05-30-21 “We Remember, therefore, We Lament”

Scripture  Lamentations 1-5
The Temple of God replaced the Tabernacle of God. The Tabernacle was an enormous tent enclosure that housed the Ark of the Covenant, with its cherubim-covered mercy seat. An outer sanctuary (the "Holy Place") contained a gold lamp-stand, a table for the showbread, the 7 branched Menorah candle stick and the golden altar of incense. [2] It was constructed of 4 woven layers of curtains and 48 15-foot tall standing wood boards overlaid in gold and held in place by its bars and silver sockets and was richly furnished with valuable materials taken from Egypt at God's command.

BUILDING THE TEMPLE
1 Kings 5-6 & Chronicles 2-7:10
1 Kings 5:13-17
King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel — thirty thousand men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen.
1 Kings 6:1
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.
1 Kings 6:2
The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 60 cubits long, 20 wide and 30 high.            [Holy place 60 x 3 0 x45 Holy of Holies 30 x 30 x 30]
1 Kings 6:7
In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.
1 Kings 6:21-22
Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. So he overlaid the whole interior with gold, including the floor.
          How long did it last? It was completed about 960 BC. The Babylonians destroyed it about 586 BC. Rabbinic literature says that the temple stood for 410 years. Sounds like a long time?  The Dome of the Rock that is there today was built around 691 AD. 1330 years ago – current dome is 1000 years old.
          This is sacred ground – “The Rock” is supposedly where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac (unless you are Muslim, then it is where Abraham went to sacrifice Ishmael).

 

I cannot emphasize enough how important the Temple was to the Jewish people. To lose it would be to lose the very presence of God and the central location of their faith gathering.
DESTROYING THE TEMPLE
2 Kings 25:8-17   (The Message)
In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, on the seventh day of the fifth month, Nebuzaradan, the king of Babylon's chief deputy, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, went on to the royal palace, and then finished off the city — burned the whole place down. He put the Babylonian troops he had with him to work knocking down the city walls. Finally, he rounded up everyone left in the city, including those who had earlier deserted to the king of Babylon, and took them off into exile. He left a few poor dirt farmers behind to tend the vineyards and what was left of the fields.
          The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands, and the huge bronze basin (the Sea) that were in The Temple of God and hauled the bronze off to Babylon. They also took the various bronze-crafted liturgical accessories used in the services of Temple worship, as well as the gold and silver censers and sprinkling bowls. The king's deputy didn't miss a thing — he took every scrap of precious metal he could find.
          The amount of bronze they got from the two pillars, the Sea, and all the washstands that Solomon had made for The Temple of God was enormous — they couldn't weigh it all! Each pillar stood twenty-seven feet high, plus another four and a half feet for an ornate capital of bronze filigree and decorative fruit.
 
          Does this have any connection to Memorial Day? Absolutely. First, you can imagine how much the people remembered their soldiers lost during the war with the Babylonians. But, even as we have adopted Memorial Day to remember all of our lost loved ones, so they would have continued to mourn over the loss of Solomon’s Temple and all that implied.
          They could no longer GO TO the place where God dwelt or offer sacrifice for their sins (until a replacement temple was built around 515 BC – modest and renovated by Herod the Great over a 40 year period then destroyed in 70 AD)
 
          Imagine if you believed a certain way about the presence of God, and you and your ancestors worshipped God and invested your whole lives in Him and then that was ripped away from you. That is how significant this was and is for the Jews. That little hill – that little plot of land is why we see continual war in Israel. The recent bombings are over land disputes and who can live where. Allow the Jews to take down the Dome of the Rock and erect a new Temple and they would concede almost any other land for that to happen.
 
          What does this STORY of the Temple built and the Temple Destroyed show us about who God is.
          One thing it shows us is that there is a time to Lament. The entire book of Lamentations (that should be included with the writings) is included with the prophets, and believed to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah. It is a collection of 5 very symmetrical poems of Lament. To lament means to cry over some loss. But Lamenting is more than crying. A Lament is a prayer that states the reason for the cry, that calls out to God in the midst of pain or loss, and that ultimately recognizes our only hope is in God. The entire book of Lamentations is a lament over the destruction of Solomon’s temple.
          Through Lamentations, God compassionately shows us a way to express our grief which he will help us through. But it also shows something much greater about who this compassionate God is.

