when the dominoes start falling

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 2:1-2 (JDV)

Joel 2:1 Blow a ram’s horn bugle1 in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the people living in the land tremble, because the day of Yahveh is coming; in fact, it is near –

Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and total darkness, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a substantial2 and numerous people appears, such as has not existed from a past age and I will not do it again until the years of generation after generation have lapsed.

when the dominoes start falling

This was not what the nation wanted to hear from its prophet. They had already experienced a terrible four-stage locust invasion, and they wanted relief. The last thing they needed was an invasion of warriors too numerous to count. But Joel tells them to start blowing their Shofar, because that is exactly what is going to happen.

Sometimes the bad news happens in bunches. Sometimes one disaster is just the first domino in a series of unfortunate events that rip through your life with no time to repair any of the damages. When that starts happening, remember that God always knows what you are experiencing. He has a plan, and even if that plan does not call for your immediate relief, it is still best to trust him.

Lord, help us to trust you when the dominoes start falling.

1שׁוֹפָר

2רַב

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disaster and destiny

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 1:15-20 (JDV)

Joel 1:15 Tragedy on that day! You see, the day of Yahveh is near and will come as a destructive storm from the Almighty.

Joel 1:16 Hasn’t the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and happiness from the house of our God?

Joel 1:17 The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has dried up.

Joel 1:18 How the animals moan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep and goats are held guilty.1

Joel 1:19 I call to you, Yahveh, because fire has consumed the pastures of the open country,2 and flames have burned up all the trees of the orchard.

Joel 1:20 Even the wild animals cry out to you, because the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the open country.

disaster and destiny

There is a lot of good news in Joel, but we have not yet gotten to it. Joel is predicting a serious disaster right when his nation is suffering the after effects of a terrible locust invasion and its corresponding drought. His language pictures the devastation in such vivid detail that it would be hard to deny it, since it was already starting to happen. While you are in such a state, it helps to find meaning in it, even if you have to wait for relief.

Joel’s good news comes after all this bad news because all these terrible things he predicted came true. That fact established him as a true prophet. So, when he later predicts a nation-wide revival where God’s Breath is poured out on this same nation, his words were credible. It would take centuries for that prophecy to be fulfilled, but people had a reason to believe it would.

Lord, we trust your words, because they have already been proven reliable.

1אָשַׁם

2מִדְבָּר

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worship disrupted

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 1:13-14 (JDV)

Joel 1:13 Wrap yourselves in sackcloth and passionately demonstrate your sorrow, you priests; yell, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Joel 1:14 Commit to1 a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the ones living in the land at the house of Yahveh your God, and cry out to Yahveh.

worship disrupted

A terrible blow has been delivered to the nation, and now the prophet has gotten their attention. His words to them are not ignorant of what they are going through. But he does not try to sugar coat their painful pill. No, if anything, he is desperately trying to get the nation to understand God’s point of view. The glory of their God is at stake. The indicators of the blessings the people are usually experiencing include the grain and drink offerings. But the harvest and vineyards have been wiped out. The people are ready for a little religion, because their lives and livelihoods have been disrupted. But what they need is a lot of religion, because worship itself has been disrupted. They need more than restoration. They need revival, and it is going to take a night in sackcloth and a sacred fast.

Lord, we want more than just a little more religion. We need lives focused on you and your glory.

1קדַשׁ

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invitation to grieve

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 1:7-12 (JDV)

Joel 1:7 It1 has desolated2 my grapevine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white.

Joel 1:8 Grieve like a young woman wrapped3 in sackcloth, mourning for the husband whom she married young.

Joel 1:9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of Yahveh; the priests, who are ministers of Yahveh, mourn.

Joel 1:10 The fields are destroyed; the land grieves; in fact, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up; and the fresh oil fails.

Joel 1:11 Be ashamed, you farmers, yell, you vintners, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

Joel 1:12 The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple – all the trees of the orchard – have withered. In fact, human joy has dried up.

invitation to grieve

After suffering a devastating four phase locust invasion, the nation wants a chance to recover. But the prophet tells them that recovery is not yet on the menu. Instead, Joel invites the nation to yell, grieve, mourn and to be ashamed. The natural disaster was just to get their attention. An invading army is coming.

Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those who are mourning now. Mourners are sensitive to what God has to what God has to say, and can respond to the tragedy that is predicted.

Lord, give us your eyes to see, and your heart to grieve.

1the invading nation – depicted as a lioness in 1:6

2שַׁמָּה

3חָגַר

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from locusts to lions

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 1:5-6 (JDV)

Joel 1:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; yell,1 all you wine drinkers, over the sweet wine, because it has been cut off from your mouth.

Joel 1:6 You see, a nation has invaded my land, powerful and numberless; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the jaws of a lioness.

from locusts to lions

If we only knew what the future might hold, we would shake ourselve free of our lethargy and self-centeredness. Joel spoke to a nation which had not considered the possibility of being conquered. The locusts were only the beginning, lions were coming. But Judah was not ready. The people had considered themselves invasion proof. Perhaps they thought God would protect them.

Notice that Joel uses the past tense here. He speaks of the wine as alraeady having been cut off, and the nation has already invaded. God has already experienced their future, and he sends his prophet to warn them. The scriptures can be that for us. They can warn us of things that will happen, or things that might. But it is up to us to wake up and get prepared.

There are some disasters we cannot avoid, but we can be prepared.

1יָלַל

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things getting worse

Posted on August 4, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Joel 1:1-4 (JDV)

Joel 1:1 The word of Yahveh1 that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

Joel 1:2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all you who live2 in the land.3 Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers?

