bsfonline – Page 12 – The Notes are Good

01.4 BSF Matthew: Week 1, Day 4

My Daily Journal:

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word be fulfilled.” What if we each prayed that prayer every day? What if that was a guiding statement for our to do lists? What if that was our heart’s true desire each day?

Such a simple statement. But so challenging to live out by our own strength. This is not how the world lives. It is not how our neighbors or co-workers or fellow students live. It is not how media tells us to live. Frankly, we can’t live this way on our own strength – it is not in our human nature.

But it is in God’s power – and all we have to do is what Mary did, submit with our words and our hearts. And then, what joy and what blessing. Mary allowed God to use her fully as a completely empty vessel, laying down her own desires to be in charge of her own life and taking on a willingness to fully serve. And what did God do, he filled her in a way that is completely unimaginable. He gave her a gift not given to any other, ever.

“I am the Lord’s servant. May your word be fulfilled.”

My Answers:

7.
a. do not be afraid, you have found favor with God, Conceive and give birth to a son, call him Jesus, 1. He will be great, 2. will be called the Son of the Most High, 3. Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 4. He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever, 5. His kingdom will never end.

b. Spirit of God. Spirit of God is God, the creator, spirit gives birth to the spirit

8.
a. I am the Lord’s servant. May your word be fulfilled.” Submission, acceptance, serving spirit.

b. My place is not to second guess or argue with God’s direction, despite how much I don’t understand it or feel that I am the right vessel. I need to accept and serve Him

01.3 BSF Matthew: Week 1, Day 3

Today’s Scripture

My Daily Journal

In church this past week we sang the song called “Meet with Me” that spoke to me as I did today’s study. There is a line in the song that says, “What a joy it would be just for a moment to lay at the feet of the Lord. Just to look deep in the face of the King who gave all, gave everything just to meet with me.”

That is what we are talking about when we talk about the name God gave for His Son. Unlike Moses, we are not called to hide in the cleft of the mountain to catch a glimpse of God. God presented Himself, through grace, in the form of a newborn child, completely dependent upon the love of His parents. God chose to meet with us, by coming down to our level because we could not rise to His.

Not only that, but He did not come to give orders and edicts. He did not come to rule with power and might. He did not come to conquer. (although He could have done all of those and would have been within full rights to have done so). Instead, He came to save. He came to pay the price that we cannot pay.

The wages we earn are death. Only the perfect Son of Man could pay the restitution required to buy us out of bondage.

What a joy it will be to sit at the feet of the One… not for a moment, but for all eternity!

My Answers:

5.
a. Immanuel (23): God with Us, Jesus (21, 25) = Joshua= The Lord saves

b. Song “Meet with Me” What a joy it would be just for a moment to lay at the feet of the Lord. Just to look deep in the face of the King who gave all, gave everything just to meet with me, Call to love, honor and respect?

6.
a.
i. God did not send Son to condemn but to save the world
ii. If you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins
iii. Good Shepherd, other sheep, one flock, one shepherd
iv. Salvation found in no one else, no other name to be saved
v. If believe Jesus is Lord, save
vi. by grace saved, made alive even when dead in transgression

b.+: Coast Guard, lost at sea, willingness to risk all to save, willingness to sacrifice life and resources. -: my need for a savior, the fact that I put myself in a position of needing to be saved by my own recklessness and sin

BSF Matthew: Opening Night

My Daily Journal:

What an amazing night we had last night with the first and second graders! These kids are so inspiring in their willingness to shout out the name Jesus, to confess their unwavering belief in Him as their personal savior and friend. As part of the first night we passed out the questions and each child completed the first day including the question related to what they learned about the bible. One little guy wrote, “Gses did 4 me” (Jesus died for me).

