Tag: bsfanswers

29.4 BSF Matthew Week 29, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

What is your line in the sand?

Let’s start by looking at Matthew 27:41-43, “41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders are the ones speaking in these verses.  In their words they communicate their “burden of proof”, their line in the sand.  “let him come down from the cross and WE WILL BELIEVE IN HIM.”

So now, on Sunday morning, the sunrise after passover, these same chief priests, teachers and elders receive unbiased third party  testimony that Jesus has, in fact, just crossed their line in the sand.  He has met their request and come down from the cross.  So, they believe, right?

I think this is important for us, as we talk with others, to keep in mind.  Accepting Christ and believing in Him is not about “proof”, it is about accepting the gift.  The proof is there, but how often do people today continue to draw one line after another in their own hearts.  I would believe if..  But like the leaders of that time, those conditional statements, those promises of belief, are just lies.  They aren’t lines to be crossed, they are walls built up to keep the truth out.

If you want proof, it is amply abundant.  There is no other way of explaining why, 2000 years later, millions accept this as fact other than the truth that it is.  Jesus walked this earth, suffered, died, and rose again.  What more proof could there possibly be?

If you want joy and salvation and eternity and peace and love, it is even simpler than that.  Let the walls you’ve built up crumble down and accept the gift of the sacrifice that Jesus has made.  The price is paid in full because God so loved you.

My Answers:

9.
a.
M28:9 spoke, 9 they clasped His feet, presented himself, Acts 1:3 gave many convincing proofs, appeared over 40 days, A1:4 Ate with them , 1 C15:5 appeared to 12, 6 500 more most still alive

b.
It is the pivotal point of Christianity.  If Christ isn’t risen, then He did not fulfill scripture, He is not in Heaven, He is not coming

10.
John: lay down life of own accord, only to take it up.  “I have authority”
Acts2: Not abandoned to realm of death – body decay
Acts17:given proof of appointed judge by raising him from the dead
1Cor:the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, mortal with immortal, defeat death
Eph1:hope, riches of glory, power – to raise from the dead
1Ths: don’t grieve the dead – God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him
Heb: High priest in heaven – intercessor to God on our behalf, one time sacrifice
1Pete: new birth into living hope through resurrection – never perish, spoil or fade

 

24 BSF Matthew Week 24, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

From the old testament scriptures and prophecies, the faithful were expecting a Messiah who would rule as King.  As Jesus approaches His final days it has become important for clarification.

There are only 3 possibilities.

1. The scriptures and prophecies were wrong

2. The followers understanding and interpretation of the scriptures and prophecies was wrong

3. Jesus was not the Messiah

Jesus clarified that the prophecies are true and all will be fulfilled, through Him.  However, instead of this happening in a single event, as followers thought they understood, He explained to them about His second coming.  This was in no way a contradiction or a change to anything in the scriptures, it was, instead, an illumination on a perspective that they had not previously understood.

They had put their faith and trust in the physical church; the building (temple), the infrastructure of the pharisees and teachers of the law, the courts and offerings.  So Jesus started with that.  It would all be destroyed, but His word would live forever.

My Answers:

3.
a.
2. not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.

b.
when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?

c.
End of the age = That Christ’s reign as King and Lord would not be a continuation, but a new beginning

d.
70 AD

4.
a.
1. Persecution of the believers, trials and betrayal (12-19); 2. Desolation of the temple, flee (20-21); 3. Time of punishment(22-24) 4. Signs in the Heavens and the return of the Son of Man (25-28)

b.
Until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled

5.
a.
(from Luke) seize, persecute, handed over to synagogues and prison, trials, betrayal, everyone will hate you, dread, distress, tramples, faint with terror, apprehension, (from Matt): False christs, wars, rumors of war, nation rise against nation, famines, earthquakes, persecution, death, hatred, false prophets, deceit, wickedness, love of most will grow cold.

b.
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations

c.
Missionaries have reached almost every unreached group –  Local/International Missions

23 BSF Matthew Week 23, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

I was really struck by how I, like the lawyer who asked the question of Jesus about which is the most important commandment, sell myself short.

