Tag Archives: Christianity

October 10 2013 Bible Study — Night And Day We Pray

October 9, 2013 AttilaDimedici

I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Jeremiah 14:11-16:15

God tells Jeremiah that he is no longer to pray for the people, that God will no longer listen to prayers for mercy on them. Jeremiah replies that their leaders and prophets are telling them that all is well, that they will have peace. God tells him that the prophets are liars, death and destruction are just around the corner. When I read this I am reminded of the political leaders today who say that all is well, there will be peace, the economy is recovering. And when I read this passage it frightens me. However, despite the doom and gloom of this passage there exists some hope within it. Further along in the passage God tells Jeremiah that if he returns to Him, if he repents, God will restore him and save him from the hands of the wicked.
God’s judgment is coming upon those who refuse to listen to God’s commands. The inevitable results of evil are about to descend upon the people. But God is still faithful to those who are faithful to Him. Destruction and trouble is coming for those who have chosen to abandon God’s desires, but God will protect those who have remained faithful.

1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13

     As I read this passage today I feel convicted by what Paul says in two ways. First, he speaks of working night and day so as to have the resources to meet his own needs and not be a burden on anyone as he preached the Gospel. In addition to working to maintain his needs, Paul strove to be devout, honest, and faultless in his actions toward those who listened to his words. This first part sums up how we should strive to be among those we are striving to reach for the Gospel.
     The second way in which I am convicted by today’s passage is how I view the Gospel message. The Gospel message is the word of God. It is a philosophy of life given by the Creator of the universe. It is not a mere invention of human thought. It is not beneficial to argue it out on the same level as human philosophies. There will be elements of the Gospel that are beyond the ability of our finite minds to reconcile. I will stand firm in the Lord and work at living a life of faith and love.
     Once more Paul writes about prayer. “Night and day we pray earnestly for you,…” I am striving to make prayer a more integral part of my life. Paul prayed that God would bring him to them soon. He also prayed that God would cause their love for one another and for everyone grow and overflow. There is a connection between our love for others and our dedication to praying for and about them.

Psalm 80:1-19

It is only when God sends his Spirit upon us that we will turn to Him. It is only when we turn to Him that we can and will be saved. Oh Lord God, send your Spirit upon us and turn us back to you! Change our hearts so that we desire to do Your will!

Proverbs 25:1-5

Just as the impurities must be removed from silver before a silversmith can use it to make something, so must wicked people be removed from government offices before the government can govern legitimately.

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October 9, 2013 Bible Study — Live So That Others Will Imitate Christ

October 8, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 12-14:10

God promised Jeremiah that any people who learned to swear by His name will become the people of God. However, He also promised that any people who refused to obey Him will be uprooted and destroyed. We have been made to cling to God and serve Him. If we do this we will be cared for and treasured by Him. If on the other hand we refuse to listen to God and follow our own desires, we will become like a rotting loincloth, good for nothing and of no value to anyone.
It is time to listen and pay attention. We must not let our arrogance blind us to God’s call nor make us deaf to His commands. It is not too late. Let us listen to God’s call and speak out to our neighbors. We are called to a dual ministry. The first part is to act according to God’s will. The second part is to tell our neighbors and fellow countrymen that God’s judgment is nigh. Now is the time to answer God’s call. Time is running short, but it has not yet run out.

