1 Thessalonians 5:15 (ESV Strong's)
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Subject: Retaliation
The above verse might be one of the most difficult of all Christian behaviors to pull off. Having a spirit of non-retaliation and vengeance is something that has to be totally accomplished by the power of the Spirit. Our example of this approach to life is obviously Jesus as He hung on the cross. Note what Peter says about Christ's time on the cross:
1 Peter 2:23 (ESV Strong's)
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
In the moment of sure agony, pain and injustice, Jesus simply trusted the One who had placed Him on the cross to, eventually, make it right. God had placed His Son on the cross. God is a God of Justice. Therefore, even though this was a unjust moment, Jesus committed the circumstances to God. ONLY God can judge the unjust in a just way!! We cannot. God wants us to trust Him when others hurt us and are unfair and unjust to us. We are not to seek our our justice - since we are unjust people and won't deliver justice, justly. Paul tells us the same thing in Romans 12. Give the circumstance to God.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Subject: Knowing Christ - John 1-2
John 1:48-51
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Subject: Knowing God
In the above passage we see the story of Jesus calling Nathanael. Nathanael was skeptical upon hearing about Jesus. When Jesus told him He saw him under a fig tree, prior to even meeting him, that impressed Nathanael, as it would most of us. Having someone tell us that they knew what we were doing prior to meeting us would open all of our eyes. And, in fact we are told on Psalm 19:8 that God's Word "opens the eyes." When Christ speaks there is illumination of the soul. Jesus' response here, however, is noteworthy! Jesus tells Nathanael that he should not be so impressed with this little miracle, he would, soon, see greater things. This is true about the believer's life, as well. What we know about Christ today should be only a shadow of what we know about Him tomorrow. If what we know today is the same as what we will know tomorrow we have no growth in Christ. Think how that might work in a marriage. If you know your spouse today and in the same depth tomorrow, you will soon be separated. Depth of relationship is about knowing more. We are to grow deeper in knowledge of Christ. He will, as with Nathanael, reveal more of Himself to us. You can count on it. You can experience it if you act in faith to this end. Reading His Word is about learning more and more about Him. Greater miracles are waiting to happen as we act in faith to learn more about Christ power and person.
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Subject: Knowing God
In the above passage we see the story of Jesus calling Nathanael. Nathanael was skeptical upon hearing about Jesus. When Jesus told him He saw him under a fig tree, prior to even meeting him, that impressed Nathanael, as it would most of us. Having someone tell us that they knew what we were doing prior to meeting us would open all of our eyes. And, in fact we are told on Psalm 19:8 that God's Word "opens the eyes." When Christ speaks there is illumination of the soul. Jesus' response here, however, is noteworthy! Jesus tells Nathanael that he should not be so impressed with this little miracle, he would, soon, see greater things. This is true about the believer's life, as well. What we know about Christ today should be only a shadow of what we know about Him tomorrow. If what we know today is the same as what we will know tomorrow we have no growth in Christ. Think how that might work in a marriage. If you know your spouse today and in the same depth tomorrow, you will soon be separated. Depth of relationship is about knowing more. We are to grow deeper in knowledge of Christ. He will, as with Nathanael, reveal more of Himself to us. You can count on it. You can experience it if you act in faith to this end. Reading His Word is about learning more and more about Him. Greater miracles are waiting to happen as we act in faith to learn more about Christ power and person.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Subject: Compassion - Ezekiel 43-48
Ezekiel 47:22-23 (ESV Strong's)
You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.
