We apply intense heat to silver and gold in order to purify them. When we go through difficult times, let us remember that God purifies our hearts in a similar manner.
The psalmist reminds us that none of us are pure, that we have all sinned enough to deserve death. None of us are in a position to look down on others for their sin. God offers us forgiveness for our sins rather than judgement because otherwise we would never have a chance to learn to love and fear Him. I count on God’s forgiveness and love, but this does not mean that I do not strive to resist temptation and avoid sinning.
When Peter and John arrived in Samaria they prayed for the believers to receive the Holy Spirit and then laid their hands upon them. At which point the believers promptly received the Holy Spirit. This was obviously a very dramatic occurrence, because as soon as Simon the magician (well, technically no longer “the magician”) saw it he wanted the power to do it himself. He was so impressed with what happened that he offered Peter and John money if they would give him power to do it himself. Simon wanted the honor and glory that came with having that power. Peter recognized the selfishness in his request and soundly condemned him for it. Tradition has it that Simon the magician became an opponent of Christianity after this, or at least a promoter of heresies. While that is possible, his reaction to Peter’s condemnation is perfectly appropriate. This story warns us against those who seek to gain power in the Church for their own glory. It, also, warns us of the dangers of becoming proud when God works through us .
When Solomon finished his dedication of the Temple God replied to his prayer. The promise which God gave Solomon in response to his prayer contains many elements which apply to any, and every, people. If people follow God with integrity and righteousness, God will establish them as a nation that will stand the test of time. However, if they abandon God and worship other gods, God will make them an object of mockery and scorn. If you love your nation and wish it to prosper, your best course of action is to honor and serve God. You will not make your nation godly by passing laws. Each and every person must decide for themselves if they will serve God.
For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.
When I read this proverb I thought about controversial stories that have been in the news the last few years. When trying to judge what happened with limited information, we can know that the person with the history of poor anger management is more likely to be the one who started the fight. Those who have trouble controlling their temper are generally guilty of many other sins as well.
No matter how deep our despair, nor how terrible our sins, God will listen to our prayers when we cry out to Him. God does not keep a record of our sins. It is we ourselves who do that. We could not survive if God made us pay the price of each and every one of our sins. God offers us forgiveness so that we can learn to serve Him. Will you serve Him today?
Next John delivers a message for the church in Thyatira. He commends them for their deeds. They are doing the opposite of what he condemned the church in Ephesus for doing. Rather than lose their enthusiasm, the church in Thyatira was becoming more enthusiastic and loving. They were doing even more than they had done when they first came to know the Lord. However, they had a woman in their church who was teaching believers to commit sexual sins and eat food sacrificed to idols. This went beyond teaching tolerance of sinful behavior. In Thyatira they had someone in the church encouraging believers to sin. Those who followed such teaching would suffer the consequences of such behavior, but those who remained faithful will see that God is faithful in turn.
Then comes the message for the church in Sardis. This is the message that should frighten us the most. The church in Sardis has a reputation for being a vibrant congregation, but the message John has for them says that they are dead. In how many of our churches are we gathering on Sunday to sing songs about how wonderful God is, but come Monday He has no role in our lives? God would rather see us bring glory to Him by what we do during the week, than see us “filled with the spirit” on Sunday morning.
Amos condemns those who brag about their charitable giving while oppressing the poor and crushing the needy. God brings hard times in order to remind us to turn to Him, but all too often we only dedicate ourselves even more thoroughly to the idols we serve. When hard times come, do we realize that we all need to pull together, or do we use our power and position to make sure that it is someone else who suffers. When hard times came upon the people of Israel, rather than aid the oppressed and seek justice, the people crushed the oppressed and sought special favors.
God is calling us once more to do what is good and to run from what is evil. Too many people say that they hate evil and love good, but then they seek to overturn justice. All too often I see what Amos describes here, where people hate honest judges and despise those who speak the truth. Let that not be us.
The wise will gain wealth at the expense of those who act disgracefully, even if the former begin their lives in positions of subservience and the latter are children of privilege. In the same way that fire or extreme heat is used to purify silver and gold so will God purify our hearts. When we face difficult times, it is God seeking to purify us. Let His work proceed to clean and purify us so that we become clean and pure.