***

Another shot of the visitor to the garden

1 Thessalonians 1-2:8

Once more one of Paul’s letters starts off with a reminder of the central place prayer played in Paul’s ministry. And once more I am challenged to strengthen my prayer life. Since Paul found time to pray for the various believers in these various cities, what is my excuse? I do not have one and I come before God and ask Him to send His Spirit upon me and give me a heart for prayer.
This passage shows us the importance of living according to the Spirit and living out the Gospel in our lives. First, the believers in Thessalonica saw Paul living out the Gospel message he was preaching. In response to his teaching and the way he lived among them, they chose to imitate his life and that of Christ. They did this in such a way that others imitated them, initially in the local region, but over time throughout the entire Roman Empire. People were impressed with how they turned away from heathen practices to enthusiastically follow God. All of this resulted from Paul coming among them and showing them what it truly means to be a Christian. This is a challenge to me. Do I live my life so that others want to be like me? Do others witness my life and strive to follow Jesus so that they can be like me? That is my goal, to live my life so that others will want to know the Gospel to be like me. I wish to live my life so that it brings glory to Christ, so that others see how I act and want to know how they can be like that. Not because I want them to hold me up as some great person, but because I want them to seek the Lord.

A third shot of the visitor to the garden

Psalm 79:1-13

Today this psalm as a whole did not speak to me. However, there is a section in the middle that did.

Let your compassion quickly meet our needs,
for we are on the brink of despair.

Help us, O God of our salvation!
Help us for the glory of your name.
Save us and forgive our sins
for the honor of your name.
Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff,
asking, “Where is their God?”

I will call out to God for His compassion because I am in desperate need of His care. I have made mistakes and sinned against God, I ask for His forgiveness so that His name may be honored. I ask that God show Himself to those around me who doubt that He is real, that He silence those who say to me, “Where is your God?” I do not ask this for my own glory, but for His.

Proverbs 24:30-34

It is so easy to fall into bad habits which lead to poverty. One must dedicate oneself to the tasks that need to be done, when they need to be done.

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October 8, 2013 Bible Study — Let Your Conversation Be Full of Grace

October 7, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 10-11:23

Jeremiah wrote that God said that we should not be like other nations and peoples who try to read their future in the stars and through portents. Rather let us trust in the God who is like no other, who created the universe. All too often we wish to be like everyone else, but God did not create us to be like everyone else.
In the middle of today’s passage, Jeremiah wrote a prayer that strikes me:

I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

My life is not my own and my course is not mine to plan. My life belongs to God to dispose of as He sees fit. I pray for Him to direct me on His paths. I ask for His correction when I do not do His will, but I know that I am unable to stand before His anger so I plead for Him to be gentle. The wondrous thing is that I know that He will answer this prayer and show me the glories of following His will.

***

Colossians 3:18-4:18

     Paul begins today’s passage with a shorter version of what he wrote in Ephesians 5-6. Wives should submit to their husbands, husbands should love their wives, children are to obey their parents, and fathers are to avoid aggravating their children. In the Ephesians passage he sums this up with “submit to one another.” Just as in his letter to the Ephesians Paul tells slaves to work for their earthly master as if they were working for the Lord rather than for people. Masters are instructed to be just and fair to their slaves.
     What Paul wrote next fits into something that has been convicting me lately. He tells them to devote themselves to prayer. I have been feeling called to devote more of my time and thought to prayer. Connected to his instruction on prayer Paul tells us to live wisely among non-believers, so that we can make the most of every opportunity. In order to accomplish this, our conversation is to always be full of grace. If we are always careful about what we say, and how we say it, we will know how to answer everyone who asks about our faith. I know that if we are spending as much time in prayer as we ought, the Spirit will answer through us when non-believers ask us questions about what we believe and our faith. I will strive to be in prayer more and more.
     There may be such a thing as praying enough, but I know that there is no such thing as praying too much.

Psalm 78:56-72

The psalmist tells us that despite the fact that the people of Israel repeatedly rebelled against Him, God raised up David to be their leader and shepherd them with careful hands. David did not come from any of the obvious groups, but rather was chosen by God. We can pray that God raises such a leader again today.

Proverbs 24:28-29

Today’s proverb warns against lying about our neighbors in court or to government officials in order to gain revenge for perceived wrongs they have done to us. We should remember that they are our neighbors, who we are to love as we love ourselves.

