Posts Tagged ‘adversity’

The Most Divisive Words In History

Posted: February 1, 2015 in The Most Divisive Words In History, The New Commandment
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January 06, 2015 – February 01, 2015
By Amy Hartmann

DSCN9547 In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, launched a world period of warfare and instability that lasted for almost 40 years. This shifting of world powers and tensions between the ruling families of Europe and their respective national governments, dominated world events well into the 1950s. Millions lost their lives as World War I and II shook the nations.

DSCN9663The ensuing regional wars continued, as military powers fought for more and more control. Actions mostly prompted world events, but words and ideologies elevated the actions, and triggered unbelievable blood shed.DSCN9691 Political point of view has such an impact on how we receive and process information and revelation. Hindsight and history are great levelers of learning boundaries and disabilities.DSCN9655  Reading through eye-witness accounts and documents, often gives us the ability to look into how the information being presented was initially captured, and how it affected those taking the time and opportunity to record the historical events unfolding in their day. Such is the impact of the first four books of the New Testament, documents entitled ‘The Gospels’ in liturgical speak. The word gospel means ‘good news’; and so the accounts of the times of Jesus were to those who chose to recount His life and earthly ministry.DSCN9777

The histories of the men, whose books bear their names [Matthew, Mark, Luke and John], tell much about how their writings came to be accepted as reliable accounts. Matthew was a tax collector Jesus personally called to come and follow Him. In Rabbinical schools of Jesus’ day, the teacher (Rabbi) would gather a small group of students together in a fixed group to stay together and learn for a fixed period of time. Being chosen by well respected teachers was a great privilege. This choosing process usually occurred while the students were still very young. Fishermen and tax collectors were not likely candidates for these select groupings.(1) Much effort and study of these four works individually, and in parallel, has been documented all the way back to the second century.(2)

DSCN9752 Matthew was a duty or toll booth tax collector, who extracted taxes and government tolls from the local farmers, merchants and caravans that traveled the main highway from Damascus (in Syria today) down through the Jordan Valley to Capernaum. The same road also had a segment that went west to join the coastal road that led to Egypt; and southward to Jerusalem. Employed by Herod Antipas, Matthew knew the value of goods being bartered or traded and sold. He spoke the local Aramaic language as well as Greek, and he leased his tax collecting business annually; paying the upfront amount to the Roman government. The amount he collected in repayment was profitable and gave him much wealth; therefore because of his heavy handed practices, he was despised and reviled by his fellow Jews.(3)    cropDSCN9544

Early church writings present the Gospel of Mark as the work of John Mark. He shows up on missionary journeys with Barnabas and the Apostle Paul and as a probable assistant to the disciple Peter. Some historians have suggested that Mark’s narrative of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane provides an interesting clue to the identity of the writer:

“And a young man was following Jesus [in the crowd of people] with nothing but a linen cloth (drape or sheet) thrown about his body. And they [the soldiers in the arrest cohort] laid hold of him. But leaving behind the linen cloth, he fled from them (and the scene of the arrest) naked.”(4)

Mark seeks to address a non-Jewish audience and he takes the time to explain Jewish customs and some of the harder to understand Jewish traditions. Mark’s detailed accounts document the recollections of Peter, the disciple Jesus called out of the boat to walk with Him on the raging sea. Mark goes after the action of Jesus’ purpose and life. Mark’s account is the Jesus action movie we need today. Mark captures the hellish intent of demonic forces to overtake people, even young children, and to bring great destruction to them and those they are around. Mark makes it clear that demons exist and target even the youngest and most vulnerable.(5)

DSCN9694Luke was a physician of his day and possibly Greek. He was a traveling companion and a close friend of the Apostle Paul, and early church historians date Luke’s first book as being written during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. Luke also wrote the book of Acts as a follow up to his Gospel narrative. Luke wanted to present a “orderly” account to events he sought to verify through much research. He had contact with the elders in the Jerusalem church which included James, the half-brother of Jesus. He most likely interviewed Mary and the other disciples who were eye witnesses of Jesus’ life and ministry.(6)