 

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
Matt 9:36
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
John 2:19-22
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
 
From the FAMOUS STORY of the destruction and rebuilding of the Temple we learn that memorializing something should be done to move us forward not remain in the past:
Israel’s past revealed 4 things:
1 God’s presence was found in the temple.
2 What the people did for God, how they served him, was of highest importance.
3 From the time of Adam, we are all born to be children of God.
4 God’s children try to worship him through objects made by man.

 

Acts 17:24-31
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
 
“We Remember, therefore, We Lament”
“We Remember, therefore, We Repent”
         
Like the woman at the well we worship the Lord in Spirit & in Truth and the God we worship will also raise us from the dead!

05-23-21 The Holy Spirit and the butterfly

Scripture:         Acts 2:1-47
When the day of Pentecost came, Jesus’ disciples were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call."
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

          Jesus said wait in Jerusalem for a few days for the gift of the Holy Spirit promised by the Father. It had to be hard waiting because it actually took 10 days. When the gift came, there was no doubt this was the gift Jesus promised. 120 disciples in a room, a violent wind, tongues of fire rushing toward everyone’s head, everyone speaking in different languages.
          Something here sounds familiar. After the flood destroyed the earth. People were to spread out and multiply. Instead they wanted to come together and build a tower to heaven. In anger, God confused their languages so that they could not understand each other. In this case, when Peter spoke to the crowd, everyone heard in their own language. First was a gift of speaking in many languages then came the gift of hearing in one language. The directive now was to spread out and share the word of Christ. This is what they immediately began to do. It was the anthesis of what happened at the tower of Babble.
          People work so hard to “figure life out” by themselves. “I am discovering who I am” I know who you are – a child of God created in His image and in His likeness to reflect who He is to the rest of the world!!!
          People use Acts 2 to affirm speaking in tongues (speaking in tongues is a legit sign gift and people have it even today) but this was not speaking in tongues which is a personal prayer language. This was speaking in intelligible languages to make the point that God wants everyone everywhere to hear the way to be saved.
          That was the single point of this Pentecost experience – to empower the disciples to begin spreading the good news of the kingdom of God – what John the Baptist started, what Jesus preached, would now and always be the responsibility and privilege of the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is not just out there – it is here and now present in this world. Believe in Jesus and you will receive the Holy Spirit and God’s kingdom will be within you.
          Pentecost celebrates harvest – end of barley harvest and beginning of wheat harvest.
          Appropriate that the Spirit would come while celebrating harvest to send workers out into the fields.. It took place in Jerusalem – unlike Jesus’ birth, this was meant to be a public event. So public, the fire department had to be called in.
          Tongues of fire resting on them??? How often has God used fire as a symbol of his presence and power? Spoke through a Burning bush / Guided through the wilderness with a Pillar of fire / When 400 prophets of Baal could not call down fire from there gods, Elijah showed the power of God as fire from heaven consumed the wood, the altar & water all around it. Now, that is what you call “bringing the heat”

 

          Can this same God, this Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus use you? Like Jeremiah, can the Spirit put a fire in your bones. If you have doubts, consider this…who doubted Jesus when he was walking on water and the waves started kicking up? Peter. Who got it right one minute and the next got it so wrong that Jesus said to him” Get behind me Satan?” Peter. Who was so scared to tell the truth about even knowing who Jesus was that he denied knowing Jesus to a small group of people, not once, but 3 times when Jesus needed him most? Peter
          Then how did that same Peter stand up and speak the words in Acts 2 that led to 3000 people coming to faith in Jesus Christ and started a movement called Christianity that is still the greatest movement of faith in the world today??? How did that same person do that??? THE HOLY SPIRIT!
 

