Hillary Clinton’s Testimony on Benghazi Today….Jan 23, 2013

The U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during a protestSecretary of State Hillary Clinton,

Jan 23, 2013  Hearings on Benghazi

My Summary of Hillary Clinton’s testimony:

“I take full responsibility, but it wasn’t my fault.”

Specifically:

Ambassador Chris Rice knew it was dangerous

Ambassador Chris Rice asked for the specific location in Benghazi for the embassy compound.

I wasn’t involved in the Ambassador Rice talking points.

I didn’t have personal knowledge of all the requests for security at Benghazi.

Congress isn’t giving us enough money to sufficiently protect our citizens and embassies in dangerous assignments abroad.

North Africa is extremely dangerous and that’s common knowledge

I didn’t choose Ambassador Rice to represent the government on the Sunday talk shows

No one from the State department talked to any of the evacuated people from Benghazi.

Much of what happens in the world is classified.

“What difference does it make?”…that Benghazi was an attack and not a demonstration?

The Administration and the Congress need to get their act together.

The House has not acted to free up money for the State Department.

My conclusion:

Hillary Clinton has been an extremely hard-working, tirelessly mileage accumulating, well-politically networked Secretary of State.  This hearing was a huge accolade to her 4 years of service.

But….if she is telling the truth, she has been a poor Secretary of State.   If she is covering up, she has been a very dangerous Secretary of State,…..

….and we have no reason to think any of the US personnel in embassies in dangerous locations abroad are sufficiently protected, or will be in the near future.

God’s Way of Blessing…or Mine? Matthew 5:1-16, The Beatitudes

Click here to view or download Matthew 5:1-12, The Beatitudes

For the whole Matthew study, click here.

Matthew Chapter 5, verses 1-16

The Beatitudes – these first 16 verses in Matthew 5 – set the theme for the whole Sermon on the Mount, in fact, for all of life once Jesus began His ministry.  They are saying:  Once you believe in Jesus Christ you enter the Kingdom of Heaven….not someday after you die…but right away, as soon as you believe.  And the Kingdom of Heaven is not at all like the world you’ve been living in.  The rules are different.  The reality is different.  Something might look absolutely horrible in your old world, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, it’s a blessing!

“These are Words to Build a Life On”  – Michael Crawford

Books I Am Reading – “Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible”

Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible, by Erwin LutzerI have read and re-read this little book by Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Church in Chicago.  It is bedrock for being able to discuss the extreme value of the Bible with anyone.

“I invite you to join me on my journey.  Let us go back to the basics, back to the most fundamental question any human being could ask:  Has God spoken?  Are there credible reasons to believe that we can hold His revelation in our hands?”  – Erwin Lutzer

Proving That a Geneology Can Be Awesome! Matthew Chapter 1

Click here to view or download this study of Matthew Chapter 1

For the whole Matthew study, click here.

Matthew Chapter 1

What is a geneology?

It’s a list of names.  Sounds a little boring, I know, but you are going to be amazed at the stuff you can learn from this Matthew Chapter 1 Geneology!

In fact, there’s so much info in this geneology that I have divided it into 5 different lessons.  Click on the image to the left, and read them one at a time over a period of days, or one week at a time for a 5-week group Bible study, or just dive in and soak it all up today.  This is God’s record of His hand in our world.

Books I Am Reading – “Betrayed”, by Stan Telchin

"Betrayed" by stan telchinLoved this simple testimony of a Jewish man who was wounded deeply by the unexpected from his daughter – she came to believe that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah of the Jewish scriptures.  In this short, but moving little book, I was reminded anew of how powerful it is to simply believe in Jesus and tell your story.

Week #22 of our Psalm 119 study: Psalm 119:169-176 “Please Come Find Me”

Click here to view or download Week 22 of our Psalm 119 studyThis is our last week of our Psalm 119 study.  If you’ve been along for the whole ride, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.  Click here to get links to each of the 22 weeks in this study.

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #22, Psalm 119:169-176  “Please Come Find Me”  . Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

Even in his growing relationship with the Lord he loves, the Psalmist still wanders away into his own sinful ways.  He knows, even more now than when he started, that without the hand of God seeking him and continually bringing him back, he is doomed to forever end up lost, away from his beloved shepherd, alone and afraid, guilty and hopeless.

The Psalmist is not unusual.  You and I are the same as he is.  We never get so mature in the Lord that we can trust ourselves to walk our mountain paths without His staff and his rod.

