WHO is God? 

 WHAT was God’s purpose in creating us?

 WHY is there suffering in the world?

 HOW do we determine truth?

 When are we most happy?

 WHERE is the endgame of life?

The endgame for every person is standing before god in judgment of all our deeds to determine whether we were faithful or unfaithful, whether we are fit for heaven or fit for hell.

All world events – even the decisions of its highest human officials/authorities, are being used by God to accomplish His purposes in relation to His people (2:1-6 w/Mat 2:6 and Mic 5:2; See also Pro 21:1).
Following the medical wisdom of our day is a part of how we trust God and recognize His sovereignty in our present world (2:7 – “swaddling cloths” = strips of cloth wrapped around the baby’s body to ensure proper growth/sleep).
The gospel (or “good news”) of salvation through Jesus Christ “the Lord” – or “peace” w/God is something those legitimately seeking to be right w/God: 1) never run away from in “fear”(2:8-14), 2) immediately make “haste” to discover, treating everything else as secondary (e.g. the shepherds’ flock) (2:15-16), 3) impactfully share w/others (2:17-19), 4) receive w/great joy and thankfulness (2:20).
God’s peace is only “among those with whom He is pleased” (2:14).
Dedicating/raising your child unto the Lord means by being obedient to “do for Him (or “perform everything”) according to the custom of the Law (“of the Lord”)” (2:21-24, 27, 39, 41).
“Jesus grew up in a family that meticulously observed the law of Moses . No fewer than five times…Luke tells the reader that they did everything required in the Law…The firstborn son dedicated to God could be redeemed for five shekels (Num 18:15-16). Nothing is said by Luke about the family redeeming the child from his ‘belongs to God’ status. Jesus is therefore like Samuel, who was dedicated to God…” – F.B. Craddock

If penal substitution is true (atonement = punishment), then Mary was punished for giving birth to Jesus (2:24 w/Lev 12:8).
An important key to growing in spiritual “wisdom” and “favor with God” is spending time in God’s “temple” among her “teachers” (2:22-39 w/40; 2:41-51 w/52).
“Jesus’ own nurture in His tradition prepared Him to oppose flawed and hollow practices in the name of the law of Moses.” – F.B. Craddock

God’s plan thru Jesus has always: 1) been primarily for “His servant Israel…in remembrance of His mercy…to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (1:54-55)… “to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins” (1:77)…“for glory to (His) people Israel”(2:32b) – i.e. it is Judaism 2.0, 2) included the Gentiles (non-Jews) (2:32a w/ w/Isa 42:6, 49:6, 52:10, 60:3) – i.e. they are encouraged to become a part of this new Judaism (Eph 2:11-13), 3) anticipated it would cause major tension/division w/in the (so-called) covenant community and between family members (2:33-35; Mat 10:34-37).
Like Jesus: 1) Our attitude sb “Did you not know I must be in My Father’s house?” (when it comes to going to church) (2:49).
Like Jesus, it sb harder to leave church than go to church (2:51a).
Godly mothers treasure their kids spiritual accomplishments far more than other accomplishments in life (2:19, 51b).
John the Baptist preached repentance as: 1) the prerequisite to seeing “the salvation of God” (3:1-6), 2) a warning to those embracing easy-believism (3:7-9), 3) a commitment to mercy (3:10-11), justice (3:12-13), faithfulness (3:14) (Mat 23:23), 4) easy in comparison to what wb demanded by Jesus (3:15-17; Act 2:38 and Gal 5:16 w/Mar 9:49-50), 5) part of His gospel (“good news”) message (3:18).
Those who Jesus considers His best preachers boldly confront those who consider themselves Christians yet live in sin (3:19-20).
Like all God’s legitimate priests/teaching-pastors, Jesus’ ministry included: 1) bearing the sins of His people (3:21 w/Lev 16:21; Isa 53:4, 11), 2) being anointed/ordained with the authority of the Holy Spirit (3:22 w/Exo 29 and Lev 8 and Isa 66:21), 3) being the proper age (i.e. age at which He had completed His theological training) (3:23a), 4) being in the family of God (3:23b-38; for us, this means making sure those serving as our teaching-pastors are truly Christians and not just men who have received theological training – e.g. MDiv).
Like the goat of Azazel, Jesus bore/took our sins to the dumping ground in the “wilderness” (i.e. domain of Satan) (3:21 w/4:1-2 w/Lev 16:10, 21-22; 1Jo 5:19; Mar 9:47-48).
Fasting (“eating nothing” or little) makes you “hungry”. That’s the point (we grow in self-control – i.e. in our ability to resist temptation, only when there is pain involved). Hence the statement, “no pain, no gain”(4:2).
The godly desires of: 1) provision (4:1-4), 2) protection (4:5-8) and 3) purpose (4:9-12) are often the things Satan attempts to use to destroy our walk w/God by tempting us to possess them on our terms (or in our timing) rather than God’s (4:3, 6-7, 9-11).
Jesus triumphed over Satan in the same way we can: by demonstrating our greatest desire to be obedience to God/God’s way (4:13; 1Pe 5:9).
Enduring and passing the painful tests God puts in your life is the way to gain Holy Spirit power for living and great respect from others (4:14-15).
Lord.Before.Savior (4:16-30 = Jesus was unwilling to grant the deliverance/promises of Isaiah 61 [17-21] to His own people. Though they spoke “gracious words” about Him [22], Their hearts were rebellious to Him. Hence the reason Jesus states, “no prophet is acceptable in His hometown” and His mention of passing such deliverance/promises on to the Gentiles [vv25-27] is met w/murderous “wrath” [28-29]).
Flattery ≠ Faithfulness (4:22-24).
People in the covenant community can be demon possessed (4:31-37).
When a man possesses the “authority” of God’s Holy Spirit and Word, he possesses the “power” to purge/protect God’s people from the forces of evil (4:31-41; 39 – “rebuked the fever” = Implies its origins were demonic).
The primary “purpose” (or focus) of the pastor’s time must be protected from becoming something other than gospel/kingdom oriented “preach(ing)” in (and to) the covenant community (4:42-44; Act 6:1-4).
The intimidation that comes from exposure to God’s power (in His Word/work/servants) is meant to cause us to: 1) confess our sins/unfaithfulness (5:1-10a), 2) commit ourselves more fully to Christ than ever before (10b-11).
Atonement has to do w/justification/spiritual cleansing (i.e. making someone spiritually “clean” before God) not justice (punishing someone for what they have done) (5:12-16).
Those “Pharisees…teachers of the law…and scribes” condemned by Jesus: 1) did not believe in a works-based salvation. Rather they condemned it (5:17-26), 2) were hypocrites practicing sin yet acting as though they were holy/practicing righteousness (5:27-32; Mat 23:28), 3) cared nothing about reaching the lost (5:30-32; Mat 9:13).
The rule, “context determines usage and meaning” is vital to discerning literature and life (5:33-39).

