120 years

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 5:25 – 6:4

25 After Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.

26 Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 more years and had other sons and daughters.

27 So all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.

28 After Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son

29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

30 Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 more years and had other sons and daughters.

31 So all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.

32 After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6:1 When humanity began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,

2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.

3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”

4 The Nephilim were in the land in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. _________________________________________

120 years

This was not a lengthening of the threescore and ten. God was simply saying that in 120 years, humanity will be put to an end. Thankfully, we learn later that Noah would be rescued, along with his family. Things had gotten so bad that unclean spirits were starting to take over. God’s Spirit could not tolerate such apostasy. He decided to put an end to the world. What if he had not decided to give the world another 120 years? Noah would not have been born.

LORD, thank you for your patience with us. Even in our sin you give us time. May we use the time you give us to bring our families to you.

Posted in evangelism, Noah, patience, time | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Baptism

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 3:1-6

In those days John the baptizer arrived, preaching in the desert of Judea,

2 “Repent, for the kingdom from the sky has approached.”

3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of someone crying aloud in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.'”

4 Now John wore a robe of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,

6 and as they confessed their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan river.

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Baptism

Even before John’s day, baptism was a ritual immersion as a sign of spiritual renewal and dedication to God’s kingdom. John did not invent the ritual, but he did add a new twist to it. For John, the place to begin revival is not among the pagans, or even among the marginalized. It is right here in Judea. He called the elect people of God to get their lives in order, because their Messiah was coming. His kingdom has approached. Before the king arrives, his people had to get the their affairs in order, because the king would not settle for second best. Baptism was a way of saying “I’m in this, 100%.”

Even today, nothing says “I surrender all” like full immersion baptism.

Jesus, take us all for your kingdom. We surrender to your will, 100%.

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Enoch

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 5:12-24

12 After Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.

13 Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.

15 After Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.

16 Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18 After Jared had lived 162 years he fathered Enoch.

19 Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 So all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21 After Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.

22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. _________________________________________

Enoch

Hebrews 11:5 says that “Enoch was transferred so that he should not see death” so the persistent rumor about him is that God took him to heaven so he never died. No, the death he was prevented from seeing was that of his descendants. The Bible also says “these all died in faith” including Enoch (Hebrews 11:13). In fact, Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:22 says that every descendent of Adam dies. That is why we all will need to be resurrected, same as Christ was after his death. Enoch did not cheat death. His death is not recorded, because God took him away. He was a prophet, and walked with God, and so God prevented him from living to see the mess that the world got into. It got so bad that Enoch’s son’s age became the last straw.

LORD, we cannot prevent our own deaths, but we can be like Enoch by walking in close relationship with you. May we learn that lesson from Enoch’s story.

Posted in Enoch, mortality, relationship with God, resurrection | Tagged | 2 Comments

Dreams

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 2:19-23

19 But after the dying of Herod, see, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 He is saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the soul of the child are dead.”

21 And he got up and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

22 But after hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the region of Galilee.

23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what the prophets said might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” _________________________________________

Dreams

Just like the Old Testament Joseph, this earthly parent of Jesus gets much of his information through dreams. Dreams are not the “normal” way of getting word from God, but Jesus’ life was not a normal life. The LORD reserves the right to change our direction, and he is free to communicate his will any way he chooses. Joseph was sensitive to the LORD’s direction through his dreams.

The author of Hebrews writes: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God communicated to our fathers through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2). The normal way we hear from God today is by listening to the words of Jesus. However, if the Holy Spirit needs to, he can speak to us through a dream, or even another burning bush.

Holy Spirit, give us the good sense to listen to Jesus’ words. Give us also the sensitivity of Joseph, to hear you when you speak in other ways.

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justice delayed–God’s will accomplished

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

007Acts 23:12-24:27

Those guarding Paul knew that the accusations against him were false.  They took great pains to protect him against the wrath of the non-Christian Jews.  The Holy Spirit delivered Paul by letting his nephew overhear the plot against him. But, still, it was long years of waiting in custody, with no verdict.  Justice was being delayed, but God’s will was being accomplished.  Paul had access to all the other members of his missionary band.  He could continue to study and teach, without worrying about being attacked by his enemies.  His mission would continue, even when his freedom is limited.  Sometimes the LORD puts us in situations like this as well.  We are his servants. He decides how we will accomplish his mission.

LORD, we surrender to your will.  Use us as you see fit, to accomplish what you have planned, to your glory.

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Lived and died

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 4:25 – 5:11

25 And Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has provided for me another child in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”

26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.

5:1 This is the book of the lives of Adam and his descendants. When God created a human, he made him in the likeness of God.

