Confession Study #5

Leviticus 16:20-22
"When Aaron has finished making the Most Holy Place, the Meeting Tent, and the altar ready for service to the Lord, he will offer the living goat. He will put both his hands on the head of the living goat, and he will confess over it all the sins and crimes of Israel. In this way Aaron will put the people's sins on the goat's head. Then he will send the goat away into the desert, and a man who has been appointed will lead the goat away. So the goat will carry on itself all the people's sins to a lonely place in the desert. The man who leads the goat will let it loose there.

• A way to get rid of sin: the scapegoat. The only way this works is if people confess the sins. If the hide the sin, then it doesn't work.

Leviticus 26:40-42
" 'But maybe the people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors; maybe they will admit they turned against me and sinned against me, which made me turn against them and send them into the land of their enemies. If these disobedient people are sorry for what they did and accept punishment for their sin, I will remember my agreement with Jacob, my agreement with Isaac, and my agreement with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

• God just wants me to be sorry for my sin and accept the punishment. I've noticed how my son is closer to me than before his punishment. I think really God doesn't want me to sin in the first place, but if I do sin, to have a heart of confession first instead of trying to hide it or ignore it.

2 Samuel 12:7-14
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I appointed you king of Israel and saved you from Saul. I gave you his kingdom and his wives. And I made you king of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you even more. So why did you ignore the Lord's command? Why did you do what he says is wrong? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your wife! Now there will always be people in your family who will die by a sword, because you did not respect me; you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself!'

"This is what the Lord says: 'I am bringing trouble to you from your own family. While you watch, I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it. You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will do this so all the people of Israel can see it.' "

Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."

Nathan answered, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You will not die. But what you did caused the Lord's enemies to lose all respect for him. For this reason the son who was born to you will die."

• A sign of humility. David acknowledges that he has sinned and immediately confesses to Nathan. And by doing so, he receives some grace. He still receives some consequences, but he also gets some grace.

Luke 15:11-20
Then Jesus said, "A man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, 'Give me my share of the property.' So the father divided the property between his two sons. Then the younger son gathered up all that was his and traveled far away to another country. There he wasted his money in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a time came when there was no food anywhere in the country, and the son was poor and hungry. So he got a job with one of the citizens there who sent the son into the fields to feed pigs. The son was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he realized what he was doing, he thought, 'All of my father's servants have plenty of food. But I am here, almost dying with hunger. I will leave and return to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but let me be like one of your servants." ' So the son left and went to his father.

• The younger son already had some consequences but is still restored to his family. He received some grace from his father. He was humble and wasn't expecting the loving reception from his father. The first thing he did was he confessed.

Grace Study – Edition #3

July 4^th to 6^th, 2007

Grace Study – Edition #3

(Notes from Edition #1)

Grace (noun):

Chên (Prounounced: khane)

• Graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): - favor, grace or gracious, pleasant, precious, favored or well favored.
• Favor, grace or charm; in elegance or in acceptance.

Grace (noun):

• Of form or person (Proverbs 1:9; 3:22; Psalm 45:2).
• Favor, kindness, friendship (Genesis 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Timothy 1:9).
• God's forgiving mercy (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:5).
• The gospel as distinguished from the law (John 1:17; Romans 6:14; 1 Peter 5:12).
• Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues (Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 3:8).
• Christian virtues (2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Peter 3:18).
• The glory hereafter to be revealed (1 Peter 1:13).

And now, Edition #3

TODAY’S NEWS!!!

Subject: ANOTHER TERRORIST

At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, the attorney general said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. “Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," a Justice Department spokesman said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are 3 sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes".

Two brothers go camping. Billy is wearing his FAVORITE shirt in the whole world!

Suddenly, Philip gets bit by a poisonous snake. Billy calls the doctor.

He tells the story and they reply back. "This is TERIBLE! Quick, wrap his bite with something like your shirt or he might die."

Philip cries out a question, "What did the doc... ouch... say?"

"Doctor says you’re going to die!"

Romans 11:1-6
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Grace is what saves me. Nothing else. I can't "earn" salvation, but I can't sit around and do literally nothing, either (see James on that one).

A dude gets into a taxi after a long night at the bars and halfway home decides he needs some fast food.

He taps the driver on the shoulder and suddenly the driver SCREAMS!! --swerves across the road and jumps the sidewalk stopping just short of a cement barrier.

Then driver turns around and says "Don't EVER, EVER tap me on the shoulder while I'm driving!!"

The passenger says, "GEEZ. I'm sorry; I didn't know it would scare you so much."

