This is something I did in my IBS class back in April 2007 , and I just came across my notes so I thought I would post it.
Psalm 37:3 - "Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."
Now, I was studying the word "cultivate," which in the Hebrew is "ra'ah" meaning "to break up in preparation for planting," or "to imply oneself to improving or developing" and the word is also used for "pastor" or "feed."
This reminded me of one of my favorite verses, which is Hosea 10:12, which reads "Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you." As you can see, I emphasized the area that makes me think of cultivating.
So, this all led me to looking at the Psalm in different translations. Now when I first read the verse in class, I read it in the NIV which reads, "Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture." My first thought after reading this was, "hmm... enjoy safe pasture, kinda gives me the picture of putting my feet up, sitting in the lawn chair in the shade and enjoying a cool drink of somekind. Really taking it easy." However, that didn't fit my picture of cultivating at all. So then I looked at the NASB, which I quoted above and then the NKJV, which says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." and a picture started to form in my head... let me put the verses all together in the order that I see it working;
1st - "Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." (NASB)
2nd - "Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." (NKJV)
3rd - "Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture." (NIV)
Do you see the picture I see? First, you must cultivate, then you can feed, and after that you get to enjoy the safe pasture.
To me this verse, using the three different translations, can be applied this way:
A relationship with Jesus takes work on our end. It is not just all about "kicking it back" and "enjoying our safe pasture" first we must cultivate our fallow ground, get it ready for planting, for improving, and then we can sow with a view to righteousness, we can seek the Lord and feed on the faithfullness and mercy of Christ, with a hope of the promise to come, which is eternal "safe pasture."
Just my thoughts. Hope they make sense. What do you think?
Showing posts with label devotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devotion. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Pouring out of Grace
I hear this phrase a lot.
"God poured more grace on me today" or "The Lord has poured out more grace on me today" or something along those lines, and a couple thoughts hit me, so bear with me as I try my best to put my thoughts down to be understood...
My first thought was, is this phrase even in the bible? And this is what I found... Not really. The closest phrase I found was in the New Testament. 1 Timothy 1:14 to be exact, and only in the NIV as far as I can tell, and it says this, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. "
So, I went to the Greek and a literal transliteration of this passage would read, "Increased beyond but the favor of the Master of us with trust and love the in Christ Jesus," or in other words, as the NASB puts its, "and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."
Now, it doesn't look like the word "poured" was even really in the original Greek, but even if it had been, notice it says, "was poured" not "is being poured," as well as, "was poured out on me abundantly." In other words, you received more than you deserved.
Which leads to my second thought. When someone says, "The Lords poured out more grace on me today," to me it implies that somehow you ran out from what he had given you previously. It was like the Lord gave you a supply of grace, you sucked it dry, and the Lord slapped himself upside the head saying, "Wow. I never saw that coming. Better give them some more." Uh, I don't think so. The bible says that the Lords grace is sufficient! (2 Corinthians 12) That means, it is more than enough, it is ALL you need! You can't run out! In Psalms 45:2 it states when grace has touched your lips, you are blessed FOREVER! Not just for a day or so, but FOREVER!
The Lords grace is MORE than abundant!
So, all that to just say this, is the Lord pouring more grace out on you today? or are you just taking hold of, accepting more and more, the abundant grace that you have been given in Christ Jesus?
Hmm? What do you think?
"God poured more grace on me today" or "The Lord has poured out more grace on me today" or something along those lines, and a couple thoughts hit me, so bear with me as I try my best to put my thoughts down to be understood...
My first thought was, is this phrase even in the bible? And this is what I found... Not really. The closest phrase I found was in the New Testament. 1 Timothy 1:14 to be exact, and only in the NIV as far as I can tell, and it says this, "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. "
So, I went to the Greek and a literal transliteration of this passage would read, "Increased beyond but the favor of the Master of us with trust and love the in Christ Jesus," or in other words, as the NASB puts its, "and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus."
