Category Archives: Genesis

The Sower

Posted on June 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

Old Testament cross references are added by current evangelical scholars and pastors but they’ve made it possible to see how influential those “old” resources were to the New Testament and to Jesus in particular.  I’m playing the role of “traffic light” today. I’ve copied the NLT cross references to this parable in green and added them in order of their appearance in the text.  You can tap on the link an it will open the reference for you.  Jesus’s familiar words are in red letters.  It’s a fairly new experiment for me to read Old Testament references as the “go-to” truth that backs up the New Testament, then “stop” and ponder how that old evidence is what makes both Testaments of the Bible one “whole.” The whole truth is Jesus spent his life learning the evidence of those old truths and based His simple stories for us on them…wrapped in the mystery of thought.  

The Parable of the Sower:
Luke 8:4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 (Isa 55:10 & Amos 9:13)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among (Jer 4:3) thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded (Gen 26:12)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so (Isa 6:9 & 10)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it (Isa 58:2 & Ezek 33:31)with joy. But these have no root; they (Hos 6:4)believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and (Hos 14:8)bear fruit with patience.

The Simple Mystery…
The sower has a source that supplies good seeds. Once given those seeds can’t be returned.  They must either produce fruit or they will be wasted.  Ground that may seem useless can be made to produce fruit that fulfills the purpose of those seeds; growth and nourishment.  Sowers can learn to prepare soil for the seeds and when that happens “The time will come,” says the Lord, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested…” There is one little catch that is the mystery behind the simplicity of this story.  It’s more than the simple repetition of the familiar activity of sowing and reaping that results in the growth that produces blessing. The mystery requires the sower giving conscious and purposeful attention to all the details of the process of preparing the soil to produce an abundant harvest.  The secret of the Kingdom of God is His good seed becomes mature fruit that blesses both the sower and the reaper with more good seed.  “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.“

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Posted in Amos, Ezekiel, Genesis, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Light, Luke, New Testament, Old Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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New Wine

Posted on May 24, 2023 | Leave a comment

Matthew 9:17
17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Mark 2:22
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
Luke 5:37-38
37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 

— When I began to study for this parable it seemed like it was only a short add-on to the more important idea from last Wednesday’s parable, the Wedding Guest.  Many were looking for a long expected savior.  Jesus spoke this parable to identify Himself as something new God was doing. There were “old” expectations way back in Genesis 49:11 and Deuteronomy 32:14, describing the coming of one who’s investment would be in “the blood of grapes.” 

Those were old words made new by Jesus identifying Himself as this “new” way God was going redeem and preserve His people…IF they could accept what He was doing and that this “new wine” could not be contained in old expectations and regulations.  There was an odd word in the ESV version of Deuteronomy 32 that described the wine as “foaming.”  The ancient process of wine making seemed like it’s own verification of this parable to me. There was a personal involvement in making new wine.  It took the whole body’s weight for the feet to press the grapes by gently breaking their skins but not destroying the seeds.  Those seeds were a vital part of the flavor of the resulting juice as the process continued foaming and fermenting to finally become the “new wine” that makes those old words from Deuteronomy the reality that today it’s Jesus that “nourishes and sustains its branches while they[we] develop their[our] fruit.”

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Posted in Deuteronomy, Genesis, Light, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Parables, Wednesday

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Shiloh

Posted on April 5, 2023 | Leave a comment

To the Truth of God fulfilled in the Old Testament
Genesis 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
Genesis 49:10 [KJV] “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
Judges 1:1 “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

God is establishing His family tree based on the new Blood Covenant given to Abraham in Genesis 17 not on the law of blood lines and first-borns. God chooses Isaac over Ishmael, his first son. Then history repeats itself and from Isaac’s sons God chooses Jacob,  his second born twin.  The line is shifted even further when Jacob gives his fourth son a prophetic blessing of authority in Genesis 49. FYI: Shiloh is a name of Hebrew origin, meaning “tranquil,” “abundance,” and “His gift” — and it’s “unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”

Luke 1:33
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce she had been chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, these were the words used to describe what he (the Gift) would accomplish:
“And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever”

 

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Posted in Acts, Genesis, Judges, Light, New Testament, Old Testament, Wednesday

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Three in One

Posted on March 22, 2023 | Leave a comment

to Old Testament Verses
Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  And God blessed them. And God said to them,“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth
Psalm 110:1 The Lord says to my Lord:..

I love that God has a history of talking to Himself!  And I love that these Old Testament verses use plural pronouns to confirm the reality that God exists in the mysterious wonder of three identities for the purpose of identifying Himself to the them that includes me.  As believers in Christ we know those three identities are a)the creator God, b)the Son Jesus and c) the Holy Spirit, the witness — but why Three?   I wonder if there’s more to that conversation God was having with Himself?  I wonder if knowing about His self-talk and that we’re created in His image means I need to pay more attention to my self-talk as a follower of Jesus because self-talk may be God’s way of speaking to me.  It does say “God said to them.”

