Episodi
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"...Like people, like priest, is the ancient version of the modern Western
Saying: like father, like son or like mother, like daughter. It is a very
important piece here, because the priesthood are a subset of the corrupt
people and vice versa. Both the priesthood and the people are estranged
from God and both will incur the same judgment. And it is not as though the
priests were more corrupt than the common man, they were the common man in
a position of influence and authority! It is not as though Israel was
invaded by a sect of immoral priests and leaders. These were those who had
risen to the top, the cream of the crop so to speak. When the moral
corruption of a nation reaches the pinnacles of power, it should not be
surprising; the true values of the people are on display...Ungodly
leadership is a natural consequence of rebellion against God. The nation
cannot reject God and his commandments and then hope that godly leadership
will somehow rise to the top for their benefit. The leaders will be a
reflection of the people they govern and in turn the sin of the leaders
will be reflected upon the population. For Israel, this meant that the
priest brought disaster to the land. Where can we find a better priest?
Let me point you to Jesus. Like people, like priest is eternally good news
for those whose High Priest is Christ our King." -
“The tree advertised life and fruit, but it had none. The temple advertised
life and fruit to a dead and hopeless world, but it had none either. And
I’ve done the same. You and I have done the same. In fact, the mainstay,
the call sign, the common thread linking all lukewarm Christianity that I
have ever seen (or perpetrated), practices this same crooked
theology; saying I know what I’m doing is wrong but… I’m basically a good
person. or…I know it’s a sin, but let me have this one vice. or: I know
it’s wrong, but God will give me a pass, God’ll just forgive me later. We
conveniently misunderstand the word grace to mean God will let it slide.
And like Joab we hold onto the horns of the altar and falsely trust that
because we say you can’t get me here, we think we are safe. It’s a lie as
old as the devil in the garden. But grace isn’t a den for foxes. It’s not a
refuge if it’s used as a shield against God. It’s not a sanctuary to hide
our sins in. No, It’s a full force burning away of our sinful selves. The
grace of Christ Jesus, bought at the cross, is the source and wellspring of
our salvation and sanctification. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve -
trading sin and death for new life and holiness.” -
Episodi mancanti?
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“Don’t miss the impact of this story: an adulterous woman — a prostitute,
is married to this prophet. And then she has children outside of this
marriage, which he calls ‘Not Loved’ and ‘Not Mine’. And everyone looking
at this story, this real life situation, would think ‘there is no more
tragic family circumstance imaginable’…And yet, the loyal love of God,
working in his servant Hosea, creates one of the most beautiful pictures we
could ever imagine. By taking on himself the full cost of this
relationship,… Hosea takes this woman,…and he says now I would like to
marry you again…you are the one that I want…your children from other
relationships, let’s call them now ‘Beloved’ and ‘Mine’…because that is
what they will be. This is what God has done with us…” -
“God will foil the plans and decisions of his wayward people. This doesn’t
mean he takes away our ability to freely choose him, but he will keep his
own from the disastrous direction they are headed in, and he will win his
bride…How do I know that I belong to God? Not because I’m just such a great
guy, not because I’m such a spiritually mature person. But because
everytime I would fall away God says “No, you’re mine.” He disciplines
me…The way I know I belong to God is that he brings me to repentance daily.
He walls me in with stone and thorns…The sovereignty of God does no
violence to the human will, only it is far more potent and will have its
way.” -
“By comparing Israel’s sinful behaviour with the vile behaviour of an
immoral and adulterous wife, Hosea reminds his audience, then and now, of
both the seriousness of sin and its effects, and of the amazing greatness
of God’s mercy and love…Unfaithfulness to God in Israel and the church
cannot be ignored. Either people are believers and are faithful to their
covenant commitments to God, or they are not a part of the family of God…
Unless we respond to these warnings of Hosea, we should have no certainty
of our salvation.” -
“Humility is not somehow detached from the pursuit of righteousness.
Humility does not seek to avoid the offence of the gospel…Genuine humility
puts others before themselves while still submitting to God’s word…Genuine
humility is deference to God, which in turn causes a deference towards
others…” -
“Mark is keen to show, almost word for word, that absolutely everything
went according to plan. That everything occurred just as Jesus said it
would. Ever, always in Mark, Jesus is shown to be in control of every
situation, he is always the authority in the room, he is always in command
of what happens around him. It’s one of Mark’s big themes that grows
throughout his book, guiding his readers to readily acknowledge Jesus, not
only as the King of kings and Lord of lords, but personally so. You and I
are to witness these moments and proclaim, Jesus is my King. He is my
Lord…” -
“Rose City, we need to change the framing of this book. We are not Habakkuk
complaining about the unrighteous people…we are the unrighteous people he
is complaining about…” -
“Another way I see domineering leadership enter the church is when church
elders try to force the change they wish to see in people rather than to
teach the word, set an example with the way they live their own lives, and
then give time for the gospel to do its work. We can be very sincere in our
desire for holiness in the church and to see people changed, but if we try
to accomplish the sanctification of God’s people by authoritarian means, we
have become oppressors rather than shepherds….Hearts are not changed by
threats and anger, but by greater understanding of the loyal love and
gentle compassion of our Lord.” -
“…This could well be our spiritual constitution. Every kingdom needs a
constitution, and this is as fine a summary as ever there was. In the
kingdom of God, only God is king, everyone else ranks the same, and even
though upon which he confers some role of authority is only just a servant.
