Do not seek revenge for the wrong you perceive others to have done you. If they have truly done wrong, God will handle the matter. If your perception is in error and you take revenge, you will be the one in the wrong. Trust in God to bring everyone justice.
God desires that we come and talk with Him. He is calling us to do so, let us listen to His voice and answer Him. When we come to the Lord in prayer, it is not enough to tell Him of our desires, we must also listen to what He has to tell us. If we enter into conversation with God, He will never reject us. Our friends and our family may reject us, but God never will.
The message of the Gospel is foolish to those who rely on human wisdom. We will never find God by seeking out what mankind thinks of as wise. The victory of Christ was dying on the cross. Christ did not achieve His victory by dying. Dying was His victory. Without the Holy Spirit working within us we can never understand this.
Christ may be foolish to those who are wise by the world’s standard, but for those who have been called by God He is the power and wisdom of God. It is not by what the world views as power, or wealth, or wisdom that we come to God. God chooses those whom the world calls foolish, those whom the world calls powerless, those whom the world calls impoverished, or to sum it up, those whom the world calls worthless. Through those He has called God shows His power, His wealth, His wisdom, and most importantly He shows us that no person is worthless. I will boast about nothing but the power and wisdom of God.
When Cyrus of Persia had defeated Babylon he not only allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, he encouraged them to do so. In this way God fulfilled the prophecy He had given through Jeremiah regarding the length of the Exile.
When we read this proverb we often do not realize the full intent of what it says. When the proverb says “curse” it does not mean use foul language. It means “attempt to cause bad things to happen to someone.” So, those who attempt to cause bad things to happen to their own parents will discover those bad things coming upon themselves. Even if your parents deserved the curse you sent their way, sending it their way will cement yourself into following them in their evil ways.
If we truly put our trust in God there is nothing for us to be afraid of. There is no one and nothing which can harm us if God does not wish us to be harmed. Just as important as that is the fact that God loves us. If we trust Him and wish to serve Him, then anything which happens to us will bring us joy (if not immediately, then in the long run) as we see how it furthers God’s purpose.
Usually when I read 1 Corinthians everything before Paul starts talking about division in the Church reads to me as just “intro” or “presenting his credentials”. It does not really register. He tells the Corinthians, and I believe that this applies to us as well, that God has enriched them in every way. God has blessed them(us) with knowledge and skilled speakers (the way Paul says this reads to me as both those oratory skill and those able to talk in various languages). In addition, they(we) do not lack any spiritual gift needed for the life of the Church.
I realized that Paul was telling us that we have no excuse for failing to accomplish the tasks which God has given us (for this discussion I am talking about us as the local body of believers, not us as individuals). If we think that we are missing some skill or knowledge, we have not looked closely enough at those who are among us, or we have failed to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. God is faithful. He will not call us to a task which He has not provided us the strength, knowledge, and skill to accomplish. We often seek outside of the local body of believers for resources when God calls us in a new direction when we should be looking for whom among us God is raising up for the task. The place we do this most often, to the detriment of the Church at large as well as to the local body, is in the case of pastors. I believe that most of the time pastors should be called from among those who are already part of the local body of believers, rather than from outsiders (there are clear exceptions to this, but we have made those exceptions the norm).
I am always uplifted when I read about the Passover which Josiah celebrated. The story makes me envision spiritual revival throughout the land. I imagine the people having a renewed dedication to serving the Lord. But then Josiah goes on an ill-fated expedition. He decides to challenge King Neco of Egypt as the latter marched to do battle against the Babylonians. Josiah died in this battle and the kings who succeeded him did evil leading to the conquest of Judah and Jerusalem. The follow up to Josiah’s glorious reign always saddens me.
The proverb writer tells us that committing adultery is like scooping flame into your lap…you are going to get burned. Just like it is possible to walk on hot coals with bare feet and not get burned, you may think that you got away with it. However, unlike walking on hot coals, you will suffer negative consequences from adultery, whether or not anybody else ever knows about it.
My heart has heard God say, “Come and talk with me.” All to often, my reply is, “Not now, I’m busy. I’ll get back with you in as soon as I finish this.” I will strive once more to change that and put talking to God at the top of my priority list. If we talk to God every day, He will teach us how to live and show us the path to follow. Our enemies may be waiting for us, but if we follow the path down which God would lead us, we will avoid the traps they have laid for us.
The question which the Pharisee asked Jesus in an attempt to trap Him tells us a lot about how the Pharisees thought, not the question itself, but the fact that they thought it was a trap. Once you have heard Jesus’ answer, it is perfectly obvious. The two basic laws are, “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All of the other laws, rules, and instructions from God are merely expressions of how one follows these two laws. If your understanding of any of those other laws allows (or requires) you to violate either of these two, your understanding is wrong.
