God gave us ears so that we could hear and eyes so that we could see. So, let’s USE them! That means listen to what people say and pay attention to what we see.
Paul tells us not to argue with other believers over “disputable matters”. Some people believe that we may eat any food, others, whom Paul characterizes as having weak faith, believe that we should only eat vegetables. He tells us that we should not argue over such things. Paul tells us not to judge one another over such things. There are those who argue that we should accept those who practice things which have traditionally been considered sins (usually, sins which are sexual in nature) without condemning them (I think that what Paul writes about the man sleeping with his stepmother in 1 Corinthians suggests otherwise, but that is another point).
However, if this passage were to apply, those who believe those sexual behaviors are not sin would be in the same class as those who believed it was OK to eat anything. Paul tells us that if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat (or in this case, who you have sex with), you are no longer acting in love. He goes on to say, “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” Paul says that it is better not to do anything which might cause your brother or sister to fall. So, you should not do things which your fellow believers think is sinful where they might find out. If there is any chance they will find out about it, you should not do it at all.
When Hezekiah took the throne he immediately began to reverse the evil which his father, Ahaz, had done. He called on the Levites to first purify themselves and then purify the Temple. When they had purified the Temple, they purified the people. This should serve as a model for us. I believe our nation has fallen into the sort of situation which Judah was in when Ahaz was king (although, I do not believe the U.S. is God’s chosen nation, unlike Judah). If we want to turn that around we need to first purify ourselves. Then we need to purify the Church (and I do not mean the building). Only then will we be able to purify the people of this nation.
Do you want to know how to treat people? Treat them as if they are God’s people, because they are! Do you want to know how to treat the plants and animals around you? treat them as if they are God’s property, because they are! There is more to be gotten from this psalm and I hope you read it and see, but that’s all I am going to write about it today.
Today’s passage contains the story of the rich young man. He has obeyed the commandments, but feels called to do more. Jesus tells him to sell all that he has and come follow Him. The young man is unwilling to do that and turns away. Jesus then tells His disciples that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
I have repeatedly heard people try to explain that “camel through the eye of a needle” is a figure of speech for something else, something which is very difficult, but possible. When I first heard such explanations, I thought they were insightful, which shows the importance of reading the Bible for yourself. The focus of such teaching is that, while getting into heaven is very difficult for the wealthy, it is possible. However, that does not seem to be Jesus’ message here. When the disciples heard what Jesus said, their response was, “If that’s the case, who can get into heaven?” Clearly, they heard Jesus say that it is impossible for the rich to get into heaven. Jesus tells them that they had heard Him correctly. It is impossible for a human to get into heaven on the basis of his own actions. However, with God all things are possible.
This passage falls into a pattern. Repeatedly Moses relays God’s message about coming plagues to Pharaoh. The plagues arrive, each one more severe than the last. Pharaoh promises to let the Israelites go to worship God. Moses prays to God for the plague to life. Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let the Israelites go. How often do we follow a pattern similar to Pharaoh in our lives. Something bad happens to us, we turn to God and promise to reform our bad habits, God relieves us from our difficulty, we return to our bad habits. Rinse, lather, repeat. The escalation of difficulties in this passage are a warning to us to stop this behavior, before we end up paying a price for our sins that we will regret for the rest of our lives.
The earth, along with everything in it, belongs to God. We should treat the things we have accordingly. Let us remember to use everything we have in order to serve God and bring glory to His name. All of the people on the earth are God’s as well. Let us remember that we are not special in being God’s possession and treat others with the love, honour, and respect that they deserve as being God’s people.
The psalmist asks, and answers, who may approach God? Here I prefer the NIV. He tells us that only those who have clean hands and a pure heart, those who do not rely on something other than God, those who do not swear falsely, or by false gods. If we truly seek God, we will allow His Spirit to transform us into such people. His Spirit will cleanse our hands and our hearts. If we trust in Him, He will remove sin from our lives and keep us from sullying our hearts by trusting in that which cannot save us. We cannot enter into God’s presence and truly worship Him until we fully rely on Him.