Subject: Compassion to others
This section of Ezekiel provides instructions to the nation of Israel in regard to their future restoration. Ezekiel gives them instruction in regard to the New Temple and other issues within the land. In the above passage we see the instruction in regard to the "alien" (sojourner) who happens to travel to the nation and reside in and with the people of Israel. How should you handle them? How should you treat them? Should you allow them to stay with you and live in your land? These were questions, undoubtedly, that were being asked by the people and leaders in Israel during this time. The irony is that we are asking the same questions today as people and leaders in the USA. How should we handle foreigners who arrive in our country ... documented or undocumented? God's Word is practical for us today. In this passage we are shown the character of God. God wants HIS people to be open to the stranger and foreigner. We can find similar passages in God's Word that echo the same thoughts about God and His plan for His people. His people were to even leave portions of their land unharvested so that the poor and alien would be able to glean enough food. So, we are shown that God cares about our compassion for others ... those who don't match our culture or social structures. Note what one commentator states about this passage:
This extraordinary provision gives further support to setting the Law of the Temple in the period of the Judean restoration under Persia. If this text were an exilic proposal for reconstruction, such generosity would be an anomaly (within Ezekiel, at any rate; however, see Isa. 66:1821). If, on the other hand, this text is a realistic depiction of restoration society, the land grant to the alien is exactly what we would expect. Under Persian rule, respecting the rights of all inhabitants in the land, no other approach would be possible. In our own day, when arguments about immigration and the proper disposition of refugees generate far more heat than light, verses 21-23 stand as a rebuke and as a worthy ideal.
However, this doesn't mean God favored allowing anyone to come into the country who didn't also come to support the laws and rules of the nation's belief structure ... outlined by God. Those who disobeyed God would be stoned. But, to those who want to come into fellowship with the ways of the culture are to be treated the same as a natural born Israelite. This is the character of God and should be the character of His people.
You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord God.
Subject: Compassion to others
This section of Ezekiel provides instructions to the nation of Israel in regard to their future restoration. Ezekiel gives them instruction in regard to the New Temple and other issues within the land. In the above passage we see the instruction in regard to the "alien" (sojourner) who happens to travel to the nation and reside in and with the people of Israel. How should you handle them? How should you treat them? Should you allow them to stay with you and live in your land? These were questions, undoubtedly, that were being asked by the people and leaders in Israel during this time. The irony is that we are asking the same questions today as people and leaders in the USA. How should we handle foreigners who arrive in our country ... documented or undocumented? God's Word is practical for us today. In this passage we are shown the character of God. God wants HIS people to be open to the stranger and foreigner. We can find similar passages in God's Word that echo the same thoughts about God and His plan for His people. His people were to even leave portions of their land unharvested so that the poor and alien would be able to glean enough food. So, we are shown that God cares about our compassion for others ... those who don't match our culture or social structures. Note what one commentator states about this passage:
This extraordinary provision gives further support to setting the Law of the Temple in the period of the Judean restoration under Persia. If this text were an exilic proposal for reconstruction, such generosity would be an anomaly (within Ezekiel, at any rate; however, see Isa. 66:1821). If, on the other hand, this text is a realistic depiction of restoration society, the land grant to the alien is exactly what we would expect. Under Persian rule, respecting the rights of all inhabitants in the land, no other approach would be possible. In our own day, when arguments about immigration and the proper disposition of refugees generate far more heat than light, verses 21-23 stand as a rebuke and as a worthy ideal.
However, this doesn't mean God favored allowing anyone to come into the country who didn't also come to support the laws and rules of the nation's belief structure ... outlined by God. Those who disobeyed God would be stoned. But, to those who want to come into fellowship with the ways of the culture are to be treated the same as a natural born Israelite. This is the character of God and should be the character of His people.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Subject: Faithfulness - Proverbs 14-15
Proverbs 14:14 (NASV)
The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied with his.
Proverbs 14:14 (NIV)
The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
and the good man rewarded for his.