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October 7, 2013 Bible Study — Let the Peace of Christ Rule In Your Hearts

October 6, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

Jeremiah speaks of religious leaders and teachers who have rejected the word of God and teach their own thoughts in the place of God’s word. They offer superficial treatments for mortal wounds. This sounds like all too many of those who claim to be religious leaders today. This whole passage reminds me of our day. A little further in Jeremiah refers to people who refuse to stand up for the truth and how every day things go from bad to worse. He warns not to trust your neighbor or even your relatives because everyone is trying to take advantage of everyone else. Again this reminds me of so much of our society today, where all too many are only concerned with gaining an advantage for themselves, not what is best for everyone. People tell lie after lie and refuse to acknowledge God. The prophet tells us the end result of this, the land will become such that no one will dare travel through it. Something we are already seeing in certain places. Time is running out for people to turn to the Lord and be saved.

***

Colossians 3:1-17

We are to put to death the things of our sinful nature. Paul lists them out some of them here: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. I find it interesting that people have a tendency to not see how these are all connected. Sometimes people focus on how wrong sexual sins are, but dismiss greed. Other times, people focus on how wrong greed is, but dismiss sexual sins. What people forget is that all of these sins involve treating others as objects to satisfy our own desires. They are all a form of idolatry where we make ourselves the center of the universe. Paul goes on to list other ways in which we attempt to make ourselves the center of the universe. He tells us to give up anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. These are also ways in which we attempt to make ourselves the center of the universe. They are ways in which we attempt to usurp God’s place.
If we place God in His rightful place we will act in the way which Paul instructs. When we recognize that others are as important as ourselves, and make God the center of our universe. we will behave with compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility, and patience. We will not operate in a world of Us and Them. Our world will be a world where everyone is loved by God, and therefore we are obliged to love them all as well. All of this will flow naturally if we allow the peace of Christ to take over in our hearts. I will strive to remember that everything I say and do is done in the name of Jesus. Others will interpret my actions and judge Christ by how I act. If I act poorly, it reflects not just on myself, but on Christ as well.

Psalm 78:32-55

The psalmist recounts how time and again people turned away from God to their own sinful desires. When they began to suffer the consequences of their sins, they turned once more to God and He forgave them. Unfortunately, all too often when people turn to God, they merely offer lip service and do not actually change how they act. Am I willing to fully surrender myself to God and rely solely on Him?

Proverbs 24:27

This proverb tells us that we need to first arrange our affairs to supply ourselves with food and clothing. Only after we have done that does it make sense to arrange where we are going to live and shelter on a permanent basis.

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October 6, 2013 Bible Study — Ask For the Old, Godly Way

October 5, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

God tells us that when we need to choose a path, we should seek out the old, godly path. That is the path to find rest for our souls. He has set watchmen to sound the alarm when danger approaches, we need to listen to them. Let us not make the mistake of rejecting the godly path because it is “boring”, “old-fashioned”, or “out-of-date”. Following God’s leading has never been fashionable and never will be. When God’s prophets warn us about the dangers of the choices we are making, I will listen and mend my ways. I do not want to be labeled by God as ‘rejected silver” and be discarded.
If we exploit foreigners (see how illegal aliens are treated…by those who encourage them to come to this country), orphans, and widows, God will bring judgment on our society. When we harm ourselves by worshiping idols, God will not protect us from the consequences of our actions. It is only if we quit our evil ways and follow the instructions which God has given us that we will be able to turn aside from the coming destruction.

***
&nsp; I cannot get the words to come together for what this passage says to me about our society. All too many people go to great lengths to worship idols in ways which hurt themselves. People do things which God has warned us against and then when they suffer the consequences of their actions they demand them someone protect them from those consequences. Rather than turn to God, they turn to the government. They do not want to be “enslaved” to God, so they ask the government to enslave them instead. God does not give us instructions that are arbitrary. His rules and regulations are to keep us from harm. If we do not listen to His commands, it is not His fault when troubles come upon us.

