Quotable Quotes:

I. By: Horace Bushnell [the beginning of American Liberalism] (1802-1876)



 My own experience is that the Bible is dull when I am dull. 

Be sure that Christ is not behind you, but before, calling and drawing you on. 

O, if we could tear aside the veil, and see for but one hour what it signifies to be a soul in the power of an endless life, what a revelation would it be!

As long as we abide in Christ, our action is from Him, not from our own corrupt and broken nature.

Quotable Quotes from the book “God in Christ”: Three discourses delivered at New Haven, Cambridge, and Andover, with a preliminary dissertation on language, by Horace Bushnell

(This site will continue to be updated for further additions.)

[T]he word spirit means, originally, breath, or air in motion; that being the symbol…of a power moving unseen.

The word religion is re, back, and ligo, to bind – the conception being that man is made to be free, but bound back in terms of obligation to his Maker.

Words of thought or spirit are not only inexact in their significance, never measuring the truth or giving the precise equivalent, but they always affirm something which is false, or contrary to the truth intended.

There is no book in the world that contains so many repugnancies, or antagonistic forms of assertion, as the Bible.

Whoever wants, … really to behold and receive all truth… has [in the Bible] not only the words of Christ, the most manifold of all teachers, but he has gospels…; and then, besides, he has four, some say five, distinct writers of epistles, who follow, giving each his own view of the doctrine of salvation and the Christian life, (views so unlike or antagonistical that many have regarded them as  being quite irreconcilable) – Paul, the dialectic, commonly so called; John, the mystic; James, the moralizer; Peter, the homilectic; and perhaps a fifth in the epistle to the Hebrews, who is a Christian templar and Hebraizer.

In algebra, and geometry, the ideas themselves being absolute, the terms or names also may be; but in mental science and religion, no such exactness is possible, because our apprehensions of truth are here only proximate and relative. I see not, therefore, how the subject matter of mental science and religion can ever be included under the fixed forms of dogma.

[The Apostle] Paul undertakes no theological system, in any case. He only speaks to some actual want, to remove some error, rectify some hurtful mistake. There is nothing of the system-maker about him.

We find little…in the Scriptures, to encourage the hope of a complete and sufficient Christian dogma.

Nothing is so unsolid, many times – no figment so vacant of meaning as  that dead body of abstractions, or logical propositions, called theology; which, professing to give us the contents of God’s truth, puts us off  too generally, with the mere exuviae of reason; which extinguishes the living fires of truth to show us the figures it can draw in the ashes.

II. Henry Ward Beecher [Popular revolt against Calvinism] (1813-1887)


It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.

Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow.

A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.

The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.

I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.

III. Dwight L. Moody [the high tide of Revivalism] (1837-1899)

Faith makes all things possible... love makes all things easy.

There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things.

A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian... and most of all, his family ought to know.

A good example is far better than a good precept.

A rule I have had for years is: to treat the Lord Jesus Christ as a personal friend. His is not a creed, a mere doctrine, but it is He Himself we have.

There's no better book with which to defend the Bible than the Bible itself.

God never made a promise that was too good to be true.

We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance to those who belong there. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

 If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me.

The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.

Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.

I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me.

God doesn't seek for golden vessels, and does not ask for silver ones, but He must have clean ones.

Death may be the King of terrors... but Jesus is the King of kings!

IV. Washington Gladden [the development of  the “New Theology”] (1836-1918)

The substance of all realities is in this religion of Jesus Christ; but it can be real only to those who will do His will.

"A little while," and the load
Shall drop at the pilgrim's feet,
Where the steep and thorny road
Doth merge in the golden street.

V. Walter Rauschenbusch [the challenge of the Social Gospel] (1861-1918)

Christianity in its nature revolutionary.

Every generation tries to put its doctrine on a high shelf where the children cannot reach it.

The Joy of Sarah (Genesis 21:6)

"But God said to him, "Do not be distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Genesis 21:12

King James Version reads in the part, "it is through  your Isaac that  your offspring will be reckoned", as follows:

"In Isaac shall thy seed be called." 

The word 'seed' (zera in Hebrew) refers to and is the same as the seed (i.e., the enmity between two seeds, that is, the seed of Satan and the seed of the woman, that is, Jesus, the Savior to come) found in Genesis 3:15. 