LUKE 8:9-10, 16-18

 WHO is God? 

 WHAT was God’s purpose in creating us?

 WHY is there suffering in the world?

 HOW do we determine truth?

Truth is found by submitting all things to the interpretation and judgment of God’s written Word, the Bible.

 HAPPINESS: WHEN are we most happy?

We are most happy when we are seeking to know God, gain His glory and advance His kingdom through trust and obedience to His design, gospel and written Word, the Bible.

Numbers 34-36

The “inheritance” (or realization) of God’s b-haps (big, happy, awesome promises) requires: 1) great attention to God’s definitions/details (34:1-15 -the land of Canaan defined by its “borders”), 2) following the assigned path given to you by your appointed leaders (34:16-29 – “men who shall divide the land to you”; Heb 13:17).
God commands His people to live in areas where there are Levitical cities (today this wb the church) for the purpose of receiving: 1) spiritual influence (35:1-5, 7-8; These cities/dwelling places of the Levites became the centers for biblical education; Heb 13:7), 2) justice (35:6, 9-34; These cities/dwelling places of the Levites also become the courts for protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty; 1Co 6:1-6).
The congregation of God’s people (in each Levitical city) are to serve as witnesses and judges when determining the protection or punishment of those accused of a capital crime (35:9, 24-29; Lev 5:1).
Intentionality, use of a lethal weapon, enmity or hatred are the criteria when determining what makes a person guilty of murder in the wrongful death of another (35:9-24).
Justice (or equity) does not allow for: 1) speculation (35:30), 2) exceptions (35:31-32), 3) penal substitutes (35:33-34) (How then could Jesus be our penal substitute since this would mean God is a corrupt judge?).
Marrying w/in your clan is also necessary to protecting your inheritance from God (36:1-13 w/1Co 7:39; 2Co 6:14-18).
Luke 1