We prioritize.  We are taught to identify which are the big rocks, the most important tasks, and put them first.  Eat that frog, don’t sweat the small stuff.  I’ve read the books and I understand how that approach can help navigate the pressures of life on this earth.

If I do my lesson each day and spend some quiet time in prayer, I think I’m doing pretty good.  But I’m not “holy”.  That approach would not qualify me to be a “treasured possession” of God.  God wants “All”.

All my heart, all my soul, all my mind, all my strength.  Not just 20 minutes of my heart and mind, but all.  Yes, we trip and fall and veer off path – we sin.

The lawyer asking the question of Jesus was on this path.  I can’t keep all the commandments all the time, so which one or ones are the most important and I’ll prioritize those first.  What is the minimum passing grade, Jesus?  What is the least I have to do?

But God says, you will sin, but then repent and give it all back to me.  If you fall down, that does not mean you have reached the final destination, you just tripped.  Get up and keep going.

What would a day look like if every calorie I burned reflected God’s strength.  What if every thought was directed to His glory?  What if my heart and soul fully reflected His love for 1440 minutes in a row?  That would be holiness.  I am not capable of that but God is capable of that.  Ask and He can move mountains.  Why do we settle for “doing pretty good” when we are created to be so much more?

My Answers:

6.
a.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind (and strength)

b.
Look out for yourself first, charity begins at home,

c.
We protect our own life – we feed and clothe ourselves and see to our needs of comfort and security.  These same basic instincts, through love, should extend to others.

d.
Why would someone do this without a belief in God, how would anyone understand true love?

7.
a.
Heart:   Having no love that you put before God, that you would not give up for Him
Soul: Pledging not just this life but eternity to Him, we are souls with a body, not bodies with a soul.
Mind: To think first of God, even above self, to trust in Him above reason
Strength: Physical ability – not just philosophical or spiritual, but real

b.
Start my day with God.  End my day with God.  Take better care of my heart, soul, mind, strength.  They belong to God, I am just the steward, the renter.

c.
made holy by God, chosen, treasured possession, based on love and commitment of God

21 BSF Matthew Week 21, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

There is an old joke:

There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

An angel hears his plea and appears to him. “Sorry, but you can’t take your wealth with you.” The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.

The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. St. Peter seeing the suitcase says, “Hold on, you can’t bring that in here!”

But, the man explains to St. Peter that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough, St. Peter checks and comes back saying, “You’re right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I’m supposed to check its contents before letting it through.”

St. Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, “You brought pavement?!!!”
(thanks to ahajokes.com)

I thought it was so fitting that Jesus used the analogy of a camel.  A camel is a beast of burden.  But we don’t recognize that the things we carry around with us are truly burdens in the economy of heaven and the things we can see as burdens are true joy.  Wealth, prestige, pride, are all burdens that we can’t take with us.  They are not going to fit through the portal of the grave, the eye of the needle.  But the things I find myself grumbling about having the discipline to do every day, like praying, studying the word, testifying to others, teaching, leading, investing time in worship – these all carry through and bring everlasting joy.

My Answers:

3.
a.
People with wealth have a very difficult time putting God first in their lives.  There is so much energy required to maintain and build wealth.  Anything we are unwilling to give up is something we value more than God.

b.
Nothing is impossible for God – no matter how hard hearted, while it may seem impossible for them to change – don’t give up on God

4.
a.
100 times as much

b.
Eternal Life

5.
a.
homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions

b.
Rom: children=heirs with Christ, if share in suffering also share in His glory
2 Tim: Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus will be persecuted
1 Pete 2: Blessing is in unjust suffering, undeserved but endured for God
1 Pete 4: do not be surprise by “fiery ordeal”, rejoice in sufferings so overjoyed in His glory

6.
Through the joy of communing with other believers.  Through the work He gives us to do, such as bringing others to Christ.  Through the blessings of prayer, study, teaching, leading, worship

BSF Matthew Week 16, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

In building rennovation, sometimes the only way to build something up is to first tear down the weak support structures.  In gardening, to allow room for growth you sometimes need to cut back or pull out the weeds. The parables and teachings of the past few weeks lessons are culminating this week as Jesus continues that work with His apostles.