The word "called" in Hebrew (pronounced qara) is synonymous with 'call out, cry, or proclaim.'

Thus, the Lord's message to Abraham in effect is that "in Issac you can literally hear the cry of the baby to be born, that is, the Savior Jesus." Or "Literally Isaac (himself) proclaims the good news of the Savior to come." 

Isaac is the gospel carrier, the gospel of the good news of great joy for all mankind. 

The substance of the work of the gospel to be fulfilled through the Jesus Christ the Savior is reducible to one word: "One New Person out of the Two, that is Jews and Gentiles." The Lord revealed this vision to the Apostle Paul who said in effect, "The mystery of God is Jesus Christ, and the mystery of Christ is one new person out of  the two, that is, Jews and Gentiles." According to Paul all peoples on earth are categorized into three categories: Jews, Gentiles, and New Persons. 

Jews and Gentiles share one common characteristic, that is, unsaved. But for all who believe in the Lord, all Jews and Gentiles, everyone of them, are saved from their sins, and are born again into the family of God.

The name Isaac also incorporates the characteristics of the gospel, that is, total joy that comes from the fellowship with all that were once lost/estranged, but now found and restored back to the family of God, in perfect unity with God and with one another. When this happens the net effect would be, "Complete Joy" or "Full  Joy". 

Sarah expressed this hope and vision prophetically saying, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Here 'this' refers to the birth of Isaac, the gospel carrier. The expression 'everyone' literally means 'everyone', the everyone who hears this good news and believes, has been saved into His Family, to the everlasting fellowship with the Father and the Son! 

I trust that Sarah's  testimony here in Genesis 21:6 came directly from God, foretelling the joy of people bursting into laughter,in total joy and peace, all in God's kingdom! 

It is in this hope of joy and vision that the Apostle Paul asked the members of the church in Ephesus to pray for him that words may be given him so that he will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, namely one new person out of the two!

Hope for the Flowers - Read Book!

A book recommendation:

1, Why read books?

County of Los Angeles Public Library opened the 33rd Annual Book Mark Competition.

And the Bookmark Contest Winner 2012 was Christyn Kim (my first granddaughter), 2nd Grade (Malibu Grade School).

The title of the bookmark was "Hope for the Flowers". The message on the Bookmark, "Hope! It came from a Book (entitled) Hope for the Flowers"]! Read!

Christyn on the right)

2. The book to read (I recommend)

* Title: Changing Emphasis in American Preaching

Wash your spirit clean!

 

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

John Muir 

John Muir's quote is reminiscent of the role the environment of a man plays in getting his or her character built up. 

In the account  of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-20 we see one person (Abraham) praying for Lot, Lot despite his righteous standing ending up producing children with his daughters. The citizens of the Sodom and Gomorrah became casualties. So were the case with Lot's wife as well as his two son-in-laws. 

Sodom and Gomorrah were well watered. It looked like the Garden of Eden. So upon breaking up with Abram, Lot moved towards the city. Sooner than later he ended up living there. Having lived in the wicked environment, he and his family members fell victim to the environment. 

If you secure a noble environment, a man of noble character will come out.  Knowing the significance of environment, it is said the mother of Meng Tzu (or Mengzi, or Mencious) of ancient China moved three times looking for the best environment for her son's best education.

Then one might say, "You are kidding. We are living in the electronic age. Everyone carries smart phones. Do you mean that we should all escape to a deep mountain, live like a monk?"

But we must remember that in the day of John Muir (1838-1914) they did not have gadgets like cars, smart phones, TV's or Internet. Yet he said, "...break clear away once in a while..." [not all the time.] And we cannot live like an escapist. Further in case of Adam and Eve they did not have Internet, nor smart phones. Yet, they sinned.

This then makes us ask: What are the barometers of a good environment for good character building?  

There are several factors to consider:
* What has already gone in you?
* What further goes in a man?
* What is one after?
* Time (of exposure) factor
* People you associate with
* Components of the environment, that is, spiritual, ethical, moral, and physical, or
* Is there an environment which is inherently and perpetually good or bad?

In case of Abraham, prior to himself helping Lot pulled out of the sin city, he himself became loose, so  the Lord had to appear to him and said, "Walk before me, and be blameless." (Genesis 17:1)

when Jesus came he too saw that bad environment produces bad character so he said to his disciples:

"Good tree makes good fruit; bad  tree bad fruit" or "Make your tree good, and naturally good fruit will come out." And "Watch out for the yeast (i.e., hypocrites like the Pharisees and Teachers of law of his day)."