The Butterfly Story

He is alive!  He is alive!  He is alive!
He is alive and he’s shown me the way, He gives me joy to begin ev’ry day.
He is alive and he’s opened the door, He gives me hope to live life evermore.
He is alive and so I celebrate, This is the story that I must relate.
He is alive and I love him, I am alive and he loves me.
He is alive and I love him, I am alive and he loves me.   Ah _________________!
He is alive!  He is alive!  He is alive!

05-16-21 “FISH: Catch first; clean later”

Scripture                 Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:4-11; and John 1:29-2:2

Jesus calls everyone to follow him.
Jesus calls everyone to full time discipleship.
Jesus calls everyone to fish for him.
Jesus calls everyone to a deeper relationship with him.
Jesus wants an ongoing ever growing relationship with you.
 
Matt 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
          What is wrong with this picture? Everything! Either Jesus has cult powers, or these fishermen hated fishing.
          Notice that it already says 2 brothers, “Simon called Peter”. Jesus is the one who named him Peter. This could be commentary (like, Judas, the one who would betray him) or it could be showing us a chronology not immediately apparent.

 

Mark 1:16-20
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
          Notice that Mark adds (‘with the hired men’) James and John and likely Peter and Andrew were not leaving anyone without the ability to continue making money. In fact, Jesus may have chosen this very time with that in mind – it does say “without delay…” meaning Jesus knew now was the right time. Also, it sounds like Jesus was on a mission – like “Today is the day it all begins – let’s go”
 
Luke 5:4-11
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken (more people in their boat), and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men."  11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him.
          This version has Jesus calling one specific person (Peter) but the others are involved in the story as well. It also shows way more detail than the other stories. This shows what is going on in the upper story while so far we have only seen the lower story – “from now on you will catch men.” If Jesus can cause us to catch fish where there were none, he can certainly catch people through us. Does it strike you, that this was not the first time Jesus and Peter, and the others have met. Obviously Peter knows something about Jesus by the way he addresses him and is so willing to “put out into deep water” with him.
         
Would it make a difference if Simon Peter and the others already had a relationship of some kind with Jesus before this day when he says, “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?” And the immediately leave everything and follow him!?
          I believe it makes all the difference in the world, depending on how well they knew him. If they had not met him previously, we would think them insane. If they were only brief acquaintances, it would still seem a bit odd. What if they had known Jesus for some time? What if they were already following Jesus before this day? What if they were already his disciples when Jesus said this? That would make this famous story of the calling of these 4 fishermen a totally different story than we normally imagine and cannot relate too because we would not do what they did and so we feel like a lesser disciple.
          All right – hang on – here we go....

 

John 1:29-51 - (2:2)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." (That doesn’t mean he didn’t know Jesus – he was actually related to him – it means he did not know Jesus was the messiah until God reveled it to him.) Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). [notice the already believe Jesus is the messiah and Simon is already renamed Peter by Jesus]
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (Phillip believes Jesus is the messiah spoken of in the scriptures) "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." (Nathanael becomes a disciple and believes Jesus is the Messiah) Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."  He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."  John 2:1-2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples (at least 6 disciples at this point) had also been invited to the wedding.
          After this Jesus went to Jerusalem with his disciples for Passover. Then Jesus has his encounter at night with Nicodemus (John 3:16) [This means Jesus is already known and looked at with suspicion by the Jewish religious leaders]. Following that we read: John 3:22-24   After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.)
 
          Everything we just read in John 1 & the beginning of 2 took place before John was put in prison. Once John is thrown in prison, he is in there for approximately 10 months before he is beheaded – From prison he will send his own disciples to Jesus and receive word back from Jesus that he truly is the messiah.
          We now understand that at least these men were disciples of Jesus for some time before John was thrown in prison!!! Let’s go back to the first text we looked at earlier - Matthew 4:18-20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going back only 6 verses before this big story of Jesus calling the disciples, and them leaving everything to follow him; we read, Matthew 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
          20 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed him.
 
