by donfinto | Sep 6, 2017 | The Good Report
Amazing how we can read Scripture over and over and still get moments of revelation that are totally fresh, like something we’ve not seen before.
This happened to me recently when I was pondering the “the LORD’S appointed festivals (Lev.23:4). No report of God’s festivals is complete without referring to the Sabbath, so I started reviewing passages about Sabbath observance. I remembered that God had rested on the Sabbath, so I turned to read it again: “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Gen. 2:3).
Then I realized something else. I turned to the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. 20:8).
And what did Jesus say about the Sabbath? “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27).
Ah! I thought. The Ten Commandments did not establish the Sabbath as a holy day. The fourth commandment simply instructed Moses and Israel to keep holy that which God had already made holy at creation.
The western world seems to take pride in working long hours and often seven days a week, but God has ordained a day of rest, a day of declaring through our actions that our God is not a slave-driver. He will care for us if we take a day each week to rest, a day to seek Him, a day to rejoice with family, a day to refresh. The Sabbath is holy; it was made for you. Enjoy it!
by donfinto | Aug 30, 2017 | The Good Report
All Bible readers will remember the story of Moses, when he was arguing with God about his ability to lead Israel out of Egypt: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” “What if [Israel does] not receive me or listen to me?” “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have speaking to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue” (Exodus 4:10).
“What is that in your hand?” God asked Moses, to which he replied, “A staff.” But given over to God, that staff became power in Moses’s hand, God’s power. This is the staff that Moses used to divide the Red Sea when Israel was escaping from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army.
“What is that in your hand, David?” “A slingshot and a stone” (1 Samuel 17). But in the hand of God, enough to kill a giant and bring the defeat of the whole Philistine army.
“What is that in your hand, little boy?” “Five loaves and two fish.” But in the hands of Jesus, enough to feed 5,000 men plus the others gathered (John 6:9).
“What’s in your hand, sir?” “Only one talent, not enough to be useful, so I’ll just bury it for safe-keeping, until the Master calls for it.” “You wicked, lazy servant! … Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness…” (Matthew 25). Never underestimate what God will do with the little we have, and most importantly, when surrendered to Him!
What’s in your hand? A phone call? A note? A visit? A financial gift at a given time?
I can still tell you about words of encouragement given to me at an appropriate time that gave me the energy to go forward, or when a financial gift was given to me that was a specific answer to prayer in a time of need.
You are gifted. You have what others need. What’s in your hand? Use it to the glory of Jesus!
(inspired from a lesson by Rabbi Ken Alpren, Kol Dodi)
by donfinto | Aug 21, 2017 | The Good Report
Yes, God uses the sun and the moon to mark seasons and signs. “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years'” (Gen. 1:14).
And yes, eclipses of some sort have been used of God to mark outstanding times – the most unusual and stunning was the three hours of darkness that descended on Jerusalem the day Jesus was executed (See Matthew 27:45). Was this an extended solar eclipse? Technically, from what I understand it is not possible since a solar eclipse cannot happen during a full moon, and Passover (the time of Jesus’ death) always comes on the 14th of Nisan, which is a full moon. Natural “eclipses” never last for three hours.
However, God sometimes suspends His own laws of nature.
He did this when Hezekiah’s life was being extended fifteen years, and God gave Hezekiah a sign “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down” (Isaiah 38:8).
When Joshua was fighting the Amorites, the Lord did this when “the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day…There has never been a day like it before or since” (Joshua 10:13-14).
Yes, we are having a major eclipse on today!
So what does it portend? I don’t know, and have heard no specific predictions.
So what do we do?
We do the same thing we do every day. We watch and we pray – that God will do everything to bring people into His kingdom and strengthen us who are under His care.
And – you might consider joining in the 40 day fast during the month of Elul which starts the next day and continues until the Day of Atonement on the 10th day of the biblical month of Tishri, September 30, 2017.
Stand strong in Jesus, and have a blessed eclipse Monday.
by donfinto | Aug 9, 2017 | The Good Report
First things first!
I’ll never forget Bob Benson’s illustration about the buttons on a shirt. Get the first button right, and all the others will be in line. Get that first button wrong, and the whole shirt will be lop-sided.
Some things Godly are more important than other things. If we get these first things first, then life lines up correctly. If not, our whole lives are misaligned.
Jesus said that if we will first seek the kingdom and His righteousness, everything regarding life will come into order (See Matthew 6:25-33) – food, clothing, houses, jobs. Is your life somewhat askew? Check your “firsts.”