The question then becomes, " What is good, what is bad?"

Jesus answers: "No one is good except God alone." And to John he said, "God the Father and I are one."

Later the Apostle Paul said straightforwardly, "Fix your eyes and thoughts on Jesus."

Further he said, "Bad company corrupts good character."

Then the Apostle John his contemporary went on to the point of saying, "Do not love the world or anything in the world, for the love for the Father is not in them", testifying that there is no such thing as a "good" environment in this world. Thus he said in regard to the good environment, "Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son", and he invites all to this fellowship, so all who come to this fellowship would have joy that is complete.

One word: walk before me and be blameless

What is the first indication of turning away from God?

Romans 1:21 - murmurings

For details, go to  http:www.thebereancall.org/content/november-2014-extra-first-indication

Or simply click here. 

The Fight for Recognition of the Lutheran Faith (The Reformation of the 16th Century by Ronald H. Bainton)

The struggles, the wars, the abortive attempts and the permanent residues in the meeting of the problem call for a review country by country and confession by confession. Broadly speaking the struggle in Germany and Scandinavia was for the recognition of Lutheranism; in France, the Netherlands, and Scotland primarily of Calvinism; in England of a middle way with a Calvinist tinge; in Italy and Spain there was a serious possibility of any competitor to Catholicism. In the eastern lands, Poland, Hungary, Moravia, and Transylvania, a number of sects contended on well-nigh equal footing.

The Struggle for Religious Liberty (The Reformation of the Sixthteenth Century by Ronald H. Bainton)

The execution of Servetus filled [Sebastian Castellio] with profound indignation, and he set himself to examine and refute the grounds on which [burning Servetus to death] was justified. [Thus Castellio had this to say] "Who made Calvin arbiter of all the sects that he alone should kill? He has the word of God, but so have they. If the matter is so certain to whom is it certain? To Calvin? There is nothing unkown to him. He talks as if he might be in Paradise. But why then does he write so many books about manifrest truth, and such huge tomes to explain what he says is absolutely clear?"

Protestantestism on the other hand in its dominant branches became at first more dogmatic in the 17th century but in the 18th went so far beyond Erasmus that the Deistic movement reduced Christianity to little more than that which it had in common with Confucianism.

The greatest persecutors in the history of Christianity have not been hypocrytes or monsters, but the devotees of an ideal which they believed to be of supreme importance for mankind.

For the liberals, deeds were to be esteemed as more important in God's eyes than creeds.

We must be extremely careful, argued Acontius [an Italian Prostestant Refugee], not to force men over points which God has not declared to be necessary.

The liberals commonly argued that the doctrine of predestination should preclude persecution, since if salvation is predetermined no amount of force can alter the situation.

[In his book On the Wiles of Satan Acontius says] "The greatest hindrances to clear sight are passion, pride and prejudice, and these are only accentuated by vainglory and arrogrance on the part of the one who is seeking to persuade. Humility and manifest devotion to truth are the prime requisites for winning converts."

If the contention is that persecution is good for the Church, the reply is that the number may be increased but the quality will not be  improved.

On Calvinism (16th Century Reformation by Ronald Bainton)

[T]he deepest reason for the activism of Calvinism lay in the realm of idea, and the idea originated with the man, John Calvin.

He [John Calvin] was schooled as a humanist, and the orderliness of his thinking and the clarity of his diction may well be traceable to the influence of his classical studies.

The drive of Calvinism stems from optimism as to God despite pessimism as to man.

Calvin's view of man was just as gloomy, and if anything, even more devastating than that of Luther and the Anabaptists.

Though the world without Christ need not be a pigsty, it will never be a paradise. From a similar analysis the Anabaptists deduced a necessary withdrawal of the Church from the world, and Luther allowed only a resigned participation. But Calvin came out with a resolute summons to action within the sphere of scoiety.

The great text for Luther was, "Thy sins are forgiven, " but for Calvin it was "If God is for us who can be against us?"

Both Calvin and Luther had an overwhelming sense of the majesty of God, but whereas for Luther this served to point up the miracle of forgiveness, for Calvin it gave rather the assurance of the impregnability of God's purpose. Consequently the Institutes treat first of the sovereignty of God ahead of the section on justification by faith.