Let us follow the psalmist’s example and cry out to God from the depths of our despair. No matter how desperate our situation may seem to us, God is ready and willing to listen to our cry. While our sins may overwhelm us, He is willing to forgive us. Let us put our hope in the Lord. Let us long for Him. God will redeem us from our sin, no matter how steeped in that sin we have become. All we need to do is cry out to Him and ask for His deliverance.
We have the continuation of the story of Simon the Sorcerer in today’s passage. When Peter and John came to Samaria from Jerusalem, they laid their hands upon people and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw the results, he offered Peter and John money for the ability to do the same thing. This tells us that when people received the Holy Spirit something very noteworthy took place. Something which a showman like Simon desired the ability to replicate. Peter rebuked Simon for thinking that he could purchase God’s gift. Simon accepted Peter’s rebuke and asked Peter to pray for him. I believe that Peter’s rebuke of Simon was justified. Simon wanted the ability to deliver the Holy Spirit in order to gain glory and prominence for himself. However, I also believe that Simon saw the benefits of people receiving the Holy Spirit and wanted to be able to help people by delivering the Holy Spirit to them. I believe that Simon’s repentance was sincere.
Shortly after Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, Philip was led by the Spirit to travel south towards Gaza. On the road, he encountered the Ethiopian. The Ethiopian was reading from the prophet Isaiah. The Ethiopian did not understand what he was reading. Philip explained how the passage he was reading was a prophecy about Jesus. The Ethiopian was seeking God by reading Scripture, but he did not understand what he was reading. In the same way that the Spirit directed Philip to the Ethiopian the Spirit will direct us to those who are seeking. Let us be prepared to explain the Gospel, starting from where they are.
God accepted Solomon’s request. He agreed to set the Temple aside as Holy. He made it a place where His name would be honoured forever. The Temple is dear to God’s heart. While God is not limited to the physical location of the Temple and has chosen to act in this world through His Spirit living in the hearts of believers, He still maintains a presence in Jerusalem.
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.
Amos speaks of those who oppress the poor and crush the needy while living in the lap of luxury. They offer sacrifices to idols, then make offerings to the Lord. They brag about all of the various volunteer offerings they make to God, but do nothing to help those in need. God has brought trouble and misfortune upon them, but they refuse to turn to Him and follow His will. They twist justice, hating honest judges and despising those who tell the truth. They claim to desire to help the poor while at the same time trampling them and stealing their food with taxes and unfair rents. They oppress good people by taking bribes and prevent the poor from receiving justice in the courts. Because of all of this God is preparing to send His judgment upon them, but there is still time to turn to God by doing what is good and running from evil.
I read this today and thought of our society. There are many today who proclaim all of the great things they are doing, yet if one looks closely one sees that all they are truly doing is satisfying their own desires at the expense of the poor and powerless. This passage is an indictment of many who claim to be Christian as well as others. Let us turn to God and seek justice for the poor. Rather than sacrifices for show, let us provide for those in need. God’s judgment will fall on those who continue to do evil.
Today’s passage has the message to two more of the Churches, representing two more categories of Christian group. The next category is that of the Church in Thyatira. They have love and faith. They persevere in giving service. Not only have they maintained their love of the Lord and energy serving Him, they are doing even more than when they first believed. However, they tolerate teacher(s) who encourage sexual immorality and discrete worshiping of idols. Those who reject such teachings are commended and encouraged to hold onto what they have received. There is no secret teachings we need to learn, or hidden secrets of God to be revealed to us by special leaders. God’s Spirit is open and reveals God’s word to all who wish to see. Let us maintain our faith and reject those who seek “secret” knowledge and attempt to reveal to us things “never known” before.
The fifth category of Christian group (or group of Christians is perhaps a better way to phrase it) is that of the Church in Sardis. This is a group that has a reputation for being active and alive, but is not truly so. They have lost their love for Christ and the life which comes from the Spirit. They are going on on past accomplishments. They once did the things which God desired, but now they think that they have done enough. They must repent and return to God, return to doing the things they had done to serve God in the past. Despite their lack of life and vibrancy in serving God there remain among them a few who still love and serve Him. Every time I read this passage I think of my congregation. I look back over its history and wonder if we are like the Church in Sardis. The congregation was founded as an outreach to the children in the community who had no other exposure to Christian teaching, yet now I see little in the way of ministry to children (other than to the children of those who regularly attend). I do not know that my perception is accurate, there are aspects of the congregation’s ministry with which I am unfamiliar.