The driver replies, "before this I drove a HEARSE for 25 years!!”

Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This scripture simply reiterates that grace is what saves. I couldn't give enough money to the church, walk little old ladies across the street, work at a food bank enough to earn the gift God gives.

An elderly man had serious hearing problems for many years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed him to hear 100%.

The elderly man went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor diagnosed, “Your hearing is perfect! Your family must be very pleased.”

To which the elderly man said, “Oh, I haven't told them yet. I just sit and listen to their conversations. I've already changed my will three times!”

I liked putting the jokes here... if you stop to think about them, it hits home... what I like about this little study is that it shows that the grace of God is what saves me. It doesn't mention everything in the Bible, obviously... like baptism saves and faith saves. It's one piece of the puzzle. Anyway, Johnny Out.

Grace Study – Edition #2

June 21st and 22nd, 2007

Grace Study – Edition #2

(Notes from Edition #1)

Grace (noun):
Chên (Prounounced: khane)

• Graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): - favor, grace or gracious, pleasant, precious, favored or well favored.
• Favor, grace or charm; in elegance or in acceptance.
  

Grace (noun):

• Of form or person (Proverbs 1:9; 3:22; Ps. 45:2).
• Favor, kindness, friendship (Gen. 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Tim. 1:9).
• God's forgiving mercy (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:5).
• The gospel as distinguished from the law (John 1:17; Rom. 6:14; 1 Pet. 5:12).
• Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues (Rom. 15:15; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Eph. 3:8).
• Christian virtues (2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Pet. 3:18).
• The glory hereafter to be revealed (1 Pet. 1:13).
  

And now, Edition #2

So I said I would like to look at these scriptures. In a sense, I already looked over the Proverbs and Psalm scriptures. What I am going to study now is the second set of passages.

Genesis 6:5-8
The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

You know, when I read this, I generally tend to wonder if God looks at me and grieves he made me, it filled with pain when he considers me, or if he looks at me and I find favor with him. I also have thought of when God would finally look at this world now when he did at this time in the passage. It will happen again, not quite like this, but the time will come. I just don’t want to think of how despaired God was here in Genesis. I mean, I am in pain right now, but can it compare to what he felt here? Or what about how he feels now? I mean, can he be pleased with cities in general like Las Vegas, Amsterdam or Prague? If these cities aren’t the Sodom and Gomorrah of today, I just don’t know what is.

Genesis 18:1-5
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

Now, I like this passage. The Lord found favor in Abraham. I’m not sure if it was because he was eager to serve or Abraham simply showing the due respect or what, but this heart was amazing. In the previous chapter, he was born his son, Isaac, and he hadn’t even offered him as a sacrifice yet. Abraham had a submissive heart. And that is what God looked upon him with favor. I have a son. He’s two. I can’t say that I would put him on an alter. I haven’t been asked by God to do something like that, and I know God wouldn’t do that in today’s time. God does ask things of me, different things that are laid out in the Bible. The question, I guess, is: am I eager to do those things? If someone needs something, do I jump at the request? I’m getting better at it. I know this: I have reached out to two people in two days. That may not be a whole lot, but I don’t meet a whole lot, and my “reaching out” faith is getting back to what it should. A friend of mine mentioned on Wednesday that there are not a lot of guys studying and a whole bunch of women studying. I am just trying to make a little dent in that right now.

Genesis 19:15-26
With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”

He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)

By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot found favor in God’s eyes. But honestly, that wasn’t the eye-popper in this passage. It was when Lot went to his sons-in-law, pledged to marry his daughters, and tried to get them to flee and they thought that he was joking. And guess what? They died. That hit me in how they did not trust a man who has favor with God. I thought, if a respected man of God came to me and told me that Dallas was going to be destroyed by something, like a massive tornado, and I look up in the sky and see that it is a clear day and the forecast says the same, would I go or would I think the guy is crazy? I guess my heart is already revealed. I already checked the forecast. And what’s kind of funny is that I could go back and change what I typed, but then that would be just wrong.

2nd Timothy 1:3-10
I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Grace has been given to me. It has been given to my wife, Jenny. It has been given by God and CJ (that’s Christ Jesus). I also call him JC (Jesus Christ). That’s why CJ came, to bring salvation. He came to bring grace. He came to bring an example and to prove that the impossible is possible. He lived a perfect life to show me that I can. I haven’t lived a perfect life, but I can. My wonderful help-mate sends me quotes from time to time, which are always thought provoking, but I generally don’t post them anywhere in here, but this one works: No matter what a man’s past may have been, his future is spotless. That quote is by John R. Rice. And that thought is very encouraging and makes me think AND BELIEVE I can live a perfect life, at least from here on out. Johnny Out.