[The dream to erect the Holy Commonwealth in the terrestrial sphere (e.g. Geneva)] depended upon human agents, God's chosen instruments, the elect.

[According to John Calvin] the people of Israel failed in this great commission [to build a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation] and in their stead God had selected the new Israel of God, the Christian Church.

[On the question of the tests by which the elect could be known]:

- Luther did not pretend to know.
- Muentzer said, "by the spirit."
- Zwingli said, "by faith."
- The Anabaptists said, "by life."
- Calvin, like Luther, disclaimed absolute knowledge and did not aspire like the Anabaptists to compose the church of wheat and tares. Neverthless Calvin posited certain presumptive tests, in number three: 1) profession of faith, 2) an upright life, and 3) participation in the sacraments.

A denial of predestination meant banishment [from the city of Geneva].

A denial of immortality and the Trinity meant death. Gruet was beheaded and Servetus [for saying, the word 'trinity' is not found in the Bible] was burned [to death].

The Reformation of the 16th Century (by Ronald H. Bainton)

The Renaissance shifted interest from heaven to earth.

Nationalism enfeebled the Holy Roman Empire and weakened the papal theocracy.

The essential note [of the Reformation movement] was the recovery of the uncorrupted Christianity.

Three periods are discernable in midieval history: dissimination, domination, and disintegration.

Prosperity itself corrupts.

A medieval monk formulated the law of monastic cycle: "Discipline begets abundance, and abundance, unless we take the utmost care, destroys discipline; and discipline in its fall, pulls down abundance."

The ground on which [the papal theocracy] rested was the sacramental system.

Thomas Aquinas ... gathered up the threads from Christian and classical antiquity, from the wisdom of the Abrabs and the philosphy of the medieval Jews into an integrated theological system.

The underlying theory (of "indulgencies") was that Christ and the saints had more merits than were needful for their own salvation. The superfluous credits were stored in a treasury placed by God at the disposal of the popes and capable of transfer to those whose sins were in arrears.

The pope [John XXII] spent 63% of his enrmous income [three times thatof the king of France] on wars for recovery of his lost Italian estates.

The pope often could not make up his own mind whether he was the successor of Peter or of Caesar.

The Renaissance invaided the Vatican.

To hold the Reformation responsible for the destruction of the great papal theocracy of the 13th century is to forget the condition into which it had already fallen.

Indignant reformers concluded that if correction on a universal scale were no more successful, the attempt must be renewed with select units of those personally committed.

The very concept of the end of the age was subversive to the security of a great ongoing institution like the medieval Church.

[I]f morality be the touchstone [of the elect] the inference is obvious that an immoral pope is neither the head of the Church nor even a member. Predestination and millenarianism were sometimes combined and the Church as an earthly institution was then undercut both from before and from behind.

The most devastting attack on the structure of the Church came from a denial of the efficacy of the sacraments of priestly power to dispense them.

Bible Thailand World Campus Mission

Monkon and Watcheri

Pat and Luke

Tampol and Onpolin

There are three shepherd families in Thailand UBF. Msn. Bansuk Lee runs a business to install in Taxi cabs LPG. He has a business goal to get installed at least 40 LPGs a month, which will barely help him break even. Due to the gas prices going down, not many are interested in LPG, so that he finds it increasingly difficult to break even. 

When your life seems chaotic, dismal, grey, dark, and darker...

Who Will Be the First To Go and Fight?

(The Secret of Being Content in All Circumstances)

Judges 1:1-21:25

Key Verses 1:1-2

“After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, ‘Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?’ The LORD answered, ‘Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.’ ”

Last week a friend of mine experienced an emotional high and an emotional low. One day he was elated to find out that his GPA was 4.0. Since he did so well in his school studies, he was recognized by the principle of the school and was asked to apply for a scholarship. But the next day a turn of the events worked against him and he was hit with terrible news: on an important test he got the lowest possible score among all the students in his class.

In the book of Judges, we see the Israelites going through emotional ups and downs. For a while they went through happy moments, but soon they were hit with terrible disasters, such as drive-by shooters invading the land. For the most part, in the days of the book of Judges, the Israelites went through the lowest lows in their career as a chosen people. The net result was that the Israelites grew terribly dissatisfied. Supposedly, they were saved out of Egypt and came to the so called Promised Land expecting to be happy. But they ended up being hit with an entirely different reality. So we can admit that something definitely went wrong.  

