Dec 31

  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "How much more?"
    Jesus makes this comparison: Good parents want to give their children good things. How much more good is God? Implied - God is much more good, and wants even more to give good gifts. This statement comes in the context of Jesus' teaching on prayer. Specifically asking God for stuff. So, what does this say? That we should ask God for stuff - including physical needs. That we should know that God wants to meet those needs even more than a good parent would. And apparently (v.7) that… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "Plans to prosper you."
    Another very well-known passage that is taken to be about provision. Context is interesting. The promise falls within a letter from Jeremiah the prophet to the remaining exiles in Babylon. False prophets have been telling them that God is getting ready to take them home. But it's actually not God's timing yet. Jeremiah delivers God's message. Settle down. Invest where you are. Bless and serve your community. Pray for the people who took you captive. When the time comes,… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "All these things will be given to you as well."
    We worry because we are afraid our needs won't be met. Jesus tackles this here. Why do we waste effort on worry? God clearly takes care of His creation. Why wouldn't He take care of us? If I said that, it might be little bit of a thin argument - but Jesus is saying it. What does that mean? Jesus says clearly that these basic needs will be met if we seek first his kingdom. Does that mean that people whose needs aren't met aren't seeking God's kingdom? Or aren… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "Ask whatever you wish..."
    In some ways this is one of the scariest verses in the Bible. While is doesn't mention provision directly, it certainly speaks to it. In this passage Jesus is giving some final instructions to His disciples about how they are going to do life without His physical presence. He challenges them to remain intimately connected to Him, and then makes this audacious claim. If we remain in Him (stay intimately connected), and keep His words within us (stay closely connected to His teachings) th… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "Will meet all your needs..."
    One of the most well-known of the passages addressing God's provision. Paul boldly states that God will meet all the needs of the people he was writing to. For sure that's Christ-followers in Philippi, but there's no reason to think He didn't mean this as universal to Christ-followers. The context here is interesting. A few verses before Paul makes the point that he is not asking for financial support because he is needy and want the Philippians to take care of that. In… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution Abundant blessing, well supplied, rich in every way.
    This passage falls in the context of Paul's message to the Corinthian church about their opportunity to bless and take care of the poorer churches that are in need. Paul says some pretty heady stuff - God is able to bless abundantly. But not just that God is able, but that apparently He will act such that in all things, at all times, you will have everything you need. Verse 11 is the compelling claim that we will be given more than enough specifically so that we can be generous with othe… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "He provides you with plenty"
    Paul and Barnabas preach to the people in Lystra, trying to dissuade them from worshipping them after a healing. This is the argument from the natural world of God's existence. Certainly it's a comment that God provides for us in the natural ways, but it's not a universal promise or even a specific promise. It's more an observation about God's character as seen in creation. Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "He will satisfy your needs..."
    The context of this one is important. The promise is explicit. God will guide you and provide your needs, even to the point of abundance like a well-watered garden. But it's entirely conditional. The condition, interestingly enough, is that you would choose to "spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed." A strong promise. Not universal. But definitely saying that God will act on behalf of those people who are acting in line with His cha… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "Our barns will be filled"
    This one almost reads more like a wish or hope than anything. The Psalmist is crying out to God for deliverance and imagining an idyllic scenario that might result from God's intervention. His final thoughts are true - people who had all of this could definitely consider themselves blessed. But hard to take this one as a universal promise. Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "I will bless her with abundant provisions"
    The last half of this Psalm is a statement of God's promises to his "chosen Zion." There is a clear and explicit promise of material provision. No question about that. But who is God making this promise to? Is it to Jerusalem (hard to believe, given historical record.) Is it to Israel as a nation or the Jews as a people? (Again, hard to believe given the recorc - unless one makes some hardy dispensational arguments or limits it to those who live within the covenant.) Is it m… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "He provides food for those who fear him..."
    In this passage the Psalmist is identifying the things that God does that are great works. One of those is that he provides food for people who are living within the covenant. Written in the present tense, the author seems to be saying that this is an ongoing thing, not just a remembrance of good things past. But it is also clearly within the context of covenant-keeping. Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "God, You provided for the poor."
    The Psalmist is worshipping God for the great things He has done - defending the defenseless, setting the lonely in families, freeing prisoners. This includes natural provision - abundant showers that made the land bounteous - which provided for the poor. This passage shows God's capacity to intervene, and ability to provide - but is certainly not a universal promise of provision. In fact, is seems more like a retrospective, seeing the good things that God did in the past and identifying… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "I will provide grass in the fields..."
    This verse, within the extended covenant agreement with Israel on their way into the promised land, is an explicit promise from God. But it's within the context of the covenant. "I will do this for you, if you obey." So, this illustrates God's capacity to provide - even in things like effecting the production of the earth and livestock. But, in this context, isn't a universal promise. Certainly it's to the Children of Israel living under that specific covenant.… Read more »
  • schelske
    schelske added a text contribution "God himself will provide a lamb..."
    How could Abraham say this? God hadn't explicitly promised this to him prior. 1. Was Abraham making something up because he didn't want to spook Isaac? 2. Was Abraham speaking out his hopes that somehow God would come through, but with no explicit promise to stand on? 3. Was Abraham inferring this because of God's promise to make a great nation out of him through Isaac - which would clearly require him being alive? Certainly this passage doesn't offer us a universa… Read more »