don’t worry about being guilty of our wrong-doings, but we celebrate that we have been washed clean and pure.
We come to the throne of God, faultless. I can’t even imagine that…but the concept warms my heart. What a loving God, who would sacrifice so much, so we have a chance to be elevated with personal access to the King of Kings. I can’t help but think of the picture of John-John and Caroline playing in the Oval office. Children have uninhibited access to the most powerful man of the free world. Our access to God is greater.
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
Season of Lent Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 95;Exodus 16:1-8;Colossians 1:15-23&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Fifteenth Day of Lent
Psalm 95
Exodus 16:1-8
Colossians 1:15-23
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
The “Traveler’s Psalm” is worth memorizing in its whole, but at least verses 1 & 2.
Psalm 121
King James Version (KJV)
121 I 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
Colossians 1:15-23
King James Version (KJV)
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
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
Dear God, Thank you for your sovereign greatness. We praise your name for your holiness, your power and love that you would give us your only begotten Son, Jesus, in order to bring us back into fellowship. In Jesus name. Amen.
I hope you found a chance to encounter your Creator and experience the Love of God and the joy of Christ in this Season of Lent.
Conclusion
The Fifteenth Day of Lent distills the essence of Who God is—the Spirit, God of all gods, Light of light, King of Kings and triune, who gave us the begotten Son, not created. Jesus is above all, and his word created all the universe. So he is above all and his reconciliation gives us access to the throne of God, “to be presented as holy and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight.” Amen.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life.*
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
But I trust God's plan. Meditation
The Fourteenth Day of Lent elaborates who God is from the Old Testament Psalmist’s praise of God and the lesson in Exodus, to the New Testament epistle to the church at Colossae.
The Psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator, who holds our world in the ‘palm of his hand’ (metaphorically). God is greater than we can imagine. We could speak from now until the end of this world and we could not adequately describe God. Despite our attempts to create an ‘image’ of God, we fail.
The children of Israel in their Exodus, wandering around the desert and living a simple but rugged life, grew weary of the food, the walking, the daily routine and the time it took to get to the Promised Land. Yet, the greatest God, King above all others, cared enough to respond to their prayers and give them meat and manna, after their provisions were exhausted. This greater than all other gods, God of Creation, loved the chosen people to put up with their whining and give them what they asked for, just as a parent gives a child what they beg incessantly for.
However, it is in Colossians that we truly discover the essence of Christ. The early Church argued the aspects of Jesus. What he truly human? Fully God? The Nicene Council discussed it and developed the Nicene Creed; similarly the Apostle’s Creed arose out of discussion of the Council of Milan, though some see an earlier genealogy for it. Much of how we understand Christ is drawn from this passage.
First—No one can see God, but Jesus is the visible likeness of the Invisible God. (Light of Light) v15
Second—Jesus is the first born of all creation—the true Son of God, begotten not created—“superior to all created things” v15 because
Third—Jesus, as the Word of God, brought all things into being. Jesus was with God at the beginning of our time that set in motion the universe (or multiverse, because I believe God is infinite and omnipotent enough to have created more than one universe—I don’t box God into being a small God, only capable of a human six day creation). In fact, the apostle mentions, what St. Augustine categorizes are levels of angels: thrones, powers, rulers(dominions) and authorities, things visible and invisible. v16
Fourth—Jesus was before all things and holds everything together v17
Fifth—Jesus was first born among the dead—the first to rise again, so Christ is alive, not dead and there is definitely a resurrection of the dead. While the Nicene Creed acknowledges Christ’s resurrection, the Apostle’s Creed celebrates the resurrection of all the dead. v18
Sixth—Jesus was truly God, because it pleased God for ‘all of himself to live within Christ’ so Christ was fully human and fully God. v19
Sixth—Jesus is all of these things so he is in the unique position to reconcile us to himself, so we as sinners, can come into the presence of God and Jesus can “present us holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” So, we get to gain access to the highest power in the entire universe and we don’t worry about being guilty of our wrong-doings, but we celebrate that we have been washed clean and pure.
We come to the throne of God, faultless. I can’t even imagine that…but the concept warms my heart. What a loving God, who would sacrifice so much, so we have a chance to be elevated with personal access to the King of Kings. I can’t help but think of the picture of John-John and Caroline playing in the Oval office. Children have uninhibited access to the most powerful man of the free world. Our access to God is greater.
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
Season of Lent Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 95;Exodus 16:1-8;Colossians 1:15-23&version=KJV;ERV;GNT;NCV;NIV (multiple versions)
Fifteenth Day of Lent
Psalm 95
Exodus 16:1-8
Colossians 1:15-23
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
The “Traveler’s Psalm” is worth memorizing in its whole, but at least verses 1 & 2.
Psalm 121
King James Version (KJV)
121 I 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
Colossians 1:15-23
King James Version (KJV)
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
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
Dear God, Thank you for your sovereign greatness. We praise your name for your holiness, your power and love that you would give us your only begotten Son, Jesus, in order to bring us back into fellowship. In Jesus name. Amen.
I hope you found a chance to encounter your Creator and experience the Love of God and the joy of Christ in this Season of Lent.
Conclusion
The Fifteenth Day of Lent distills the essence of Who God is—the Spirit, God of all gods, Light of light, King of Kings and triune, who gave us the begotten Son, not created. Jesus is above all, and his word created all the universe. So he is above all and his reconciliation gives us access to the throne of God, “to be presented as holy and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight.” Amen.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life.*
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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Replies
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I am blessed by God that he gave his son, who dwelled with him from the beginning, to walk this daeth, heal the sick, drive out demons, teach the disciples, and walk workout sin, to come to earth as a babe, and than go to the cross for my sins. Of course for the sins of all the workd. From the birth of Christ to the walk carrying the cross he has been witness to us. This is my second week without any sweets. It is very easy to do. I can do this as a reminder of what he did for me. Such a small sacrifice on my part. I learned something with this writing. Vi did not know that the children of Israel had meet,vi thought they just ate mana while traveling from Egypt. I learn sonethong new every day. Praise God for his wonderful unending works.0
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OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
2. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
3. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
God has reconciled you by Christ’s death... continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
APPLY:
Today, I learned __have faith in the Lord, being alienated from God allows Satan to take over _and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Dear God, Thank you for your sovereign greatness. We praise your name for your holiness, your power and love that you would give us your only begotten Son, Jesus, in order to bring us back into fellowship. In Jesus name. Amen.0