Now, it doesn't look like the word "poured" was even really in the original Greek, but even if it had been, notice it says, "was poured" not "is being poured," as well as, "was poured out on me abundantly." In other words, you received more than you deserved.
Which leads to my second thought. When someone says, "The Lords poured out more grace on me today," to me it implies that somehow you ran out from what he had given you previously. It was like the Lord gave you a supply of grace, you sucked it dry, and the Lord slapped himself upside the head saying, "Wow. I never saw that coming. Better give them some more." Uh, I don't think so. The bible says that the Lords grace is sufficient! (2 Corinthians 12) That means, it is more than enough, it is ALL you need! You can't run out! In Psalms 45:2 it states when grace has touched your lips, you are blessed FOREVER! Not just for a day or so, but FOREVER!
The Lords grace is MORE than abundant!
So, all that to just say this, is the Lord pouring more grace out on you today? or are you just taking hold of, accepting more and more, the abundant grace that you have been given in Christ Jesus?
Hmm? What do you think?
Sunday, June 15, 2008
A FATHERS DAY DEVOTIONAL
We have been studying Genesis during our Friday night Bible studies, and a Father's day message came to me when I was least expecting it, in Genesis chapter 22.
Most of us probably know the story, Abraham is tested by God and the Lord asks him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. The spot the Lord picks is Mount Moriah. Hebrews tells us that by faith Abraham offered up Isaac, believing God could raise him up from the dead. The whole chapter is a picture of Christ and the atonement that is his sacrifice on the cross. What a picture of Christ we see in Isaac, a willfully obedient son to the point of death. He even carried the wood for the fire on his back up the mount, and of course Mount Moriah, the spot that the Lord picked, which later in this exact spot would be Calvary. The whole chapter is full of Christ.
One really interesting thing to me was one of the "first's" in this chapter. We see the first use of the word "love" in the Old Testament. In verse 2, God tells Abraham, "take now your son, your only son, whom you love." The first use of love in the Bible is a love between a father and a son. What's really interesting is that the first use of love in the New Testament is in Matthew 3, verse 17, when a the Lord speaks from heaven declaring that Jesus is his "beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Also the love between a father and a son. The same goes for the gospels of Mark and Luke as well. The first use of Love in the gospel of John is John 3:16, which declares "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." And this brings us back to Genesis 22, in which Abraham was willing to give his only begotten son, and we see how this love is obediant, sacrificial, and a foreshadow of just how much our father loves us. What greater love is there than a father for his children? None. The Lord "provided himself a lamb," the love of a father for his son, for his children, is the ultimate act of love ever shown. Amazing.
Most of us probably know the story, Abraham is tested by God and the Lord asks him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. The spot the Lord picks is Mount Moriah. Hebrews tells us that by faith Abraham offered up Isaac, believing God could raise him up from the dead. The whole chapter is a picture of Christ and the atonement that is his sacrifice on the cross. What a picture of Christ we see in Isaac, a willfully obedient son to the point of death. He even carried the wood for the fire on his back up the mount, and of course Mount Moriah, the spot that the Lord picked, which later in this exact spot would be Calvary. The whole chapter is full of Christ.
One really interesting thing to me was one of the "first's" in this chapter. We see the first use of the word "love" in the Old Testament. In verse 2, God tells Abraham, "take now your son, your only son, whom you love." The first use of love in the Bible is a love between a father and a son. What's really interesting is that the first use of love in the New Testament is in Matthew 3, verse 17, when a the Lord speaks from heaven declaring that Jesus is his "beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Also the love between a father and a son. The same goes for the gospels of Mark and Luke as well. The first use of Love in the gospel of John is John 3:16, which declares "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." And this brings us back to Genesis 22, in which Abraham was willing to give his only begotten son, and we see how this love is obediant, sacrificial, and a foreshadow of just how much our father loves us. What greater love is there than a father for his children? None. The Lord "provided himself a lamb," the love of a father for his son, for his children, is the ultimate act of love ever shown. Amazing.
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