Subject: Faithfulness
Satisfaction and reward await everyone; just not in the same way or with the same spirit. It is obvious that Solomon is telling us that both the foolish and the wise will be rewarded. However, the approach he uses to tell us this should be noted. Both will find a full reward for their approach to life. Faithless people get rewarded but the reward is hollow, like their lives. The good man, or faithful, will also be rewarded but that reward will be something that satisfies him. Paul tells us in Galatians that "we reap what we sow." He may have been reading Solomon's words in this proverb when he penned those words. When we lose faith in God and act like "Lot" we fall into certain peril and receive a reward worthy of having no faith. But, when we continue to believe like Abraham we receive a reward from God for that faithfulness. We are all rewarded. It just may mean different rewards. See how Solomon further develops this thought a couple of proverbs later:
Proverbs 14:18
The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
We reap what we sow ... Sow faith!
The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied with his.
Proverbs 14:14 (NIV)
The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
and the good man rewarded for his.
Subject: Faithfulness
Satisfaction and reward await everyone; just not in the same way or with the same spirit. It is obvious that Solomon is telling us that both the foolish and the wise will be rewarded. However, the approach he uses to tell us this should be noted. Both will find a full reward for their approach to life. Faithless people get rewarded but the reward is hollow, like their lives. The good man, or faithful, will also be rewarded but that reward will be something that satisfies him. Paul tells us in Galatians that "we reap what we sow." He may have been reading Solomon's words in this proverb when he penned those words. When we lose faith in God and act like "Lot" we fall into certain peril and receive a reward worthy of having no faith. But, when we continue to believe like Abraham we receive a reward from God for that faithfulness. We are all rewarded. It just may mean different rewards. See how Solomon further develops this thought a couple of proverbs later:
Proverbs 14:18
The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
We reap what we sow ... Sow faith!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Subject: God's Creation - Psalms 90-92
Psalms 92:4 (ESV Strong's)
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Subject: God's Creation
As this devotional is written I am at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. I have spent the last days enamored by their magnitude and splendor. Nothing compares to the beauty you can see in any direction at any time. This is God's Work in creation at its very best. However, it should be noted that what we observe is not God's original creation. What God originally created was actually destroyed by the flood. What we observe and stand in awe over and about is what God has since created after destruction. We should stand in awe of that thought. The beauty and splendor of the Rocky Mountains is NOTHING compared to what God originally created. However, it does show what God can do and will do in re-creation. Just has He took the sinful world, crushed it in the flood and made what we see now, so He can take a sinful life of abuse and self-absorption and make it into a picture-postcard of beauty. In the above Psalm the writer is praising God for "His work." The writer is saying that when he sees God's work it causes him to sing for joy. As we road through the Rocky Mountains we were singing for joy at what we saw. The scenario causes us to shout for joy to God for what He made. We should likewise "shout of joy" when we see God do a work in someone's life. When they "kick a habit" through the strength of the Lord; when we see a life turn from anger and hate to love and respect, we should shout for joy. God's greatest work is not in His creation. God's greatest work is the work He does in our hearts each day to keep us from sin and give us the ability to should for Joy to Him.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
Subject: God's Creation
As this devotional is written I am at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. I have spent the last days enamored by their magnitude and splendor. Nothing compares to the beauty you can see in any direction at any time. This is God's Work in creation at its very best. However, it should be noted that what we observe is not God's original creation. What God originally created was actually destroyed by the flood. What we observe and stand in awe over and about is what God has since created after destruction. We should stand in awe of that thought. The beauty and splendor of the Rocky Mountains is NOTHING compared to what God originally created. However, it does show what God can do and will do in re-creation. Just has He took the sinful world, crushed it in the flood and made what we see now, so He can take a sinful life of abuse and self-absorption and make it into a picture-postcard of beauty. In the above Psalm the writer is praising God for "His work." The writer is saying that when he sees God's work it causes him to sing for joy. As we road through the Rocky Mountains we were singing for joy at what we saw. The scenario causes us to shout for joy to God for what He made. We should likewise "shout of joy" when we see God do a work in someone's life. When they "kick a habit" through the strength of the Lord; when we see a life turn from anger and hate to love and respect, we should shout for joy. God's greatest work is not in His creation. God's greatest work is the work He does in our hearts each day to keep us from sin and give us the ability to should for Joy to Him.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Subject: Change/Reformation - 2 Kings 21-25
2 Kings 21:9-10
But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
And the Lord said by his servants the prophets,
Subject: Change/Reformation
How does real change take place? Today's system thinkers and organizational gurus all have their methods and mind-sets on how change should happen. Very few, however, would profess the above formula. The above setting is found in Judah, where King Manasseh was ruling. He was a wicked King and God moved into his life to begin change, or at least offer change. To institute change God sent His Prophets to speak His Word to the King. The King doesn't listen, but that doesn't change God's approach to change. It always begins with His Word being spoken. If we look forward a couple of chapters we will see that Manesseh's grandson, Josiah, will change the entire nation because he read God's Word and that Word empowered him to institute change. Note Josiah's response to hearing God's Word.
