The Notes are Good

BSF Genesis: Week 10, Day 2

Questions:

3.
a.
All of man’s needs, wants and desires were provided by God, focused on community – Not good to for man to be alone so God created companionship and community

b.
God’s first words following the fall of man was a promise of the coming of Christ to defeat Satan
4.
Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. The ancients were commended for it. Faith in the person of Jesus is the equal to faith and trust in God’s love for His creation from His word for all time

5
a.
Gave first and best. Gave sacrificially. Lord looked on Abel and his offering with favor. Revealed a trust and love of God

b.
Heb 11:5 – By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death

c.
Walk with God daily. Trust in him. Have faith. Give sacrificially (not holding back). Open your heart for God to see (He knows what is in it anyway)

My Daily Journal:

At first I was trying to figure out where BSF was going with the lesson this week. But I think the overarching point that is being looked at is the character of these great men of the bible that we have studied so far. Abel and Enoch. And, most importantly within it, that their character was built squarely on faith.

For me the image that stuck with me came in the last answer. I’ve prayed many times for an open heart to receive God’s word. I’ve prayed it for myself, for my kids and family, for my church, for the children in Sunday school and BSF. And, every time I’ve prayed it I had the image of an open vessel, something to catch what God wanted to pour out on me or them.

That is not a bad image, but I saw a different one today. Today I thought about the fact that the scriptures say God looked at Abel and his offering. It isn’t that God just looked at the offering, but first and foremost, he looked at Abel and what the offering was saying about him. The visual idea that came to me was the image of pulling out my wallet and opening it up wide, allowing whoever is with me to take whatever they choose. From a monetary standpoint it is saying, here is everything that I have, no secrets, no hidden pockets, full disclosure, you see everything as much or little as there is and I am offering it to you to take freely, please. When I read that about Abel, that is the image I saw of him with his heart to God.

That’s what Abel and Enoch did. They opened their hearts to God like that open wallet. This is all that I have, not bragging, not shame, just full open disclosure in complete trust, eyes closed, no caveats, just trust.

But here is the interesting thing. God already knows what is in our heart (and wallet for that matter). So the act of opening it up is for us, not for God.

So why hide it? Well, shame, lack of trust, wrongful pride, holding back — you name the sin condition. And how does that work out? Well Cain held back, that didn’t go so well, and if that isn’t clear enough there is the story about Ananias and Sapphira.

That’s convicting enough for me. When I now think of opening my heart – I’m planning to open it wide.

BSF Genesis: Week 9, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

10.
a.
Son of Cush grandson of Ham, g-grandson of Noah. Became a mighty warrior on the earth. A mighty hunter before the Lord, Centers of his kingdom (was a king) Babylon, Shinar, Neneveh, Calah, Resen, Assyria.

b.
Bad – Nimrod means rebel. He rose in power but the power was “on the earth”. He put himself before the Lord. He became a King when there was no ordination of kings.

11.
In his time the earth was divided

12.
Job lived in the land of Uz, Jobab

13.
Because it is the truth, all of these places and lands came from people who came from Noah. To show that sin survived the flood. To show that man’s desire to “be like God” was the same after the flood as before.

My Daily Journal:

Why do the lists of “begots” appear in the bible, why all these names of people we’ve never heard of, never appear before or again?

Maybe Moses had a deal like J.K. Rowlings and he was getting paid by the word. Probably not. Maybe it was in their contract, like the credit roll at the end of a movie. Probably not.

I think it is for 3 main reasons:

1. It is truth. The bible is not a fictional story that is edited to appeal to a certain audience of time. It is the truth as given by God and His inspired words to reveal His character. These people lived, they were real and God got to say what was in and what was out of the printed copy.

2. They tie us to people, places and times. It is like studying genealogy. Understanding that we are related to real people who lived during this time, being able to connect to ancestors, connects us to events, places and people. My neighbors didn’t just pop out of thin air, they have history that connect us together. The same is true of our enemies. At one point we were not only friends, but family, but we went different paths. Having that connection back makes it much easier to join back together again.