The apostles were Jews, raised in the traditions of the elders.  The teachers and pharisees from Jerusalem would have been like getting a visit from the big bosses from the top office at corporate headquarters.

The idea that these bastions of knowledge and wisdom were wrong must have been like a wrecking ball striking the main support beam of what the apostles knew about being an observant Jew.  Clean and unclean were not just cornerstones, they had come to be a foundation of the religious.

But Jesus was not simply tearing down the apostles faith, He was building it.  He was removing the weak, infested structures and replacing them with rock.  The pharisees were offended, but millions would be saved.  To secure the foundation of the church, he could not build on the traditions of the elders.  He had to build on love, compassion, healing, serving.  He had to build on faith in the Word of God.

Sometimes we cannot focus our eyes.  There may be an astigmatism or injury.  But just like a doctor may prescribe glasses, we can be given sight and the ability to focus through the lens of God’s Word, Jesus Christ.

My Answers:

6.
Rigidly following rules doesn’t make one holy.  What flows forth from their heart is a sign of their holiness.

7.
a.
The pharisees were offended

b.
every plan that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots – leave them, they are blind guides

c.
If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit

d.
He was blinded – he thought of the priests and pharisees as holy men who were teaching right things

8.
a.
Your actions and thoughts, the things that come out of you or that you do from your own motivation – not outside influences, but inside: evil thoughts, lust, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, malice and deceit, slander, lewdness, envy, arrogance, folly

b.
envy, worry, greed, slander, folly – yes

06.5 BSF Matthew Week 6, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

I don’t think Christians are called to be ignorant pansies that are constantly taken advantage of, bullied and abused.  We are not called to be a doormat for others to simply wipe their feet on.

We are called to follow our mission.  If we are following it fully, if we are truly committed to that mission then it and it alone is critical in everything we do and every decision we make.  When you are a soldier in battle you don’t decide to ignore the mission because you don’t want to get your uniform dirty.  When you are a surgeon with a patient on the table you don’t decide to operate of some other part because it is easier and quicker.  You stick with the mission – it is what it is all about.

Our mission is simple.  We heard it last week.  Be salt and light to the world.  Take the strength and word and light of God and use it to witness, heal, baptize and save.  Period.  That is the mission.

If walking a mile accomplishes that – walk the mile.  If giving up a shirt accomplishes that, give up the shirt.  But, in all of it, stay true to the mission.  If giving someone your shirt does not bring them closer to God, then the mission is not to give shirts – it is to figure out what brings them closer to God.

One of my friends talked about an interaction with a homeless person this week at a coffee shop.  The man asked my friend, “can you help me?” and he gave him a few dollars.  But that weighed heavy on his heart.  There is nothing wrong with giving the money, and God can use that, but what if he had, instead, invited the man to sit down with him and bought him food that they shared together.  How much more could the investment of 10 minutes meant in the mission my brother carried?

I can get so focused on “what is rightfully mine” that I fall back into the trap of justice = revenge or getting even.  But this is based on a mindset of finite resources.  For me to get even I have to take it back from the person who wronged me.  But I am the child of an infinite God and creator.  There is so much more.  God honors that which honors Him!

My Answers:

12.
a.
If your yes is yes and your no is no, then there is no “qualification” to speaking the truth, you just always do.  There is no provision for falsehood

b.
“To be honest with you…”  These words imply that at other times you are not honest or don’t mean it.  Hard to tell when is when and what is what

c.
Know the truth and stick to it.  No “white lies”.

13.
a.
Fear and Concern over being a doormat keeps me out of ministry opportunities and witnessing to others.  I need to keep in mind what is truly important (bringing others to Christ).  If being slapped or giving a shirt or walking a mile helps with that, then, by all means, that is what I should be doing

b.
God will honor that which honors Him.