Colossians 2:8-23

     Paul warns us against getting caught up in hollow, deceptive philosophies. All too many people attempt to separate the Gospel teachings about how we should live and treat each other from the spiritual parts of it. They try to rework it into something without the death and resurrection of Christ. However, without the death and resurrection of Christ, the Christian message is hollow and empty. It does not lead to contentment and fulfillment.
     It is by allowing our sinful nature to die with Christ that we can be raised to a new, spiritual life with Him. It is through the cross that God removed our obligation to the spiritual powers of this earth. It is not by rules and regulations that we experience God’s power. we must not fall into the error of thinking that rituals and special ceremonies will give us salvation. This does not mean that there is no value in rituals which bring us close, but they must be activities that have meaning for us, not rituals we follow because someone else tells us that we must. And we must never become enslaved to the rituals and ceremonies because their value is not in and of themselves, but in bringing us closer to God and showing us how to do His will. Rules will not help us overcome our sinful desires. Only by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit can we defeat our selfish desires.
   &nsp; I will not fall into the trap of relying on rules which tell me, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” Instead, I will follow the leading of the Spirit which says, “Do not call anything unclean which God has made clean.” I will add one important caveat. I will wait for the leading of the Spirit. It is not up to me to declare that something is clean, but I will not refuse to help those in need because they are not “pure enough”, or because it might violate some rule.

***

Psalm 78:1-31

The psalmist tells us the importance of telling the next generation of the wonders which God has done. It is up to each generation to set its heart on following God for itself. You cannot commit your children to follow God, they must make that commitment for themselves. The Israelites in the wilderness are an example of an all too human tendency. When they cried out for water, God split open a rock and gave them water. But rather than acknowledge God’s great power, when food began to run short they doubted and wanted to turn back. They did not trust that God could and would provide them with food. The result was that God was angered with them and many of them died as a result of their rebellion. Let us train the next generation in what God has done throughout history, and in our own lives, so that they do not repeat that mistake.

Proverbs 24:26

All too often in our society the only people we give honest answers to are those with whom we are in a close relationship with. And even then, all too many people are not honest.

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October 5, 2013 Bible Study — Weep For the Lost

October 4, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

Jeremiah expressed his sorrow for the people of Judah, for the suffering which they would soon experience. Do we feel a similar sorrow for those around us who do not know God? Jeremiah did not gain pleasure from telling his countrymen that they had sinned and judgment was about to befall them. It broke his heart to deliver the message which God had given him. But he had no choice, because he hoped that at least a few might turn to God and thus be saved.
Jeremiah says that he searched Jerusalem and no one was honest, they were all liars. The poor and uneducated as much as the wealthy and powerful. I read this and think about society today where I see much the same thing. There is hope for a society when the “common man” embraces honesty, even if those from the leading classed do not, because a leader might emerge from among the “common man” to bring about revival. On the other hand, there is also hope for society when the leading classes embrace honesty because they may be able to show the “common man” the way to righteousness by their honor and integrity. However, when both those who lead and those who are “common folk” hold honesty and integrity in contempt, a society is doomed. There remains but one hope, the power of the Holy Spirit. I will pray to God with all of my being that He send down His Spirit upon this world. I pray that the Spirit will light a fire in the hearts of those who are willing to listen and bring about a revival.

***

Colossians 1:18-2:7

Christ is the head of the Church. God chose to reconcile everything to Himself through the blood of Christ shed on the cross. We were alienated from God because of our evil behavior, but now we have been reconciled to Him through the death of Christ’s physical body. It is our obligation to continue in the faith which we received when we heard the Gospel. God’s plan of redemption is Christ living in us. The only way that we can be fully reconciled to God is to depend entirely on the power of Christ which lives within us. If we live in Christ in the same way that He lives in us, we will be reconciled to God and experience the power of His Spirit within us. I need to build my life upon Christ, extending my roots into Him so that I am firmly planted in His will.