Self-talk is an inner voice that combines our thoughts, beliefs and feelings to influence our response to life.  Sometimes it’s way below the radar of consciousness but that’s why that mysterious three are so important. The one who at creation knew He would speak life into you just as He did for Adam, at just the right time. The one who walked on earth to be the guide for your steps through the twists and turns of daily life, and the one who came after, to be the internal helper that could keep track of those steps long before anyone else even thought of step tracking.  They are the same Three in One having an important conversation with each other about your life and their intended purpose for it that spans creation to eternity.  Listen carefully, and practice their Words as part of your own self-talk.

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Posted in Acts, Genesis, John, Light, Psalms, Wednesday

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There was Light…Again

Posted on December 21, 2022 | Leave a comment

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons [appointed times], and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. [Genesis 1:14-15 ESV] “

read an interesting question recently: “Which comes first, the day or the night?” The answer was in Genesis 1 — “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.”  I read through all those days of creation again and it was clear that everything that happened in those first six days became visible because of that first light.  Light was a critical part of God’s order of creation.  “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” [a]

“And it was so.” But why did only six days have that sequence ?  And why didn’t the seventh day end with it?  “…God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.”[b]   God rested, but His creative authority was unending!  He’d blessed the order of those early days but on a particular night, at an appointed time, in a wilderness field long after those first six days, God’s confirmation of His truth about that seventh day was revealed.   Jesus became the visible reality of His unending blessing — a Sabbath that was forever!  

There were shepherds staying in the fields nearby and darkness was lifted, again, and there was light”…again!  Mankind would forever be required to order their lives around creation’s cycle of days but Jesus was coming as the new Light of the World “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”…forever!  He would be the unending personal promise of an internal Sabbath, a Light that would make those who were guided by it, a visible reflection of God’s Holiness that would never end.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
[Matthew 5:14 ESV]

“It is written, ‘There was evening, and then there was morning…The world moves from day to night. But in God, it is the opposite. It goes from night to day…from darkness to light. The children of this world live from day to night. But the children of God live from night to day. They are born again in the darkness and move to the day. And if you belong to God, then that is the order of your life. You are to go from darkness to light, from weakness to strength, from despair to hope, from guilt to innocence, from tears to joy, and from death to life. And every night in your life will lead to the dawn. So live according to God’s sacred order of time…that your entire life be always moving away from the darkness and to the light.” [c]  

[a] Genesis 1:31
[b] Genesis 2:3
[c] Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn

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Posted in Advent, Genesis, Matthew, Wednesday

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Wednesday with John – Choice

Posted on August 24, 2022 | Leave a comment

John 13:12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” ESV

What is the general theme of the passage?
“Do you understand what I have done to you?” “I have given you an example.” “Do just as I have done to you.” “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” “I know whom I have chosen…“the Scripture will be fulfilled” “I am telling you this now” that “you may believe that I am he.” “Whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”

What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
He washed their feet.  He resumed His place.  He said:  I am.  I have. You ought. I have given.  You should.  I say. If you know. I know whom I have chosen.  I am telling you this now. Believe that I am He. Whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

What does it say about people?
All these chosen men, even the betrayer, must have had a reaction to seeing Jesus stoop to this subservient position and do this menial act. Peter spoke, but surely others were confused too.  It was certainly more than Judas could accept.  Everything in their relationship with Jesus has been building their confidence that His power declared Him to be the Messiah, come from God.  This night Jesus must teach them humility and service are the other side of Sovereignty and power.

Is there truth here for me?
All these men, even Judas were chosen by the same process Luke 6 describes: 12 In these days he [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles…”  Judas was chosen, and named an apostle, by Jesus Himself.  He heard every word spoken that night as the Messiah washed the visible dirt off his “feet” but the serpent of the “heel” from Genesis 3:15 had found an ally in Judas, who’d decided just like those two original friends of God he too could make a better choice than serving his Creator.

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Posted in Genesis, John, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament, Wednesday

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Sunday with John – Sabbath

Posted on June 12, 2022 | Leave a comment

John 9:13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)

What is the general theme of the passage?
 If there was ever a passage that clearly shows the nature of man to dispute truth, even truth which is seen with their own eyes, this is it.  Over and over the Pharisees persist in looking for ways to disprove what they themselves have seen.  The man is repeatedly questioned.  The healing is questioned.  The process is questioned. His parents are questioned.  All the answers given have been questioned.  There is no answer the Pharisees can accept. What they were looking for wasn’t the truth but a way to justify their position against Jesus: “if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he [is] to be put out of the synagogue.”

What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
Jesus has chosen the same dust of the earth that created life in the first place to restore sight to this blind man on this particular day.  He’s chosen the most elemental reduction of His power to let them “see” with their own eyes an act that might recall to their mind all the first acts of the Creator who spoke mankind and this day they call Sabbath into being.

