Arrogance and pride, thinking you are better than others, are as much a sin as any other evil act. We are all God’s creatures created by Him to serve His purposes in this world.
God has great goodness stored up for those who fear Him and turn to Him for protection. He will keep us safe from those who wish us harm. We may think that we are cut off from God, but if we cry out to Him He will hear us and answer our call. No matter how desperate the situation seems God is able, and willing, to come to our rescue. Let us put our trust in the Lord. He will protect those who are loyal to Him.
Paul tells us that we can better serve God if we remain single. However, the ability to remain single and not give in to sexual sins is not given to everyone. God intends for most people to get married. We should each (those of us who are married) work to satisfy the sexual urges of our spouse. Further Paul tells us that if we are married to a fellow believer, we must stay married, or if we cannot remain with our spouse we must remain single. It is a failure of the modern Church that we fail to emphasize this fact as much as we do other sexual sins.
Paul makes an important caveat to his teaching about divorce and remarriage. He tells us that if a believer is married to a non-believer (a situation which should only come about if someone becomes a believer after they were married) they should not leave, or separate from, that unbeliever. However, if the unbeliever leaves them, they are freed from the marriage. It is the failure of the Church, which means it is our failure, to distinguish between these two separate types of divorce which is at the root of its(our) failure to be a witness to the world on the issue of sexual immorality.
When Nehemiah heard the state of affairs in Jerusalem, he mourned how bad things were. However, he did not just feel sadness about the situation, he cried out to God with prayer and fasting for guidance. After “days” of fasting and prayer, Nehemiah felt called to do more about the situation in Jerusalem than just fast and pray. He then asked God for success in doing what he felt called to do. Nehemiah did not just feel depressed about the circumstances in Jerusalem, he sought God’s guidance and used his gifts to address the situation.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he discovered there was opposition among some of the regional officials. In the face of this opposition, Nehemiah did his own evaluation of the state of affairs in secret before revealing his intentions to the leaders of the returned exiles. Because he had done his homework and knew the extent of the work to be done, the leaders of the returned exiles embraced his plan enthusiastically.
Nehemiah’s approach is one we should study when we feel called to address a situation which is tugging at our heart-strings. Start by seeking God’s guidance with prayer and fasting. Follow this up with a plan to address the problem, including a timetable and a budget. Obtain the government permissions necessary, if any. Make an assessment of the opposition and the actual on the ground situation. Recruit the assistance of those with a vested interest in the success of the project. Finally break the task up into pieces that were within the abilities of those who had agreed to aid you.
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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Nehemiah was serving in the court of Artaxerxes as the king’s cup-bearer when his brother and several other men visited him after taking a trip to Jerusalem. Nehemiah asked how things were going in Jerusalem and his visitors told him that it was not going well, the wall was torn down and the gates destroyed. Nehemiah was heartbroken at this news, so he began to fast and pray. He admitted his sins, and the sins of his family and his people. He asked God to remember His promise to restore His people when they turned back to Him. Finally, he asked God to make the king favorable to him and grant him his request.
At some point during his fast Nehemiah appeared before the king looking sad. Nehemiah had never before appeared sad before the king and the king asked him about this change in demeanor. Nehemiah was terrified, but nevertheless summoned the courage to tell the king that he was sad because of the state of Jerusalem. The king asked Nehemiah how he could help him. Nehemiah replied by requesting that the king send him to Judah to rebuild Jerusalem. The king asked him how long he would be gone and, when Nehemiah answered, granted his request. Nehemiah followed that up by requesting letters to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates allowing him to travel through their territory unmolested to Jerusalem and a letter to the overseer of the king’s foresters instructing him to provide Nehemiah with timber for the work. The king granted this request and sent a military escort with Nehemiah. Despite the letters from the king, two of the officials in the areas around Judah were upset that Nehemiah had arrived to work on rebuilding Jerusalem.
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I never noticed this before, but during the time when Nehemiah was fasting and praying before he appeared before the king he was doing more than fasting and praying. He was making plans. When he appeared before the king he had his plans all made, so that when the king asked him how long he would be gone on this project, he knew the answer. This is an important lesson for us. While we are praying and seeking God’s support for our course of action, we should be planning what we will do if and when God grants us that support. It would not have been enough for Nehemiah to have spent that time down on his knees praying to God, “Please cause the king to approve my going to Jerusalem to rebuild it.” He wisely spent some of that time planning what he would do if the king granted his request.
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When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he spent several days settling in before telling anyone why he had come. He then slipped out of the city at night and made a survey of Jerusalem’s defenses. In the morning Nehemiah addressed the various leaders of Jerusalem. He summarized the results of his survey, acknowledging that the leaders were well aware of what he had found, and proposed that they begin rebuilding the wall. He told them about his conversation with the king and the support the king had given him for the project. The leaders were enthusiastic about the project.
When several of the officials of surrounding areas(Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem) heard what the Jews were doing they suggested that rebuilding the walls was rebellion. Nehemiah replied that God was with them and that these men (Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem) had no share or claim (legal or historical) on Jerusalem. Various family groups began working on sections of the walls and gates of Jerusalem.
In today’s passage Paul addresses an issue that was apparently raised in a letter the Corinthians had sent to him. He begins by saying that it is good to abstain from sexual relations. However, because society puts such an emphasis on sexual activity and assumes sexual immorality as the norm, it is good for most people to be married. Those who are married should meet the sexual needs of their spouse (husbands filling the sexual needs of their wives and wives filling the sexual needs of their husbands). Married couples should strive to regularly be sexually intimate, only occasionally abstaining when they have agreed to do so as part of a specified period of praying and fasting.