Psalm 77:1-20

The psalmist speaks of his troubles being so great that he finds it difficult to even pray. He wondered if God would ever come to his rescue. Then he started thinking about what God had done in the past. As he thought about them, one after another they came to him until they filled his thoughts. In this way we learn the answer of what to do when our troubles overwhelm us and God seems distant. The answer is to remember the things which God has done in the past, the ways in which He has saved us from troubles in times gone by.

Proverbs 24:23-25

Judges who show partiality and declare the guilty innocent will be denounced, but those who punish the guilty will be blessed.

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October 4, 2013 Bible Study –God’s Word Changes Lives

October 3, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18

In the middle of prophecies condemning the people of Israel and Judah for their sins and idolatry is a passage which offers great hope. God begs for us to come back to Him. He promises that He will accept us home with open arms, if only we will acknowledge our guilt and sin. If we will come back to Him, confessing the error of our ways, He will provide us with shepherds who will guide us into wisdom and understanding. God is calling us back to Him, are we listening? More importantly, are we giving His message of forgiveness and redemption to those around us?

***

Colossians 1:1-17

Today we have yet another passage where Paul talks about his ongoing prayer for a group of people. It is clear to me that I am being challenged to improve my prayer life. Paul commends the Colossians for their love of all of God’s people, a love which he says they have shown since they first heard the Gospel. The Gospel is changing lives all over the world, just as it changed ours. Do we believe in the ability of the Gospel to change lives? Have I allowed the Gospel to change my life?
Paul is praying that God give the believers in Colossae complete knowledge of His will and spiritual wisdom and understanding. Are we praying for this for ourselves and for our fellow believers? I desire complete knowledge of God’s will, as well as spiritual wisdom and understanding so that I can live a life worthy of Christ. I want to grow in the knowledge of God so that I can be strengthened by His power, which will give me patience and endurance. I give joyous thanks to God because He has brought me out of darkness to live in His light.

Psalm 76:1-12

The notes say that the word the NLT translates as Jerusalem is actually the Hebrew for Salem, which it says is another name for Jerusalem (the NIV uses Salem). The Hebrew word “Salem” is based on the Hebrew word for peace. The gist of the passage from other translations is that God places his movable shelter (tent/tabernacle) in “Salem”. When I read the whole psalm, I read that as saying that God dwells in peace. The psalmist says that God has destroyed the weapons of war and that at God’s rebuke the horse and chariot are still. None can stand against God and where He chooses to make His dwelling there will be peace.

Proverbs 24:21-22

The proverb warns us to fear the Lord and those who rule. It advises staying away from rebels because sudden destruction is likely to come upon them and those nearby. Several translations translate the word which the NLT translates as “rebel” as “those seeking change” (or some variation on that). It made me realize that in part what the writer is warning against are those who seek change for the sake of change. All too often, when people want to change things they change good things along with bad. It is important to know why something is the way it is before advocating making changes (even when the way things are is not good).

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October 3, 2013 Bible Study — Rejoice In the Lord Always

October 2, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Jeremiah 1-2:30

Jeremiah tells us that when God called him, his response was that he was too young. God told him not to say that he was too young because God was sending him. God said that he must go wherever He sent him. When God sends us, we must go. There is no, “I am too young,” “I am too old,” “I am too…”. God knows who and what we are when He calls us. Chances are good that whatever it is we think disqualifies us from going where God is sending us, speaking what God is telling us to say, is why God chose us in the first place. God told Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.” This is very similar to what Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out to preach. He told them not to worry about what they would say because the Spirit would speak through them. I pray that I will have the faith to allow God’s Spirit to speak through my mouth.
The first prophecy which God gives Jeremiah is to confront the people with their choice to turn from Him to things which cannot do what He can do. One of the metaphors used struck me as very telling. He said that the people turned away from a fountain of living water and instead dug their own cistern, one with cracked walls that cannot hold water. There are two aspects to this metaphor. The first is that turning from God to something else is like turning from a fresh mountain spring to a cistern. I have drunk water from a mountain spring. The taste is wonderful and refreshing. I have also tasted water from a cistern. The taste is stale and somewhat muddy (that’s not quite the right way to describe it, but I am not sure how else to do so). But in this case, these people have turned from a fresh mountain spring, not just to a cistern, but to one that won’t hold water. So, the question is, what cracked cistern am I tempted to turn to rather than getting refreshing water from the living fountain which is God?