14.
Gal: walk with the spirt not gratify the desires of the fleshEph: Put off old self and deceitful desires, new in attitude, righteousness and holiness like God
Phil: Obey, work out with God and allow Him to act in my to fulfill His good purpose
Phil: think about: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy

06.3 BSF Matthew, Week 6, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

My Daily Journal:

1. I didn’t know for sure what the word meant so I looked it up: Raca: vain, empty, worthless, only found in Matt. 5:22. The Jews used it as a word of contempt. It is derived from a root meaning “to spit.”

2. I was moved by the 1 John 2:11 passage, “But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

The thought it brought to mind was the realization that anger and hatred that I carry in my are like a dark spot in my eye.  That spot is blacked out and doesn’t absorb any light.  Clearly greed and lust are the same way.

So, I looked up how big of a dark spot would it take to affect my vision.  Literally.  Here is what I learned:  The receptors in our eyes are in an area called the macula.  At the center of the macula is the fovea centralis.  This is the “point of sharpest, most acute visual acuity.”  At the center of the fovea centralis is the foveola.  The closer ones cones are clustered  to this are, the better your vision.  A dark spot in this are, something blocking the cones, would have a significant impact on the ability to see and could cause blindness.  The foveola is about 0.35 mm.  In other words, a little less than half the size of this period.

So, how much anger and hatred can I allow to reside in my heart and in my eye?  This was a good visual for me (no pun intended).

I want to see.  I want to be able to see the world with Jesus’ eyes.

3. I had a whole part on trying to explain Matthew 5:25-26 but I moved it to Day 5

My Answers:

5.
a.
Deut 5:17 (Also Exodus 20:13)

b.
They separated the hands from the heart.  Hatred and desire to murder someone was fine as long as they didn’t physically do it.  They followed the letter of the law but not the intent

6.
Anger and hatred are in me as darkness.  It is impossible to be filled with the light if I have darkness in me.  Even a little darkness is blinding.

7.
Pray, forgive, reconcile if possible – but regardless, take it out of my heart

8.
What can I do to love and save my brother? vs. What can I do to get what is rightfully mine? Cain’s Protection (Gen 4:15) Lamech’s Arrogance (Gen 4:23-24) Eye for eye (Ex 21:23-25)

01.2 BSF Matthew: Week 1, Day 2

Today’s Scripture

My Daily Journal:

People often talk about the legacy they want to leave behind.  But I don’t think we are called to a legacy. I think that is too self centered and too much wanting what is left behind to be about us.  Instead, I believe we are called to be a witness.

Everyone in America knows the line that witnesses are sworn in by: do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?  Put a capital T on truth and that is supposed to be the life of a Christian – that is supposed to be my life.  Not to be perfect.  Not to be without sin or fault.  Not to walk some higher path of being better than others.  Instead, we are called to be a mirror shining the light through our testimony to those who do not yet know the Truth and to be a faithful voice backing those who do.

What is the Truth?  That God so loved the world (not just the jews, not just select few) that He gave His only Son to die for us, for my sins and yours, to pay the price through grace to redeem us back into unity with Him.

The genealogy in these first lines of Matthew outlines that God fulfills His promise of a King, but even more so, it shows and reminds us of how God has worked through very broken people (like you and me) who were willing to do one very important thing – turn their lives into being a witness of their faith in Him.

My Answers:

3.
a.
i. Er’s wife, him died, tricked Judah to father,  “more righteous than I”
ii. Prostitute, hid Jewish spies in promised land, oath of salvation, scarlet cord
iii. your people my people your God my God, Married Boaz Kinsman Redeemer
iv. Bathsheba, adultry with David, 1st died, mom of Solmn
v. Virgin, blessed among women

b. It is factual.  God created male and female (gen 1:27) and has a love for all (John 3:16), Jesus is fully human (not from a lineage of perfect people, male or female), Genealogy includes gentiles (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth)

c.All of them, but I have a heart for Ruth – She demonstrated such love and faithfulness to Naomi and God.  Ruth 1:16 Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

d. While we are all called to live out our faith as a witness, my recent times have been calls to strengthen other believers.  I had a business lunch that evolved into a deep reinforcing discussion about living faith in the workplace this week.

