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  • Dec31

    The Beginning of The Year!

    Posted in: Organic Discipleship

    “It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.”

    - Deuteronomy 11:12 NIV

    I find it fascinating that the LORD marks out calendar times in His Word. Throughout Scripture we find mentions to the beginning of the year, the week, the months, and many other references that align with our understanding of a calendar year.

    The phrase, “the beginning of the year,” occurs only twice in the Bible; here in Deuteronomy and also in Ezekiel 40:1. In this passage the LORD, through His servant Moses, speaks of the Promised Land that He has prepared for the Children of Israel. God promises “a land of hills and valleys that drinks rain from heaven” (Deut. 11:11) if His people obey God, and judgment if they do not (Deut. 11:16,17). In either case, the LORD’s watchful eye remains upon His land from the beginning to the end of each year.[1]

    Although these promises were specifically given for Israel, the principle surely applies globally. God’s sovereign rule and reign over all people and things is constant. Consider what Luke writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “from one man He made every nation of men, 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 them.” – Acts 17:26&27

    These promises from Deuteronomy can, in principle, also be applied to us as followers of Jesus Christ, our LORD. Notice from the text that the “eyes of the Lord are on it.” God’s careful and watchful eye is always upon His precious nation. His eyes are also on each of us. Consider Job’s thorough knowledge of this reality:

    “Does he not see my ways and count my every step?”

    - Job 31:4 NIV

    There is nothing more satisfying for a believer than to be knowing and living in the will of God! Isn’t it good to know that Yahweh God actually delights in leading us along the path laid out for us?

    “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.” - Psalm 37:23 NKJV

    Or perhaps you are familiar with God’s beautiful promise: “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” – Proverbs 3:6

    In 2012 what if you and I made a concerted daily effort to pray like the Psalmist does in Psalm 119?

    “Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.” - Psalm 119:133 NIV

    Even if the path becomes difficult at times, it is a good path, because it honors Him.  “… He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” - Psalm 23:3 NIV

    He is our Good Shepherd (Ps. 23) and if we lose our way for a time, He can bring us back. As the prophet said, “I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” - Jeremiah 10:23 NIV

    An important check to be sure we are not drifting far off the path is to be sure we don’t disobey or question His written Word. When we seek, as best we can, to be obedient we can claim the promise: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” - Isaiah 30:21 NIV

    More than likely, it will not be an audible voice, but we can still hear. We hear through His written word or through wisdom and prophetic words shared from others. We also hear from strong impressions or ideas that emerge from our minds as well as through circumstances. All of these ways are valid as long as they are in line with the Word of God.

    “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” - John 10:27 NIV

    Last week in one of my men’s groups, I asked the guys what the Holy Spirit was speaking to them. One young man said, “I keep having these strong thoughts come to my mind saying, ‘be patient with your children!’ Another man said, “the Spirit is not only telling me to share Christ, I actually am! I’m giving out the Four-Law Booklet and have begun dialogue with one man in particular. These men are not only listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, they are responding in obedience to His voice.

    Estimates say that in the coming year you will walk approximately 10,000 steps every day with a combined total of 3,520,000 steps in 2012. What a great “Beginning of the Year” resolution to pray as the Psalmist prayed, “Order my steps in your Word” Oh Lord”! – Psalm 119:133. At the end of 2012 perhaps we will say with Job…

    “My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.” – Job 23:11 NIV

    I look forward to interacting with you about this content as well as anything else that the Lord may be stirring within you. Feel free to drop me a line on our Dale Ebel Ministries Facebook page at (www.facebook.com/daleebel)

    May The Lord’s Favor and Grace Shine Upon You in 2012!

    Dale

     

    [1] This passage in Deuteronomy is one of the reasons Linda and I are flying the flag of Israel on our house, along with our American flag. I’ve actually had over 10 spiritual conversations with curious neighbors as a result! Our number one reason for taking this action is that there are more predictive prophecies about the actual “dirt” or “land” (Hebrew: eretz אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ) of Israel than any other prophecy! As followers of Christ, I firmly believe we need to stand behind Israel and bless them as the Scriptures so clearly teach (Genesis 12:1-3). I’m thankful for the wonderful and insightful conversations that have spawned from this simple display.

     

  • Dec23

    A Child Born and a Son Given!