John and his brother James were originally followers of John the Baptist. Upon hearing the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus, they left and became disciples of Jesus. John’s family were fishermen, prosperous and willing to give their financial substance to support the daily needs of Jesus as He traveled and ministered. John’s youth and his eye witness account, provides a very interesting and challenging perspective. Jesus referred to John and James as “The sons of Thunder” because of their zeal. Jesus also referred to John as “the Beloved Disciple”.(7)  As He was dying on the cross, Jesus charged John with the care of His mother.(8) 11831_1098292957987_1652245_n

Because of personal experience, John grasped the divinity of Jesus as ‘The Christ’, the promised Messiah from God. John set down his account to prove his understanding, by documenting key miracles or signs that Jesus performed. John opens his narrative with this incredible declaration:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him [Jesus] all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it… The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(9)

He also documented the drastic, radical, revolutionary declarations made by Jesus. It is here in John’s writings we begin to see the magnitude of this far-reaching perspective, and the impact of Jesus’ uncompromising words:

• I AM the Bread of Life; he who comes to Me shall never go hungry; he who believes in Me shall never be thirsty.(10)
• I AM the Light of the world; he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness.(11)
• I AM the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.(12)
• I AM the good Shepherd…I lay down My life for the sheep.(13)
• I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.(14)
• I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.(15)
• I AM the true Vine, and My Father is the Gardner. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit.(16)
• Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.(17)
• He who has seen Me has seen the Father. The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me who is doing His work.(18)
• Anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater works than these [all of Jesus’ miracles] because I am going to the Father.DSCN2736(19)

The impact of His phraseology was not lost on His audience. Their memories were fixed on a former Hebrew deliverer named Moses, who encountered God in a burning bush on the far side of the desert of Midian at Horeb, the mountain of God:

“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is His name?” Then what shall I tell them?”” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.”  God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever, the name by which I AM to be remembered from generation to generation.””(20) DSCN9523

Jesus stepped further over the line during His last meal with the disciples, just before His arrest, suffering and crucifixion. John records another interesting observation before the meal began:

“It was just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed the full extent of His love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.”(21) DSCN9562

As the disciples sat around the table, eating the Passover Supper, they pondered His pre-dinner action of washing their feet; an act of hospitality usually performed by the lowest house servant. They struggled and wrestled with His words and the possible meanings. He knew their thoughts, their anxieties, their desire for position and authority. He understood their humanity as no other man ever would. He felt their perplexity at His extreme statements.

DSCN9522As the meal was ending, Judas Iscariot [the troubled disciple], took the morsel of bread Jesus dipped in the dish. At that moment he made his decision to betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities seeking to arrest Him. John makes an interesting observation: “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”(22)

Once Judas was gone, Jesus declared the glory of this moment in time. Then Jesus fired the shot heard around the world:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, IF you love one another.”(23)

We read these words now days, as kind and encouraging, and possibly ‘common place’ by our standards. How sweet to think that Jesus wants us to love each other. However, He was not just being kind; He was putting Himself in the same place as God. Thousands of years earlier, God handed down the original commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, once Israel had been delivered from Egypt’s bondage and was encamped at the mountain side. Now Jesus was introducing a new law; He was asserting His own authority once again and introducing a new way to love – the agape way. He reiterated this new command four times during that last meal.(24) DSCN9652

[Greek #25 agapao (ag-ap-ah-o) to love, in a social or moral sense – be love](25)

Jesus threw down the gauntlet, like the medieval knights of olden times, challenging all the evil forces behind His spiritual and soon to be literal battle. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”(26)

John captures one more significant event just before Jesus is arrested. After the dinner and the profound passages which capture the comfort Jesus was giving to His group of unlikely disciples, Jesus leads them across the Kidron Valley to the olive grove He favored for private time.(27)

“Now Judas, who betrayed Him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers (a Roman Cohort with the capacity of 1000 men) and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees.(28) They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. DSCN9525

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am He,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.)