From the deepest depths of my despair I will cry to the Lord. I will wait for Him and put my hope in Him. My hope so placed will not be placed in vain. He will redeem me and save me from my troubles.
Those who are pampered in their youth will become insolent when asked to serve others. Those who cannot control their temper start fights and let their anger lead them into all kinds of sin. I will learn to control my temper and serve the Lord as He desires.
I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. 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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
God appeared to Solomon to respond to his prayer of dedication. God told Solomon that He would watch over the Temple because it had become dear to His heart. However, if the people of Israel failed to faithfully follow His commands, God would make them an object of mockery and ridicule. If that happened (and it did), those who passed by the Temple would ask themselves why God had done such things to the Temple and the people. The Temple would then stand as a symbol of what happens to those who rebel against God.
In a previous post I had observed that I believe that King David’s governing philosophy and the source of his power was his protecting of the merchant caravans which traveled through that area of the world from bandits, even when those bandits ruled local lands. I believe that Solomon took that one step further and sponsored the merchant caravans and shipping concerns. This passage certainly suggests that Solomon set himself up as the center of a vast trading empire.
Word of Solomon’s wisdom spread through the trade missions he sent out. The Queen of Sheba heard of his wisdom and came to learn if he was as wise as the stories she had heard claimed. She came and asked questions of Solomon. We are not told what sort of questions she asked, but she was impressed both by his answers and by the sumptuousness of Jerusalem. The passage goes on from there describing the great wealth which Solomon acquired.
When word reached Jerusalem about people in Samaria being baptized, the rest of the Apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria. When Peter and John arrived in Samaria, they prayed for the Holy Spirit to descend upon these new believers. Then they laid their hands upon them and they received the Spirit. Simon the former magician saw what they did and was impressed. He offered Peter and John money to give him the power to lay hands on people and cause them to receive the Holy Spirit. Peter rebuked Simon in very strong terms for thinking that God’s gift could be bought. Simon immediately responded by begging Peter to pray to the Lord for him, so that he might not suffer punishment for his presumption. There are stories that Simon the Magician went on to be an opponent of Peter, but none of them are based on first century accounts. For my part, I believe that Simon was at this point a former magician and that he took Peter’s rebuke to heart.
Some time after this, although not very long after, the Spirit directed Philip to take the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. As he was traveling that road, he came upon a chariot carrying the official in charge of the Ethiopian treasury. The official was returning home after worshiping God in Jerusalem. He was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. The Spirit directed Philip to approach the chariot. When Philip got close he heard the official reading. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. The official responded by asking how he could without someone to explain it. He then invited Philip to join him in his chariot.
Philip accepted the official’s invitation and began to explain the Gospel, starting with the passage which the official had been reading. Shortly the Ethiopian official saw that they were passing near a body of water and requested that Philip baptize him. They stopped the chariot and got down. Philip then baptized the official. Immediately, the Spirit of God carried Philip away from there and the Ethiopian official never saw him again. This story offers us a model that I think we should follow more often. At the first opportunity after the Ethiopian official’s confession of faith, Philip baptized him. He did not wait for him to go through a properly approved process and get vetted by the Church authorities. Not only that but it was one believer baptizing another. Philip did not say that they needed to find an appropriately ordained member of the clergy.
The psalmist says that he calls on the Lord from the depths of despair. I will certainly do that, but do I call on the Lord when times are good? OR do I forget God when things are going well for me? I will certainly agree with the psalmist when he says that if God kept track of all of my sins, I would not be able to survive. However, God does not keep track of all of our sins, rather He offers us forgiveness for our sins, so that we might live to learn to fear Him. Once we learn to fear the Lord, we will fear no one and nothing else. If we fear the Lord we will also be able to count on Him to redeem us from every sin.
Fire is used to purify silver and gold, in a similar manner God purifies our hearts by passing us through difficult times. I will strive to be joyful in times of difficulty because I know that God is using those experiences to make me a better servant to Him.