Paul says that he wishes everyone was single, as he was, but that not everyone is given the gift to be able to live like that. He recommends that those who are not married, or are widowed remain single. However, he encourages those who feel they cannot control their sexual urges to get married. He then gives a command from God. Those who are married are to stay married with their current spouse. If they do separate, they should remain single, or get back together. He continues by saying that in the case where a Christian is married to an unbeliever the Christian should stay with their unbelieving spouse because perhaps the spouse will come to know the Lord through the Christian’s witness. However, if the unbelieving spouse leaves the Christian, the Christian is no longer bound to the unbelieving spouse (Paul seems to be teaching that if someone who is married becomes a Christian and their spouse does not and that unbelieving spouse divorces them, it is OK for this new Christian to remarry).
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I would like to add to this that when Paul discusses a believer staying with an unbelieving spouse, I concluded that he was talking about someone who became a Christian after being married. I reached this conclusion because elsewhere Paul tells us that we should not be unequally bound.
How great is the goodness
you have stored up for those who fear you.
You lavish it on those who come to you for protection,
blessing them before the watching world.
The psalmist tells us that even when it appears that we are cut off from God, He hears our cries for help and will come to our aid. If we put our hope in God, we will not be disappointed.
Butterfly on the butterfly bush
I read this proverb in the New Living Translation (NLT) and thought, “This is interesting.” The NLT translation says that being proud and arrogant is as much sin as taking evil actions and therefore just as bad. That certainly is consistent with what I read elsewhere in the Bible.
However, when I looked at the NIV, this proverb reads to say that being proud and arrogant leads one to commit sins. There is certainly truth to that as well.
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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Today is the start of the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s account begins in the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign. Ezra had led his expedition to Jerusalem in the seventh year of Artaxerxes reign. The story begins when Nehemiah’s brother and some other men who had recently visited Judah came to visit him. Nehemiah inquired about how things were going in Jerusalem. The men told him that things were not going well. The walls of the city had been torn down and the gates destroyed by fire. Nehemiah was heartbroken by this news. Nehemiah mourned at this news, but he did not just mourn. He fasted and prayed to God. When he had formulated a plan, he prayed for God to give him success in getting the approval of the king for his plan.
Nehemiah was the cup-bearer for King Artaxerxes at this time. At some point after receiving the news about Jerusalem, Nehemiah is in the presence of the king. The king noticed that he looked sad and asked him about it. Nehemiah told the king that he was sad for the state of Jerusalem. The king asked Nehemiah how he could help. Nehemiah prayed silently as he asked the king to send him to rebuild Jerusalem. The king granted Nehemiah’s request. In addition, Nehemiah asked for letters instructing the governors of the areas around Jerusalem to allow him to travel to Jerusalem and to the manager of the king’s forest instructing him to give Nehemiah timber. The king granted this request as well. In addition, the king gave Nehemiah and armed escort.
Nehemiah delivered the king’s letters to the governors of province. Several of the governors were unhappy with Nehemiah’s appointment. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he did not apprise anyone of his arrival until he had an opportunity to inspect the city walls, which he did at night. Once Nehemiah had inspected the walls, he introduced himself to the leaders of Jerusalem. He proposed that they begin rebuilding the city walls. The city leaders received this suggestion enthusiastically. Work began on rebuilding the walls at once. The officials of the neighboring regions are unhappy with the walls of Jerusalem being rebuilt. Nehemiah tells them that they have no claim to authority over Jerusalem, legal or otherwise. Nehemiah delegates the rebuilding of various sections of the wall to different leaders of the city or surrounding settlements.
An important takeaway from this passage is that Nehemiah prayed for God’s support and help at every stage of his plan. In addition, he made clear to everyone that he was relying on God for his plan to succeed. I have felt called by the Lord to fast as I read this passage and several others over the last few days.
Paul now begins addressing questions that the Corinthians had asked him in a letter. The first of these is regarding sexual relations and marriage. Paul starts his answer by saying that it is good to remain celibate, but that since sexual immorality is so prevalent in the surrounding society most people should be married. Paul further instructs that married couples should not abstain from sex with each other, except for limited times when they have agreed to do so as part of a prayer and fasting time. Paul again reiterates that he wishes everyone would remain single but that he knows that not everyone has that gift. Paul emphasizes that what he is saying is advice, not a command.
Next Paul says something that he emphasizes is a command. He says that those who are married should remain married. A wife should not leave her husband. If she does, she should remain single or be reconciled to him. Interestingly, he makes no such provision for husbands. He tells husbands that they must not leave their wives. Paul then returns to giving his opinion as advice. He says that a believer who is married to an unbeliever should remain with them, but if the unbeliever leaves, the believer is no longer bound by the marriage vows. Paul says that the believer should stay with the unbeliever for the sake of the children (but if the unbeliever insists on leaving, let them go). In addition, he says that perhaps the unbeliever may come to know the Lord through their believing spouse.
Finally Paul closes out this section by telling us that we should stay in the state we were in when God called us. If we were circumcised, we should not attempt to undo it. If we were uncircumcised, we should not become circumcised. If someone was a slave, they should not let it concern them (although if they get the opportunity to gain their freedom, they should take it).
The psalmist tells us that God has great goodness stored up for those who love Him. He tells us that even when we feel cut off from God, if we cry out to Him, He will answer our call for help. If we put our hopes in God, we should stand strong and courageous because God will come to our defense.
This proverb tells us that pride and an arrogant attitude are as much a sin as evil actions. Having evil thoughts and attitudes is just as much a sin as taking evil actions.