When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew backward (lurched backward) and fell to the ground.  Again He asked them, “Who is it you want?”
And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
“I told you that I AM He,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for Me, then let these men go.”  This happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those You gave Me.”  Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)  Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”(29)  

Matthew documents:

“Put your sword back in its place.” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you not think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”(30)

cropDSCN9671Why did the Cohort and the mob lurch backward and fall to the ground when Jesus declared, “I AM HE!”?

I believe the latent power that belonged to Jesus – power at His disposal in that crucial moment of time – was the same Power that spoke the worlds into existence. Remember? John told us in the beginning Jesus was the Word made flesh. He had the power to destroy them all and make the cross powerless, but He knew it was the Father’s plan, so He chose the Father’s way, the new command of love.

Some interesting love statistics:

12   = Number of times Matthew used the word love and its various forms
6     = Number of times Mark used the word love and its various forms
13   = Number of times Luke used the word love and its various forms
126 = Number of times John used the word love and its various forms (31)

*****************************END NOTES*************************************

(1) Excerpts from “Rabbi”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 1162.
(2) “Harmony of the Gospels”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; pages 606-608.
(3) Excerpts from “Matthew”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 932.
(4) Mark 14:50-52; “The Comparative Study Bible – The Amplified Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2574.
(5) Excerpts from “Mark, John; and Mark, The Gospel of”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; pages 918 -924.
(6) Excerpts from “Luke and Luke, Gospel of”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; pages 899-903.
(7) Excerpts from “John and John, Gospel of”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; pages 803-807.
(8) John 19:25-27; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2759.
(9) John 1:1-5, 14; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2689.
(10) John 6:35; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2711.
(11) John 8:12; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2719.
(12) John 10:9; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2727.
(13) John 10:14-15; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2727.
(14) John 11:25; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2731.
(15) John 14:6; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2741.
(16) John 15:1-2; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2745.
(17) John 14:1; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2741.
(18) John 14:9-10; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2471.
(19) John 14:12; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2743.
(20) Exodus 3:13-15; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 149-151.
(21) John 13:1-5; ; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2739.
(22) John 13:27; ; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2741.

(23) John 13:34; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2741.
(24) John 13:34 & 35; John 15:12 & 17; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 2741 & 2745.
(25) Agapao; Greek #25; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 1.
(26) John 13;34 and John 14:15; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 2741and 2743
(27) John 14, 15, 16, 17; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 2741-2753.
(28) Excerpt from “Cohort”; “Holman Bible Dictionary”; copyright 1991 Holman Bible Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 274.
(29) John 18:2-11; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2753.
(30) Matthew 26:52-54; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999, Zondervan; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2511.
(31) This includes the Gospel of John, I,II,III John and Revelations.

Work Zone Ahead: Proceed with Caution!

Posted: January 15, 2015 in Going Deeper - Hebrew and Greek Word Study Posts, Work Zone Ahead: Proceed with Caution!
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January 02-14, 2015

cautioncropJan 10 2015 012 The voice comes as the problems mount. You are in that place of waiting. The Deceiver of circumstances wants you to agree…nothing will ever change…the job won’t come…the bills are unpaid…the sickness won’t go away…it is too late…no one will ever pay any attention…you are forgotten by God. It is a place where your emotions are so brittle it only takes a cross look to make you weep – or sometimes simply a kind word.

Everyone else seems to be doing well. They work, they prosper, they build, they plant, they travel, they share their energetic moments with such zeal; and they seem to think that the rest of the world is just as elated. “Why can’t you get it together,” their eyes silently ask, as their unspoken question stands just out of earshot. I know. I’ve been on both sides of the conversation.

Silencing the Mouth of Doom

David the shepherd, David the warrior, David the future king of Israel intimately knew such a place, as he ran and hid from the wrath of Saul the reigning king of Israel.(1)  David ran for his life for almost 15 years. He learned how to talk to himself in those impossible moments. “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”(2)

Statements like these are one of the reasons that David’s writings in the Psalms are so enduring – they document and help comfort. The Psalms lighten the burden of waiting – and the place of brokenness – which is part of the human experience.