What does it say about people?
The human mind and comprehension is shortsighted. We question the simplicity of how God first chose to reveal His power.  “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

Is there truth here for me?
I want to recognize and acknowledge it’s because of that same elemental reduction of Jesus’s power that I know anything about the Sovereign Glory of God.  It was Jesus who spit on the muddy residue of my life without Him.  It was Jesus who gathered up that mud and chose it to anoint my heart with His own.  It was Jesus who told me where to find living water to wash that residue away.  It was Jesus choosing the elemental reduction of His power to restart my heart so I could experience this particular day with Him and see…THIS is Sabbath!

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Posted in Genesis, John, Matthew, New Testament, Sunday

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Wednesday with John – Clay

Posted on June 8, 2022 | Leave a comment

John 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Silo′am” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, “Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he”; others said, “No, but he is like him.” He said, “I am the man.” 10 They said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Silo′am and wash’; so I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” ESV

What is the general theme of the passage?
Jesus and His disciples spot a blind man, begging. Interesting that “in passing” turns into interaction that tells us so much more than the story of a man blind from birth.  The next interesting thing is the natural response of the disciples; why?  Why is he blind?  Is it punishment for sin?  Whose sin?  Jesus uses the most basic example of God’s creative power to give sight to a man who has lived in darkness since birth and show us the basic creative power of God can still work miracles.

What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world…It was not that this man sinned, or his parents.”  The reality is this man’s blindness is only a symptom of the effects of that long ago “original” sin. Jesus is going to remove that symptom using what seems like the same material of mankind’s creation. “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”…so “the works of God might be made manifest in him.”

What does it say about people?
The nature of sin’s hangover is right there in the disciples question to Jesus: “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus gave this blind man physical evidence of the miracle to come, on his own body.  “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Silo′am and wash’; so I went and washed and received my sight.”    

Is there truth here for me?
Jesus urges His disciples, “work the works of him who sent me, while it is day” …even if you don’t “see” the final outcome.  This blind man’s first contact with Jesus is an odd anointing of clay and spit followed by being sent away to wash in the same pool of water used every day during the Feast of Tabernacles, the “living water” that represents the “pouring out of the Spirit” in relation to the coming of Messiah.  The reality of the first “light” of faith for this blind man is that he goes.  He goes even though he can’t see the one who is preparing him to be healed nor understand the method that is being used…and then He sees Jesus!

a Genesis 2:7

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Posted in Genesis, John, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament, Wednesday

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Today’s Word – WALK

Posted on January 5, 2022 | Leave a comment

2022 begins with a transition that took it’s place in my mind just as 2021 was closing.  Three words from Matthew 11 in The Message Bible version of that Scripture were the catalyst: Walk, Work and Watch.  Those words are what I choose to begin looking for God’s Word to fill in the blanks of my own faith for 2022.  

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”  RSV

 

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden.”  “The eyes of both were opened.”  “The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.”  “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

Where am I walking?  Are my eyes opened?  Have I found a way to cover up because I’m aware that God can see my nakedness? These are my questions as I read these verses. It’s so tempting to pretend I don’t have any questions.  I have faith!  I am a believer!  I am standing before friends, neighbors and the world wide web, for Heaven’s sake!  How could I have questions?  

The questions aren’t the problem, the cover-up is!  I couldn’t help but notice the phrase “among the trees of the garden” and think about the common saying “to not see the forest for the trees.”  This whole walk is BIG!  I can look at Adam and Eve and clearly see their sin and forget how easy it is to cover my own with faith. If I had only one question that could meaningfully direct my personal devotions, and this blog, over the next 360 days it would be the one the Lord Himself is asking me to read and ponder at the end of verse 9.

“Where are you?”

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Posted in Genesis, Old Testament, Questions, Wednesday

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Image Bearers

Posted on April 25, 2021 | Leave a comment

Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…”  NIV

I’m sure you’re familiar with the triangle image of the Godhead where each of the three points represents one of the three persons; God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It’s the image of life for those who, by accepting and acting in accordance with Jesus, have been placed securely within that Perfect Triangle.  My life is in that triangle.  So is yours.  Can you be thrilled by what a drawing can show you about how convincingly God can prove to you that your image really is just like His?  Yes!

A simple straight line beginning at one of those thee points and stretching across to an opposite line to establish a connection to that Perfect Triangle always results in a brand new triangle. Something visually  happened as I drew line after line always staying within the boundary lines of that Perfect Triangle.  As long as each straight line began at one of the, now multiple, points to an opposite line, it always became a triangle without my doing anything more.  Each triangle was a different size and had a different shape with different angles but every time I drew a straight line to make that connection three new “points” appeared. The triangles were not a perfect duplicate of the original but without a doubt they visually confirmed a likeness to that Perfect Triangle.

The creator of all mankind chose the simplest of all processes to replicate Himself in those who would be bearers of His image. The more I drew straight lines, the more I recognized how reliable that connection was.  Every one of those imperfect triangles began as a simple straight line but by God’s good purpose He chose to verify that likeness even further for His image bearers as each connection was completed. I saw those three replicated “points;” God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, appear over and over as each line became a new triangle within the Perfect Triangle. That was the visual proof that thrilled me.  

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them;” God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit created within us, every time.  Yes!

 

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Posted in Genesis, Old Testament, Sunday

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