          When Jesus called them to go deeper “cast out into the deep Peter” “Come, follow me” and “I will make you fishers of men” they were already following him.
FISH: Catch first; clean later! I didn’t know anything about Jesus when I first put my trust in him other than I believed he was God and was real.  It wasn’t until I had been his disciple for a while he said, go and preach my name. Jesus had to catch me before he could clean me. People think they have to clean up their lives before they come to Jesus – that is what John the Baptist was saying – make things straight – make a clear road for Jesus to come. But before anyone could do that, Jesus started building relationships with them. As they knew him he continually called them to go deeper and deeper and deeper.
          We should not be discouraged by the disciple’s faith that allowed them to leave everything and follow him. That did not happen on the first day. It should however cause us to do the hard work, the daily work, the continual faithful work of a disciple and invest in daily prayer, studying the scriptures, Christian fellowship, worship, and service, so when he does call us to go deeper and further, to cross a border we have never crossed before, we are not only equipped, but are ready to say yes, leave whatever we were previously doing and follow him into new unchartered waters to catch so many fish, we will have to call to our brothers and sisters for help and wonder together if our nets will even hold so many who are putting their faith in Jesus.
 
 
Children’s Message: Red Light – Green Light
Play the game – would Jesus play that? As a kid I am sure he did.
But Jesus wants us always going for him. Sometimes fast – sometimes slow.
How can we grow before we go for Jesus?
Read the Bible, Pray, Go to church, Help others, Hang out with other people who also love Jesus, sing praises, ask for forgiveness, tell others about Jesus.
Jesus has a big green light and wants you growing and going for Him.

05-09-21 “The sun will come out ToMara”

Scripture                                                           RUTH
There are only two books of the Bible that bears a woman’s name – Esther and Ruth.
Ruth becomes the great grandmother of David. Eventually, Jesus is born in her genetic line.

Phil, Jeff, & Rick Cooper (Phil "Paw" & Donna "Maw" Kramb) & 'Rex"

Donna “Naomi” Kramb – (Maw)

          Describe “Maw”. Not a warm and fuzzy grandmother. Lived on 119^th St. in Point Place.
Book about Tadpoles
Timed run to get Newspaper
Double Solitaire
          Not physically affectionate
          Argued with Paw
          A Christian but scared of death
There are 2 things I am most thankful for:
1)     She raised my mother which would suggest she did something right.
2)    Her middle name is Naomi (Beautiful, Gentle, or Pleasant One) which always reminds me of one of God’s stories that shows us through a window who God is.
The biblical Naomi’s story is found, not in a book of the bible by her name, but by her daughter-in-law’s name – the book of Ruth.
 
ISREAL during the time of the Judges
ISRAEL: During this time – the time of the Judges, Israel was in a state of immorality and despair. They were at odds with the nations around them and on top of that a famine hit the land and the people were starving. There was a momentary peace between Israel and her enemies in Moab. (Moab was a son of lot conceived when his daughter tricked him – the other daughter gave birth to BenAmi. From those two come the Moabites and the Ammonites – bitter enemies of Israel)
 
Naomi’s Family
A man by the name of Elimelech packed up a few belongings and took his wife, Naomi, and their sons Malon and Killion and moved to Moab where they could find food.
          Naomi had two daughters’ in law who were both from Moab.
 
Moab
Moab was a horrible place spiritually that really should never have existed. Lot offered his daughters to the men of the village in place of the angels that the men of that town were seeking to have “relationships” with. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomora, only Lot, his wife, and two daughters escaped (even their fiancés did not believe they would be destroyed and stayed behind. Lot’s wife died for disobeying the word of the Lord and Lot and his daughters ended up in Zoar and lived in a cave.
          Lot’s daughters devised a wretched plan to continue their family line by becoming pregnant by Lot. They did so by getting him so drunk – twice – that he didn’t even know what happened. Genesis 19:36-38     So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
          God would certainly not use someone from Moab to further HIStory toward salvation for all people; would He?