“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends His love and His faithfulness.”(3)

Moses, Abraham and just about everyone of merit mentioned in the scriptures, walked through these same soul conflicts. Even Jesus knew such a place. His friend Lazarus knew that place. Lazarus felt the sting of death, the betrayal of his body to overwhelming sickness; and the finality of the burial cloths. He surrendered to decay in the grave and the silence of Sheol. The sisters cried, as they watched the men roll the stone over the mouth of the cave, locking their beloved brother away from the world. “Jesus, if you had only been here, our brother would not have died!”(4)

signcropJesus saw their tears, their frustration with His inaction…their disappointment in His response. The text makes it clear He knew that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death. He wept, I think, not only for his dead friend, but mostly for their broken heartedness towards Him and the Father’s delay plan. He only did what His Heavenly Father said to do…He only moved when His Father said “go”.(5)  He felt their pain, their frustration – and even their anger.

“Take away the stone,” He said.
“But Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that IF you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When He had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes, and let him go.”(6)

Why did God wait? It was only in the totality and the stench of death that God’s resurrection power could be properly revealed. Resurrection is an interesting word found only in New Testament writings. All of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), as well as Paul and the writer of Hebrews, grasped the unusual concept often debated among the Jewish religious sects.

[G#386 anastasis (an-as-tas-is) a standing up again; literally from death; or figuratively, a moral recovery of spiritual truth; from G#450](7)
[G#1454 egersis (eg’-er-sis) a resurgence (from death); a rousing; used in Matthew 27:53 regarding Jesus’ resurrection](8)
[G#1815 exanastasis (ex-an-as’-tas-is) resurrection; a rising from death; from G#1817](9)

The Apostle Paul knew that place of trauma, waiting and frustration; and it is a dark night of the soul. His painful words to his spiritual son Timothy document this moment, as he languished in a Roman prison: “Even Demas has deserted me…and at my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me, the message might be fully proclaimed and all…might hear it.”(10)

curve left cropJan 10 2015 003Learning To Share The Cup

Between the Old and New Testaments, the condition of the heart (i.e. the contents and actions coming out of the heart of man) is discussed almost a 1000 times! Jesus discussed this crucial subject over 45 times. The Hebrew word for heart first shows up in Genesis at an ominous place – just before the flood of Noah’s day.

“When men began to increase in number on the earth…the Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth and HIS HEART was filled with pain.”(11)

watercrop Jan 10 2015 007Another telling fact makes its first appearance in scripture: God was grieving over the way His creation had turned out. God was feeling such pain He had to take drastic actions. I personally think the massive downpour that covered the face of the earth, once the fountains of the deep broke open, just may have been the very tears of God.

[H# 3820 leb (labe) the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything.](12)
[H# 6087 ’atsab (aw-tsab’) properly, to carve; i.e. fabricate or fashion; hence (in a bad sense) to worry, pain or anger; displease, grieve, hurt, make, be sorry, vex, worship, wrest](13)

Several thousand years later, new parents Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus up for dedication. The prophet Simeon took him from Mary’s arms and said: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”(14)

Pain is never wasted by God. The question becomes, just like Jesus asked the disciples (who were jockeying for position around His future throne in glory): “Will you indeed share My cup?”(15) His cup was a chalice of pain, suffering and death on a cruel Roman cross. Historical records show that most of the disciples suffered extensively and died for their faith in the deity of Jesus.

stopcropJan 10 2015 010What is God doing through these times of great adversity? God is not wasting the circumstances. He uses these situations to search our heart and examine our mind – and He digs deep.(16) He already knows what’s there, He just wants us to see the depth of our need for Him, and His plans and His ways; and for us to come into agreement with Him. He promises that “in” all things, He is working for our good.(17) He also uses these opportunities to show us His glory. Just like in Lazarus’ story, it took death to showcase God’s resurrection power.