***

Philippians 4:1-23

     The first thing I saw in this passage was the importance of putting aside our personal feuds in order to serve the Lord. As important as that is helping our fellow believers to resolve their conflicts. We must not let personal animosity divide us, nor let it interfere with doing the Lord’s work.
     Paul tells us how to avoid getting into feuds with our fellow believers. If we spend our time rejoicing in the Lord, we will not have time to be fighting with one another. And how do we manage to rejoice in the Lord all the time? By not worrying about anything. How do we keep from worrying? By praying in every situation we find ourselves in. In particular, by going to God with humility and thanksgiving with petitions and requests for everything that happens in or lives. If we do this, we will find our hearts and minds filled with God’s peace, a peace and calmness which will baffle everyone we meet.
     Then Paul comes at it from a different direction and tells us that we should limit ourselves to thinking about only certain classes of things. Here is the list of things we should limit our thoughts to: whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable (and here he even defines what is admirable by telling us that it is things which are excellent or praiseworthy). Those are the things which we should think about. If we limit ourselves to thinking about only about these aspects of our fellow believers, we will find that we do not have anything to fight about.

Psalm 75:1-10

I will thank God because He is always near at hand. I will praise His name for all He has done. I will warn the proud not to boast of their accomplishments. Those accomplishments are a gift from God. I will warn the wicked not to defy God, because their success is according to His will and when the time is right He will judge them for their actions. The wicked will not be able to escape the consequences of their actions indefinitely. The time will come when they will be forced to experience the full weight of God’s displeasure.
I will proclaim God’s wondrous power and the great things He has done for me.

Proverbs 24:17-20

This proverb warns us against epicaricacy (the actual English word for schadenfreude). It is wrong to take pleasure in other’s misfortune, even when they have done us wrong in the past. To some degree, epicaricacy is a form of envy. We feel pleasure in other’s misfortune because we envy them. We should not envy the wicked because they will face God’s judgment (and we should not envy the righteous because they are using their good fortune to help others).

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October 2, 2013 Bible Study — Forgetting What Is Behind and Straining Toward What Is Ahead

October 1, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Isaiah 66:1-24

Heaven is God’s throne, where He sits in comfort, and the earth is His footstool, where he rests His feet. Compared to that, what is anything we can build as a place for Him to live. For that matter, do we really think God needs our material possessions to accomplish His will? We cannot buy God off. Our only hope is to listen to Him and answer His call. God knows those people who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves to a path of self-indulgence. God knows the hearts of those who proclaim that evil is good. He will bring judgment down upon them.
While many who think that they are God’s special evil conspire to do evil in His name, He will send out those who are truly faithful to carry His message to the entire earth. Those who truly serve the Lord will declare His glory in all of the earth. People from every nation will see God’s glory and come to serve Him. Oh Lord, make me your messenger, send me where You will, put Your words in my mouth.

***

Philippians 3:4-21

Whatever claims we might have to being good people, it is not enough. In some ways, those things are a hindrance to truly following Christ. Nothing we have or do has any ability to make us righteous. The only thing which can truly bring us righteousness is faith in Christ. It is only by knowing Christ, and being known by Him, that we can be made right with God. Do I truly have the same desire Paul had to know Christ–to know the power of His resurrection by sharing in His suffering?
When I read this passage it often makes me feel inadequate because I am not sure that I can embrace sharing in Christ’s suffering as enthusiastically as Paul did. Then I come to the part where Paul admits that he is not really there either. He has not achieved the relationship with Christ that he feels he should have. Nevertheless, he presses on. He is striving to grasp Christ with the same energy and enthusiasm with which Christ has grasped him. He forgets his past failures, only looking toward the goal, striving every day to more enthusiastically, and faithfully, serve Christ. I will follow Paul’s example and let go of my past failures. I will focus on how I can serve Christ more faithfully each day.