4.
a. Abraham: Gen 22:18 all nations blessed through your see, Heb 2:16 took not nature of anges but the seed of Abrham Gal 3:16 Jesus is the one seed.  David: Isaiah 11 Branch from root of Jesse, 2 Samuel 7:12-14 set up seed, establish kingdom

b. 1. To Jews it was a pre-req.  Without proper genealogy, there was no basis for messiah. 2. for all, it emphasizes that God’s plan has never changed or altered course – From fall of man He planned to send His Son as the Savior.

BSF Genesis: Week 30, Day 2

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

3.
a.
Firstborn, my might, my 1st sign of strength, first in rank and power.  Turbulent as the water, unruly as a flood, you will no longer excel (you will be first no longer).

b.
Reuben followed his eye (his lust) into a situation he knew to be wrong.  He wavered and did not hold strong to his conviction to his father or God.  As such, he became a person with divided loyalty, unstable, tossed.  Do not expect to receive anything because loyalty is divided between God and the world

c.
Protect your eyes to not draw you into a temptation to waver in faith.  Eyes are either filled with light or darkness, but can’t be both.  If try to do both, we are as unsettled as a wave with divided loyalty and will receive no reward from God.

4.
a.
weapons are instruments of violence.  May I never join in their meetings or be party to their plans.  Curse on their anger, curse on their wrath – they are fierce and cruel.  I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob, disperse them

b.
Slaughtered all the men of Shechem after the rape of their sister Dinah.

c.
Ex 32:27, After Moses returns from the mountain to find the golden calf he draws sides and the Levites side with him and go from one end of camp to the other killing 3000.  Part of the role of the priests is to guard the temple and the laws even against their own brothers.

d.
In my youth I did not make wise decisions in friends or activities.  My education suffered, my faith wavered and my ability to witness for God was tarnished.  While none of those things can be reversed, it does not mean that God can’t use them in me now to make me a dedicated learner, to associate with Godly friends and to lead my family to not repeat my mistakes. Had Levi not dishonored Jacob, the Levites may not have learned from that mistake and may not have stood with Moses.

My Daily Journal:

What tough love Jacob showed to his sons.  None of us have difficulty giving blessings of good news and we tend to gloss over the negatives or avoid them all together.  Jacob knew the habits of his sons, particularly the older sons, and, on his deathbed he told them the truth.  He did it not in hatred or spite but in love.  Notice that he doesn’t curse Simeon or Levi, he curses their anger and their wrath.

Are they locked into this?  Is this just “who they are”?  The story of God’s redemptive love tells us otherwise.  The example I am using in my children’s lecture is to not allow your cow paths to become canyons.

Cows in a field have the ability to walk anywhere.  The land is generally flat and grass grows throughout it.  But if you look at any pasture where cows have dwelt for some time you will find “cow paths.”  They develop habits and walk the same path over and over again, wearing a trail.  However, with a single step they can step out of that rut.  However, if they don’t then, over lots of time, that rut grows deeper and deeper and could eventually grow to be a deep canyon.

Jacob saw the cow paths his sons had formed in their lives.  While he was inspired by God, it did not take divine intervention to see where those paths lead.  By speaking the truth to them he entrusted to them the wisdom to see for themselves and either continue along the same rut or step out of it.

For many of us the ruts of decisions in our lives already run very deep.  We likely don’t have the strength to climb out on our own.  The good news of Christ is we don’t have to.  He will lift us up and carry us on his shoulders.  He sends others into our life to help us and gives us his church on earth to work together to help each other.

I’m reading a book by John Maxwell and one section of the book asks the question, “what is the most important day in your life?”  The empowering answer to that question is always, today.  The past is with us and we need to assess and learn from it, but there is nothing we can do to change it.  The future is worth planning and preparing for, but living in the future is called procrastination.  The key is to live in today, to make the right decisions today, to love God and His people today and honor and server Him today.  When Moses came down from the mountain and drew sides, the Levites had learned to choose that day whom they would serve.  Not a few, but every single man of the tribe, every descendent of Levi, and learned the lesson and chose wisely.