3. They are a real legacy. The people at the tower of babel wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to work on their legacy. If anyone ever called you a nimrod, it probably wasn’t a compliment. One of our children’s leaders stated this well a few weeks ago. “If your name was mentioned one time in the bible, what would you want it to say?” For men like Enoch and Noah we see they walked with God and were righteous. For people like Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka, they were sons. Wh

BSF Genesis: Week 9, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

7.
a.
Confused their language and scattered them

b.
Continuously. God’s hand is in all things. He does not prevent man from sinning, but He limits it now as always. He does it by allowing the repercussions of sin to play out (greed, lust, hiding, cheating) By our actions we make our towers fall

8.
God is love. It is only through communion with God that we gain insight into communion with others. Without God, we find the primary focus of our love to be self-love which leads to greed, self-serving, objectification of people, etc…

9.
a.
There are about 6800 spoken languages in the world today. But God has the power to touch the lips and ears of all people so they can hear His truth being spoken clearly

b.
Speak the truth in my language to all who I come in contact. Speak the truth in my actions to all who I come in contact. Speak the truth to myself about God. Speak the truth to God about himself, me and all those who I come in contact. Daily walk with God.

My Daily Journal:

I’ve struggled with the main message of this week, but today’s lesson helped it become clear.

The key phrase that I picked up on that was repeated 3 times is “come, let us”.

The people of this land and this time were trying to form a community without God. They wanted to make their own kingdom inside God’s kingdom but without God in it. It centers around them and what they want and how great they are, not God.

God longs for community with His creation. That is why we were created. That is what God is. The Trinity is a divine community and God welcomes us in to it, he seeks us out and saves us so we can join. Christ’s mission was to bring mankind back into the unity of the original creation before sin. When ever 2 or more are gathered in His name, He is present. God loves community, friendships, marriage, relationships, all with Him.

But we don’t include God in all of our communities, do we? We compartmentalize Him. God is great for our church community, but don’t talk about Him at work or school. This is a sports team, not a Sunday school class. My neighbors don’t go to church or believe but they are fun to hang around with. If I want to be in the “in group” at school/work, then I need to tone down my chistian-speak.

We also hear it in the works that we do in “the community.” We are welcoming to churches and church groups, but don’t push religion while you are doing the work, don’t proselytize. Just be quiet and do the work, feed the people, build the homes, help the sick, but don’t bring God into it and you are welcome.

I particularly see it at this time of year because so many “community organizations” are collecting things for “the holidays.” You know, the one day holiday where people get together and exchange gifts. Don’t say the word – we don’t want any of that church stuff in our community, we just want the holy days, uh, holidays for our community without God.

In my opinion, it wasn’t the tower that pained God. It was that they were using His word to form communities without Him. They were using his word to confuse people into joining communities that excluded him.

So what does He do? They wish to be confused and spread confusion, let them be confused – they aren’t using God’s Word to do it though. They want to bond together without God, scatter them.

Want to feel less scattered and confused? Bring God back into all your communities. Commune with others and God.

BSF Genesis: Week 9, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

5.
a.
They conspire and plot in vain, they attempt to band together to replace God. They are rebuked by God

b.
We seek to replace God or, at a minimum, to remake God in our image instead of the other way around. We build up towers of praise to ourselves, but ignore the divine one who provides all

6.
Jesus (the way, truth, life). Salvation is found in no one else – Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved.

b.
Through prayer and study of His word. Through acts of random kindness that reflect His love for His people. For intentional life to devote time and talents to His work.

c. God wants me to reach out to Him in all things – I still struggle with a “me do” approach, calling on God to be my wingman instead of recognizing it is His sky.

My Daily Journal:

What am I building?

The key thought that struck me today was “why a tower?”