Having disposed of their arguments, Jesus condemns the religious leaders of His day (and many since). He tells us not to act so as to “look” righteous. We should do the things we do because they are the right thing to do, not because they cause others to think we are righteous. We are not to call anyone “Master”, or “Father”, or “Teacher”, or any other title which implies that they are somehow closer to God than we are. Just as importantly, we should not let anyone call us by such titles. People read this and think that because they are not using one of the titles Jesus explicitly mentioned that it is OK to call someone “Reverend Jack”, or “Pastor Jack”. Doing the latter is the same as calling someone “Father Jack”. Using such honorifics is an attempt to make someone an intermediary between ourselves and God. We already have such an intermediary in Jesus.
This passage reminds us of how important it is for a leader to delegate tasks to others. One person cannot do it all. First we have the story of the battle against the Amalekites. Moses sent Joshua out to lead the troops, while he went up to the top of a nearby hill to direct troop movements. While Moses was able to keep his arms up, he was able to direct the troops to greatest advantage. When his arms got tired they lost the advantage which Moses’ direction gave them. When Aaron and Hur noticed this, they helped Moses by holding his arms in the air. The Israelites won the battle because Moses was assisted by three able assistants.
Later, when Moses’ father-in-law came to visit he saw that Moses was spending all of his time making decisions about every minor dispute among the Israelites. Jethro observed that this served neither Moses nor the Israelites. Moses was ill-served because he had to spend an inordinate amount of time listening to each case. The Israelites were ill-served because they needed to wait for Moses to go through each of the cases that had been brought up before theirs. Jethro told Moses to appoint some honest, God fearing men to hear the majority of the cases, especially the cases which merely needed an impartial witness to judge the facts.
This is how all leaders need to work. They need to delegate decisions about how to implement policy to others, reserving for themselves only the decisions which determine the overall direction the group will take.
I feel great sorrow for those for whom these proverbs do not apply; those who do not have a father and a mother; those whose parents, while technically being in their life, have chosen to be their “friends” rather than their parents. For all the rest of us, this is indispensable advice.
If we have truly turned to God for our salvation and trust in Him to provide it, whom shall we fear? If we trust in God and turn our lives completely over to Him, it is our enemies who will stumble and fall. We need not muster our forces and deal them a defeat in battle. God will cause them to trip over their own feet.
However, let us always remember in this life the question is not, “Is God on our side?” Rather the question is, “Am I on God’s side?” Let us strive, in every situation, to be on God’s side. If we succeed in that effort, we will always emerge on the victorious side.
Jesus tells continues His theme about those who have been religious, yet reject God’s will. The several parables He tells on this theme are important because we can make too much of the images He uses in one or another of them. One of the key points in all of them is that the religious leaders of His day were invited by God, more than invited, perhaps chosen would be a better word, to do God’s work and enter into heaven. The other key point is that when those religious leaders refuse to act according to God’s will, God will extend the invitation to, will choose, those whom the religious leaders believer, not without cause, to be unsuitable to replace them. The message here is that what God wants done, will be done. God will find those willing to do His will.
There is an interesting side story in Jesus’ parable about the wedding feast. Once the feast is in progress, the King is circulating among the guests and notices one who is not wearing wedding clothes. God invites us as we are, dirty, sinful people, but we cannot get into Heaven if we stay as we are. We need to allow Him to change us.
The passage begins with the Israelites praising God for rescuing them from the Egyptian army. However, the rest of the passage is story after story of the Israelites complaining because they are facing troubles. First they complain when the water at Marah is too bitter to drink. God showed Moses how to make the water drinkable, supplying the Israelites with water. Then they complain because their food is running out and they are afraid that they are going to starve. God provided them with quail and with manna to eat. The final story in the passage tells us that they came to camp at a place where there was no water. Once more the Israelites complained.
Time after time God demonstrated His power and His ability to care for their needs. Yet, time after time the Israelites complained and rebelled. Are we any different? Have we learned to trust God to provide for our needs and our safety? The Israelites mistake was not in crying out to God when they ran into troubles. Their mistake was crying out to God demanding that He meet their needs, rather than crying out to God asking Him what He wanted them to do now. When we find ourselves at the end of our rope, with needs that we have no idea how to meet, let us cry out to God, “What do You want me to do now?” Actually, let us start each day that way, “Oh Lord, what do you want me to do today?”