Psalm 74:1-23

The psalmist wrote that they were not seeing any miraculous signs from God and there were no prophets to tell them God’s word. Nevertheless, he counted God as his king and was confident that God would bring salvation to the earth. He calls for God to act once more and to strike down those who mock Him. Are we echoing the psalmist and crying out to the Lord for Him to come to the aid of the poor and downtrodden? Let us make that the focus of our prayers.

Proverbs 24:15-16

The proverb writer warns against plotting to steal from the righteous. The righteous may fall, but they will get up again. When the wicked fall, it will be their end.

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October 1, 2013 Bible Study — Put No Confidence In Human Effort

September 30, 2013 AttilaDimedici

Isaiah 62:6-65:25

Today’s passage starts with Isaiah saying that God has placed watchman on Jerusalem’s walls who will pray day and night for the city and its people (this could also be read as saying that Isaiah has placed them there). He says that those who pray to the Lord should take no rest. Are we praying for our country day and night? Are we praying for the Spirit to move and bring revival? Let us prepare a highway for people to return to God, making it as easy as possible for people to come to Him. I will tell of God’s unfailing love and praise Him for all He has done. Then perhaps people will cry out to God for deliverance and turn to following His ways.
The prophet begs for God to once more burst forth upon the earth so that people may see His Spirit at work. Am I crying out for God to do that? Or am I afraid that He will do so? God is ready to respond when we ask for His help. He is ready to be found, if we but look for Him. Let us not be like those who the prophet wrote about in this passage who were defiled with their own sin, yet kept their distance so as not to be defiled by others sins. Let us turn to the Lord and call our neighbors to do the same. Let us give up our sins and spend our energies to serve the Lord.

***
Yet another passage that challenges me on my prayer life. I do not pray enough, and when I do pray, I do not pray intensely enough. God, fill me with your Spirit so that it is my desire to pray to you continually. This is the path that will keep me from sinning.

Philippians 2:19-3:3

Paul wrote that he would soon send Timothy to see the church at Philippi because he knew that Timothy genuinely cared about them. Others only cared about their own interests. Timothy had proved himself willing to look out for the interests of Christ ahead of his own interests. In the same way, I need to strive to put the interests of the Church and Christ ahead of my personal interests. I wish to be one who is known for putting the God’s desires ahead of my desires. No, that is stated wrong. I wish to be one who puts God’s desires ahead of my own desires, whether others know me for that or not.
While Paul is delaying in sending Timothy until he knows how his own situation will be resolved, he is now sending back to them Epaphroditus, who had been sent by the Philippian Church to Paul. Epaphroditus had gotten very sick while with Paul and almost died, risking his life to help Paul. He was willing to risk his life to serve Christ. The final point Paul makes in this passage is that we should not get caught up in specific rituals. We cannot rely on what can be accomplished by human effort. We do not gain salvation by following rituals, but rather through our faith in Christ.

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Psalm 73:1-28

The psalmist tells us how easy it is to envy the wicked. They seem to have it all, health, wealth, everything their hearts desire. However, the psalmist reminds us that they are on a slippery path to destruction. Their lives are empty. If we let ourselves be envious of them our hearts will be bitter and we will suffer. It is better to remember the good things God has given us and focus on serving Him. God will hold us by the hand and guide us into His glory. I make this my vow:

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.

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Proverbs 24:13-14

The proverb writer tells us that in the same way that honey is sweet to the tongue wisdom is sweet to the soul. If we find wisdom it will give us hope for our future.

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Tag Archives: Christianity

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