Grace Study – Edition #1

June 20th, 2007

Grace Study – Edition #1

I do not have an understanding of grace. If I did at one point, I’ve lost it. I’m starting to regain a new understanding. I had a small argument with my wife this evening. Maybe I am feeling a bit more stressed than I thought. The surgery is Friday. I would believe that would have a lot to do with it, but I can never really say if that is it. If God is the quarterback, I want to be his “go-to guy”. I don’t know if I am right now. I don’t feel confident about it, to say the least. I met a guy today, actually earlier this evening. I was starting to feel more like the guy wants me to be. When I got home, another guy approached me looking to squab with me over a parking space. To add insult to injury, my son was standing right there with me. I’m not sure if I want to live here anymore. Well, actually, I DON’T want to live here anymore. This neighborhood has rapidly declined since we first moved in. I just don't think it is safe. And to say the least, I want out. To further add to the whole thing, I just went and got my mail, praying a bit before I got it, and the woman who was being assaulted by her boyfriend threatened to call the cops on me. SHEESH!!! What next? I could use a little encouragement.

What is grace?

In the NIV, the word “grace” is used 124 times. It is only used 8 times in the Old Testament and 116 times in the New Testament. In the OT, four of those times, it is used in reference to wearing clothes. Another time it is used in a wedding song in Psalms. Here are the other three:

Isaiah 26:1-21 (NIV)
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them. LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. O LORD, our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. They are now dead, they live no more; those departed spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them. You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land. LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a woman with child and about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, O LORD. We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth; we have not given birth to people of the world. But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.

Jonah 2:1-10 (NCV)
While Jonah was inside the fish, he prayed to the Lord his God and said, “When I was in danger, I called to the Lord, and he answered me. I was about to die, so I cried to you, and you heard my voice. You threw me into the sea, down, down into the deep sea. The water was all around me, and your powerful waves flowed over me. I said, ‘I was driven out of your presence, but I hope to see your Holy Temple again.’ The waters of the sea closed around my throat. The deep sea was all around me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. When I went down to where the mountains of the sea start to rise, I thought I was locked in this prison forever, but you saved me from the pit of death, Lord my God. When my life had almost gone, I remembered the Lord. I prayed to you, and you heard my prayers in your Holy Temple. People who worship useless idols give up their loyalty to you. But I will praise and thank you while I give sacrifices to you, and I will keep my promises to you.” Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and the fish threw up Jonah onto the dry land.

Jonah 2:8 (NIV)
“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

Zechariah 12:10-14 (NIV)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the rest of the clans and their wives.”

Zechariah 12:10 (NCV)
“I will pour out on David’s family and the people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed, and they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son.”

These are the three scriptures in which grace is a noun and not a description of an item.

Grace (noun):
Chên (Prounounced: khane):

• Graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty): favor, grace or gracious, pleasant, precious, favored or well favored.
• Favor, grace or charm; in elegance or in acceptance.

That Hebrew definition is from Zechariah. The other two, from Isaiah and Jonah, are derivatives of mercy. What I can gather is that grace and mercy go hand-in-hand. And this is an important lesson in itself. If I am going to express grace onto my wife or my son, I am also showing mercy on them. And that is good. It is important. And I have to learn this lesson. It needs to be at the core of my being. How am I to be like Christ if I do not display grace and mercy? IT CAN’T BE DONE!!! There’s no way one can stake a claim in being Christ-like if they do not express grace and mercy.

Grace (noun):

• The freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
• The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
• A virtue or excellence of divine origin.
• Mercy; clemency; pardon.
• An allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied.
• A manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior.

Also on the online dictionary:

• Of form or person (Proverbs 1:9; 3:22; Psalm 45:2).
• Favor, kindness, friendship (Genesis 6:8; 18:3; 19:19; 2 Timothy 1:9).
• God's forgiving mercy (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:5).
• The gospel as distinguished from the law (John 1:17; Romans 6:14; 1 Peter 5:12).
• Gifts freely bestowed by God; as miracles, prophecy, tongues (Romans 15:15; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 3:8).
• Christian virtues (2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Peter 3:18).
• The glory hereafter to be revealed (1 Peter 1:13).

I am very curious as to what these scriptures would reveal. I’m starting to get very excited about this new little series. Johnny Out.