What then is the reason for the Israelites' down-fall? Why was it that after going through so many good training programs, such as 40 years of desert training or decades of war experiences where they garnered so many victories, that they did not learn to perpetuate their success, but rather ended up falling down to the bottom of bottoms so miserably?

On a practical level, what should guarantee that one would never fall down to the lowest pit but rather permanently be planted in the land where the joy of life is constant?

Surprisingly, it is here in the book of Judges that the Lord God reveals the secret that "guarantees" a blessed life, and the Lord God is revealing this secret against the backdrop of all the shameful failures. I believe the secret is found in what the Lord God asked the Israelites to do first at the outset the book of Judges and in the last two chapters of Judges. With this in mind let us read Judges 1:1-2 and 20:18. Let us think about the Lord's secret in three parts:

First, the problem

According to Hally's Bible handbook during the period of the Judges, the Israelites went through 410 years of failures and years of victories: 111 years of failure, and 299 years of victory. Specifically, for the entire 111 years of failure they were oppressed. But as they cried out, the Lord raised up judges (12 male, 1 female) through whom the Lord allowed them to enjoy freedom from the oppressive rule of the Canaanites. So the ratio of the time period between oppression and independence is 1:3, not 3:1. This ratio shows that Lord was graceful upon his children. Figuratively speaking, God is like a teacher who helps out a rebellious student with enduring patience. Suppose you are a teacher to middle school kids and one particular student starts acting out. What do you do? In love you discipline him, for example, giving him a time-out for one hour. Then as the student begs for mercy, you allow him to come back to the class. But three hours later, the student again acts up. So you give him another time-out. Then the student begs for mercy. You give the student freedom again. Three hours later the student screws up again. So you give the student another time-out. And this happens again and again. Question: Does the student learn anything from the time-outs? No. The student gets worse.

This is exactly what happened to the Israelites in the book of Judges. Instead of learning a lesson, they grew worse. How worse did they become? Let us read 19:1-30; 20:46-21:3. The Levites were called to serve the Lord full time. They were supposed to please the Lord, not themselves. One of their main duties was to live as Bible teachers. For this purpose the Lord intentionally spread them equally among the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet, abandoning their mission they made themselves busy chasing after women (19:1).

What about the women of the days of the Judges? They were no different. For example, the concubine of the Levite in Joshua 19 became unfaithful to her master. Yet the unfaithfulness exhibited by the Levite and his concubine was just the tip of the iceberg. In Genesis Chapter 18 we saw how and why the Lord overturned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. But in Joshua 19:22 we see the same problem, that is, homosexuality persisting among the so-called chosen people. In order to establish them as a holy nation the Lord God made numerous efforts. Through years, decades, and centuries of training, finally the Lord God led the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan and settle in their respective territories. Normally, one would expect that they would rise to God's level and operate as members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. But what did they become? Joshua 19:22-24 indicates that they came down to ground zero. The people of Gibeah became no different, if not worse, than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Judges 19:30 reads, "Everyone who saw it said, ‘Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!’ ” This passage ends with three sentences which all come with an exclamation point: “Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!” These questions cry out for a solution! What then is the solution? Interestingly their solution was a call to arms, to destroy the Benjamites! But it was the wrong solution. It invited more troubles to the people of the Israelites than solutions.

Second, the solution

What then is the solution?

Look at Joshua 1:1,2. “After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, ‘Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?’ The LORD answered, ‘Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.’ ” Let us also read Judges 20:18, “The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, ‘Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?’ The LORD replied, ‘Judah shall go first.’ ” Here we see the Lord repeating the same remedy saying, “Judah is to go,” and, “Judah shall go first.”

This repetition raises a question: “Why did the Lord ask Judah to go first?” Was it because the people belonging to the tribe of Judah were more adapt to fighting than the other tribes? Was it because they had more Kung-Fu martial artists or champion gun slingers than the rest of the tribes? The answers to these questions are all, NO. Judges 20:44 indicates that the Benjamites had more valiant fighters than any of the other tribes. Why then did the Lord choose Judah to go first?