Books I Am Reading…New Category for 2013

I’m adding a new category in 2013.  I’d like to make comments on books I am reading, and let you know whether or not I recommend them.   Here’s a book I am currently finishing up:

"Luke" - Michael CardI Really like this commentary on Luke by Michael Card.  I normally associate Michael with awesome, inspiring music – and I’ve found that his commentary is also artisitic and inspiring – giving me not only facts, but also pictures in my mind of the events Luke is describing.  Here’s a quote I especially liked today (from Luke 13, page 168) :

“The Job Equation”  (that’s Job of the Bible, not the job which pays my bills) is a simple formula that says if you are bad, you will suffer, while if you are good, you will prosper.  On one hand, it represents the fundamental aspect of the law.  If you are obedient, God blesses you; if you are disobedient, God disciplines you.  On the other hand, there is more going on in the world that renders the equation not quite as simple as it may seem…..The best answer, as far as I can understand it, is that God uses suffering to save the world and that the connection between sin and suffering is never as simple as we want it to be.”

 

The Three Wise Gentiles

three wise menThe story of Jesus’ birth includes three Gentiles with Faith in the One, True, God, and practically a whole nation of Jews without.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’ “ Matthew 2:1&2

The Three Wise Gentiles heard about Jesus by reading ancient Jewish manuscripts, and then seeing a star.   They followed that star and headed toward Jerusalem.   But the star didn’t stop at Jerusalem.  That star they had first seen in their own land continued to lead them past Jerusalem and headed toward Bethlehem, until finally it came to rest right over the very house where Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus were living.

“When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell downand worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  Matthew 2:9-11

When they found Mary, Joseph, and the child, they fell down and worshipped the child, Jesus.

They didn’t walk back outside and worship the star.  They didn’t fall to their knees, look to the heavens, and thank the One Who had led them.  They walked into this little house and worshipped the young child.  They knew the child was God.  They may not have totally understood how this worked – but they believed the Jewish scriptures they had studied.  They believed the toddler was the One Who had made the stars…and had led them here.  And they worshipped Him.

God made clear to His people in Old Testament times that His salvation and His love were not just for the Jews.  They were for all the world.  Jews and Gentiles.

He was never just the God of the Jews.  He simply gave the Jewish people the high privilege of introducing Him to the rest of the world He had made and loved.

Jesus was the Messiah of the Gentiles, too.

Psalms 72:10,11   “The Kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.  Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.”

 Isaiah 42:1  “Behold!  My servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!  I have put my Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”

 Isaiah 42:6  “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles”

 Isaiah 11:10  “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people;  for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and resting place shall be glorious.”

The Three Wise Gentiles were the first of millions of gentiles who would someday bow their knee to the Messiah of Israel – the King of the world.

King of the Jews. King of the World. Matthew 1:1

King of the Jews. King of the World.“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.”  Matthew 1:1

Jesus descended from Abraham, making him undeniably a Jew. (Genesis 12:1-9)

And He descended from David, who had been given the Kingship of Israel by the One, True, God – and had been told that any of His sons had the legal right to be the King after him. (Psalm 89:3&4)

Psalm 89:3&4   “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:  Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.” 

And what difference does that make?  Why does it matter to me that Jesus was qualified to be the King of Israel?  Israel is just a small country – a tiny group of people, right?  So what if they have a King?  How does that King affect me?

Psalm 89:3&4, above,  proves that the sons of David were qualified to be the kings of Israel.

But it also says something else.  It says “forever” – a future son of David would reign on the throne of Israel “forever”.  Not just for a lifetime.  Not just for 100 lifetimes.  But “forever”.  For eternity.  Look again at Psalm 89 – but this time at verses 35-37:

 “Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David; His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me;  It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky.”  Psalm 89:35-37

Do you see what difference it makes to you and me that Jesus was the seed of David – that Jesus was the eternal King of Israel – that Jesus is the eternal King of Israel?

The eternal King of Israel is not just King of Israel.  He’s King of the World.  He’s King of Eternity.  He Himself is eternal. He will never die.  He’s God.

The King of the Jews is the King of the World!  He’ll change everything!  That’s why it matters to me whether or not Jesus is the King of the Jews.  If He is King of the Jews, then He should be my King, too.

Week #18 of our Psalm 119 study. Psalm 119:137-144 “Do the Next Right Thing”

Click here to view or download Psalm 119:137-144 "Do the Next Right Thing"

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #18, Psalm 119:137-144  “Do the Next Right Thing” . Click on the picture to the left to view or download this study.

Last week we looked at the power of sin.

This week we’re going to see the definition of righteousness, and Who defines it.