Who He is, and who we are...

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post in the archives, dated November 12, 2008, where I introduce myself and the blog. As you read, I encourage you to add in any reflections or comments you may have.

Blessings and best wishes,
Dr. Will

Thursday and Friday, March 18 and 19, 2010
Devotions: Ps 69, 73, 95, 102, 107; Exod 1:6-2:22; 1 Cor 12:12-13:3; Mk 8:27-9:13

Lord, I face a lot of troubles, and a lot of enemies. And as You know, I’m not blameless myself. But I long for You; I’m zealous for Your kingdom. I have no hope except the one hope in You—and that is enough, Lord. Your steadfast love and faithfulness are sufficient; cleanse me of my sins, and turn my enemies away. Let Your salvation raise me above the swamp of conflict and despair. I will magnify the Lord; let all creation join in praising our God! He will establish Zion, and bring into it all who love His name. Let us not envy the arrogant; God has placed them on a slippery slope, and they will fall into ruin. Envy makes me stupid; faith edifies me. There is nothing on earth, Lord, that I desire—only You, Lord! God is my strength, and my Portion forever. It is good to be near the Lord God my Refuge. So let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. YHWH is the great God, a great King over all the spiritual beings. All creation is His, for He made it! Let us worship and bow down, kneeling before God our Maker. We are His flock; obey Him, or perish. May God hear and answer my supplication; my diet is ashes, my cup is despair. But let God arise and scatter His enemies. Show Your glory, my God, and let all people praise You. Your children will dwell secure for ever. Let us testify to God’s goodness and thank Him for His steadfast love. He delivers His people from wandering, from darkness, from prison, from depression, from every disease. Heal and deliver, Lord! He watches over wanderers and pilgrims, and calms the storms that threaten us. He is my Home! Let the upright ponder the ways of the Lord and be glad; let the wicked see, and tremble. And let the wise heed these things and abide in God’s steadfast love.

When Joseph and his generation had passed away, the descendants of Israel continued to multiply in the land of Egypt. Eventually, a new royal dynasty took Egypt’s throne, who knew nothing of Joseph. The new king feared the people of Israel, and set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They became work-slaves—yet God continued to multiply the people. The Egyptian ruler tried to subvert the Hebrew midwives, directing them to kill every newborn male among the Israelites. But the midwives refused and conspired to keep the boys alive. God blessed the midwives, and continued to prosper the Israelites. Next, Pharaoh commanded that the people drown every newborn Israelite male. A boy was born to a husband and wife of the tribe of Levi; the mother hid her son for three months, but when she could do so no longer, she constructed a waterproof basket of bulrushes caulked with bitumen and pitch, and set her son adrift on the waters of the Nile. The baby’s older sister hid along the river to watch over her infant brother. One of Pharaoh’s daughters came to the river to bathe, and discovered the child there. She took pity on the baby; the sister came forward and asked the princess if she wanted a wet nurse to care for the child, and the princess agreed. So the baby’s own mother was paid to feed and care for him until he was weaned and adopted into Pharaoh’s own household. The princess named the boy ‘Moses’—in Egyptian, linked to begetting a child and to the God Thut-mose, and in Hebrew, to the verb ‘to draw forth’. For the boy was conceived according to God’s purpose, and drawn forth from the river’s waters. Moses was raised in the royal household, but aware of his Hebrew heritage. One day he went out to his people and became aware of their afflictions. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and when he saw no witnesses nearby, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day, he came out again, and this time found two Hebrews struggling with one another. He tried to intervene, but the assailant rounded on Moses: ‘Who made you our prince and judge? Do you intend to kill me like you killed that Egyptian?’ Moses was afraid, realizing that his act was known. Pharaoh heard of this, and sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Egypt and ended up in Midian. He sat down by a well, and the seven daughters of Midian’s priest came there to draw water for their father’s flocks. The Midianite shepherds sought to drive the women and their flocks away, but Moses defended them and watered their flocks. When the women came to their father, he asked how they had completed their work so early, and they told him about how the Egyptian had helped them. The priest sent his daughters to invite the man to their home. Moses was content to stay with the priest, and eventually the priest gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as a wife. She bore Moses a son, named Gershom, a name related to the Hebrew for ‘soujourner.’ For as Moses said, ‘I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.’

Paul’s teaching about the body of Christ continued: As the body is one, yet has many members, so with Christ. By one Spirit, we all were baptized into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, slave or free. And all partake of the one Spirit. The body has diverse parts, and each has its proper place and function. All are needed—we can’t all be hands or eyes—we need feet, ears, and other organs and systems! God has arranged the organs in the body as He chose—so that there are many parts, yet one body. No part can disown another—all are needed, and the weakest parts seem to be the most indispensable, and those parts we think less honorable we invest with greater honor, and those parts least presentable, we treat with great modesty, not needed by our more presentable parts. This is from God: giving greater honor to the inferior part, so that there may be no discord in the body, and so that all the parts may care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. So: as a community, you are Christ’s body, and individually, you are its constituent members. God has appointed in this body first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, healers, helpers, administrators, and t hose gifted in various tongues. All are gifted, but not all have the same gifts—apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, tongues or interpretation. Earnestly desire the higher gifts! I will show you the most excellent way: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains—but I have no love, I am nothing! If I give away all I have and deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing! Love is the highest path, the greatest gift.

Jesus and His disciples traveled to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they went along, Jesus asked His companions, ‘Who do people say that I Am?’ They told Him: ‘John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, another of the prophets of old.’ And He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I Am?’ Peter answered Jesus: ‘You are the Messiah.’ And Jesus told them to tell no one about Him. He began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things; He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes; He would be killed, and after three days, He would rise again. All this He told them very plainly. Peter took Jesus aside and tried to rebuke him; but as He noted the disciples watching, Jesus rebuked Peter: ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are not on God’s side, but on the side of men.’ Jesus gathered the multitudes and His own followers, and told them all: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Whoever tries to save his own life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for the sake of Me and the gospel will save it. It profits a person nothing to gain the whole world, yet to forfeit his own life! A man cannot ransom himself. Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous generation, of that one the Son of man will also be ashamed, when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.’ Jesus told them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that God’s kingdom has come with power.’ About six days later, Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him, and led them up a high mountain. There, Jesus was transfigured before them: His garments became intensely white, glistening as no fuller on earth could bleach them. With Jesus appeared Elijah and Moses, conferring with Jesus. Peter babbled, ‘Master, it’s good that we’re here! Let us build three booths, one each for you and Moses and Elijah!’ The three apostles were terrified. A cloud came and overshadowed them all, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!’ When they looked up, the three saw only Jesus with them. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus charged all three to tell no one what they have experienced, until the Son of man had risen from death. They kept the matter among themselves, but keep questioning what Jesus meant by rising from the dead. They questioned Jesus: ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come before the Messiah?’ Jesus answered, ‘Elijah does come first to restore all things—but it is also written that the Son of man must come and suffer many things and be treated with contempt. I tell you that Elijah has come, and they have already done to him as they pleased, as it was written of him.’