We can find the answer to this question in the name Judah, which means, “This time I will praise the Lord.” This requires a short review on the background of how Judah was named. Let us read Genesis 29:16-35, responsively. Now let us focus on the last five verses where we can see the spiritual growth of Leah in naming her babies.

1)         Reuben: Surely my husband will love me now.

2)         Simeon: Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.

3)         Levi: Now at least my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.

4)         Judah: This time I will praise the Lord.

“Then she stopped having children.”

The meanings of the name of the four sons describe the spiritual growth of Leah. The names of the first three sons indicate the nature of the problems she had. They represent her times of failure. The name of the forth son shows that she finally found the right solution to her problem. So the expression, “she stopped having children” [after naming her fourth son Judah], represents the net effect of her spiritual growth.

This observation then teaches us the way to total satisfaction, which is the key point for our Bible study tonight. The key is found in the meaning of the name Judah, that is, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Genesis 29:35b reads, "Then she stopped having children." Here a question arises: "What does it imply that after Leah named her fourth son Judah she stopped having children?" We can find the answer to this question from what she "stopped" doing, that is, having children. Praising the Lord put her to a complete "stop" to having children! This means that when she started praising the Lord she stopped being thirsty for her husband's love. As a result she stopped having children for a time. [Afterwards, Leah bore a fifth son, named Issachar, meaning “Wages.” Interestingly prior to her conception of Issachar, she had prayed to God, and God heard her prayers (Genesis 30:17-18). Leah also conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son, Zebulun, meaning “Dwelling” (verse 20).]

Her example reminds us of the way God designed man, that is, God made man in such a way that man can find true satisfaction of his soul in only one source: the Lord. In Leah’s case, she tried to quench the thirst for love from Jacob. In an effort to secure her husband's love, she kept enticing Jacob; as a result she kept producing children out of Jacob. But again and again she failed to quench her thirst. After failing three times, finally, it dawned on her that Jacob is not the right source. As a last resort she turned to the Lord. Then, in the Lord, she found what she was looking for. In a way then she is like the Samaritan woman who looked to fill the needs of her soul in the wrong places, such as a husband. Jesus understood her thirst. Through a divine appointment Jesus met her at Jacob’s well. Through a personal bible study with her Jesus introduced himself as the Savior of the world who alone can quench the thirsts of her soul. At this point let us open the Bible and read John 4:10-14.

Now, let us compare this passage with the key verses we have tonight. “After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, ‘Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?’ The LORD answered, ‘Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.’ ” Judah is to go! As we know, our Lord Jesus came through the line of Judah. Unlike the other tribes, the tribe of Judah holds the seed of the hope of salvation for all, that is, Jesus Christ. Looking to the time of the Savior to come, Genesis 49:10 reads, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."

Third, applications

From Leah's example we learn that God made man in such a way that he or she will never be fully satisfied with what has been created. We humans can find true satisfaction only in worshiping the Lord. The people of the days of the Judges did not learn this Biblical truth and made mistakes one after another. Again and again they went after people and the things of this world. As a result they became increasingly thirsty, and then increasingly frustrated. The more they indulged in pleasure seeking lifestyles, the more they were disappointed. They were disappointed in themselves and they made others disappointed. But the Lord God had mercy on them. Each time they ran into troubles, the Lord provided them with the remedy: that is, Judah going out first to fight the problems they had.

In our generation there are many who are like the people in the days of the Judges. Some people are addicted to materialistic ways of life. Some people indulge in pleasure seeking lifestyles. Like the people living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, or like the people who lived in the city of Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin, people who live in our own generation suffer mostly in looking for the spiritual water that could quench the thirsts of their souls. And they look for the solution in all the wrong places. But thanks and praise be to the Lord who sent Jesus Christ, who alone can fully quench the thirsts of our soul.

In the college campuses there are many who are like Leah. Like Leah they look for solutions to their thirst problem in all the wrong places, such as girlfriends or boyfriends. Like the people in the day of the Judges, even many Christians suffer from such problems as greed for money or lust for human recognition or thirst for human love. As much as we know that nothing but the gospel of our Lord Jesus can offer true solution to all of their problems, let us all pray to present the gospel to the thirsty souls of our generation.

One word: Judah will go first

Review Questions

·       After giving birth to her fourth son, she named the baby Judah saying, “________________________________.”

·       What happened when she started praising the Lord?