“Certainty” is the result of thorough investigation and sufficient evidence (1:1-4; “having followed all things closely for some time”, “many have undertaken to compile…from the beginning were eyewitnesses”).
Being “righteous before God”: 1) means “walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (1:5-6), 2) is a very real possibility for imperfect people (“Zechariah” and “Elizabeth” were not perfect – e.g. 1:7-22; e.g. Heb 11).
Being a great man or woman of God includes turning (or returning) many Christians who are currently falling away, back to the path of faithfulness “to the Lord their God” – i.e. to being (once more) “a people prepared… ready for the Lord”(‘s) arrival (1:13-17).
Ministry to the Lord is a valid reason for extended periods of time away from your family (1:8 w/23 w/1Ch 24; In this light consider Num 35 w/Jos 21 = Levites/Priests lived in cities throughout the nation of Israel yet were required to travel to Shiloh/Jerusalem [up to 120 miles] for duty when it was the time appointed by lot for the “division”).
God cares about how the faithful are viewed by those in the covenant community (not the world) and therefore gives to them what they need to be perceived as above approach (1:13-14, 23-25).
The announcement of Jesus’ coming birth also revealed His identity as the fully God and fully human Messiah (1:26-33).
There is a difference between asking a question and questioning in re: to God (or God’s Word) (1:18-20 versus 1:34-38).
Jesus’ conception/birth to a virgin mother made sure that He circumvented original sin and could be our sacrifice for sin (i.e. a lamb w/o blemish) (1:35; Rom 5:12).
History bears witness to God giving greater blessings to those among His people who trust Him w/the difficult (or “impossible things”) rather than those who choose to doubt Him (1:37 w/39-45).
History bears witness to God using His people’s children to do great things for Him and the covenant community (1:46-55, 68-79) when they submit their wills to His design (1:57-66), and form of discipline/discipleship (1:80; see also Mar 1:6 = ML this was his prescribed adornment and diet while living in the “wilderness”).
What makes us great is what we know/do/say in re: to God (that we are “strong in spirit” – 1:80) versus what we look like (again Mar 1:6 versus 1:15, 76-77).

1 Timothy 4:7-11

 GOD

WHO is God?

God is the only eternal and perfectly just, faithful, loving, wise and all-powerful Creator, Sustainer, Judge and savior of everything that exists, Who has made Himself obvious through what He has created and what he has written in his word, the Bible.

 Purpose

WHAT was God’s purpose in creating us?

We exist to know God, gain His glory and advance His kingdom through trust and obedience to His design, gospel and written Word, the Bible.

 Problems

Why is there suffering in the world?

All suffering is the result of our failure to know God, gain his glory and advance his kingdom through trusting and obeying his design, gospel or written word, the bible.

 truth

How do we determine truth?

Truth is determined by submitting all things to the interpretation and judgment of god’s written word, the bible.

God expects us to keep our vows of celibacy (e.g. during betrothal, special fasts of celibacy, remain a virgin/unmarried/become a eunuch): 1) even if they are a “thoughtless utterance” of our lips (i.e. we weren’t thinking when we made them – 30:1-2 w/6), 2) unless they are made by women w/o consent of their betrothed/husbands or fathers (in the case of un-betrothed younger women still at home; e.g. daughter in the home vows to God to never get married but remain financially dependent on her father/parents) (30:3-16, 5 and 13; 1Co 7:5, 36-38).
Like prostitution, female celibacy can encourage (rather than remove) sexual immorality (25:1-3 w/30:3-16).
Overreactions are not remedies (25:1-3 w/30:6-16).
The removal of sinful influences – not good things (used sinfully), is the prescribed way to get rid of sin (30:3-16 w/31:1-20, 16-18; e.g. taking a kid’s cell phone b/c they are guilty of doing sinful things w/it).
God’s anointed (or ordained) pastors/priests (i.e. the pastor-teachers – Eph 4:11b) are to receive the lion’s share of compensation in comparison to those serving as Levites/full-time ruling elders (i.e. pastors – Eph 4:11a) (31:21-47 [1 clan] w/26:57-58 [8 clans] = about 1/3 less per Levite clan versus Eleazar the priest; See Num 18; 1Ti 5:17-18 – “double honor” = two-parts price [which can mean 2/3 – or 2 out of 3 equal parts]; 1Co 6:20).
Great deliverance or blessings (31:48-49) should prompt us to give generous free-will offerings to God (i.e. giving that is above/beyond our tithe)(31:50-54).
Great leaders never allow their people to put other things before their primary obligations to God and His people (32:1-42, 28-30).
God expects us to make the accommodations necessary to fulfill our obligations to God and His people w/o burdening or complaining to the covenant community (32:16-27).
Cowardliness is contagious and has been known to create great collateral damage (32:6-15).
Your sin will find you out (32:23).
Remembering our failures are as important to staying the course as remembering God’s faithfulness to staying the course (33:1-49 = The significance of the various locations mentioned: they are the places of Israel rebellion; 1Co 10:1-11).
Taking possession of God’s promises means: 1) removing compromise in all areas of our lives (33:50-53; 2Ti 2:19-21; Heb 12:1), 2) practicing equity toward those in the covenant community (33:54).
Compromise – especially when it comes to those we choose to associate with, means: 1) we will experience “trouble” from them (33:55), 2) we will experience God’s trouble against them (33:56; 2Jo 1:9-11).