    Posted in: Truths from Scripture

    “6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6 NIV

    This magnificent verse, used so often during the Christmas season, is a splendid prophecy of the divine/human nature of the coming Messiah. He would be born as a child, like every human being, but He would also be given as a Son at the same time, with the Giver clearly identified as God himself. “He gave His only begotten Son”! (John 3:16).

    The name of the child offers further testimony.  At the introduction of this prophecy, God had named Him Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”

    “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14

    On Christmas we are not only celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus but we are recognizing the miraculous conception of the baby Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

    The virgin birth is of great intrinsic importance because it addresses the very essence of Christianity. The greatest demonstration that Jesus was both God and man was the perfect life He lived, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” – John 8:29 NIV

    The “name” of the God/man in Isaiah 9 reveals the series of names, all of which are needed to express His full identity. It is likely the first two names should be considered one name: He is our “Wonderful-Counselor” (the punctuation marks have been added to our translations, but the combined term is more in keeping with the structure of the other names).

    This “child,” amazingly, is also “The mighty God” and “The everlasting Father”, stressing His absolute and eternal deity, His omnipotence (unlimited power), and the unity of the Father and the Son in the triune godhead.

    (It’s important to remember that in the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit there is an equality of being but not an equality of function. Many today, even Christian institutions, are re-writing doctrinal statements in an attempt to overlay the cultural drive for equality on every level. This stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the functional hierarchy of the Trinity so clearly seen in Scripture.)

    This child is also called “The prince of Peace,” which describes His future role of being the source of peace between God and mankind. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” - Romans 5:1 KJV

    He also “is our peace” (Ephesians 2:4) and we can experience His personal peace (the absence of anxiety) because of His Spirit controlling us (Galatians 5:23). He will of course bring final peace in the world when He ushers in His thousand-year reign (see Isaiah 11:6-9)

    Finally Christ is our “Wonderful-Counselor,” our perfect example and infallible teacher! He both tells us and shows us what to believe and how to live. We are always safe to follow Him because He is never wrong and is the source of all truth! For in Him “are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and “in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:3&9).

    May your Christmas truly be a “holy day” in which you and your family remember and embrace this Child born and this Son given!

    Merry Christmas,

    Dale

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Dec23

    The Eternal Son of God!

    Posted in: Truths from Scripture

    “2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”" – Micah 5:2 NKJV

    This is a very remarkable prophecy, explicitly predicting, some 700 years before Jesus Messiah came, that the future king of Israel would be born in the little village of Bethlehem. Humanly speaking, Micah would probably have guessed the place of His birth would be Jerusalem, the great capital of Judah. Then, to assure its fulfillment, the Roman Emperor Augustus had to decree a comprehensive census compelling Joseph to take Mary with him to Bethlehem for her child to be born.

    Our passage above looked forward to Christ’s first advent  (5:2) and also to an intervening time (5:3a), and finally beyond to Christ’s second coming (5:3b-4).

    That the prophecy involves an actual child’s birth is clear not only from the phrase “come forth,” but also from the succeeding verse, which warns that God will “give them up, until the time that she which is in labor will give birth.” 

    “3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.” – Micah 5:3 ESV

    The preceding verses had also predicted that “they strike the judge of Israel (this coming Messiah) on the cheek” (5:1), speaking of His initial rejection and execution.

    Amazingly, the prophecy does not end there! This future telling proclamation foresees His birth in Bethlehem, His repudiation by His own people, and His eventual installation as king over all Israel. In addition, it expresses that this same remarkable person was none other than God himself. His existence was from “goings forth” had been “from everlasting,” (or eternity as the NASV puts it). Think about it: Jesus is spoken of as eternally proceeding forth from His Father. He did not become God’s Son when He was born in Bethlehem; He has been God’s Son prior to creation when He was called the “Word.”

    “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” - John 1:1 ESV

    Let’s stop and ponder this powerful prophecy! Jesus is the Savior-Babe from the obscure town of Bethlehem!

    In Christ,

    Dale

     

     

     

  • Dec23

    A New Thing Created!

    Posted in: Truths from Scripture

    “22 How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth–A woman shall encompass a man.”" – Jeremiah 31:22 NKJV

    Long ago, the Preacher, in great wisdom concluded: “9 … there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV.  This is also the opinion of the modern intellectual establishment who will be saying in the last day: “All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4).