None higher, none lower. We are all just servants. Slaves even. Happy,
well-looked after slaves of the king. If God is good, providing for our
every need, and is our leader, keeper, and guide, there’s no need to jostle
for position, there’s no point in jockeying for rank…” -
“Naomi, though personally loved and cared for by God, has been a stand in
for all of his people this entire time! Though we deserve his judgment as
much as anyone else, God is faithful to his covenant promises. Just as he
relented in his judgment upon Elimelech’s family, turned and ensured their
good and their future, so he also relented in his judgment upon all of
Israel, preserving a remnant among them and establishing an eternal dynasty
for his people despite their faithlessness. And, even now, God is
transforming a people, making us faithful, by revealing his faithfulness in
his word.” -
“The 3rd act ends once again with the words of Naomi. The narrator opens
and closes all the other acts, but here, again, Naomi has the first and
last words. Her first words are the the first expression of ḥeseḏ which
come from Naomi. We get to watch God restore her in more ways than one.
Naomi’s outlook changes radically from self-absorption to concern for her
daughter-in-law’s well-being. The bitter old woman has started to care for
the needs of others. God is truly gracious in the restoration of his
people. And he is using his people to bring about this change. This
restoration comes as a result of the ḥeseḏ of God expressed to her in the
ḥeseḏ of faithful Boaz and loyal Ruth. It was God who first provided her,
out of all the unfaithful Israelite, and Moabite women, a daughter-in-law
worth more than ten sons; a woman of valor who would devote herself to
Naomi’s cause.” -
“The Book of Ruth demonstrates that peace and well-being — the shalom of
God — is possible in the midst of personal catastrophes and amid societal
degeneration as in the days of the judges, not unlike as it is today. When
God is at work, however and bitterly hopeless the beginning, it can result
in surprising good. When we are in similar desperate straits, we might see
in simple food at the table, and loyal friends, the very work of God, His
ḥesed love, his covenant faithful love, sustaining and guiding us until the
day he dispels the darkness. We also see that this sovereign control, the
meticulous provision of God, is on display in the obedience of his people…” -
“So what should we learn from the first act in Ruth? Your hardship — even
your tragedy — may not be a judgment for your sin. But we dare not quickly
come to that conclusion. Like Naomi and Elimelech, none of us is receiving
worse from God than we deserve. This is a lie I have told myself many
times: ‘I don’t deserve this. I’ve been good…We dare not come to the
conclusion that we are receiving worse from God than we deserve…A good,
holy, loving God is not in the business of glibly using the death of family
members as pawns in a game to get us to know him better. He is in the
business of judging people, for that is his prerogative.” -
“Our work is not done on earth until the day that God has appointed for us
to die. So does this align with your own view? Do you see you continuing
life as an opportunity for fruitful labour as necessary for the benefit of
others? As soon as Christ bought us our purpose in life has become serving
Christ. The effect of that: pleasing Christ should be so exalted above
other things in our lives that we count all other things as rubbish or
trash…(Phil 3:8)” -
“In some parts of Scripture we are going carefully through, line by line,
especially teaching sections. But here, in the histories, we are repeatedly
reminded that this is all to emphasize one main point: Everyone is doing
what they think is right, following their hearts, following their own
inclinations; and this leads to utter disaster…We are inundated today with
messages like ‘follow your heart,’ ‘do what is right for you,’ ‘Follow
your truth’…The message of Judges is: don’t do what you think is right. You
are a bad judge of what is right. You need a King!” -
“Today we are looking at our passage from Mark for a second time...(T)he
story of Jesus blessing the little children is tied to the story of the
Rich Young Ruler…this is very purposeful, because children come in need,
with nothing to offer, while the rich young ruler comes to Jesus in
independence, able to meet his own needs, yet wondering if there’s more he
can do? Why are children the best symbol for how we are to approach the
kingdom of God? Because they are utterly dependent. God’s kingdom is
received, it can not be earned or taken. Then, why is the Rich Young Ruler
so well contrasted with children? Because he will not give up what he has,
in order to gain the same level of dependence that they naturally have.
He lacks nothing except Jesus, which means, even though he lacks nothing,
he in fact, lacks everything.” -
“As with any true benediction, Paul gives God all the glory for causing
believers to persevere in faith to the end. This perseverance has its
roots in the power of the gospel, which centres on Jesus Christ. This
ability of God is one deserving of worship, which makes it a common theme
in doxology: ‘Now to him who is able…’” -
“Many today are uncomfortable with the idea of obligation to God…or at
least find it difficult to square with their idea of grace. But the
biblical view of grace and reciprocation is much closer to the Greco-Roman
norm of Paul’s day in which, it is well documented, there are certain
obligations placed on the recipients of grace. The greater the gift, the
more the recipient was obligated to respond in honour, thanksgiving,
faithfulness, public rejoicing and reciprocal gifts…
God’s grace is unconditioned - that is, given without prior conditions
being met - but it is not unconditional - in that it does expect a response
in the form of faith, obedience and moral transformation. Faith apart from
works is useless, it is dead (James 2:26).” -
“This week Josh pointed out to me that the phrase ‘faith like a child’
isn’t in the bible. ‘A childlike faith’ is actually bad theology given
Hallmark-like ubiquity. So what is the common thread? What do all kids
have? It’s need. Children are completely dependent on others. They are not
self-sufficient. In a culture of doers, a society of adults, because a
child can not do anything for themselves, they are the least important,
have the least status, smallest value. And, according to Jesus’ social
handlers, the least right to approach him. And more than saying let them
come, Jesus says to his very grown up disciples; ‘one thing you lack: be
like them’.” - Mostra di più
