my burg

Bible reading for weekend July 16 -- 18 July 16 -- Jeremiah 12 and Matthew 26 July 17 -- Jeremiah 13 and Matthew 27 July 18 -- Jeremiah 14 and Matthew 28 ================    "I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage; I have given the beloved of my soul into the hands of her enemies." (Jeremiah 12:7) THE LORD'S HERITAGE (ch 12-14). These messages from God through Jeremiah are delivered over a period of forty years, and Jeremiah here wants the Lord to execute his judgment, already! (12:1-4) Not only was Jeremiah the target of political opponents, he also suffered the loss of family support (12:5-6). He's ready to see the judgment program move forward. But God is patient and longsuffering, and several times he refers to his people as "my heritage" (or, "inheritance")(12:7-9, 14-15). The Lord loved the people of Israel and Judah -- the "beloved of his soul" -- and he brought them close to himself "that they might be for me...

Bible reading for July 14 -- 15 July 14 -- Jeremiah 10 and Matthew 24 July 15 -- Jeremiah 11 and Matthew 25 ================    "But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation." (Jeremiah 10:10) THE TRUE GOD VS DUMB IDOLS (ch 10). This is a good chapter in which to practice your observation skills... 1) How are the idols (false gods) characterized (vv 1-5, 8-9, 11, 14-15)? 2) How is the true God described (vv 6-7, 10, 12-13, 16)? 3) Why is it "stupid" to worship false gods? (vv 8, 14, 21)? 4) How does Jeremiah respond to the wickedness around him (vv 19-25)? 5) What application do you make for believers today? THE BROKEN COVENANT (ch 11). We cannot properly understand the Bible without reference to the historical covenants. God's dealings with Israel take place within the framework of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex 19; Deut 5), and blessings and judgments would ...

  Bible reading for July 12 -- 13 July 12 -- Jeremiah 8 and Matthew 22 July 13 -- Jeremiah 9 and Matthew 23 ================    "...let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:24) A BAND-AID ON CANCER (ch 8). The Babylonian invasion would be terrifying -- many would die, families would be divided, people carried off into captivity, and even ancestral tombs would be ransacked and exposed. The Babylonians would seek to eradicate Jewish history and culture. It was a severe judgment. One of the things that the people were saying was, "We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us" (v 8). But they did not really love God nor practice his commandments . They lived in "perpetual backsliding" (v 5) and treated sin lightly. The prophets and priests were putting band-aids on their society...

Bible reading for weekend July 9 -- 11 July 9 -- Jeremiah 5 and Matthew 19 July 10 -- Jeremiah 6 and Matthew 20 July 11 -- Jeremiah 7 and Matthew 21 ================    "Thus says the LORD: 'Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."'" (Jeremiah 6:16) FAILURE OF THE ELITES (ch 5). The leaders of Jerusalem and Judah also have fallen away from the Lord. The prophets (so-called), priests, scribes, judges, and royal officials alike are all on the moral skids. Education in and of itself will never save a society (v 5). These elites are more interested in sex and extra-marital affairs than in leading with righteousness. Popular opinion holds sway, and there is no remorse or shame, for "they love to have it so" (v 31). SOCIETY-WIDE FAILURE (ch 6). Note how widespread is this apostasy: "For from the least to the greatest of...

Bible reading for July 7 -- 8 July 7 -- Jeremiah 3 and Matthew 17 July 8 -- Jeremiah 4 and Matthew 18 ================    "For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: 'Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts...'" (Jeremiah 4:3-4a) RETURN TO THE LORD (ch 3). Judah's unfaithfulness to God was like the breaking of a marriage vow. They needed to repent with a whole heart and to forsake the idols they worshiped (made of stones and carved trees, vv 9-10). Like children we can be superficial with our repentance, saying a quick "I'm sorry" and then going back to our routines. Like Judah we should be honest and thorough in dealing with our sin. We see these admonitions reflected in the NT, for example, in James 4:1-10. He writes, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded"...

Bible reading for July 5 -- 6 July 5 -- Jeremiah 1 and Matthew 15 July 6 -- Jeremiah 2 and Matthew 16 ================    HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, July 4! Throughout the years I have felt varying degrees of loyalty to this nation. The more I have studied history, however, and have observed God's working in it, the more deeply I have come to appreciate the founding principles of this country. In practice this nation has allowed a greater freedom for the gospel to go forth and for the church to flourish than any other nation. Along with the UK the US has been the sending base for thousands of missionaries around the world. The freedoms we have are not to be treated lightly. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." ( The Declaration of Independence ) ================    "...my people have committed t...