SAMSON
Samson is one of the Jewish leaders who lived at that time. How spiritually strong was he? NOT – Exactly, so God would turn to those outside the chosen ones to a person who believes in Him and aids in the saving of those outside, as well as the Jews, and every one of us who would one day experience our own faith in Jesus. Ruth plays an essential part in Salvation HIStory.

 

RETURN TO BETHLEHEM
          Back in Bethlehem, Naomi’s friends were excited  to see her – she said “Don’t call me Naomi – call me MARA for I went out full and have come back empty – I am empty/BITTER. She told Ruth to go glean in the fields. (Ruth was a HESED for Naomi) It was law that you had to leave some of your harvest for the poor and widows to walk through your fields and pick up the leftovers. It was hard work but also provided for those in need (that sounds like a great welfare system-not a handout but a hand up)
          As Ruth is gleaning, she catches the eye of the land owner – BOAZ. He hears what she did for Naomi and (either because he wants to thank her for assisting his relative or because he finds her incredibly attractive) he tells his workers – “Do a bad job harvesting around the edges of the field so Ruth will be able to collect food more easily and abundantly”

          Boaz asked her to come eat with the harvesters and she had leftovers. She went and worked till evening and took a lot of grain back to Naomi along with her lunch leftovers.
          Naomi asked what fields she gleaned in where she found such favor and abundance. She said a man named Boaz. Naomi was beside herself saying he is one of kinsmen's redeemers (people who take care of relatives who can’t take care of themselves.)

          Naomi tells Ruth to go to him when he falls asleep and uncover his feet and lit there. Boaz wakes wondering who is there and though Boaz is older – they fall in love. Boaz can’t marry her because someone else is 1^st in line to redeem Elimelech’s property (which in this case also means Ruth) Boaz goes to him with witnesses and at first, the other man will redeem the property but not when he hears Ruth is a part of the deal because it can ruin his own estate holdings. Boaz becomes the redeemer of the property and marries Ruth.
          Ruth gave birth to a son named Obed who was given to Naomi to help raise in some sense like her own son. Obed became the father of Jesse who became the Father of David through whose line Jesus is born – where? In Bethlehem. This is why Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem 1000 years after David, because of Boaz and Ruth – an unlikely Godly couple whom God quietly used in the midst of a terrible spiritual time in Israel to redeem His people.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion of the story balances the introduction. In Hebrew both have the same number of words, both compress much into a short space, both focus on Naomi and the introduction emphasizes Naomi’s emptiness, and the conclusion portrays her fullness. Therefore, the sun has come out for Mara.
How many miracles are found in the entire book of Ruth? NONE
How many people in this story are shining stars like David or Peter or Mary? NONE
The story of Ruth serves in stark contrast to what is taking place around them during this time of the Judges. It is a story of two people, from different sides of the track, who fell in love, who showed integrity, compassion for others, honesty, hard work, and loyalty to family.
          It is amazing that such a simple story with ordinary people made its way into scripture. It shows, once again, how God will raise up the right people at the right time to do the right thing even when it seems everyone else could care little for God or others.
          What did Jesus say? All the law and the prophets hang on only two laws:
                   Love the Lord you God & love your neighbor as yourself!
                   Put another way: If you believe in God, live a Hesed life.
          Their reward for living this way?
1)    The joy of a life well-lived
2)    They found each other.
3)    They became the great grandparents of King David.
4)    Their genetic downline brought Jesus Christ into the world.
 
Mothers more often get this quicker and better than men because they typically sacrifice more of themselves for the sake of their children. God calls us all to live this way for His children who are everywhere around us.

05-02-21 “A prophet traveled 300 miles to bury his underwear”

Scripture   Jeremiah 13:1-11
 
ILLUSTRATION: Skipper’s buried a bone and brought in the remains – dirty, limp, gross, smelly.
Dramatized Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 13:1-11
This is what the Lord said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water." 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
          3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 "Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks." 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.
          6 Many days later the Lord said to me, "Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there." 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
          8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 "This is what the Lord says: 'In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt — completely useless! 11 For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the Lord, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.'
 