2 Kings 22:11
When the king (Josiah) heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
Manesseh did not have this response. Hence no change. God is the Master of change. Without proper response in faith to God's Word there can be no change.
But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.
And the Lord said by his servants the prophets,
Subject: Change/Reformation
How does real change take place? Today's system thinkers and organizational gurus all have their methods and mind-sets on how change should happen. Very few, however, would profess the above formula. The above setting is found in Judah, where King Manasseh was ruling. He was a wicked King and God moved into his life to begin change, or at least offer change. To institute change God sent His Prophets to speak His Word to the King. The King doesn't listen, but that doesn't change God's approach to change. It always begins with His Word being spoken. If we look forward a couple of chapters we will see that Manesseh's grandson, Josiah, will change the entire nation because he read God's Word and that Word empowered him to institute change. Note Josiah's response to hearing God's Word.
2 Kings 22:11
When the king (Josiah) heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.
Manesseh did not have this response. Hence no change. God is the Master of change. Without proper response in faith to God's Word there can be no change.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Subject: Sanctification - Leviticus 22-24
Leviticus 22:31-33 (ESV Strong's)
“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”
Subject: Sanctification
One of my favorite subjects to study is Sanctification - God setting us apart for purity and holiness. Sanctification is one stage of Salvation. Since I believe salvation is "wholly" by God, I believe that Sanctification is something God does. Since I believe salvation is wholly by faith in God's Word, I believe Sanctification is accomplished by God through our faith in God's Word. The above passage - from the Old Testament book of Leviticus - bears this out. In this passage we see that God states, "I am the God who sanctifies you." We also see "how" God is going to do that sanctification. In the first part of the passage it reads, "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: ... that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.". God is in the process of making His people holy - O.T. and N.T. Note how the Apostle John says the same thing in his epistle:
John 17:17 (ESV Strong's)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
We have to be careful to not think the "law" was there to "make us holy." It was not. God makes us holy. But, He does so by our acting in faith in obedience to His Word. His Word will sanctify us as we believe it and, subsequently, obey it.
“So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”
Subject: Sanctification
One of my favorite subjects to study is Sanctification - God setting us apart for purity and holiness. Sanctification is one stage of Salvation. Since I believe salvation is "wholly" by God, I believe that Sanctification is something God does. Since I believe salvation is wholly by faith in God's Word, I believe Sanctification is accomplished by God through our faith in God's Word. The above passage - from the Old Testament book of Leviticus - bears this out. In this passage we see that God states, "I am the God who sanctifies you." We also see "how" God is going to do that sanctification. In the first part of the passage it reads, "So you shall keep my commandments and do them: ... that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel.". God is in the process of making His people holy - O.T. and N.T. Note how the Apostle John says the same thing in his epistle:
John 17:17 (ESV Strong's)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
We have to be careful to not think the "law" was there to "make us holy." It was not. God makes us holy. But, He does so by our acting in faith in obedience to His Word. His Word will sanctify us as we believe it and, subsequently, obey it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)