Day 2: Genesis 17 – 28:1-19 December 3, 2010
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I’m always amazed by the Bible when I read it, it truly is a miraculous book. From manuscript evidence, to the things the inspired authors said, to the prophecies fulfilled, to the historical facts that were confirmed, to ultimately, the Good News of Jesus revealed in it. Sometimes, people wonder why they can take the Bible seriously as the words of God, and to me, look no further than Genesis 19. There are multiple other stories in the Bible, that if I were the author of a major movement or religion I would never have included, much less one comparable to Christianity with the morality that it demands. Simply put, I have a hard time believing that if man created the God of the Bible, that they would have put some of the crazy stories you read about in Scriptures. In my opinion, the story of Lot and his family in Sodom has got to be, something you’d expect out of a Jerry Springer episode, not God’s Holy Word.
In Genesis 18, the Lord visits Abraham on His way to Sodom, and reveals to Abraham His plan for the city. When Abraham learns of it, he pleads for God to spare the city if He can simply find 10 righteous people. God agrees to this, knowing full well that the city is completely out of control, and so immoral and corrupt that they will not even find 10. Then in Genesis 19, God sends two angels into the town and they actually make contact with Lot, Abraham’s relative. Lot invites the men to stay at his place, but they want to stay in the town square. Lot pleads with them not to, and finally convinces them to stay with Him. As night fell, the men of Sodom came and knocked on Lot’s door and this is where the story gets crazy. They tell Lot to bring the men of his house outside so that they can “have relations” with them, and they aren’t talking about becoming Facebook friends.
As if the story couldn’t get crazier, Lot realizes how awful this is and begs the men no, but instead of simply standing up to them and telling them to get away from his home, he offers up his daughters to this mob instead in exchange for word from these men that they will not bother the angels. Obviously, the men of Sodom do not care, so they press forward toward Lot and begin to try to break into the home, when the angels grab Lot, pull him into the house, and then lock it. When Lot is brought in, he is told that Sodom will be destroyed and to get his family out of town. The next day, Lot leaves with just his wife and daughters, and are told to not even look back onto Sodom while they flee. Lot’s wife does so, and is killed instantly.
At this point, they have escaped with their lives, but the city is in ruins. Lot’s daughters then decide that in order to preserve their family line, that they will each get their father drunk and sleep with him! Each does so, and they become pregnant and have children of their father. WHAT THE HECK!?!?! These children actually end up being the fathers of entire nations who war with the Israelites: the Moabites and the Ammonites. As you read this story, you ask yourself, why in the world is this in God’s word, and what is He trying to teach us? I think there are a number of things:
1. Man is abundantly wicked, and apart from God’s restraint and grace the world could be a lot more like this.
2. A reminder that, the decline of moral values we see is not something new, but something that existed since the beginning.
3. A reminder of God’s justice and mercy (as he spares Lot even in the midst of all this).
To be honest, it’s crazy stories like this that remind me of the validity of the Bible. A religion that attempts to teach the kinds of things the God of the Bible commands would not include these types of narratives if they were not from God.
Blessings!
Day 1: Genesis 1-16 December 2, 2010
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Many of us have probably read through Genesis at some point, some of us multiple times, as we all make that commitment to read through the entire Bible. I confess this will probably be the 7th or 8th time I’ve read through Genesis myself, but every time I read it, God points out something new to me. Here are some things God revealed to me as I read through today:
Genesis 2:3 – God sanctifies the 7th day. Sanctify here is the Hebrew word qadash, meaning to set aside, to be holy, or to be separate. I think about how God has sanctified each and every one of us as His children, through the work of Jesus Christ. It’s beautiful to see, that all sanctification is done by God.
Genesis 2:17 – When God gives the command to Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he tells him that the consequences of doing so will be that he will “surely die.” I was asked just last night, why people have to die, even if they are believers in Jesus Christ. There is why, God has set a punishment, and He must carry through with it. This is why Christ talked of the need to be born again. (John 3)
Genesis 2:19-20 – What a privilege God gave Adam to name His creation…
Genesis 4:16 – Early creation is interesting. Obviously, God’s presence was in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, but it appears His presence extends outside the garden once He has thrown Adam and Eve out of the garden. Was this for protection? Was this simply to remind Adam and Even of Himself? I’m not sure, but we know a special presence of the Lord was there as it says that He sent Cain away from His presence.
Genesis 8:21 – Proof of man’s total depravity, but also God’s mercy. He will not destroy the rest of creation ever again on account of man’s sin.
All great stuff, other stuff as well, but simply don’t have time to share on here. Hope you guys are deciding to join in on this challenge, it’s tough, but God will reward it. Blessings!