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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
The prophet began today’s passage by condemning rich women who used their position of power and influence to oppress the poor. Women who are demanding more stuff from their husbands. He goes on to condemn those who are self-righteous, who make regular offerings and brag about their offerings over and above the “default”. I do not think the first part is necessarily just about women. I think it applies to anyone who thinks that they are deserving of being treated well because they have wealth that was acquired for them by someone else. This passage is about those who think that because they follow religious rituals they are holy, better than others and therefore can abuse those others who are clearly less holy than themselves. This is a condemnation of those who think they are righteous because they give thousands of dollars to charity, yet have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on themselves. Someone recently said that God does not measure our giving by how much we give, rather he measures it by how much we spend on ourselves. I think that that can be abused as well, but it is a good starting point to think about giving.
Amos tells us that God had sent disasters, natural and otherwise, against Israel to call them back to Him, but they had ignored them and refused to repent of their sins. God showed the people the results of their sins and they still refused to turn to Him. Reading this passage reminds me of what I have seen in my lifetime and how for the most part people are continuing to turn away from God despite what should be warnings and calls to return to Him. We have had Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. We have had the Columbine shootings, the Aurora movie theater shootings, the 911 attacks. We have had SARS, Mad Cow disease and AIDS. After each of these hits the news, there has been a short upswing in interest in God, but it quickly fades away and people return to their sinful lifestyles with a vengeance, laughing off anyone who makes a connection between these tragedies and sin (even when as in AIDS the correlation is pretty direct).
The prophet tells us that now is the time to repent and turn back to God, away from our sinful and unjust behaviors. God does not want our hymns of praise and assemblies of worship, he wants us to seek justice and to care for the poor. Now is the time for us to pray and fast, to seek to serve the Lord in whatever way that He calls us. We need to turn away from religious behaviors that are just for show and seek to take those righteous actions which help those in need. Let us seek the Lord with all of our hearts. We need to fast and pray, not for our country, but for people. How may the Lord’s will be best accomplished in this world? We should pray neither for the continued strength of the U.S. (or any other nation), nor for its downfall (or that of any other nation). Rather we should pray that the people of the U.S., and of every nation, turn to God and repent of their sins. Jesus said that His Kingdom is not of this world and we should always remember that no nation on this earth is God’s Kingdom.
Today, I read the messages to the next two of the seven churches. The church in Thyatira was commended for its love, faith, service and patient endurance. It was, however, reprimanded for permitting a woman who called herself a prophet to lead some believers astray with her teachings of sexual immorality and participation in pagan rituals. A severe judgment is declared against those who follow her teachings and fail to repent. The message continues by praising those who have not followed these teachings of “deeper truths” and asking nothing more of them than that they continue to hold tightly to the truths of the Gospel. There is a clue in this passage about how to recognize false teachings. The false teaching being condemned here claimed to be a “deeper truth”, something that was not known to the common believer. This is a common theme in many false teachings, they provide “secret” knowledge, or some other means by which those who follow them are separated out as special from others. But the message of the Gospel is that we are all the children of God and loved by Him. Anyone who turns to Him and seeks fellowship with Him will not be turned away.
Next is the message to the church in Sardis. It has a reputation for being a strong and vibrant congregation, but the message tells us that it has died. Too many of its members are just going through the motions without any real commitment to doing God’s will. They are told to return to what they believed and did when they first believed. They need to wake up and follow God’s righteous path. Even so, there are a few among them who have remained faithful and whom God commends. This is a warning to us today that we cannot rest on what we did in the past, God calls us to righteous behavior today and tomorrow and every day until the Lord returns. We don’t get to retire from serving the Lord (and some of us don’t wait until we retire to attempt to retire from the Lord’s service).
Yes, let us call on the Lord for help. If we call on Him, He will rescue us from our troubles, not because we deserve it, but because He loves us. We do not deserve God’s love. We deserve misery and trouble for all of the sins we have committed, for the harm and trouble we have caused others, but God will forgive us our sins. All we have to do is turn to Him and strive to allow Him to replace our sin with righteousness. How I strive to put my faith in nothing but the Lord, for only He can be relied on.
Failure to control ones temper will lead on into all kinds of sin. I am usually very good at controlling my anger. Sometimes however I let that fool me into thinking it is ok to lose control of my temper. There are times when it is right to feel anger, and even occasionally to act on that anger. However, it is never right to let anger control our actions.