One of the things I love about spending time in bible study with young believers is that they don’t waste time and worry, they simply believe the word of God. That was also something I really loved about the notes this week. One of the ways the evil one attempts to cast doubt is to raise the question of whether the bible, particularly the New Testament, is reliable. We see this teaching in organizations such as the Latter Day Saints or in popular fiction writers such as Dan Brown; an argument that the writings in the bible have been corrupted. When we look at the world and see how mankind has corrupted everything else, it can cast doubt. But God didn’t recite the bible word for word, he inspired 40 people to write it and He has inspired others to translate it. God is alive and active. God is the same and He is true and He uses human translators to give us His Holy Word in our language so we can learn about Him and use His Word to guide our life. He does this with translators the same way He did with the original writers. If God can use a man to write it with truth and accuracy, He can use another man to translate it in the exact same way.

I am really excited about the new format and tone of the notes this year. I love the reference out to other books and materials (e.g., Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell). I cut out the “Outline of Matthew’s Gospel” presented in the notes and laminated it and I’m keeping it in my bible this year as we go through the study. If you are not in a study and getting the notes, it is really an important addition – the notes are good!

Getting Excited for Matthew

I am really excited to begin our study of Matthew this year.

I had a great summer and participated in a 10 week Precept In and Out study on Revelation Part 1 which covered the letters to the churches. It was a great study and I’m both excited and nervous about studying the Book of Revelation in BSF in a couple of years.

There are so many new great things in BSF this year. We had our first leaders’ meeting last weekend and I left very fired up in the spirit. I don’t want to take away the thunder from your group so I’m trying to keep quiet on the changes, but there is one I have to praise: memory verses. I’m a children’s leader and in the lower levels we really emphasis putting God’s word in your heart and memory each week. Every week we have a specific memory verse that ties to our lesson and we spend the last 15 minutes of the night going over fun ways, such as songs, rhythms, pictures, and hand motions to memorize the verse and its address in scripture. Starting with the new format of Matthew not only is a weekly memory verse front and center in the children’s lesson, but it is now also printed on everyone’s lesson! I think this is such a great addition and I’m challenging everyone to take 15 minutes in your week and just memorize it. At the end you will have 30 verses tucked away in your head and heart and you will be amazed at how often you use them in your daily language and discussions.

For the blog, I am making a few changes/improvements as well. You may have already noticed a new visual theme (thanks WordPress!). I picked this theme because it has a great mobile view and, as more and more people are doing their study on iPads, Kindle and other mobile devices, this is increasingly important. It also is very clean and prints well. I’m still including links to the scriptures, but I’m going to change the order of my posts and put my Daily Journal at the top and my answers to questions below. With more personal applications questions in the study this year, I want to move the emphasis of writing to application of the Big God Story and less on my particular answer to question 7b.

I get to work with Level 1 this year, 1st and 2nd grade, and I am very excited. The faith these young children have and their openness to diving deep into the Word of God always impresses and humbles me. When God provides the instructors, our Children’s Administrator said we might split and form 2 Level 1 classes. I know many BSF classes are struggling to fill all levels of their children’s program but it is so exciting to think we have so many Dads wanting to bring their young children that we may need 2 classes. Praise the Lord.

I’m asking for more dialog this year on this blog, more comments, more questions, more sharing. We are not trying to duplicate a BSF class, that is not the point. But God is big and His church is big and we can learn from each other in many ways and through shared experiences. Thanks for being part of the journey with us.

BSF Genesis: Week 31, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

6.
Pharaoh honored him by the entourage he sent to his graveside. Dignitaries of his court, all the dignitaries of Egypt, Chariots and horsemen, a very large company, so great the the Canaanites renamed the place to mourning of the Egyptians. Only Hebrew children and livestock left behind.

7.
a.
The size and scale and the mourning that occurred at the threshing floor of Atad

b.
v12. Did as he commanded them, carried him, buried him.

c.
We are aliens here – our citizenship is in heaven. We have been saved through Christ.

My Daily Journal:

Jacob was a mirror who reflected God. When the bible says God is the God of Israel or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it does not mean these men owned God. It means that they reflected God for others to see.

Jacob reflected God in his prayer life. He reflected God in His trust of God’s word. He reflected God in his willingness to speak truth (especially in his later years). He reflected God in his blessings (which were actually God’s blessings). He reflected God in and through his children and especially through Joseph.

When pharoah send a very large company, chariots, horsemen; when he sent all the riches of Egypt; when he provided the royal embalmers; when the Egyptians mourned at the threshing floor; when the Egyptians stayed with the Israelite children and flocks so their parents could all go back to Canaan (even though they found shepherds detestable)… When all of these things occurred they reflected directly through Jacob back to God, His God, The God of Israel.

When we go to a funeral and participate in eulogies today it is the same thing. When a christian has spent their life reflecting the glory of God, there is absolutely nothing wrong with spending some time reflecting on that reflection! The glory is not going to the individual, it is going to the source of the light that they helped shine.

BSF Genesis: Week 30, Day 5

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

13.
To be buried in the cave of the patriarchs. He had confidence his people would return to the promised land

14.
a.
in hard work be weak, it is more blessed to give than to receive

r.
whose transgressions are forgiven, sins are covered, whose sin the Lord will never count

e.
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ

t.
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ

j.
who perseveres under trial, having stood the test, receive the crown of life that Lord promised

p.
do not repay evil with evil/insult with insult, but evil with blessing – called

r.
read aloud the words of this prophecy, hear it, take it to heart – time is near

My Daily Journal:

I was torn at first with the line asking what a person must do to receive blessings. Clearly we don’t do anything to earn blessings, no more than we do something to earn a gift. If you earn it, it isn’t a gift, it is payment. I see blessings in the same way.

But in preparing my lecture I was reminded of an older gentleman I worked with at a retail store in the mall when I was in high school. This man suffered from periodontal disease and, to use the vernacular, had really bad breath. He was aware of the problem and did things to try to cover up the situation. He constantly ate breath mints. He wore very strong cologne, he would attempt to not get too close to people when talking. But all of those were simply steps to cover or mask the problem, they did nothing to fix it.

For us, sin is the problem and it stinks. The bible says our prayers are like a pleasing aroma to God. In the same way, our sin is a stench. We do all kinds of things, all kinds of “good works” to try to mask it, but we can’t. The only fix is to fix the problem. That is called sanctification and it is a process that God, our great physician, takes in our lives to remove the infection of sin in our lives and transform us into His image. Christ is the only cure, and while we can’t do anything to earn Him in our lives, if we fail to accept Him then we miss the cure.

In the same way, if we fail to do spiritual work, we miss the blessings of that work, if we fail to be in Christ we miss the blessings of the heavenly realm, if we avoid trials and tests we miss the growth they provide. This isn’t earned, it is lived. It isn’t covering over, it is submitting to the only one who can heal.

BSF Genesis: Week 30, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

10.
fruitful vine near a spring: his actions in Egypt, by the Nile, saved nations from starvation. branches climb over a wall: moved from Canaan to Egypt received Egyptian name and honors, Archer attach: Brothers, Potiphars wife, forgotten in prison – he faced many attacks; Bow remained steady, strong arms limber: despite hardship he stayed true and honorable to God; because of hand of Mighty One, Shepherd, Rock: All was because of God and for His glory.

11.
blessings from skies above waters below, sun and moon; gifts from ancient mountains and hills; let all these rest on the head of Joseph the prince among his brothers

12.
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. He may be a ravenous wolf to the world, but he carries the lamb upon his shoulders

My Daily Journal:

We are wisely encouraged in life to save and set funds aside for our old age and for an inheritance to our children. While the bible warns against placing our faith in this accumulation, it is also clearly taught to set funds aside in the years of plenty for the lean years that often follow.

We can see a parallel in these spiritual blessings that Jacob has accumulated for his sons. Do these things belong to Jacob, no, they belong to God. But through a life devoted to God and setting aside treasures of faith in his heart, Jacob can bestow these blessings onto his sons and the sons of Joseph. Blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Blessings greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills.

What am I, through faith, receiving as a spiritual blessing that I, through the almighty hand of God, will be able to bestow upon my children and grandchildren? Is my inheritance to them measured in dollars or measured in blessings and grace and truth? What words do I need to say to my children? Shouldn’t I say them now until waiting until my deathbed?