The Real Prodigals

What is God after? For one thing, I believe He’s after the conversations we have with ourselves deep in our own heart.

1. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord…I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed…I call to remembrance my song in the night; I commune with mine own heart…Is His mercy clean gone forever?(18)
2. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”(19)
3. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to an [idol], would God not have discovered it, since He knows the secrets of the heart?(20)
4. Blessed are the pure in heart…(21)
5. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.(22)
6. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.(23)
7. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested Him [Jesus] with this question: Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(24)
8. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence, whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything.(25)

intersectioncropJan 10 2015 032We all have to face those moments in life when we don’t understand God’s actions. It is at these strategic inflection points of life that we choose how we will respond to the concept of God as our Heavenly Father. Those who have known the truth of God’s love and His ways, yet they choose to walk away and abandon their previously held convictions – they remain the hardest to understand and reach.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does He not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until He finds it?”(26)

In some respects, I believe, the refining fire of trust; or the stress and weight of the waiting was too much. Or maybe just like Lazarus, their flesh betrayed them – and they died to their previous way of believing in God’s plans for their lives. Maybe like Martha and the mourners, they became impatient and angry… “Lord, if YOU had been here…none of this would have happened.” Like Mary, maybe they don’t even respond anymore, when they hear of the nearness of Jesus.

However, it is in these fiery moments when the beauty of pure trust is refined and polished by His loving hands. I believe this kind of trust is the purest form of worship offered up to God. Jesus promised to go after the real prodigals. I know. He went after me in 1987.

curvy road cropJan 10 2015 026

Elpizo – Hope and Trust

The Old Testament story of Job documents his incredible season of adversity.  After 37 chapters of feeling sorry for himself, Job finally replied: “Yeah though You slay me, still I will trust You.”(27)

How should we respond? TRUST! Over and over again, this key issue is presented by and through life events to every man and woman. Our nation was founded on these same seasons of adversity and the belief that God was behind the creation of a nation that would allow mankind to have this conversation with God without the use of force. In 1864, the phrase “In God we trust” first appeared on US coinage.(28) Our nation chose to make this scriptural declaration official in 1956, and began printing or minting this phrase on the very foundation of our commerce – all American currency. I think it is interesting that this simple scriptural phrase has made it to almost every corner of the earth because of US currency.

[Greek # 1679 elpizo (el-pid-zo) from G#1680; to expect or confide; hope, trust](29)

Theos Elpis – The God of all Hope – At Work

The Apostle Paul gave us a powerful secret: trust like this steps over the line of the impossible and becomes a powerful, living force called HOPE – especially when our focus is on the God of Abraham, the God of the Bible, the Eternal One Jesus came to reveal in all of God’s fullness.

“May the God of all Hope [Theos ho Elpidos – the God of the expectation] fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in HIM – so that you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”(30)
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, WILL guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”(31)

[Greek # 1680 elpis (el-pece) expectation or confidence – faith, hope!](32)

Right arrow cropJan 10 2015 022

Additional Study Notes:

Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too, am working….by Myself, I can do nothing…for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me.”(33)

“For it is God who is at work in you; both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”(34)

Some things done in/to the heart :
• thoughts of the heart (Genesis 6:5)
• said (say) in His heart (Genesis 8:21)
• laugh in his heart (Genesis 17:17)
• set his heart (Ex. 7:23)
• judgment upon his heart (Ex. 28:29)
• seek God with all your heart (Deut. 4:29)
• consider it in your heart (Deut 4:39)
• love the Lord with all your heart (Deut. 6:5)
• serve Him with all your heart (Deut. 11:13)
• to turn away in your heart (Deut 17:17)
• to keep and do with all your heart (Deut 26:16)
• to fear in heart (Deut. 28:67)
• to walk in the imagination of your heart (Deut. 29:19)
• to allow God to circumcise your heart (Deut. 30:6)
• great thoughts of the heart (Judges 5:15)
• great searchings of the heart (Judges 5:16)
• to tell or show all of your heart (Judges 16:18)
• to whisper or speak only in your heart (I. Samuel 1:13)
• to rejoice in your heart (I Samuel 2:1)
• **God changes Saul’s heart (I Samuel 10:9)
• **God searches out a man after His own heart (I. Samuel 13:14)
• laid up these words in his heart (I. Samuel 21:12)
• she despised him in her heart (II Samuel 6:16)
• to take a thing to heart (II Samuel 13:33)
• to bow or subdue the hearts of others (II Samuel 19:14)

