GrannyFaith's International World Wide Ministries

† ~ The God of Details & Friendship ~ †

BIBLE STUDY

Title: The God of Details

Date: Nov 5, 2009

Topic(s): God

Scripture: Jeremiah 22:28-30, 1 Chronicles 28:7, 1 Chronicles 28:4, Jeremiah 22:24, Philippians 4:6-7, Luke 3:23-38

At the Eutaw Street entrance to Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland, stands a nine-foot, 800-pound statue of Babe Ruth in bronze. Every detail had been painstakingly researched. Did the Babe wear his belt buckle on the left or the right? Was his hat cocked to the side or worn straight? No detail was overlooked except one. The statue shows the famous baseball player leaning on a bat and clutching on his hip a right-handed fielder's glove. The real Babe Ruth was a lefty.

It seems like there's always some little detail that fouls us up. But God is different; He never lets a detail slip by. We see that in the genealogy of Jesus.

What Does God Say?

"Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God" (Luke 3:23-38).

    * How old was Jesus when He began his ministry?

    * Notice carefully how Luke begins this genealogy. What is the implication here?

    * Whose genealogy is this? Why is it included in these verses?

My Thoughts

God promised David that He would give him a descendant who would sit on his throne forever (1 Chronicles 28:4,7). Through hundreds of years of births and deaths, God never lost sight of that promise or the details needed to fulfill it. Even though Satan was able to corrupt that part of the lineage which produced Joseph (see Jeremiah 22:24, 28-30), Jesus, as the adopted son of Joseph, still had a legal claim through His adopted father to the throne. And through His mother, Mary, a descendant of David through another son, Jesus had a biological claim to the throne as well.

It is mind boggling to consider the myriad of details God kept track of through the centuries to produce a Messiah who met His promise to David. Without the use of computer software or even a PDA, God fulfilled every detail of what He had promised. You can be sure He will do the same for your life.

My Part

It's good to pay attention to details. Making sure you pay the bills on time, follow traffic laws and fulfill your responsibilities at work are details that you can control. And you should. But there are other details that are beyond your control. You can't control (usually) the way others choose to respond, the outcome of lab tests, the ups and downs of the stock market--these are details you need to leave with God.

List five "details" that you are concerned about right now. Indicate after each detail whether this is something in which you have control over or whether it's something only God can deal with. Lift these details up in prayer asking for strength and wisdom to fulfill what you're responsible for--and God's peace concerning the details that only He can control. Memorize Philippians 4:6-7.

BIBLE MINUTE with Woodrow Kroll.  This Bible Study is from "Back to the Bible Ministries." http://www.bibleminute.org/  

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DEVOTIONAL

Author: Woodrow Kroll

Source: Early in the Morning 2

Scripture Reference: 2 Samuel 16:1-17:24

Friendship

Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

One of the prize gems of human relationships is friendship. Emerson said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one," an echo of Proverbs 18:24. Friendship always enriches our lives, but sometimes it preserves them as well. The friendship of Hushai with David is a fine example.

Nathan's prophecy upon David for his great sin was severe and swift in coming. It struck first with David's son Amnon, and quickly thereafter with the hot-tempered Absalom. Absalom's rebellion against his father had taken firm root in Israel. He was clearly in command and was now residing in Jerusalem. But the aura of David's presence in Israel, and the legend of his prowess as a man of war made Absalom's rebellion tenuous. He must pursue his own father and the warriors who were with him. How would this be done?

Absalom's close advisor, Ahithophel, hatched a plan, the sagacity of which was unrivaled. He proposed that the armies of Israel pursue David with 12,000 chosen men and fall on him when David and his soldiers were weary and sapped of strength. They would kill David only. What is most unbelievable is that Absalom readily agreed that this was a good plan. But in the providence of God Absalom opted to get another opinion before he enacted it. Thus he called Hushai the Archite. Although pretending allegiance to Absalom, Hushai remained the loyal friend of David and acted as his informer, revealing Absalom's every move.

The plan of Hushai was a classic case of overkill. He called for Absalom to gather Israel from Dan to Beersheba, as many as the sand of the sea, against David in battle. His rhetoric must have appeared venomous, and thus Absalom liked the plan even more than that of Ahithophel. The foolish Absalom did not know that this plan was divinely originated and calculated for his own destruction. "For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom."

No sooner was the plan accepted by Absalom than Hushai dispatched Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, to warn David of the impending danger. David arose, and all his men passed over the Jordan River by the morning light (2 Samuel 17:22). They were taking no chances; they fled at the rising of the sun. It is always a wise decision to flee evil at the beginning of the day.

Absalom pursued his father across the Jordan River, and the famous incident of his catching his long-flowing hair in the boughs of a great oak tree occurred that day. That day Absalom was killed. God had crushed an evil rebellion against His ordained king through the loyalty and godly commitment of a friend.

Visitors to the Ft. Myers, Florida, home of Thomas Alva Edison, are intrigued by a path in his garden that he called "the walk of friendship." The uniqueness of this walk is that each of the stones that constitute the walk was given to Edison by a friend. The pathway is designed as a memorial to friendship, the kind of friendship that Hushai had with David. Friends lead friends step by step out of danger into delight.

If you have a close friend, rejoice in that friend and thank God for him or her. Enjoy that bond of friendship that you have. In fact, why not write or call that friend today and tell him you love him in the Lord and are praying for him. You will never know what it will mean to him if you don't.

MORNING HYMN

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Ev'ry thing to God in prayer.

Content from Early in the Morning and Early in the Morning, Vol. 2.

Bible Study & Devotional from: Copyright © 1996-2009 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. (Back to the Bible) Used by permission. All rights reserved The Copyright Policy website: http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/Web-Site-Copyright-Policy.html   Contact by e-mail: info@bibleminute.org or by Mail: Bible Minute, P.O. Box 82808 Lincoln, NE 68501 USA

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DAILY VERSE

Romans 13:6

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Thoughts on today's verse

    Ouch! I hate taxes. But I have to admit, I enjoy many of the privileges and blessings that those taxes afford. Paul keeps reminding us in Romans 13 that civil authorities are God's tools to hold back anarchy, chaos, and lawlessness. As a Christian, I'm immune to most laws because my faith in Jesus is going to regulate my behavior far more strictly than a legal code. But I do have a responsibility (I owe it, Paul says) to be a good citizen, a good financial manager, a nice respectful neighbor, and a person who willingly honors those who have merited it.

Prayer:

    Almighty God, I pledge allegiance to you. You alone are Sovereign, Ruler, and King. But because you call me to honor my government, because you have so richly blessed me to be in a land such as this, because you have lavished your grace on me so richly, I will live today in a way that honors my allegiance to you, my citizenship in my country, and my respect toward those whom I meet this day. In Jesus I pray. Amen.

Phil Ware, President of Heartlight Inc. Minister of the Word phil@heartlight.org  HEARTLIGHT® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2009

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NOTE: The Bible Study and the devotional are NOT my work; I had nothing to do with it other than to copy and paste it in this group.   It is solely authored and owned by "Back to the Bible,"and is posted by me so others will get spiritual benefits so to increase their walk with God.  GBU, JeL

† ~ The God of Details & Friendship ~ †

† Father, walk through the homes of those who read these devotionals / Bible studies and take away their worries and illnesses.  Please watch over and heal all those in their time of need; in the name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen†