February - Reading 11

Panting, running up the rear --- we're here....

MATTHEW:

Barry: The fourth watch of the night is the darkest time of the night. The disciples were having trouble with the boat as the wind and waves were against them. It's the same way with us. In the midst of our distress, the Lord will come to us in the darkest hour.

Helen: I also notice He was alone with the Father for the first part of the night. He always found time to be alone with the Father, and it is often after these times that we see some of the most 'remarked on' miracles.

Barry: Immediately before this was the feeding of the five thousand, in which there was a marvelous display of God's adequacy. But this is like us, too. Often the first thing that happens after a display of God's power in our lives is that we find ourselves in a time of darkness or testing. This is perhaps permitted to show us that our strength is not in ourselves.

Helen: People always notice the lesson of Peter taking his eyes off the Lord and then starting to sink. When we see the storms around us instead of Christ, we do the same, and have to be rescued -- for me more times than I am comfortable telling about! But also, at the end of this passage of Matthew is the mention that people recognized who Jesus was when He and the disciples landed and brought all the sick to Him and EVERYONE was healed!


ACTS

Helen: That's a poignant part of the narrative. Paul is saying goodbye to people he loves and he tells them they will not see him again. The Holy Spirit has warned him about what lies ahead and he can only give them his last warnings about deceptive doctrines and dangers waiting for them, too.

Barry: In retrospect, we can look back and see Christ's own words to this church in Revelation, chapter 2 -- how, despite their fervency, they had lost their first love. Another point which is important here, and concerns Paul himself. Look at what he said, (quoting from the NKJ)
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the Grace of God. Paul wanted to finish well. So often in Old Testament times we find people with a very bright and promising beginning who don't live up to that potential.

Helen: We need to be like Paul. Not stop. Rest a little sometimes? But not stop.


PSALM 34

Helen: Something I notice here is that David is praising the Lord for delivering him out of all his fears as well as his troubles. And that reminds me of the verse in 1 John which says perfect love casts out all fear.

Barry: In verse 6, David calls himself a poor man. Even though he had been anointed as king by Samuel, earlier, David still saw himself as a poor man, totally dependant upon the Lord for the preservation of his life. This reminds me of the beginning of Isaiah 51 where we are told to remember where we came from -- our origins at the point that the Lord took us and has made something of us from that point. We can't forget what we were.

Helen: When it says "taste and see that the Lord is good," does that mean you can try out God?

Barry: I see that as more in terms of 'abandon yourself to God and see what great things He will do for you.'
Another point here is the Messianic prophecy in verse 20 -- not one of his bones will be broken. This prophecy is said by John to be fulfilled at the Crucifixion in John 19:36.

both of us: We love the verse in this Psalm which says God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are contrite in heart. (verse 18)

Barry: In Isaiah 57:15 we see the same promise from God to dwell with the humble and contrite.

Helen: And in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are those who mourn" and meek and the poor in spirit. This is all the same thing. One other thing -- the 'fear of the Lord.' I think a lot of people are confused by this. It means deep awe, right?

Barry: Yes. But this God who overawes us is also our friend. This is how David saw God as well.

Helen: You can't forget his majesty, though.

Barry: No you can't. It was with this sense of awe and majesty, that engendered a trust in itself. He could see how great and marvelous God was. This is the attitude he had when he confronted Goliath.


EXODUS

Helen: Look at all that. That's so much!

Barry: I'd pull out this part in chapter 31 verses 2-6. This is the way God has empowered individuals to further His work in specific areas. This is where we find a parallel in the New Testament with the giftings of the Spirit for the building up of the Saints.

Helen: I never thought about that before. Look at the last verse here, verse 18. These tablets were inscribed by the finger of God. God Himself wrote down these laws for Moses to give the Israelites.

Barry: In verse 17 we also see the Sabbath being put in the context of creation, so that each day cannot be some great or undefined length of time.

Helen: The Sabbath is repeated as being holy all through the Old Testament, and it is the one commandment which God seems to emphasize over and over again. That really bothered me until I realized that Jesus said HE is Lord of the Sabbath and in Hebrews 4 we see that He IS the Sabbath -- our Sabbath rest is in Him. When I saw the Sabbath as being actually representative of Christ, that made more sense. It is also the commandment which bridges the commandments regarding our relationship with God and the commandments about our relationships with other people. And Christ is the Bridge.