It is not our place to seek revenge for the wrongs which have been committed against us. God will avenge us if we have been wronged. If we seek revenge for perceived wrongs, we risk being guilty of committing wrongs against the innocent, because we may be mistaken about who was responsible, or even about the nature of what happened. If we allow God to avenge the wrongs done to us we can be sure that those who suffer are those who deserve it.
When my heart hears God ask me to come and talk with Him, I respond. But how often has God asked me to come and talk with Him when I was not listening. I am determined to be listening when God calls me to come and talk with Him in the future. God will not forsake us, not even when our own parents do so. I will learn how to live from God’s instructions. I will seek His guidance along the paths of life. I will wait for God to show me the way before I begin my journey.
The message Paul delivers here is one we need to always remember. The world is convinced that the Gospel message is foolishness. The Gospel teaches that victory comes through Jesus death. This is foolishness to those who have not been saved. How can victory be obtained by allowing yourself to be killed? God did not bring about our salvation because of, nor by way of, our wisdom or power in this world. Ultimately, God offers His salvation to those who admit to their powerlessness and those who are not afraid to look foolish. All too many people have fallen away from the Gospel because of their desire to appear wise.
When we preach the Gospel let us follow Paul’s example. Instead of trying to convince people by our clever words and by demonstrating our great wisdom, let us speak plainly of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that others will come to know God, not by our skills at putting together a good argument.
When Cyrus, the king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians he not only decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, he encouraged them to do so. He sent from his own treasury those items which had been seized by the Babylonians from the Temple when they conquered Jerusalem. In addition, he encouraged those who were neighbors of the Jews in exile to offer them financial support to return to Jerusalem. As a result of this decree a large number of Jews returned to Jerusalem with enough wealth to begin the process of rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. When God’s time arrived, God provided for His people.
No matter how bad someone’s parents have been, if that person curses their parents they will have their light go out. If we spend our lives blaming our parents for the bad things in our lives rather than changing our behaviors in order to correct those problems, we will continue to experience the bad things.
The Creator of the universe provides me with light to see. My defenses are built by Him and He will protect me. Why should I be afraid of anything? Those who seek to harm me will stumble and fall in their attempt to damage me. It is they who will suffer from their plots and plans against me. I can remain confident, no matter how powerful the force assembled against me. Even if my enemies are able to muster the entire world against me, they will still have insufficient power to overcome my Defender, who is the Lord. All I need to do to remain safe is seek the Lord and His will. If I do that, it is foolish to fear anything else.
Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been made holy by God, has been made a saint. Every group of Christians has every spiritual gift that they will need. Whether that group is one, or three, or hundreds, whatever gifts and talents are necessary is possessed by sufficient numbers within that group to accomplish whatever task God has set for that group. God has provided us with the knowledge and the appropriate way of speaking to serve His purposes. When God calls us to a task, let us not fear that we do not have the means to accomplish that task, He will provide us with whatever is needed.
Yesterday, as we looked at Paul’s conclusion to his letter to the Romans, we saw that we should stay away from those people who cause divisions by teaching things contrary to sound doctrine, contrary to the teachings of Christ. Today, in his opening to his letter to the Corinthians, Paul warns us against dividing into factions. The Church today has failed to heed his warnings. That is why it is divided into denominations. However, Paul addresses those who think they are avoiding this failing by being “non-denominational”. Some say, “I follow Luther”(Lutherans), others, “I follow John Wesley”(Methodists), still others, “I follow Menno Simons”(Mennonites), and some say, “I follow only Christ”(non-denominational). We are not called to follow these separate teachers. We are called to be united in thought and purpose.
This call to unity is difficult because we are also called to be faithful. There are those who will use our desire to be united to attempt to get us to accept teachings which are counter to God’s. So, let us seek to be unified with those who are allowing God’s Spirit to guide them in seeking to do His will, who are serving God and teaching the Gospel message to those around them. But let us avoid those who are creating divisions by teaching things contrary to God’s word.
Josiah called the people to celebrate the Passover. He brought the people together to worship God and celebrate His deliverance of their ancestors from Egypt. The people celebrated in a great festival of worship honouring the Lord. Unfortunately, shortly after this, Josiah failed to seek God’s guidance when King Neco of Egypt marched across his land to do battle with the Babylonians. Josiah marched out to do battle with the Egyptians. In the battle, Josiah was wounded and died. Those who succeeded Josiah did not follow his example of faithfully serving God and the land soon fell to the Babylonians. This is a warning for us that we can easily fall from a spiritual high if we fail to continuously seek God’s will for our lives.