Once again, I prefer the NIV for this passage. Paul tells us to accept those whose faith is weak. We are not to quarrel over disputable matters, such as whether to observe certain days (Is Christmas really a pagan holiday?), or whether or not it is OK to eat meat (Was this meat dedicated to an idol?). The phrasing chosen by the NIV is important. Other translations use the term argue rather than quarrel. The problem is that arguing can be a logical discussion, laying out the reasons for holding a particular position, and I cannot imagine Paul having a problem with that. It is when arguing becomes quarreling that problems arise. Quarreling is divisive and angry. Quarreling is what happens when we allow our emotions to enter into a disagreement. Paul tells us not to condemn those we disagree with. We are not to hold them in contempt. Ultimately, what each one of us believes is between ourselves and God. God will judge us according to how responsive we are to guidance by His Spirit. If we allow emotions to enter into our arguments (debates) with our fellow believers, we may convince them to change their actions, even though we have not convinced them that such changes are not sinful. Let us not ridicule others so that they change their behavior, even though they still think it is wrong.
There is another clause in what Paul says that is worth noting, he tells us not to quarrel over “disputable matters”. He gives examples of disputable matters (what types of food we eat, what days are holy). It would be helpful if he gave examples of what is not disputable. However, we can get a sense of that from his writings elsewhere: sexual immorality, the importance of faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection, a few other matters. More importantly, if we remember to not let our emotions become entangled in our efforts to convince others (except possibly our concern for them), we will not go far wrong. It is not wrong to disagree, nor to discuss our disagreements. It is wrong to condemn our fellow believers because they disagree with us. Let us seek to allow the love God has for each person influence the way we approach those we disagree with.
When Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, became king, the first thing he did was reopen the Temple of God for worship. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves and then purify the Temple. They were to remove everything that was defiled from the Temple, all of the implements of pagan worship. It took them sixteen days to cleanse and purify the Temple. When this was done, Hezekiah called the people of Judah to rededicate and reconsecrate themselves to God. The people responded to his call with such fervor that the priests were overwhelmed trying to keep up.
Let us remember that Jesus has made our bodies the Temple of God. Let us purify our bodies and consecrate ourselves to serving God. Then, when we have done this, let us call on those around us to do the same. Perhaps if we do so, trusting in the Spirit to move them, we will get a response similar to that which Hezekiah got. Perhaps we can get the people of this land to respond to God in such a manner that the Churches are overwhelmed and do not know what to do with the people who come 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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Moses went back again and again to Pharaoh warning him that terrible things would happen if he did not let the Israelites go to worship God (at this point, the request was for a trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices and then return). Time after time, Pharaoh promised Moses that he would let them go, if only Moses would lift the plague. Each time, once the plague was lifted, Pharaoh reneged on his promise. The majority of the plagues did not effect those living in the land of Goshen (the area of Egypt where the Israelites lived). How often are we like Pharaoh, when things go wrong we promise that if things get better we will do as God wishes. Then when things get better we go back to doing that which led to the problems in the first place?
I find the beginning of this passage interesting. When some parents brought their children to Jesus in order to be blessed by Him, His disciples berated the parents for bothering Jesus. This happened just a short time after Jesus had told them that anyone who welcomed a little child on His behalf was welcoming Him. Jesus uses this incident to reinforce His teaching about our need to be like children in our faith and dependence on God.
This passage also contains the story of the rich young ruler. Many read this passage and see Jesus’ comment about how hard it is for the rich to enter heaven, but overlook the fact that when the disciples reacted by thinking that it would be even harder for the poor, Jesus did not contradict that impression. Rather Jesus told them that for man it was impossible. It is only possible for anyone to get into heaven because God has made it possible. Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that those who have given up worldly comfort in order to serve Him will be rewarded for their sacrifice.
The opening of this psalm is an important reminder to us. This earth belongs to God, as does everything and everyone in it. I will treat the things of this earth as things which I hold in trust for God to use to further His will in this world. I will treat the people I meet as the servants of God, treating them as I hope that He will treat me.