2 He created them male and female, and he blessed them and named them humanity when they were created.

3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

4 After he fathered Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters.

5 So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.

7 After he fathered Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.

8 So all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.

10 After he fathered Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

11 So all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

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Lived and died

The tragic history of humanity begins. Even the line of Seth – the line through which Eve would bring us the Messiah – is a record of mortals with temporary lives. Some of these people lives almost 1000 years, but from the standpoint of God’s eternity, these lives are desperately short. Our “normal” threescore and ten is ridiculously short. People may talk all they want about achieving immortality through their work, or their influence, or – as Eve did, through her children. But when it comes right down to it, we all want to (to quote Woody Allen) “achieve immortality by not dying. “ But we do not have that choice. Only through Christ, and the resurrection he promises – will we be able to overcome our mortality.

LORD, thank you for providing for Eve a child who will stop the terrible cycle that always ends in death. Thank you for Jesus Christ.

Posted in conditional immortality, Jesus Christ, mortality, resurrection | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Fulfillment

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 2:13-18

13 And after they left, see, the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up, and take the child and his mother, and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word: because Herod will seek the child to destroy him.

14 When he got up, he took the child and his mother by night, and left for Egypt:

15 And stayed there until the death of Herod: in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, namely, ‘I have called my son out of Egypt.’

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been thwarted by the wise men, was very angry, and sent and killed all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the surrounding places, from two years old and under, based on the time he had interrogated the great men.

17 Then what Jeremiah the prophet had predicted came true:

18 ‘In Rama there was a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are alive no more.

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Fulfillment

The events in the life of Christ fulfilled numerous predictions in the Old Testament, some of which people were not even expecting to be fulfilled. The predictions stayed in the background and faithfully waited until the special one came. Jesus would make sense of so much that had been obscure and mysterious.

He does that with us as well. Many parts of our lives are as obscure and dark as old forgotten prophecies. It will take the miracle of Christ to make sense of them. He is the reason we have experienced those things. He makes sense of our mysteries. Without him, we would never be able to understand who were are, and what has happened to us.

Jesus, come into our lives and show us who we are; show us why we have become what we have become.

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The Mark

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 4:11-24

11 So now you are prohibited from using the ground, which has opened its mouth to drink your brother’s blood from your hand.

12 When you try to work the ground, it will no longer produce for you what it is able. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the land.”

13 Cain said to the LORD, “My guilt is greater than I can carry.

14 See, you have driven me today away from the ground, from your face I will be hidden also. I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the land, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 Then the LORD said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, he will be receive revenge seven times.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17 Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael was father of Methushael, and Methushael was father of Lamech.

19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 Adah bore Jabal; he fathered those who live in tents and raise livestock.

21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

24 If Cain’s revenge is seven times, then Lamech’s is seventy-seven times.” _________________________________________

The Mark

Some ridiculously think that Cain’s mark was a racial distinction. It was a mark upon Cain himself, as a warning to others, not to seek vengeance on him for his crime. God also used a mark in a later story (Ezekiel 9) to protect those from his own judgment of idolatry. The Beast in Revelation puts a mark on those who belong to him for the same reason, but it will not protect them from God’s judgments (Rev. 16:2; 19:20). Only those who have God’s mark are truly protected.

LORD, thank you for saving us by your grace, and protecting us from your wrath to come.

Posted in Cain & Abel, judgment, protection | Tagged | 1 Comment

cause and solution

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

nov13 026Acts 19:23-20:16

The Holy Spirit through Christians is causing all kinds of disruption in Ephesus.  Not to fear, however, because the same Holy Spirit who is turning people away from idolatry is protecting them from the consequences of their defection.  The same Paul, whose long winded preaching inadvertently caused young Eutychus to fall asleep and fall to his death, was also enabled by the Holy Spirit to raise him from the dead. 

So it is with believers today.  We will see trouble, not in spite of our faith, but precisely because of our faith.  Yet the same Holy Spirit who forces us to be different will also be present among us to help solve the problems we face. 

LORD, thank you for the things we suffer for your sake, and the way you are with us through the sufferings.

Posted in church, faith, Holy Spirit, suffering | Tagged , | 1 Comment

coincidence

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Jefferson Vann

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Acts 18:1-22

For a  Jewish Christian couple named Priscilla and Aquila, providence intervenes in their lives and introduces them to the apostle Paul. 

  • By coincidence, they also make tents for a living.
  •   By coincidence, they found themselves in Corinth after being forced to leave Rome because of the decree of the emperor Claudius.  
  • By coincidence, they just happen to meet Paul on one of his missionary journeys.
  • By coincidence, they befriend him, house him, and join his missionary band.
  • By coincidence, they just happen to be free to travel with Paul.
  • By coincidence, they were able to stay on in Ephesus after Paul left.
  • By coincidence, Apollos, who needed their counsel, would soon arrive in Ephesus.

That is how the Holy Spirit did his wonders in the first century.  That is how he does his wonders today.

Posted in Holy Spirit, providence, sovereignty of God | Tagged | 1 Comment