I mean, if they wanted to build, they could have built anything, right? Better roads, water systems, schools, hospitals, housing for the poor. But they chose to build a tower. Why?

Towers raise us up. They don’t hold everyone so they naturally elevate some over others. They allow those in the tower to look down on their kingdoms. They raise them up out of the muck of everyday life and all the messy people.

They also offer some protection. it is easier to see attacks coming from a tower and to fire arrows down on your foes.

They are also a means of pride and intimidation. In battle they would raise the flag high on a pole so all could see and rally around it. How much more so a tower of bricks.

We still build a lot of towers. Some would argue that many of our churches and ways of living out our beliefs take the shape of fortresses with high and lofty ideals that we raise up as towers for others to see. It is understandable, because so much of our faith and views are constantly under attack.

But we don’t need to build towers or strength. God is our tower. A mighty fortress is our God (to quote Luther).

What are we called to build? I think a good answer to that comes from John 1:23 where John the Baptist references Isaiah in his message: “Make straight the paths for the Lord.”

I am called to be missional. Where do I need to build more bridges and fewer towers?

BSF Genesis: Week 9, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

3.
in the fertile crescent between the Tigres and Euphretes.
More map links:

4.
a.
11:1 one language 4 make a name for ourselves 4 otherwise we will be scattered

b.
To fill the earth – they didn’t want to spread out

c.
break the 10 commandments, and do not Love the lord your God with… They love themselves, love money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy…Having a form of godliness but denying its power.

My Daily Journal:

Settle.

Where in your life are you trying to settle? I hear it all the time. When things calm down then I will… I’ve just been so busy, but someday… When I retire, I am going to…

The people at this time decided to settle. They found a nice place, a lush valley, and they settled. It was time to enjoy their kingdom. It was time to build the things they wanted to build to make a name for themselves. It was time to work on their legacy, as the saying goes.

But God didn’t call them (or us for that matter) to settle. He called us to take His word to the ends of the earth. He called us to do His will. While we have breath left in our body, there is work to be done.

It is not that God is against rest – He created it. But rest is not a destination. Rest is part of the rhythm of life. God has so much more for us – why would we every want to settle for less?

Settle.

Top 10 reasons why Noah was a redneck

He named one of his kids after a pork product
He worked construction
He spent every weekend on a boat
He lived in a mobile home for a year
When his vehicle broke down, he left it in the front yard up on blocks
The first thing he did when he got home was light the grill
If it moves, it is food
He made his own moonshine
When he got drunk, he got naked
When he woke up with a hang-over he started cursing the kids

BSF Genesis: Week 8, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

12.
a.
In love, they covered their father rather than ridicule or shame him

b.
Ham was engaged in stirring up conflict, Shem and Japheth in love that covers over an offense

c.
There is no place in a daily walk for gossip. I need to do more to help, in love, to cover the sins of my brother (and help him not repeat them) and less in discussing them with others. It doesn’t require a discussion or plan, just love and action.

13.
Shem be aligned with the blessing and praise of the Lord, God. David is a descendant of Shem and thus Jesus. God extends Japheth’s territory live in tents of Shem, Canaan slaves to Japheth. Canaanites were the inhabitants of the promised land.

My Daily Journal:

My first thought on this passage was, “aren’t we going a bit overboard here (no pun intended), Noah?” I mean, I get it that he was hung over from the beaujolais nouveau, but aren’t we over-reacting a bit? I know others have thought the same thing because there is this whole under-current of rationalization that there must have been more that went on in the tent to prompt such a curse. Of course, none of that is supported in the scriptures.

But the more I thought about it the more clear it became. It is our every day, seemingly insignificant activities that reveal the true nature of our heart. When I have heard accounts of people who have performed heroic acts, time and again the reaction is not one of surprise because this is the way they conducted themselves every day. In that light, Noah’s predictions/oracle about the future of his descendents isn’t based simply on this one night or one action. This is just an example of the behavior that reveals their heart. The patterns of their actions.