The proverb writer warns repeatedly against putting up security for someone else’s debt. He warns that if you have done so, do whatever you can to get out of it. My interpretation of these various warnings is that you should never off to secure a debt that you cannot afford to pay back. No matter how well meaning someone is, if they need you to secure the debt for them there is a risk that they will either be unable to pay it back, or just fail to do so, leaving you to pay off the debt.
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.
Hezekiah succeeded his father Ahaz on the throne. His first act was to reopen the Temple and repair its doors. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves. He asked them to cleanse the Temple and resume the worship of God there. Hezekiah determined to restore the worship of God in the Kingdom of Judah. It took the priests and Levites sixteen days to clean and purify the Temple. At the end of that time they reported to Hezekiah that the Temple was ready for people to resume worshiping in it.
The following morning Hezekiah summoned the city officials and went to the Temple to worship the Lord. Hezekiah and the city officials brought animals to sacrifice as sin offerings for both themselves and the people of the kingdom. Hezekiah commanded the priests to sacrifice the animals as sin offerings for all of the people of Israel. As the offerings were being presented to the Lord, Hezekiah instructed the Levites to lead the people in songs of worship. When the priests were done sacrificing the animals which he had brought, Hezekiah told the people that now that they were consecrated they could bring their sacrifices and thank offerings. The people responded by bringing so many animals as sacrifices that there were not sufficient priests to prepare all of the animals for sacrifice. So, the Levites helped prepare the animals for sacrifice.
Paul tells us to accept those who are weak in faith. He instructs us to avoid quarreling over disputable matters. Paul gives us a couple of examples of things we should not argue over. He tells us that some people believe that it is OK to eat anything, while others believe that Christians should eat only vegetables. Paul states that no matter which side of that debate you find yourself on, you should not only not condemn those on the other side, but you should remember that they are honoring the Lord as they practice the position they are taking. Another issue that Paul brings up is that some people believe that we should worship God on a particular day, while others hold that it does not matter what day we choose to worship God since we should worship God every day (Paul was probably referring to a debate over keeping the Sabbath). Paul tells us that we should not condemn another believer over issues such as this. It is up to us to judge our fellow believers, we should leave that up to God (although we need to remember that Paul was not saying we should ignore all types of sin. I will discuss the other side of this when I cover the passage where he talks about it in Corinthians).
Paul continues by saying that he is convinced that there is no food that it is wrong to eat. However, if someone else believes that it is wrong to eat something, than it is a sin for them to eat it. He tells us that we should not encourage someone to do something which they believe to be a sin. If we do we are causing them to sin.
***
In this passage Paul addresses both sides and says that they should not be judgmental of those who feel differently. However, it appears to me that he puts the greater burden on those who feel that things are not a sin than on those who think that they are. He tells those who think that eating meat is not a sin that, if by eating meat they might cause someone who believed it wrong to stumble in their faith, they should not eat meat. My reading of this is that those who believe that certain activities are not sin are under obligation to avoid pushing that belief on those who believe those activities are sin.
This is NOT catnip
I read this psalm and the opening verse really struck me. Not as something new, but just as the theme for me today.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
Everything and everyone on this earth belong to God. I have nothing that does not belong to God. He is merely allowing me to use it. I need to treat this earth like it belongs to someone else, someone who will hold me accountable for any damage I may do to it. But more than that, I need to remember that every person on the face of the earth, no matter what I may think of them, belongs to God. I should treat them with the respect that a servant of God deserves, even if they are not willingly doing so. It is up to God to mete out any punishment that may be due, not me.
Magrat by the fire pit
God has given us ears to hear, so we should listen to what God has to say. He has given us eyes to see, so we should actually look at what is in front of us. God has given us the gift to judge for ourselves what we hear and what we see.
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.
