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"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take are of what's happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control. Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance." (pg 42)

"While God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time" - pg 61.

Very good book, for a Southern California, mainstream mega-church kind of pastor. Attributes of God and the Gospel presented clearly in the opening chapters.

Daniel 7-12

7 - Like the dream in ch 2, 4 kingdoms are coming and during the 4th God will give His eternal kingdom and all power to the Son of Man.

8 - vision of ram and goat - Persia and Greece. A king of Greece will destroy in Israel.

9 - Daniel sees from the book of Jetemiah that Israel's exile will be for 70 years. He repents for Israel's sins and asks for Gods forgiveness. Gabriel is sent to explain (cryptically!) the coming 70 years.

10 - an angel appears to Daniel, overwhelming him. He apparently fought with Michael against opposing spirits to help Darius conquer Persia (11:1).

11 - Prophecy about Alexander the great's Greece, and his divided kingdom warring after his death. One usually understood to be Antiochus III destroys in Jerusalem and will set up an idol in the temple.

12 - deliverance and resurrection promised God's people. Seal this prophecy, for the time is not for a while

Daniel 1-6

1 - Daniel and friends are enslaved, deported, indoctrinated, renamed

1 - Daniel asks for a diet in accord with the Word; God prospers him

2 - Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. Only God can explain it, using Daniel

2 - He saw a statue of different metals struck down by a stone

2 - Lesser kingdoms will follow Babylon until God sets up His kingdom

3 - Neb. demands obeisance to an idol.

3 - Refusing, Daniel and friends are thrown in the fire, but survive.

3 - God can deliver men from kings.

4 - King Neb. recounts a dream come true, which Daniel interprets

4 - Tree cut down is Neb who loses his mind&throne. He glorifies God

5 - Belshazzar blasphemes God; handwriting appears on his wall

5 - Daniel interprets: He is judged&found wanting; kingdom removed

6 - Daniel is trapped legally and thrown to lions; Darius distraught

6 - Daniel unharmed; accusers thrown in & die; Darius glorifies God

Old Testament Feasts - New Testament fulfillment

First, a very brief summary, from a Jamie Soles song

Sabbath, a rest, a holy rest
Passover, recall what God has done
Firstfruits, a feast of the first you’ve grown
Weeks, the harvest full has come
Trumpets, don’t work but bring your food
Atonement, afflict yourselves, no food
Booths, be in a happy mood
Keep the feast, be pleased, be good!

Here's just a bit more, to give you a hint how those feasts point ahead to Christ and our celebrations. Note that the first 4 events - crucifixion, resurrection, Pentecost - happened on the same day as the Jewish feasts.

1. Passover = sacrificial death of Lamb - cross

2. Unleavened bread - connected with Passover - clean out the yeast of sin = Jesus' unleavened (sinless) body cleanses us

3. Firstfruits = life/food from the ground - resurrection of Christ

4. Weeks = Pentecost 50 days later - giving of law celebrated. Spirit comes in Acts 2 in similar way to Sinai - earthquake, sound, etc

5. Trumpets = happy feast marking time, new year = return of Christ (with trumpets)

6. Atonement - day of affliction for remaining sin - judgment = throne of judgment

7. Booths/tabernacles/sukkot = to remember wilderness wandering and freedom from bondage = life in new earth free from sin

Joel

1 - a nation has come up against Israel; Israel's harvest has failed

2 - this nation is strong; but if you repent, God will relent

2 - He will restore the harvest and pour His Spirit on Israel

3 - God will punish the nations, but preserve and prosper Israel

Ezekiel 38-48

38 - A gathering of nations - Gog - press against Israel, but He will rain disease and blood down on them.

39 - God will make God fall, and Israel will have a full time job burying them for years. He will call the birds to eat their full of them, at His sacrificial meal. Note how much like Revelation 19:17-18 this is. When God restores Israel, the nations will understand that the exile was for their sin. This will come clear when He pours His Spirit on Israel.

40 - Ezekiel is given a vision of the restored city and temple

40 - Gates, inner and outer courts, and chambers measured

41 - holy place, holy of holies, side chambers and temple area

Beautiful design of carved palm trees and angels described

42 - chambers for priests to store clothing and sacrificial food

Outer wall and dimensions of the temple measured

43 - God's glory returns to the temple; altar set up; sacrifice begun

44 - East gate closed, since God came through; prince may eat in it

44 - priestly regulations reiterated; Zadokites brought near for being faithful when Israel and other Levites committed idolatry.

45 -property around the temple for the prince and city

45 – prince to provide for temple sacrifices

46 – offerings & entry/exit from worship detailed, for prince & people

47 - a river will flow from the temple, growing stronger and deeper, to water the earth; boundary of the land

48 - division of land among tribes; city gates; God is there

What may we do on the Sabbath?

Ask Doug: Sabbath Keeping from Canon Wired on Vimeo.

Ezekiel 35-37

35 - Edom rejoiced at Israell's destruction, so she too will fall.
36 - The nations reproached Israel, so they will be reproached.
36 - Israel's exile profaned God's name as the nations were disgusted by what happened to them. Israel's restoration and cleansing would magnify His name.
37 - God promises to restore Israel, like dry bones given new flesh.
37 - God will make a unified and pure Israel, and will receive her as His people.

