Promises of God (Joshua 22-23 / Luke 3)

Much of the OT contains Israel's blunders in their following of Yahweh (God). However, Joshua 22 carries with it a postive tone as this time Israel is found doing right in the Lord's eyes. In Joshua 23:14-16, we see a righteous man on his deathbed faithfully proclaiming the promises of God. "All of the promises of God find their Yes" in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). This positive tone continues on into Joshua 24 as when given the choice to follow the Lord or not, Israel responds 3x that they will obey their God (v. 18, 21, 24). Unfortunately, just like Peter, we will soon see Israel turn back on their allegiance. It seems that Joshua knew his people better than they knew themselves and in his anticpiation of their backsliding, he gave them a warning (v. 19-20).

Luke is known for including more details in his writing than the other gospel writers. We see this in Luke 3:1-2. This attention to detail only helps to autheticate the validity of the Bible. How does John prepare the way for Jesus? He calls for a baptism or repentance (v. 3), uses past prophecy about Jesus (v. 4-6), gives a warning (v. 7-9), tells the people to do that which is right (v. 10-14), and gives exhortations while preaching the gospel (v. 15-18). Not only did John baptize Jesus, but the Father and the Holy Spirit appear at His baptism to authenticate John's message (v. 22).

A Promise Fulfilled! (Joshua 21 / Luke 2)

We see the crux of the matter delivered to us in Joshua 21:43-45. All of the land that had been allotted to the Israelites were the result of a promise made to Abraham (Genesis 12:7) some 400 years before this fulfillment. Remember in the big picture, this is huge! The Israelites had gone through years of slavery and lost faith in God's promise to give them "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). It was through the race of the Israelites that Jesus, the Messiah, was still to come. This promise was given even earlier in Genesis 3:15. Jesus is the ultimate reason it was important for God to fulfill His promise to the Israelites in bringing them to the land of Cannan.

Both Simeon and Anna walked with the Lord. They both knew and in a way prophesied about this great King to be (Lk. 2:30-32, 38). These early childhood and teen years were very formative years for Jesus (v. 40, 52). Not even his own parents completely understood what He was all about (v. 50).

Census Time (Joshua 16-18 / Luke 2)

In Joshua 16-18, we read more about the distribution of land to be given to the Israelite tribes as their inheritance. Perhaps we know of some older folks who need to get started in the estate planning process. Helping older adults in these matters, whether they be a relative, friend, or church member is a ministry in itself. Let us look for and become aware of areas of help and assistance where we can plug in and minister to our senior citizens.

Luke 2:1-4 is known for its detail and is used by Bible scholars to verify the authenticity of the Bible. Notice in Lk 2:1-7 that Jesus was born during the time of the census (v. 2). Only one census in all of time included the Son of God in it. Jesus was born at the perfect time in history. A true mother's heart is captured in v. 19 as Mary kept a photo album in her mind of all the happenings around her son's miraculous birth.

The Big Picture (Joshua 13-15 / Luke 1)

Joshua 13-15 does not appear to be the most interesting of readings as it has many references to land allotments and boundaries. So, why is it included in the Bible? What is the bigger picture? This is what biblical theology tries to cipher out. It is important that we remember the nation of Israel in the OT is God's nation and that He is guiding and leading the nation every step of the way (even in the little details such as land allotments). God is in the process of using this great nation to one day bring the Messiah into the world (Matthew 1). Likewise, a lot of the details in our own lives seem rather routine. But in the big picture, God is even using those things to bring about His plan for our lives and for the future that is to come (Revelation 21).

Yesterday, we read Mary's song (the "Magnificat") and stated that Mary's focus was Christocentric (on Christ, the Lord first and foremost!). Today, we read Zechariah's song (v. 68-79). Zechariah's focus is also Christocentric. His ultimate focus is not on his son to be born (John) but on Christ! We are thankful for both of God's servants (Mary and John), but our worship falls alone at the feet of Jesus.

A Mystery (Joshua 10-12 / Luke 1)

We see in Joshua 10-12 that it does not pay to fight against God or His people! We also see God's complete sovreignty in Joshua 11:20. This theme runs rampant in the Bible. Although people have complete free choice and responsibility, God at the same time has complete sovreignty. This is a mystery that we will never fully understand, yet we can stand back and say, "only God." Lost people still fight against God today. Some poke fun at Him, laugh at Him, and even curse Him while never realizing that He is all at the same time using them to accomplish His full purposes. No matter how hard we try, we will never win a game of hide and go seek with God.

A beautiful song is captured in Luke 1:46-55. I always like to focus on the first two verses (v. 46-47). Here, we see Mary praising the Father! Although Mary is blessed, (v. 48-49 = she has the Son of God in her womb!) she should not be worshipped, as some of our Catholic friends believe. Mary was simply the instrument God chose to use to bring us the One who deserves our full worship!

I AM (Deuteronomy 28-29 / Mark 14)

Dt. 28:1-14 spelled out to the Israelites the blessings of obeying the Lord, their God. The rest of the chapter identifies the disastrous results of not following the Lord. The Israelites are no different than people of today. People know the harm that will come to them from intentionally sinning against God, yet they often continue to persist in their ways. Hangovers, STD's, and bitter relationships are often consequences of people's sinful decisions and proof that it does not pay to disobey God. Ever heard the saying, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay" or "sin is not a pet to tame, but a beast to slay"?

Dt. 29 speaks of the covenant renewal. Covenants in OT times were binding and taken very seriously when compared to agreements made between people today. Dt. 29:29 tells us that there are some things we will never be able to understand (thankfully, God has revealed some things to us!).

Yesterday, we saw that the disciples fell asleep 3x after Jesus had asked them to pray. Today we find Peter disowning Christ 3x (Mk 14: 68, 70-71). I love Mk. 14:62 - Jesus has been speaking in parables, but this time his reply is very direct. He says that He is the Christ and I can see Him looking into the High Priest's eyes and saying "you" will see my return as King one day.

It Is Time! (Deuteronomy 25-26 / Mark 14)

Family lineage was very important in ancient Hebrew culture (Dt. 25:5-10). I would not personally want to return to this ancient culture's ways (having to marry my brother's wife if he passed away), but I do think our present culture has lost something along the way (namely, its identity). I think it is important to know our family lineage and to know our Christian heritage (remember how our country was founded?).
Based off of Dt. 26:13, I would like to ask you a question. How are you treating the "Levite (your minister), the alien (new people to you neighborhood, work, community), the fatherless and the widow (children and youth)?" Last week, I felt complelled to spend some time with the fatherless. If we will only look around us, we will see that the need is great. In Dt. 27, we see a people reverberating with God's holiness.

In Mark 14:41, we see that the hour has finally come. Jesus had been found telling His disciples that the time had not yet come, but now He finally states (and yes, He is a little upset with them for falling asleep 3x) that it is time. It is time for Him to fulfill His Father's purpose in sending Him to earth (redemption of humanity), even if those closest to Him are found desertting Him at his most needful hour (Mk 14:50).