Almost all of us bow our head when someone says, “let’s pray.” But how often are we focusing on spending our day in conversation with God? How do we bring in the model of the good samaritan of conducting our daily life in a matter that shows love to our neighbor. There are implications that go far farther than to the impact today. They cascade down to our children and their children.

But we also have the opportunity to change. While the sins of the father cascade, each generation has the opportunity and choice (free will) to walk with God every day and change the pattern for themselves and their descendents.

BSF Genesis: Week 8, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

8.
a.
We must be transformed, born again, born of the spirit. We must accept the gift of salvation and accept Christ into our heart, to bring the spirit into us and make a mark of adoption. We must reflect Christ’s glory and not our own.

b.
The image is of knowledge and attitude. Of faith. Putting on a new self – righteous and holy (like the creator) – i.e., image is not necessarily or limited to physical appearance.

9.
We are brothers (both of the same Father and sharing the same blood). We have the same desires to be transformed in righteousness and made holy. We both serve the same master. If our focus is on seeing this then we would see our sameness and unity, the other things would then fall out of focus and not be seen.

10.
To form a personal, close, relationship with Christ, held in His bosom. We reflect his glory and are transformed to His image in our thoughts, words, deeds, daily walk

11.
God’s promise are not paper promises, but are written into the very fabric of nature. God does not forget, but we need to be reminded.

My Daily Journal:

Two quick thoughts moved me in today’s study. The first was in #10. The image that came to my mind was of a parent or grandparent cradling and infant in their arms. Although he passed away many years ago when my son was only 6 months old, I can still clearly see my father-in-law holding his grandson in his hands and making faces with him. My son stared in fascination and attempted to model the face of his loving ancestor, to mirror his smile and the love in his eyes. That is the same thought that comes to mind with this passage. When we are veiled from the face of God, it is like a parent needing to wear a hospital mask. That is not the parent’s desire or choice, but it is for the safety of the infant. But when the veil is removed, then we can truly see and interact with the face of our ancestor.

Second was the rainbow. Now, many people look at science and our understanding of how rainbows work and see this passage of the bible as a naive and superstitious interpretation of making something natural be divine. But looking at that same point from the other side of that perspective makes perfect sense. We put a lot of value into a signature written on paper. Checks and contracts must be signed and that makes them binding. When we discuss something as being absolute, we say it is written in stone. But even things carved in stone can weather and fade and be erased. But God chose to sign His covenant in the very fabric of nature itself into the interaction of the light and molecules that comprise the elements of that very promise. In that light (no pun intended), it makes perfect sense that this is the only way that God would have placed His signature. Can you think of a more perfect way of sealing the promise for all eternity and to all creatures of every generation?

BSF Genesis: Week 8, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

5.
Be fruitful and increase in number fill the earth, everything that lives and moves will be food, accounting for human blood shed (“by humans shall their blood be shed” – capital punishment), rule over every animal. Don’t eat meat that has lifeblood still in it.

6.
It is the blood that makes atonement. It is not for human consumption, nourishment or pleasure. It is the blood of the eternal covenant that brought Christ back from the dead, the perfect sacrificial lamb Heb 13:20-21, Heb 13:12, He sanctified the people with His own blood

7.
a.
Death. For in the image of God has God made mankind. Killing another man is to kill one with the image of God, i.e., to desire to kill God. The only just recompense is death.

b.
1. We aren’t told why, only that He did. 2. I don’t believe it was only a deterrent because time and again, we see those who willfully disobey God (e.g., Israel in the desert after exodus) are killed. Some immediate (golden calf), some longer term – (wander for 40 years)

My Daily Journal:

Blood atonement. Washed in the water or washed in the blood? Huh?

Here is my limited understanding.