Seven days after the waters of the Nile had been turned to blood, God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. They were to tell Pharaoh that since he had not let God’s people go to worship Him, God was going to bring a plague of frogs on the land. Aaron stretched out his hand and frogs came up out of the Nile and other bodies of water and covered the land. Once again Pharaoh called his magicians who duplicated this feat. What Pharaoh’s magicians could not do was make the frogs go away (or die). So, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and asked them to ask God to take the frogs away. Pharaoh told them that if they did that he would let their people go to worship God. Moses asked Pharaoh to specify a time for the Egyptian households to be rid of the frogs. Pharaoh gave Moses a time and Moses prayed to God. At the appointed time the frogs that were not in the waterways died. Pharaoh however reneged on his promise and did not let the people go. The next plague was gnats. This time Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to duplicate what God had done through Moses and Aaron. Nevertheless Pharaoh would not let them go. The plagues got progressively worse and Pharaoh bargained with Moses, but he never followed through. Repeatedly through today’s passage we are told that Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to follow through on what he had promised.
How often have I been like that? When I have faced troubles I have made deals with God, promising that if just this once more He gets me out of the troubles I got myself into, I will change my ways and do what He commands. Or sometimes I have declared that as soon as things got better I would commit myself to serving Him in a new way. Then when things get better I forget, or make excuses why I won’t do the things I said I would do. The answer is I have done that all too often.
Some people brought children to Jesus for Him to pray for them. The disciples tried to discourage them, I assume because they thought it was a waste of Jesus’ time to pray over children that were not sick. Didn’t these people know that Jesus was an important man? However, Jesus intervened and told them to let the children come to Him, that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to those who were like these children. Jesus laid His hands on the children and went on His way.
Then a man came up to Jesus and asked Him what good thing he needed to do to get eternal life? Jesus gave a two-part answer. The first part was to question why the man was asking Him about what is good, since only God is good. The second part was to tell the man to keep the commandments. The man then asked specifically which commandments he should keep. Jesus answered this by listing six of the ten commandments. To which the man replied, “Oh, I’ve kept those.” Jesus then told him to go sell all that he had, give the proceeds to the poor and come follow Jesus. The man went away sad because he was unwilling to give up his great wealth.
Jesus turned to His disciples and told them, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples’ response to this statement by Jesus was that if a rich man would have trouble getting into heaven, what chance did anyone else have? Jesus told them that it was impossible for man to do this, but with God all things are possible. This led Peter to burst out that they had left everything to follow Jesus, what would happen to them? Jesus told them that they would receive their reward and that those who had given up worldly possessions in order would receive a hundred-fold more and eternal life as well. Jesus followed this up by saying that many who were first would be last and many who were last would be first.
I see a link between these two stories. The rich young man was looking for a shortcut to salvation. He was looking for a way to have both his power and position in this life and in the kingdom of heaven. The children were being brought by their parents, no one thought they were important (except for Jesus). The disciples obstructed the children’s path to Jesus. At the very least they stayed out of the rich young man’s way, if they did not actively clear the way for him to approach Jesus. The rich young man wanted to know what the rules were confident that once he knew the rules he could use his wealth and position to smooth the way for himself. The children just wanted to see Jesus and be touched by Him. Perhaps the most important point of this story is Jesus statement that it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. There have been many attempts to make this comparison less ridiculous, but let’s look at what came after Jesus said this. The disciples response was, “Well then, how can anyone be saved?” and Jesus followed up by saying that it is impossible for man, but with God all things are possible. It is only through the action of God that I can be saved, I cannot earn salvation. There is nothing I can do to obligate God to let me into heaven.
What the psalmist says here is so true. Everything on this earth and in this universe belongs to God. Anything we think that we have is something that belongs to God that He has given us stewardship over. This thought should give us guidance in how we spend our money and our time. How can we spend them in ways that further God’s purpose in this world? When I am considering spending money or doing something with my time I need to examine how that will serve God. I want to plan my life so that everything I do and everything I spend my money on serves God’s will.