Jeremiah 13:1-11 (The Message)
God told me, "Go and buy yourself some linen shorts. Put them on and keep them on. Don't even take them off to wash them." 2 So I bought the shorts as God directed and put them on.
          3 Then God told me, 4 "Take the shorts that you bought and go straight to Perath and hide them there in a crack in the rock." 5 So I did what God told me and hid them at Perath.
          6 Next, after quite a long time, God told me, "Go back to Perath and get the linen shorts I told you to hide there." 7 So I went back to Perath and dug them out of the place where I had hidden them. The shorts by then had rotted and were worthless.
          8 God explained, 9 "This is the way I am going to ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem —   10 a wicked bunch of people who won't obey me, who do only what they want to do, who chase after all kinds of no-gods and worship them. They're going to turn out as rotten as these old shorts. 11 Just as shorts clothe and protect, so I kept the whole family of Israel under my care" — God's Decree — "so that everyone could see they were my people, a people I could show off to the world and be proud of. But they refused to do a thing I said.
Where was Jeremiah told to go?

 From his home in Anatoth which is near Jerusalem and to go to Perath (Hebrew for Euphrates).

The Euphrates River was over 300 miles away.
Some believe it referred to Parah (a town just over 3 miles away) It is possible but not likely.

 A trip to the Euphrates and back would take several months which lends itself to the linen being soiled by the time he arrived and also to the time between leaving it and going back to get it…”Many days”.

 
What was Jeremiah told to wear?
A linen belt, sash, shorts. 4 linen belt

This referred to a priestly garment (even of the high priest).
They were supposed to bathe in water before putting them on to resemble being clean. Jeremiah was specifically told not to allow water to touch it. In other words – put the sacred garment on your dirty body without bathing you or the garment first.
Leviticus 16:3-4
"This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.
          The priest represents Israel to God and also God to Israel. As Israel,
1 wearing the garment on a dirty body showed how spiritually dirty they were.
2 taking it far away showed how distant they were from God.
3 

burying it showed that they had become useless to God. (like the parable of the talents where the third servant buries his talent/money and it is taken away and given to the other who invested and grew their talent money for their master).
 
Jeremiah’s underwear journey is an announcement (or a letter) to Israel that they have sinned and therefore willfully separated themselves from God. This is just the first of 5 warnings Jeremiah gives to Israel. God’s judgement is shown by Israel being taken captive into Babylonian exile.  Ultimately Jeremiah gives hope; that if they will turn to God, He will forgive them and give them and restore them to Himself.
Israel was meant to show the world who God is and how they can know Him, and they were failing miserably. How is the church doing at that today? It reminds me of a story I read recently that has some sting in it:
Some time ago an 18-year-old girl from Washington state attended a worship service. For the first time in her life she heard the gospel message. The following Tuesday the members of the church received a letter from her. It read:
Dear Church Members:
Last Sunday I attended your church, and I heard the preacher. In the sermon the preacher said that all humans have sinned and rebelled against God. Because of their rebellion and disobedience they all face eternal damnation and separation from God. But then he also said God loves all humans and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem them from their sins and that all those who believe in Him would go to Heaven and live with God eternally.
My parents recently died in rapid succession. I know they did not believe in Jesus Christ, whom you call the Savior of the world. If what you believe is true, they are damned. You compel me to believe that either the message is true, that you yourself don't believe this message, or that you don't care. You see, we live only three blocks from your church, and no one ever told us.
Not only was Israel meant to show the world who God is, even more so, the church is to be doing that today…we are to be showing HIStory to the world around us.
 
1 Peter 2:6-12
For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message (like the Israelites in Jeremiah’s day – and sometimes like us) — which is also what they were destined for.
Here is the Good News:
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
ASHLAND MISSION STATEMENT
We are building an inspired community that creatively and compassionately connects people to Jesus Christ.
How do we fulfil this mission that has been God’s mission for us since He created us in the garden, and has been crafted specifically for how Ashland will fulfill that mission.
How do we do that?

A young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” The manager replied,“Your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.” So it is with revealing HIStory to the world. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that it creates a thirst for Jesus and His Word!