·       Judah means in Hebrew: _________________

·       Judges 1 begins saying, “After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” The Lord said, “Judah is to go.”  Is/are there any application(s) to adopt in day to day life?

·       Who of the following is/are not the judge given to Israel?

o   Othniel

o   Ehud

o   Shamgar

o   Deborah

o   Gideon

o   Abimelek

o   Tola

o   Jair

o   Jephthah

o   Ibzan

o   Elon

o   Abdon

o   Samson

o   Samuel

Review Notes

•  This time I will praise the Lord. Judah means “praise” or “thankfulness”. In Hebrew the name Judah [ יְהוּדָה (Yĕhuwdah)] includes the name of the Lord consisting of four letters (Yud, Hey, Vab, Hey). On his death-bed Jacob blessed Judah stating, ““Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son.Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine,  his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.”Later, as prophesied, Jesus, the Son of God, came from the line of Judah, crushed the head of the archenemy Satan.
• The prospect of her life changed from that which is gloomy and horrible to that which is bright and comfortable. It is said, “Under three things the earth trembles: … an unloved women who is married.” Proverbs 30:21-23 Leah was the one (at least in her mind). But now she gained the flight out of the gloom to the bliss of the Lord. She stopped having children at least for a while. This indicates that as she praised the Lord, the Lord quenched her thirst for husband (i.e., lust, jealousy). She was yet to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, but at least she got a major break-through in terms of her growth. The proof of this is seen in her praying to the Lord for child-bearing, so that as she prayed, she got Issachar. The expression “God listened to Leah” indicates that [perhaps while in bed with Jacob] she prayed to the Lord. Genesis 30:17 In Hebrew Issachar has the meaning of ‘reward’ which reveals that she believed in the Lord who rewards for those who come to him believing in the goodness of the Lord.  
•   One application is to begin each day with a moment of prayer, believing in the Lord’s goodness for his guidance. Another is to live each day praising the Lord first to finish, praising him not so much with lip services but from the bottom of our heart, believing and appreciating the Lord of grace the creator and sustainer of his creation, who willing to bestow upon his children all that are good, not just any good but the highest good, bent on giving more than we can bear.
• All of them are judges. Abimelek is a tempting choice but although he became a judge by treachery, still he ruled for 3 years.

2015 Latin America Bible Conference (Southern Region) in Argentine

After attending the conference, Msn. Jose Ahn wrote:

Dear World mission prayer coworkers. Thank God for the wonderful conference with your prayer supports. Sorry for no being able to update last 4 days due to internet access.

Now we returned to Buenos Aires. an Official rpt will be sent by M. Esteban Cho.. I just want to share some pictures (some more after this e mail) and a summary of Southern Latin Conf. (1.15-18)

You might have received the first day rpt... 130 members from 7 Southern Latin nations and some guests from Korea and USA.

Thank God for the cool weather in hot Summer in Argentina. The conference place was so remote from the city, today's technology and it turned out to be one of the best environments to spend time with our beloved Christ Jesus and hark labored coworkers, national leaders and second genes. Most of all 7 lectures in 4 days with 3 group bible studies led by well prepared national leaders and around 10 Life Testimonies, very sincere, bold, honest, changed life made us swim in the sea of God's abundant grace with exquisite Argentina food. 4 days were still seemed too short.....The around 20 2nd gene CBF members were also well taken care of by missionaries and local shepherds and Paul Cho (Korea), having their own group bible studies and testimony sharings. The conference was Full of joy, all participated in some work,(moving chairs, tables for meals, cleaning, music, world mission night dancings of each nation and skits, duo drama, chorus etc).

It was well organized through hard labor of M. Isaac Cho, Juan Moon, Marcos Kim's co-working with 7 nations' coworkers and second genes and national leaders. There were many new and young members from Bolivia around 50 who came by bus almost taking 40 hours one way, and Brazil second genes. So the conference became so energetic, fresh with the powerful work of the Spirit.

We finished with evaluation meeting with national leaders as well as listening to Ambassador Oh's audio visual mission report since 1987 when God called him for the World Campus Mission and M. Elias Park's prayer topics. 1. Let's love God’s word and mediate on it deeply 2. Love Bible students and guide them to Jesus through Bible study 3. Pioneer new cities and nations such as Bolivia 3 cities, 4. April 2-5 Mexican region conference as well as Central America Conference which will be held separately on the same period.