Read this!

Excellent illustrations and adaptation and abridgment of Pilgrim's Progress for younger readers. Highly recommended!

Victory in Jesus

A fairly convincing treatment of Matthew 24, and Revelation 20, with an eye to asserting the post-millennial view. He is 95% convincing of the preterist part of this, especially that Jesus was referring to Jerusalem's fall in 70AD in Matthew 24, up until verse 35. He is less convincing regarding Revelation 20 and post-millennialism in general. While many of the arguments are good (first resurrection in Rev 20 is one's regeneration; Satan bound at Christ's first coming) they do not make a conclusive case for post-millennialism.

Dizzying Apologetics

A dizzying blend of apologetics, Ecclesiastes, history of philosophy, and meditations on bugs, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl takes the reader on a verbal skylark through the universe. Putting the question, "What kind of world is this that we live in?" Wilson answers: it is a poem, a piece of art spoken by God which shows us Himself. Look closely. Laugh at the absurd and unbelieving elements. Laugh at your own smallness, but know that you will live forever. Soak in the poem, and the Poet.

Wilson is definitely against some things, like Nietzsche, and sentimentalized fuzzy kittens on posters. He explains why, in his own quirky way. Here's a sample:

"A tabby kitten lies on its back, looking at me out of upside-down eyes. This kitten has a message: 'God hears even the smallest voice.' I could purchase this glossy 13.5" x 19" poster and hang it by my desk, right next to the Marine Disasters of Cape Cod."

"This God invented leeches and mosquitoes and bedbugs that bite. Did He not? Then who did? What are they made of? Is God trying to rid the world of such cooties but hasn't been a quick enough study at the art of pest control? Why do these things no fit on our postcards? Why do we omit them in the abridged extra-holy version of reality for families? They are here. They are words. What do they tell us? What is their role in the story?"

This is Nate's way of introducing the problem of evil. Check it out here. Apologetics that's quirky and interesting.

Ezekiel 29-34

29 - Egypt thinks she made the Nile, so I give her to Babylon for plunder. Egypt will be desolate 40 years, and never become great again.

30 -

God will make Egypt and her allies fall by Babylon's arm.

31 - Egypt was a tall beautiful tree in God's garden, but will be cut down for exalting itself.

32 - Egypt has fallen and lies with other nations taken by Babylon.

33 - Ezekiel must give Israel God's message or be guilty of their demise.
God's judgment is fair, allowing for repentance.
Word of Jerusalem's fall arrives. Survivors still expect to possess the land, and God says they will not, for their sins. The exiles listen to you, but don't do what I tell them through you.

34 - the flock has scattered because the shepherds fed themselves. God will take the sheep from them, come Himself to seek and save the sheep, judge between them, and restore them.

Ezekiel 21-28

21 - God is about to draw His sword and cut off Israel, for their sin. They will be desolate until He gives judgment to His anointed. Ammon will die and be forgotten.

22 - Israel's lewdness, dishonesty, and unjust shedding of innocent blood condemned. Israel is all dross, uncleansed, and will burn.
23 - Samaria was punished for her (spiritual) adulteries, and Judah will also be put to shame for her own.

24 - Note this day: Babylon besieged Jerusalem: she will burn for her sin

24 - Ezekiel's wife dies; he is commanded not to mourn, as Israel will not have opportunity to mourn when the temple is destroyed. [Note the temple is like the bride, as the Church is the bride of Christ!]

25 - Because the nations around Judah has reviled her and longed for her demise, God will strike them down, too. Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia

26-28 - Tyre is condemned for her defiled though prosperous trade, and her pride - making herself to be divine in her privileged position (shades of Lucifer, here).

28 - Sidon also shall fall by disease and sword; Israel will be restored without thorns and will live in safety

Restoring Honor

Russell Moore has a fine article on the Glen Beck rally, with this paragraph being a keeper:

"Too often, and for too long, American "Christianity" has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah."

Doug Wilson also writes helpfully on Beck, here

Ezekiel 13-20

13-prophets who give false visions&encourage superstition condemned
14 - hypocrisy of cherishing idols while seeking Ezekiel's prophecy

14 - not even the most righteous intercessors could deliver Jerusalem

15 - Jerusalem is like the wood of a vine, useless except for burning

16 - God rescued the throw away baby girl Israel, and married her when she grew up. But she paid other nations to come commit adultery with her. God will punish her, but then restore her to Him with an everlasting covenant that atones for her sins.

17 - Israel was like a fruitful tree but will be cut down for casting off God's correction by going to Egypt for help against Assyria.

18 - Each person is responsible for his own faithfulness to God. God is just, doesn't want us to die, and calls us to repent.

19 - Israel raised up some fine rulers, but they have been carried off to Egypt and Babylon.

20 - Israel asks for God's Word. They rebelled before, during and after the exodus, and He had mercy. But they continue, so He will give them no word. If you want to worship idols, go ahead, but I'll remove you from Zion, where Israel will worship me. You will remember and loathe yourself for your sins.