Today’s passage from proverbs is a recommendation to avoid standing as security for someone else’s debt (for example, co-signing a loan for them). It is one of the few passages in Proverbs that I do not agree with completely. I would say that one should only offer to secure someone else’s debt if you are able and willing to pay that debt back for them. While you may hope and expect that someone will pay the debt, you should realize that the reason they need someone else to offer to secure the debt is because there is reason to believe that they will fail to do so.
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.
King Ahaz had shuttered the Temple and promoted the worship of various pagan gods. When he died his son Hezekiah took the throne. Hezekiah’s mother was the daughter of Zechariah. We are not told for sure, but this was probably the same Zechariah who instructed Hezekiah’s grandfather, Uzziah, in the fear of God. If this was the case, Hezekiah is an example of how much influence a godly mother can have. Hezekiah’s father, King Ahaz, not only did not worship God, preferring the worship of other gods, he interfered with others doing so by shuttering the doors of the Temple. However, upon taking the throne the first thing Hezekiah does is to open the Temple doors and get them repaired. Hezekiah summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to clean out and purify the Temple. It took them eight days to clean out the courtyard and eight more days to clean out and purify the Temple itself.
When the cleansing of the Temple was completed, Hezekiah called upon the people to gather for a re-dedication service. Hezekiah provided an offering for consecrating the people to God. We cannot get a good feel for it from the description, but this service was much like a festival. While the offerings were being made we are told that the singers sang accompanied by trumpets and other instruments. When these offerings were completed, Hezekiah instructed the people to bring their own offerings to the Temple. The people brought so much in the way of offerings that there were not enough priests to prepare them all, so the Levites helped them do so.
Paul discusses disputes over what people eat and drink and over the celebration of Holy days. He tells us not to argue over such things. Some people think it is OK to eat anything, others will only eat vegetables. Paul tells us here that whichever side of that dispute we are on, we should not condemn those who take a differing position. In addition, Paul references some who emphasize worshiping the Lord on a particular day vs some who hold all days alike. Paul seems to come down on the side of those who hold all days alike, but sees no problem with some people emphasizing a particular day. On both of these disputes, Paul says that it does not matter which side we are on, as long as our goal is to honor God.
He goes on to tell us that we must not cause others to stumble. He gives the example that he believes that nothing is unclean in and of itself. However, if someone believes that it is wrong to eat certain foods, then for that person it is wrong. If a fellow Christian has a problem with something we choose to eat, we should not eat it in their presence, and we should keep the fact that we sometimes eat that between ourselves and God. If you have doubts as to whether or not it is right to do something, than it is a sin to do that something. Or to put it another way, if doing something makes you feel guilty, don’ do that something. We should not eat or drink anything that will cause another to stumble. This is the basis for the only valid argument that I have ever heard from Christian teetotalers. They argue that some people are alcoholics and if those people consume any alcohol they will be unable to control themselves and will drink to excess. This seems to be true. The teetotalers therefore argue that we should not drink alcohol in the presence of alcoholics because we may cause them to be tempted to drink alcohol if we do so. They further argue that we should not drink alcohol in the presence of anyone because we do not know who is or is not an alcoholic. They further extend the argument that we should not drink at all because we do not know who will observe us buying the alcohol in the first place and thus be tempted. I do not subscribe to this argument, but it has merit. As Christians, we should be sensitive to drinking in the presence of alcoholics. I am not so much concerned with those who are aware of their problem, because I can encourage them in their choice to abstain when I am drinking. The place for special care is around those who have a drinking problem but refuse to acknowledge it.
Everything belongs to God. All parts of our lives should be dedicated to honoring Him. We should not attempt to close God out of any part of our lives because it all belongs to Him. Everything we have and everything we are is God’s. If we do not dedicate all of our actions to His service we are failing in our duty to Him.
“Ears to hear and eyes to see—
both are gifts from the Lord.”
Notice it does not say anything about mouth to talk. Our ears and our eyes are used to observe the world around us. I think it is interesting the order they are listed. Perhaps we should focus a greater part of our observation on what we hear relative to what we see than we tend to.