Bible reading for weekend June 25-- 27 Jun 25 -- Isaiah 57 and Matthew 5 Jun 26 -- Isaiah 58 and Matthew 6 Jun 27 -- Isaiah 59 and Matthew 7 ================    "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" (Isaiah 57:15) IDOLATRY IS DESTRUCTIVE (ch 57). In contrast with the everlasting covenant of peace that God offers (ch 55-56), the people had been putting their trust in the various false gods and idols worshiped at the high places. The people were involved with ritual sex there, and even child sacrifice. They had deserted the Lord and did not remember him (vv 8, 11). Idols cannot save (v 13). If we do not destroy them, they will destroy us. God looks with favor upon the contrite (v 15), and they will experience his peace. But those who do not forsa...

  Bible reading for June 23-- 24 Jun 23 -- Isaiah 55 and Matthew 3 Jun 22 -- Isaiah 56 and Matthew 4 ================    "...so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) HIS WORD GOES FORTH (ch 55). This is one of my favorite chapters in the OT. I know, I say that about a lot of chapters. But it's all here, the follow-up from the atonement accomplished by the suffering Servant (ch 53), which results in the covenant promises, "...my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed..." (ch 54). And now the invitation, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (55:1). Doesn't this remind you of Jesus' words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me an...

Bible reading for June 21-- 22 Jun 21 -- Isaiah 53 and Matthew 1 Jun 22 -- Isaiah 54 and Matthew 2 ================    "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) WHO WOULD BELIEVE IT? (ch 53) This is the longest, the most beautiful, and the most surprising of the Servant Psalms. The Messiah prophesied in the OT might have been viewed as a kind of super-hero were it not for this chapter! It's unbelievable that God's holy Servant should be abused in this way by mankind (v 1). He is not a handsome caped man, rippling with muscles and charisma (v 2). He is despised, rejected, looked down upon. If this were not surprising enough -- many prophets beforehand were so treated -- but here the suffering and death is not some kind of martyrdom but actually brings forgiveness even for the perpetrators: "by his wounds we are healed" ...

Bible reading for Jan 28:  Genesis 29; Matthew 28.  Overview:  the book of Genesis can be summarized as follows:  from chapter 1 to 11 there are four key events : creation, fall, flood, and babel.  From chapter 12 to 50 there are four key people : Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.  We are now reading about the adventures of Jacob.  Bait-and-switch, and a baby race (Gen 29).   Jacob, the guy who deceived his father by pretending to be Esau, is tricked into marrying Leah , rather than Rachel, whom he loves. ( I'm thinking there must have been a lot of wine served that night... )  Later, Rachel is given to be his wife, as well, but now he must serve another seven years.  Then the baby contest begins , which involves not only Rachel and Leah but also their maidservants.  This seems strange to us , but we must remember this was a day when there was no social security, no police, no medicare, no nursing homes, etc.  Healthy...

Bible reading for Jan 27:  Genesis 28; Matthew 27.  "...and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Gen 28:14) Jacob's dream (Gen 28).   The Lord establishes his covenant with the fleeing Jacob. The same covenant that was made with Abraham and Isaac, God now makes with Jacob.  In a dream he sees a ladder (Heb., sullam ), most likely a stairway of ascending stones reaching to heaven. (Perhaps even like the ziggurat of Genesis 11, only in this case it is God reaching down to man.)  He sees angels going up and down the stairway , and he understands this to be gateway to heaven .  He names the place Bethel ( beth-el means the "house of God"). Through Jacob's family line, therefore, will come blessing for the whole earth. The angels ascending and descending peacefully would indicate that God, through Jacob's descendant, would bring reconciliation between heaven and earth. Jesus himself understood this to be a pro...

Bible reading for Jan 26:  Genesis 27; Matthew 26.  Genesis 27.   Rebekah and Jacob deceive Isaac , and Jacob receives the blessing intended for Esau.  As wrong as that action was, Isaac did not reverse his blessing .  Perhaps he remembered that this is what the Lord had said earlier.  It was God's will that the birthright and covenant blessing belong to Jacob.  From this day forth there is an even deeper divide between the two sons.  Jacob, however, will now enter God's school of training under his uncle Laban, a consummate con artist. Jacob, the trickster, will himself be tricked, and will learn some very hard lessons.   ==============    "Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." (Matt 26:13) Jesus is arrested (Matthew 26).  At the house of Simon the leper, a woman anoints Jesus' head with very expensive ointment ....

Bible reading for Jan 24:  Genesis 25; Matthew 24. Bible reading for Jan 25:  Genesis 26; Matthew 25.  Pray for the March for Life this Friday in Washington, D.C., that many in our nation's capital and the nation's media would pay attention to this call for repentance.  "Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."  (Amos 5:23-24 ESV)  ==========  "Jacob said, 'Swear to me now.' So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright."  (Genesis 25:33-34) Abraham dies (Gen 25).   Abraham dies, and is buried by Isaac and Ishmael.  The first generation of Ishmael's lineage is recorded .  Remember, Genesis is a book of "beginnings", and Ishmael has been blessed, his sons be...