God deposited into man the breath of life, and as such, all life comes from the original deposit made by God. In the original agreement God’s requirement in return for this deposit was obedience. Specifically, telling Adam and Eve they had the choice to not eat from the one tree and be obedient to Him or not. They chose not. We have continued to choose not to obey. Since we broke our end of the deal, the only reasonable/just action by God is to remove His deposit. Removal of life is required. Death is required. But, God by His grace, made a substitution and the first animal was sacrificed. Was this the same thing? Of course not, it was an impartial and inadequate payment. An animal is not man. Nor could any man be sacrificed as a substitution for the sins of others because, since all men have sinned, at best he would receive only the just result of his own sin. But Christ became fully man and lived without sin, the perfect sacrificial lamb of God, who through his death paid the price in full for all mankind because He had no price to pay for His own sin since He lived a life without sin. By the payment of his blood we are able to once again be in pure communion with God (at one with – atonement) as was His original design. And, as we, with all believers, are totally transformed at Christ’s return, we will live for eternity in that communion.

Washing with water is an act of removal. We bath to remove dirt and grime and the smell of toil and labor. We are baptized as a symbol of cleaning the original sin we are born into as we choose to be reborn into the family of God. But being washed in the blood is an addition or insertion. It is a covering because even freshly bathed in water, we still carry the inclination to sin in us. God sees our heart. But by the covering of the blood of Christ, instead he sees the heart of His son. It is also placed not only on us, but penetrates into us (This is my body given…, this is my blood shed…). This is the symbol of the spirit of God dwelling in us as believers and beginning the transformation process.

In preparing this week, I ran across this website on blood atonement which I thought did a great job of bringing together a lot of scriptural references.

BSF Genesis: Week 8, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

3.
a.
It was the first thing recorded that he did upon exiting the ark into the new earth. Not seeking food or shelter or exploring or anything. His focus was not on self or family, but on God. What a great “first step for man”.

b.
My Brother-in-law was in town this week so we spent a lot of extended family time together as all the relatives in town fellowshipped. It was great to see everyone engaged in prayer, even having it led by littlest kids at meals. Because all the family in town is in BSF, we all went (including my B-I-L who does not attend BSF or church) and then had opp to discuss God’s grace in providing the ark and the parallel to Christ. The fact that there was only 1 ark, one way, and the beauty of the depth of the story.

c.
It was a pattern, modeled first by God with the first sin, but repeated and reinforced by Adam’s descendents. It does not appear God directly ordered Noah, but he was pleased by the action and the heart that it spoke to.

4.
a.

with shouts of joy and signing and music to the Lord
with a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart
with bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (by denying self to sin and self-serving)
to walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself as a fragrant offering
By giving gifts (financial) for missions and kingdom work
By professing His name, doing good and sharing with others, submitting to authority, work with joy – all through Jesus
Like living stones built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood (brick by brick as part of the body of the church)

b.
All are important. The Hebrews passage reaches me most because it helps define what I think the OT is referring to when it says “Walk with God every day.”

My Daily Journal:

Patterns to our day. We all have snippets of them. We brush our teeth, comb our hair, shave in approximately the same way each time we do it. They are the things we have made a part of our life and a part of our daily action and movements.

Noah had a pattern of worshiping God. He regularly demonstrated spiritual leadership in his family not by being perfect but by this pattern of worship.

I saw the benefit of these patterns this past week. With family visiting from out of town it would have been tempting to skip our normal behaviors. But because time in worship and praise and study was a pattern everyone (young to old thanks to the children’s program) follows, it was more natural for the visit to change their patterns and attend and participate as well.

What patterns of worship do you have in your daily life? Do you take time to be quiet with God every day? Where is God on your daily to do list.

I actually started doing this a couple of months ago. When I make my list for the day, I now divide it into 4 quadrants by making a big x from corner to corner of the page: 1. God Tasks, 2. Work Growth Tasks, 3. Work Maintenance Tasks, 4. Personal and Family Tasks. This helps me focus on balance, while putting God at the top of my list.