Interesting heart conditions:
• grieved in heart (Genesis 6:6)
• evil heart (Genesis 8:21)
• integrity of my heart (Genesis 20:5)
• hearts failed them (Genesis 42:28)
• glad in heart (Ex 4:14)
• hardened in his heart (Ex 4:21; Ex. 7:3)
• cause sorrow of the heart (Leviticus 26:16
• discouraged in heart (Numbers 32:9)
• obstinate in heart (Deuteronomy 2:30)
• uprightness of heart (Deut 9:5)
• deceived in heart (Deut 11:16)
• to be hot in heart; i.e. in the act of slaying someone (Deut 19:6)
• blindness and astonishment of heart (Deut. 28:28)
• joyfulness and gladness of heart (Deut. 28:47)
• trembling heart (Deut 28:65)
• a heart to perceive (Deut. 29:4)
• a heart that has melted (Joshua 5:1)
• comforted in heart (Judges 19:5)
• merry in heart (Ruth 3:7)
• in the naughtiness of thine heart (I Sam 17:28)
• an offended heart (I Samuel 25:31)
• to have the heart of a lion (II Samuel 17:10)
• the king’s heart was toward his son (II Samuel 13:33)
• heart in anguish (Ps 55:4 ) – H2342 chuwl (khool); to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner); i.e. (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition – childbirth) or fear; fig; to wait, to pervert, to bear, to make bring forth, to calve, dance, drive away; fall grievously (with pain), etc.

Endnotes:

(1) I Samuel 15-31; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 735-781.
(2) Psalm 41:5-6; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 1427.
(3) Psalm 57:2-3; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 1449.
(4) John 11:1-44; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 2729-2733.
(5) John 5:16-30; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2705.
(6) John 11:17-44; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 2731-2733.
(7) Greek #386 anastasis; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 7.
(8) Greek #1454 egersis; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 25.
(9) Greek # exanastasis; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 32.
(10) II Timothy 4:9-18; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 3073-3075.
(11) Genesis 6:1-8; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 15.
(12) Hebrew #3280 leb; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 68.
(13) Hebrew #6087; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 109.
(14) Luke 2:21-35; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2593.
(15) Matthew 20:20-28; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2487.
(16) Jeremiah 17:5-10; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 1937.
(17) Romans 8:28; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2883.
(18) Psalm 77:1-8 paraphrased; The Comparative Study Bible – King James Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 1478-1480.
(19) Psalm 53:1; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 1443.
(20) Psalm 44:21; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 1431.
(21) Matthew 5:8; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2435.
(22) Matthew 6:21; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2439.
(23) Matthew 12:34-35; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2459.
(24) Matthew 22:36-40; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2495.
(25) I John 3:19-20; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 3161.
(26) Luke 15:3-7; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2649.
(27) Job 13:15; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; pages 1307.
(28) “In God We Trust”; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust ; accessed January 14, 2015.
(29) Greek #1679 elpizo; The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 29.
(30) Romans 15:13; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2901.
(31) Philippians 4:7; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 3023.
(32) Greek #1680 elpis; “The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”; Strong; James, LL.D.,S.T.D; copyright 1995,1996; Thomas Nelson Publishers; Nashville, TN; page 29.
(33) John 5:16-30; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 2705.
(34) Philippians 2:13; “The Comparative Study Bible – The New International Version”; copyright 1999; Zondervan Publishing; Grand Rapids, MI; page 3019.