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.
The passage tells us that the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had the first. The first time was in a dream, so I figure that this was probably in a dream as well. The Lord tells Solomon that He will establish the Temple as holy, that the site of the Temple will be honored forever. God goes on to tell Solomon that if the people of Israel worship other gods, He will uproot them from the land and make them an object of ridicule to the world.
When Solomon finished both the Temple and his palace, he gave twenty towns to Hiram, king of Tyre. The passage says that Hiram called the area Solomon gave him worthless, but still paid Solomon in gold that would be worth over $204 million today. The passage then tells us about some of Solomon’s other accomplishments, including building a trading fleet that sailed into the Indian Ocean. It tells us that this fleet brought back gold that would be worth more than $816 million today.
The passage then tells us that word of Solomon’s wisdom had spread so that the Queen of Sheba came to see him and challenge his wisdom. It is not clear from the text whether she came with her hard questions because she wanted to test whether he really was as wise as she had heard or if it was because she had questions to which she desired/needed answers. In either case, she was impressed by his wisdom and praises God because of it.
The passage then goes on to describe Solomon’s wealth. It tells us that he received each year an amount of gold that would be worth over $1 billion today. It then tells us about his other wealth including a trading fleet that went on three year trading voyages and brought back large amounts of wealth and exotic goods. Finally the passage tells us about the sizable military force that he put together. All in all, this passage tells us that Solomon used his wisdom to make himself king over a sizable and wealthy trading empire.
In yesterday’s passage we read how Philip preached and performed miracles in Samaria so that many came to believe. In particular the passage tells us that Simon the sorcerer came to believe and be baptized. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard about the many people coming to believe in Samaria they sent Peter and John. When they arrived, Peter and John prayed for the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. They then laid their hands on the people and they received the Holy Spirit. Something very extraordinary must have happened when Peter and John laid their hands on people because Simon the former sorcerer offered them money to give him the same power. Peter sternly rebuked him for thinking that the gift of God could be bought with money. Simon’s response is abject repentance and a request for the apostles’ prayer. There are two important pieces to this passage. The first is that when people receive the Holy Spirit it is an noteworthy event. The second is that the Holy Spirit and other gifts from God cannot be purchased. I think the failure of the Church in the U.S. to experience miracles and signs to a greater degree indicates a lack of full faith in God among to many of us. The New Testament account suggests to me that we should see signs and miracles all around Christians, yet we do not. I know that when I think about the fact that I believe that I should exhibit the power of the Holy Spirit through signs and wonders, it scares me. I am scared for two reasons. The first is, what if I call for a miracle and it doesn’t happen? The second is, to what degree will I be opened up for ridicule for believing such things are possible?
After the Peter and John leave Samaria, the Spirit calls Philip to go down the road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. When he gets there he sees a eunuch of consequence from Ethiopia returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. The eunuch was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. When Philip approached him and heard what he was reading he asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch replied that he needed someone to explain it to him and invited Philip to ride with him and do so. Philip starts with the passage the eunuch was reading and preached the Good News about Jesus to him. After a while they came upon some water and the eunuch requested that Philip baptize him, which Philip did immediately. There are two things about this passage that I think are noteworthy. First, Philip starts preaching the Good News by answering the questions that the eunuch already has. Second, Philip baptizes the eunuch as soon as the eunuch recognizes his need for it and asks for it. There is an immediacy and urgency to the evangelism of the New testament, that I too often today do not share. We need to recapture the urgency that the early Church felt for evangelism.
The psalmist here tells us that we would have no hope if God kept a record of our sins. It is only through God’s forgiveness that we can survive. If we cry to the Lord and throw ourselves on His mercy, He will save us. He will forgive us and rescue us from our troubles. If we rest our hopes for our future in anything other than God we will suffer disappointment, but if we put our hopes in God they will be exceeded.
Today’s proverb tells us that a servant who serves faithfully and with prudence will be rewarded. The second of the proverbs today tells us that just as the metal smith purifies silver and gold using fire, so will God test us. He will put us through trials that will feel like passing through fire in order to purify us and make us into something much more valuable. We should learn to praise God for the trials He puts us through because they are for our benefit to make us better and purer.