    In Jeremiah 31 God reminds us, however, that He has indeed created one new thing on the earth.  Since only God can “create” (wherever this verb occurs in the Bible, God is the subject), a really new thing (not just a new combination of existing things) would have to be produced directly by the LORD Himself.  Of course, God had completed His original work of creating all things long ago (Genesis 2:1-3), including the marvelous mechanism of human reproduction.  Nevertheless, because of man’s sin He very soon had to begin a work of reconciliation, and this included an ancient promise that the Seed of the woman would come one day to accomplish this great work (Genesis 3:15).  Since all normal reproduction requires the male seed, such a miracle would mean God would have to create a new thing when the appropriate time would come.  At that time, as Isaiah prophesied many years later, “the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,” and that Son would be “almighty God,” who would establish His kingdom “with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7).

    In our passage above, Jeremiah reminds God’s forgetful people of this same great promise. God would create, by His mighty power, a new thing; a perfect human body without inherited sin or physical blemish, and with no contribution from either male nor female in the womb of a specially called virgin.  Notice how Doctor Luke calls Jesus “that holy thing” in Luke 1:35 (KJV). It is striking that the embryonic Jesus in Mary’s womb is called “that holy thing”; not the babe or the the child or anything else.  There is no human word to fit. Actually the word “thing’ is not in the original—just “the holy” or perhaps “the holy One.” Are you amazed at the word of God like I am?

    Mary was the first to hear the words, “Son of God” as applied to the Holy One who entered her womb!

    Now that is a reason to “fall down and worship Him” this Christmas! (Matthew 2:11)

    In Christ,

    Dale

     

     

     

     

     

  • Dec19

    The Promised Seed of the Woman

    Posted in: Organic Discipleship

    The Promised Seed of the Woman

    “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1 KJV).

    Recently a young man in one my groups made a comment about 2 Timothy 3:16. Paul writes, “All Scripture is God breathed…”. He was struck by the word, “All.” This means that even the genealogies and the seemingly endless laws of Leviticus are God’s inspired revelation useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” NIV. For most Christians, genealogies feel irrelevant don’t they? One of God’s glorious purposes in giving us these historical lists, however, is to root our faith in the accuracy of the Biblical text and the unshakable promises of God!

    As we will see, the verification of these genealogies can actually serve as practical inspiration for our lives as we approach the holiday of Christmas. By the way, do you know what the word “holiday” means? It actually means “holy day”! While the secular world attempts to minimize the sacredness of Christmas by inserting the use of “holiday”, this replacement actually proves to be very spiritually accurate! I love talking with people I encounter throughout the day and clarifying that Christmas truly is a holiday (a Holy-Day)!

    Back to Matthew 1:1. These opening words of the New Testament, identify this “book of the generation (literally genesis) of Jesus Christ” as telling of the wonderful fulfillment of the promise to both Abraham and David of a very special son.

    To Abraham, God promised:

    “16 Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”" – (Genesis 22:16&18 NKJV).  This prophecy was directed immediately through Abraham’s son Isaac, but focused finally on Jesus Christ, Abraham’s greater Son.

    “16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

    In a similar way a unique promise was made to David concerning his own special Son. 12 “I will set up your seed after you, … 14 I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son… 16 And your house and kingdom I will establish forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:12,14&16). Once again, this promise applied recursively ( that is to someone or something that goes before) to Solomon, but ultimately to the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ:

     ”3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4). He was greater than Abraham, greater than David. He was the fulfillment of the very first prophecy of the coming “seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15).  He is the virgin’s Son (Isaiah 7:14), the Son given (Isaiah 9:6), “the last Adam…the Lord of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47)!

    “The book of the generation of Adam” (Genesis 5:1) introduces the Old Testament, with its record of human failure laced with God’s promises. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) introduces the New Testament and the fulfillment of the promises, culminating in eternal redemption through the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, who is the very Son of God!

    As you approach Christmas, a most “Holy Day,” let’s use the historical roots of our faith as a springboard, not only to celebrate with our family and friends, but to tactfully proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ. Perhaps our voice could be heard with the shepherds:

    “17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” – Luke 2:17-18 NKJV

    Merry Christmas!

    Dale

     

     

     

     

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