I’m a horrible blogger… November 30, 2010
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I’m a bad blogger… this much is true, but I hope to be changing that over the course of the next 90 days. I have challenged myself and a few of the guys I meet with every week to read through the Bible with me in 90 days. It’s a reading plan I saw online, and while I normally wouldn’t be for going through God’s Word that quickly, I felt challenged and convicted to do it because it sounded really hard. (When something sounds difficult and too challenging it’s usually a sign to go for it.)
Anyway, my prayer is that I will be posting in here nightly some thoughts I had while I read through the passages that day. Obviously, if I miss a day of posting it’s not going to be the end of the world, but I’m really challenging myself on this one.
In other news, from my previous blog post I can see that we were still focused on NC State, and while I still belive God has big plans for that campus, He has shifted our focus in a new direction: Gainesville, FL. More on that to come in later posts.
Please pray for me, and my friends as we begin this challenge, that we would not only be reading the words, but that God would be filling our hearts with spiritual truth that will sustain us throughout the rest of our lives.
Blessings!
Update… March 15, 2010
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Hey people out in the blog world… been really busy with work, ministry, LU Online and marriage lately but here is just a little update.
1. Things are in full swing at the church, and we are beginning a new series real soon called EXPOSED. You won’t want to miss it so definitely come check it out.
2. Speedy and Erica are married!!! WOOOOHOOO go Claxtons!
3. As of right now my sister is planning on going back to KZ for another year, please be lifting her and her team up.
4. 12 of us are heading down to Raleigh in exactly 11 days…. future Aletheia Raleigh?? If it’s what God wants…. be lifting us up please… we definitely need His guidance, help and diligence, but feel called to see His name proclaimed to the lost in the RDU Triangle.
Funny how God does things, I almost went to NC State for my undergrad career, but God just wasn’t quite ready for me to be down there yet. Thanks for praying for us, Jackie and I love you guys and will be lifting you up.
Pray for open doors and open minds, and a spirit of boldness as we attempt to go out like the early church fathers.
“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” – Acts 5:42
What’s my ambition? January 13, 2010
Posted by andersks in Daily Walk.2 comments
I was teaching small group last night, and as many of you know if you’ve ever led a group yourselves, the Lord often ends up speaking to you just as much as those you are teaching, if not more so. As the group was discussing what it means to be a disciple, the thought that Jesus must be first in our ambitions hit me in a new and profound way. Let me share the passage that brought this about:
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Luke 14:27
This idea carries a lot of implications, but let’s first break down what it means to “carry your own cross.” Roman crucifixion, in my opinion, is probably the most evil form of execution ever devised by the human race. It was slow, it was painful, it was shameful. Roman Crucifixions were actually so terrible, that Rome would not allow it’s own citizens to be crucified. Roman citizens could still be executed, but crucifixion was never an option. This meant that only non-Roman citizens would ever be crucified, which meant that Rome was saying non-Roman citizens were not as valuable human beings as citizens of Rome. So immediately, the stigma of one receiving Roman crucifixion is that of being a “lesser human being.”
Likewise, Jesus is saying here that you have to be willing to take the stigma of being looked down upon as being one of his disciples. You must be willing to take a hit, whether it be in popularity, or just simply your own desire for personal glory. You must forsake your own glory and identity for that of Jesus instead.
The second implication that this passage immediately raises, has to do in part with the actual crucifixion process. As part of the crucifixion process, the condemned was often required to carry their own cross to the place of their execution. This would be the equivalent of someone on death row being asked to carry their chair through downtown DC, along with the poison that would be used for lethal injection. Once he got in front of the capital building, he would be asked to set it down, and then sit in the chair and prepare for his death. The shame and public humility that comes with that would not be thought of in our society, but was very much a part of the Roman Crucifixion process.
The point that would be applied to our own lives here would be that we must be willing to be shamed and made a public spectacle of for the sake of the Gospel. The thought of being scorned and humiliated should be expected by those who seek to follow Jesus.
The last implication that Jesus is using here is demanding a willingness to die for Him. Just like He died on the cross for us, we to must be willing, if the calling came, to die for His cause and our faith in Him. Many of us will never face an actual life or death situation for the sake of the Gospel, but many do ultimately face a choice daily. Will I stand up for what I believe when my friends are telling that bad joke about someone we all know personally? Will I take my stand by not laughing and saying I think its inappropriate? Or will I cop out and laugh, and possibly even join in with them? The call of Christ is clear… we must be willing to stand up and defend our faith in Him in these situations, or we can’t call ourselves true Christians. We must deny the world, stand against it, and in every case, see the Gospel as more important than our own lives.