BSF Genesis: Week 30, Day 3

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

5.
Hand on neck of enemies, brothers praise you, relatives bow down, Lion, scepter will not depart, ruler’s staff…until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, whom all nations will honor

6.
a.
all bow to him, victorious against his prey, holds the scepter and ruler’s staff for they belong to him, from the line of Judah, the one whom all nations will honor

b.
1 Cr 15:54, Death has been swallowed up in victory; Rom 6:9 Death no longer has mastery over him; Luke 22:69 The Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God; Heb 1:2 by His Son whom he appointed heir of all things; Heb 1:8 about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter…, Matt 27:18 Christ was dressed in a crimson robe (crimson would be the color of a robe died in the blood of grapes, it was also the color representing sin, e.g., the crimson sash hung outside the window by Rahab.)

c.
He is victorious over death so I need not fear the grave. He is at the right hand of God and holds the scepter of heaven, so I can trust in His rule.

7.
His region was beside the sea of Galilee and included Capernaum. Many gentiles (ships) lived there and were saved (safe harbor)

8.
The tribe of Issachar were to be farmers. We know from the time of Adam that farming would be hard work and toil, but we know also from Eccles 3:12-13 that toil is a gift from God. God encourages us to work and do good hard work which yields benefits to us now and eternally

9.
Samson – Judges 13-18 – killed many Philistines who ruled over Israel at the time

My Daily Journal:

Many of us know the story of Samson and his incredible strength when the spirit would come upon him in strength. But as I reread the story I was struck by his parents.

Manoah, who was from the tribe of Dan, lived in the land unjustly ruled by the Philistines. The Israelites had been turned over to the Philistines because of their sin. Manoah was married to a woman who was childless. The angel of the Lord came to her and told her she would give birth to a son who would be a Nazirite and he will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

The part that came next is what really struck me in relation to our lesson this week. In Judges 13:18, “Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.””

In our scripture this week Jacob has assembled and is speaking truth about the future to his sons, including many things they either don’t understand or, in some instances, things they don’t want to hear. This made me think about what I should do if God delivered news about my future to me. What if he told me something about my health, my finances, my children, my church? Should I worry about it? Should I jump into action? Should I just take the news and do nothing? Should I use my own intellect to “figure things out”?

But, the example we learn from Manoah is the right response. Given revelation about the future, my first step should be to drop to my knees and humbly pray to God to come into my life and teach me how to do what He wants with this revelation. To teach me how to honor Him and be true in my work in the future to His calling for my life.

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.

BSF Genesis: Week 29, Day 4

Today’s Scriptures

Questions:

8.
a.
God promised to return him to the promised land. He made his son swear an oath to bury him in tomb of the patriarchs. All the time he worshipped God.

b.
Reassurance of a heavenly home. to create a focus on the eternal not the temporal

9.
a.
1. Collected money for payment for food v14, 2. collected livestock for payment for food v16, collected land and servitude for payment of food v 20-21

b.
It gave people autonomy and choice. Even though they entered servitude, they did it logically, willingly and with their own free will and choice. They bought their food, not a welfare state – prepared them to again work and grow and build once the famine ended. It also allowed them to separate themselves from all their worldly possessions, turn them over to a benevolent ruler and then take on the yoke of doing his work.

c.
No, only that he was able, through Pharoah’s kindness, to find a home for his family

d.
Finances, investments, accepting the generosity of others

My Daily Journal:

I think there are great lessons from the passage today, both in terms of how we should help others as well as how we should live our own lives.

The model presented in this story to help those in need is one of providing a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” It did not dis-empower or dishonor the Egyptian people, just the opposite – it allowed them to exercise their free will. I am a fan of authors such as Bob Lupton and Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert and I believe this scripture supports the approaches they take and recommend.

More personally, however, it also provides a model for our approach to being citizens of God’s kingdom. God gives us the opportunity to shed our desires to cling to things of this world. He gives us choice and freedom, even though (as was the case in Egypt) there is only one truly logical choice. It is only when we release our ability to “pay our own way” that we can receive the biggest blessing of all. As in Egypt, when the people bought their own way, all they received was daily food. But when they turned themselves over full, they received the seeds to grow food, not only to feed themselves but also to feed others.