Joel 1:3 Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.

Joel 1:4 What the recently mature locust4 has left, the winging stage locust5 has eaten; what the winging stage locust has left, the crawling stage locust6 has eaten; and what the crawling stage locust has left, the destroying locust7 has eaten.

things getting worse

Judah had been hit by a major natural disaster: a series of locust plagues that wiped out the nation’s economy and led to system-wide depression and famine. It was hard to imagine things getting any worse. But Joel does not ride into town with his white horse and tell everybody “there, there, everything is going to get better now.” No, Joel’s message is more like “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” The plague of locusts which came from the north is going to be followed by swarms of armies coming from the same direction. We know from history that those armies came from Assyria, then Babylon, the Persia, then Greece, then Rome.

Lord, we accept your plan for our lives, and we will not be daunted in our faith if things get worse. We have chosen to trust you no matter what.

1יהוה

2יָשַׁב

3אֶרֶץ

4גָּזָם

5אַרְבֶּה

6יֶלֶק

7חָסִיל

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miserable means

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Galatians 6:17-18 (JDV)

Galatians 6:17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I am bearing on my body the marks of Jesus.

Galatians 6:18 Brothers, the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your breath. Amen.

miserable means

I am not sure if Paul was referring to the persecutions and difficulties he faced in his missionary work (shipwrecks and the like) when he said he was bearing the marks of Jesus. He may have been referring to the betrayal and abandonment he was feeling because of the way the congregations in Galatia had turned against him. Either way, we would have to agree that it was not right. A seasoned missionary should not have to endure such misery.

But what if these troubles had never happened? If Paul had always experienced victory in his church planting and development, we would not have these epistles. They were born out of trouble. And they have provided all of us with valuable insights about God’s design for his people in this age.

When we encounter things in our lives that are not working out right, we need to keep in mind that God’s plan includes them as well. We should be open to being taught – even through miserable means.

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what matters instead

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Galatians 6:11-16 (JDV)

Galatians 6:11 See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

Galatians 6:12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh – these would force you to be circumcised– but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:13 You see, even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

Galatians 6:14 But my boasting is not going to happen except about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me by it, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:15 You see, neither being circumcised nor not being circumcised mean anything; what matters instead is a new creation.

Galatians 6:16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

what matters instead

It is very difficult to apply the principles Paul taught in Galatians. It is much easier to debate whether this or that practice is biblical than it is to live in the new creation reality. But in the end, it is the new creation reality that will make a difference, both in our individual lives, and among our congregations.

Living in the new creation reality at least means allowing others to have different priorities, without disfellowshipping them. We have to stand strongly for the essentials, and allow for diversity in the non-essentials. But we also should have the liberty to discuss and admonish one another even on the non-essentials.

For Paul, the cross of Christ, and the new creation it brought to believers – these were essentials. May that always be the case with us.

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planting to harvest life

Posted on August 1, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
young tomato

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Galatians 6:6-10 (JDV)

Galatians 6:6 Let the one who is instructed in the word share all his good things with the instructor.

Galatians 6:7 Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a human plants he will also harvest,

Galatians 6:8 because the one who plants to his flesh will harvest destruction from the flesh, but the one who plants to the Breath will harvest permanent1 life from the Breath.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not get tired of doing good, because we will harvest at the appropriate season if we don’t give up.

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, since we have a season, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

planting to harvest life

The Sacred Breath who comes into us at our conversion is a deposit, guaranteeing the permanent life which we will harvest at the appropriate season. When is that appropriate season? It is resurrection day – the last day, when Jesus returns.

The heretical cult trying to change the Galatians had taught them that good works were essential to individual salvation. Paul and his team urged the Galatians to stop thinking of good works that way. Instead, good works are a means of showing appreciation toward those who have shared the gospel with you. Also, they are a planting of like kind. The Sacred Breath brings us spiritual life. Operating our lives in such a way as to produce the fruit of the Breath (working for the good of all) is an investment in the same future.

The alternative (even if you are in the visible church) is planting to your flesh. The end result of that kind of planting is destruction. So Paul and his team encouraged the Galatians to plant the right thing, so that their harvest would be life, not destruction and death.

Lord, give us the wisdom to plant for a harvest of life.

1αἰώνιος

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weight lifting

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Jefferson Vann
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Galatians 6:1-5 (JDV)

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if a human is overtaken in any violation,1 you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.

Galatians 6:2 Carry one another’s weights; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:3 You see, if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he cheats his own mind.2

Galatians 6:4 Let each person evaluate3 his own achievement, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else

Galatians 6:5 because each person will have to carry his own load.

weight lifting

A few months ago my son-in-law had a major household renovation project going, and I asked to help. One of the things he had to do was bring several large bins full of crushed rock into the back deck where he would use them to make a foundation for the new deck. The bins were incredibly heavy, so I suggested a wheel barrow to transport them. The hardest part was getting the bins from the car to the wheel barrow. Between the two of us, we did it, but I put a bit of strain on my left knee. Talking about it at work that night, a co-worker suggested I had made a mistake. Well – yes, it was too heavy a job for me to do. But it was not a mistake, because I appreciate my son-in-law, and I want to help him wherever I can.

Paul’s use of weight lifting as a metaphor here is interesting. At first glance, it seems a contradiction to tell the Galatians to carry one another’s weights (verse 2) because each will have to carry his own load (verse 5). But the fact is, each of us does have a load to carry. That’s why we need each other’s support. Only by working together can we all finish well.

Lord, open our eyes to the ways we can help each other live free from the heavy burdens we have to carry.

1παράπτωμα

2φρεναπατάω

3δοκιμάζω

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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