The implication of these 15 words (Luke 14:27) is stunning, and completely turns upside down all conventional thinking about our lives. To decide that public humiliation, shame, lowliness and even death, are preferable to not following Jesus just shows the brevity of a commitment to Him. Ultimately Jesus is saying, that our lives, everything we do, must first be centered in serving Him. He must be our number one ambition. Our number one aim in life must be to see the Gospel, and the cause of Jesus Christ, increased in all the world. The decision to laugh or not laugh at those questionable jokes is directly tied to whether Jesus is our chief ambition.
As I tried, as best as humanly possible, to communicate this to the men in our small group, I realized that God was communicating this to me. He was reminding me, you don’t go to work each day to collect a paycheck, make money, and create a name for yourself. You go to work each day in order to provide enough resources to stay in Harrisonburg, provide for your wife, and serve at Aletheia so that you can assist in the increase of the Gospel. To go to work in any other mindset is completely contradictory to the new self, the one that desires God and only God.
Chew on this, especially if life has you in a situation that may not necessarily be your top choice. You are where God has you to be. You are there to serve God and God alone. All that you do daily, is out your desire to serve Him. All that you plan to do, whether it’s to be the CEO of a major corporation or a missionary of the smallest village in the Amazon, must be centered in Him as your primary ambition. Die to your desires, and live for His.
Grace and Peace,
Kevin
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:21
Talk from last night… December 3, 2009
Posted by andersks in Thoughts on Scripture.add a comment
I gave a talk at Aletheia’s Wednesday night service last night on Psalm 14 and had planned to post my outline and some thoughts up here on the passage today. I got up this morning to find that our girl Chelsea Cline had already put a summary of her own up and did a way better job than I could do with it, so instead you are just going to get a link to her page.
Go check it out! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Reflections on RDU October 29, 2009
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Well, after a fun weekend with Pastor Paul Fiske, I am back in Harrisonburg, and back in the swing of things, but I just wanted to give a quick update to you all about the trip.
Paul and I went down there to probe the campuses of UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State. The weekend went great for us and we were definitely blessed to have the bad weather hold off until we were done connecting with students on campus.
After being down there I really feel that the students on both campuses are still not being reached as effectively as they could be. The students there, much like most other campuses we have been to, were awesome. Most of them were really engaging, helpful to us guys who didn’t know where we were, and more than willing to talk about spiritual things. It will be exciting to see what God does there in the future, and what his plans for Aletheia are in the RDU area.
If any of you are from the RDU area, and some how come across this blog, let me know your thoughts on the area, and the climate spiritually. Thanks for praying for us guys, and we’ll keep you posted on another future probe in the spring possibly.
How to Deal with Spiritual Stagnation October 23, 2009
Posted by andersks in Thoughts on Scripture.3 comments
I had the honor of teaching at Aletheia’s Wednesday night service this past week in front of a really great group of people. Just thought I’d share my outline from the talk with all you guys who take time out of your day to follow my very few blog posts.
How to Deal With Spiritual Stagnation
Psalm 107
stag·na·tion \stag-ˈnā-shən\ noun inactivity of liquids; being stagnant; standing still; without current or circulation
Often times we can feel like life is at a standstill, but a simple re-focus can jumpstart things into a fully supercharged life for God.
I. Remember to Give God Praise
Verse 1: “Oh give thanks to the Lord…”
“thanks” ידה(yadah) – to give thanks, praise, to celebrate
We celebrate Him because “He is good,” and “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Verse 2: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…”
“redeemed” גאל(ga’al) – to redeem (passive)
Verse 3: “And gathered from the lands…”
God makes no exceptions, He will gather all the redeemed, and they will come from all over the world!
II. Rejoice in What God Has Rescued Us From
- Those who were lost and lonely – Verse 4-9
Verse 4: “They wandered in the wilderness…”
Verse 5: “They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted with in them.”
“fainted” עטף (a’taph) – faint away, languish
Verse 6: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.”
Verse 9: “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul…”
- Those who were bound to addictions – Verse 10-16
Verse 10: “There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains,”
“Prisoners” אסיר (‘aciyr) – a captive
Verse 11: “Because they had rebelled against the words of God…”
Often times we choose to intentionally live apart from God, and when we do we can end up enslaving ourselves to something.
Verse 12: “…They stumbled and there was none to help.”
Verse 13: “Then they cried out to the Lord…” – AGAIN, GOD RESCUES
Verse 14: “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart.”
“broke” נתק (nathaq) – to tear apart, snap
- Those who led self-destructive lifestyles – Verse 17-22
Verse 17: “Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted.”
“afflicted” – ענה (‘anah) – to afflict oneself (reflexive)
Verse 18: “…And they drew near to the gates of death.”
Verse 19: “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;” – AND AGAIN
- Those who were solely focused on worldly riches – Verse 23-32
Verse 23: “Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters;”
“business” מלאכה (me’la’kah) – occupation, work, business
Verse 24: “They have seen the works of the Lord,”
Verse 27: “They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits end.”