Some examples of “first things first” right alignment:
Jesus also advises, when we enter into worship with our tithes and offerings – if we remember that someone has something against us (we have wronged someone), we are first to go immediately to right that wrong, and then offer our gift (See Matthew 5:23-24). That’s pretty radical. Do we? Will we?
He also told us that if we really want to be great in the Lord (and I hope you do), we must become servants – an inverted triangle of an authority structure (See Matthew 20:24-28). Is this my desire? Do my actions show servanthood? Do yours show this?
Or how about this one? When asked to comment on the 613 commandments given in the Law, which is most important, Jesus responded without hesitation, “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” (Matt. 22:34-40).
Easy said, but how do we do that? John gives us that answer in his first letter, “We love because He first loved us” (4:19). In other words, ponder and meditate on how much God loves you, and respond to Him with your whole being your desire to love him back.
Get that first button of your life properly aligned, and your whole life comes into order. Have a blessed day!
by donfinto | Aug 2, 2017 | The Good Report
A part of my own personal vision statement is, “I do not dwell on the past.” The key
word here is “dwell!”
If I need to confess, I confess, but then I let go of it. The Lord does not want me to
live in shame or guilt. He wants me to be convicted so that I can confess, and He can
purify (Remember 1 John 1:9!).
If I need to forgive, I speak forgiveness in the Name of Jesus.
If I am grieving, then I will grieve, but I will not dwell on the grief. I will remember
the good.
The Lord tells us to “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am
doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19). But then in the same chapter, He says, “Review
the past with me” (v. 26).
There is a time to forget, but…..there is also a time to remember.
I want to remember anything that helps me dwell on the goodness of the Lord, and
anything that builds my faith. When I am about to pray for someone to be healed, I
want to remember biblical examples of healing as well as other times when we have
prayed and people were healed. This is faith building.
I love rainbows, because God told Noah: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the
clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all
living creatures of every kind on the earth” (Gen. 9:16). I know that when I look at
that rainbow, my eyes are locked together with God’s! He’s also looking at it and
remembering His promise!
After David had successfully brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem to be
placed in the tent designed for it, he broke out in praise, “Give thanks to the LORD!”
Then he said, “Remember the wonders He has done, the miracles…” (1 Chron.
16:12).
As I recently read these words, I began to remember God-moments in my life, times
I never want to forget. For example, the time when I involuntarily fell under the
power of God while standing in line waiting for prayer, but no one touched me. Or
the time when I was about to be assaulted, as I called on the name of Jesus, and the
man fell unconscious at my feet. I want to remember my first visit to Mozambique in
the bush when I saw the deaf mute speak, the lame woman who walked, and the
blind man who began to see. I want to remember the good years Martha and I had,
and the many good times we enjoyed with our children and grandchildren. I want to
remember the times when we were in deep financial need, some of it our own fault,
and without talking to anyone about it, the Lord blessed us astonishingly.
“Remember the former things,” Isaiah admonishes, “those of long ago. I am God, and
there is no other; I am God and there is none like me… My purpose will stand and I
will do all that I please” (46:9).
Remembering the God-moments of the past – God moments from Scripture, God-
moments in history, God-moments in your own life – adds strength to our faith.
Some things are best forgotten, but some things need to be remembered! Have a
blessed day!
by donfinto | Jul 18, 2017 | The Good Report
Nothing new here, but using the King James translation (as well as the Tree of Life Version translation) for the Greek word meno has been hanging onto me for days. I keep going back to it. Trying to pull everything I can pull into me, wanting to “hang” more in/ with the Lord.
Listen to Strong’s Greek definition for the word meno, and then let’s apply this definition to some of the verses in John 15, where Jesus told His disciples that He is the Vine and we are the branches. Meno – “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.” Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of
Meno – “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy) – abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.” Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of
Now let’s listen to Jesus with that definition of meno: John 15:4, “Abide (continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, stay in that place of expectancy) in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
John 15:4, “Abide (continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, stay in that place of expectancy) in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide (tarry, stay, be present) in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide (continue, dwell, tarry) in me!”
John 15:5, “He that abideth (continues, is present, tarries) in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
John 15:6, “If a man abide not (does not continue, does not dwell, is not present, does not tarry, does not stay in the place of expectancy) in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered…”
John 15:7, “If ye abide (are present, tarry, dwell, stay) in me, and my words abide (remain, endure, are present, tarry) in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Ah, yes, Lord! Help us Jesus, to be present in Your Presence. To stay, to remain, to dwell, and to tarry!