“wits end” בלע חכמה (chokmah bala’) – wisdom devoured
These men were literally at the end of power and reasoning, realizing they were out of control.
Verse 28: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble…” – AND AGAIN
III. Remembering God Has All the Power
Verse 33: “He changes rivers into a wilderness…”
“wilderness” מדבר(midbar) – wilderness (uninhabited land)
God can take that which flourishes and make it into waste.
Verse 35: “He changes a wilderness into a pool of water and a dry land into springs of water;”
In the same respect He can turn that which produces nothing and make it flourishing and fruitful.
IV. Don’t Forget Where True Understanding Comes From
Verse 43: “Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, and consider the loving kindness of the Lord.”
“consider” בין(biyn) – to show oneself discerning or attentive
Reflection
Has my personal relationship with the Lord been at a standstill, while life continues on without stopping?
Have I been giving to much attention to what’s going on around me, and not enough to God?
Hope you guys enjoy this passage of scripture as much as I do, and remember just to focus on God, good times and bad.
I wanna be like Mike… nope I wanna be like a Nazirite! September 30, 2009
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So first off, I haven’t posted on here since January…hahaha… the purpose of a blog is to actually put your thoughts down, but it’s all good, maybe I’ll do it more frequently now.
Anyway, I was reading in Numbers the other day and Chapter 6 really spoke to me in an interesting way. God is speaking to Moses, and so often as he does in the Torah, He is giving specific instructions to Moses on certain things. In this particular passage He is giving instructions on Nazirites.
A Nazirite was a Jewish believer who loved God so much that they wanted to give up everything in order to serve Him. The Levites were people called of God to serve Him in special capacities, but the Nazirites were those that actually choose to do this out of Love and Obedience.
In the Hebrew, the definition for Nazirite is as follows: a kind of ascetic among the Hebrews, who by vow abstained from certain things. If you are like me you are probably wondering what ascetic means, it means someone who renounces material comforts for the sake of self-discipline.
What was so interesting to me is that the Nazirite was not born into this like the Levite, but He actually chose to do this out of obedience and love for God. This was not a light commitment either, if you look later in the chapter, God lays some ground rules out for these Nazirites to show them importance of their commitment.
- They were to abstain from wine (vv.3)
- They were to drink no grape juice (vv.3)
- They were actually not to eat anything from the grape vine whatsoever (vv.3)
- They were not to cut their hair (vv.5)
- They were to not go near dead people (vv.6)
Some of these things seem strange, but they had importance in Ancient Jewish culture, and it was very important for them to keep these commandments in order to show the separation of their life through abstaining from these things for God. For example, I first thought that staying away from dead people wouldn’t be all that tough, but think about losing someone you love, not being able to mourn over them might be really difficult. These were not easy things to give up, but for God, the Nazirites were totally committed to it.
In the same way, God’s people are called to be separate as well, and our actions should reflect the willingness we have to follow God.
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
As a Christian I know it is tough for me to separate myself from the things that I know are not of God, but it’s necessary so that the world may know that He has changed my life. Basically, I want to be a 21st century Nazirite for God. I want to be able to give up comforts, desires, and material things in an effort of self-discipline for God’s glory, because to be honest, He’s worth it.
Long time… no update January 27, 2009
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Much has happened since my last update:
1. I have a job (praise God for that) and am finally able to afford to eat. 
2. My best friend and I are getting married on July 18th!!!
3. My boy JR and two other studs from Aletheia are currently in Tampa starting the next Aletheia!!
4. I taught on Ephesians 4:1-6 last Wednesday night. (Will post that outline and notes from it later.)
Needless to say I have been very busy… AND very negligent of this blog. BUT I am going to make a bigger push to start working on it, and getting some of my thoughts down on here. Keeping in mind the craziness of the last few months, including the change and transition that has been going on with the ministry, and in my life; one passage in scripture has been my rock for the last month or so.
I Thessalonians 4:3-8
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” (NKJV)
The will of God is a tricky thing, or at least we make it out to be that way. We are constantly looking for the Biblical blueprint that will lead us to follow God’s will. The thing is, we are often looking for a blueprint that tells us: where to live, who to marry, what job we will be doing and how long we are to be doing these things. What God’s word says is something else, and that is simply to follow Him and to follow His commands.
That is, more specifically, to become “sanctified.” The greek word for sanctification is actually the word ἁγιασμός (hagiasmos) and means to purify. God’s will is that all would become purified and this comes through knowing Him. With the power that he offers we can become Sanctified, and through that, be in God’s will. If we are in God’s word, studying it, and living it out in our daily lives, we can’t help but be in God’s will.
Make it a priority to get in God’s word, to be in prayer, and to love on your neighbor, because that is God’s blueprint for your life.