I am trying something different. Previously, I have always placed my comments on the passage in the order Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, Psalm, Proverb. For the near future I am going to post them in the order in which I prepare the comments. This is likely to be the reverse of how I was doing it, but I foresee changing it up depending on what strikes me first. Please let me know what you think of this change.
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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
The proverb writer tells us that justification may be found for other sins, such as theft, but there is no possible justification for adultery. People sympathize with someone who steals because he, or his family, is hungry, but someone who commits adultery destroys himself. There is nothing which can be done to make it right to those who have been sinned against.
I find today’s psalm very comforting. I love verse 8:
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
The Lord is saying that to each of us. Have you heard Him? Have you answered as the psalmist did? Are you willing to go to God and talk with Him, both speaking and listening. Even if you are not yet willing to listen to what God has to say to you, He wants to hear what you have to say to Him. Go and talk to Him now.
Please go and talk to God, because He will hold you close, even if your parents abandon you. When you have told God everything you have to say, listen to Him. He will teach you how to live so as to avoid the traps and pitfalls your enemies are laying out for you. If you listen to God’s instruction you will see His goodness while you yet live and spend eternity in heaven.
I am not sure why the Pharisees thought that their question of Jesus was a trap, but then I have known His answer for as long as I have known the Bible. All of what God commands of us descends from the commandment which Jesus says is the most important: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” Jesus adds a second that follows from the first, but is not necessarily obvious to everyone: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I read this and it is so hard to do. Sometimes I manage to love God with all of my heart, sometimes with all of my soul, and sometimes with all of my mind. But doing all three at the same time often seems beyond me. I pray to God that His Spirit will inhabit me so that I can do so.
Jesus criticizes the religious leaders of His day (and many of today) for teaching that people should do one thing, but doing something else themselves. He points out that what they do is for the purpose of being honored by others. Then He warns us against letting others hold us up as better than themselves and against holding others up as better than ourselves. If we take on airs, God will humble us. If you feel that you are a leader, do what you can to serve those around you. I will not let others call me “Teacher”, or “Father”. I am not the one for others to hold up. If you want an example of how to live, do not look to me. I fail all too often and am much too proud. If you start to hold me up as special, I am likely to start to believe you and stop relying on God in order to do what is right.
Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, came to spend time with Moses and the children of Israel. While there he offered a sacrifice and shared a sacrificial meal with the leaders of the children of Israel. The following day, he witnessed Moses spend the entire day judging the disputes which the people of Israel had with each other. That evening Jethro asked Moses what he thought he was accomplishing. When Moses explained, Jethro told him that he could not go on this way. He gave him advice to which every leader of every group needs to listen. Jethro told Moses that he needed to delegate some of his tasks to others. As soon as a group is larger than three people, the tasks necessary to lead the group should be divided up among more than one person.
I am trying something different now. Previously, I have always placed my comments on the passage in the order of Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, Psalm, Proverb. For the near future I am going to post them in the order in which I prepare the comments. This is likely to be the reverse of how I was doing it previously, but I foresee changing it up depending on what strikes me first. Please let me know what you think of this change.
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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
The proverb writer reminds us of the importance of remembering what our parents taught us. It does not matter whether we had good parents (which, by God’s grace, I did) or bad parents, there were things they taught us that will help us live a better, happier life.
This is a psalm where I like the NIV take on it better, especially the first verse:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
I will seek one thing and one thing only, to dwell in the house of the Lord for all of the days of my life. With such a dwelling place, I have nothing to fear.
It has been done to death, but in today’s passage Jesus asks the Pharisees whose image is on the Roman coin. When they reply “Caesar’s”, He tells them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. There are many things to be said about this and how it applies to our lives. However, today the thing that strikes me, not for the first time, is that in Genesis we are told that God made man in His own image. So, while our money may have been made by Caesar with his image on it, WE have been made by God with His image on us. Let us give to God what is God’s, Caesar can have the rest.
God saved the Israelites in dramatic fashion and they praised His name. Then a short time later they were complaining because the water they came to was too bitter to drink. Moses went to God and He told Moses how to make it drinkable. Then they traveled a little further and began complaining because they did not have good food to eat. So, God sent them manna from heaven to eat. Then they came to a place where there was no water to drink, and once more they complained. And once more God provided for their needs.
Notice the pattern here? Time and again they were in a difficult situation and rather than trust God to bail them out, they complained and accused God and Moses of leading them to their deaths. Time and again, God showed that He was faithful a performed a powerful act to relieve their difficulty. Do we see ourselves in their actions? Can we learn to trust God? God is faithful and He will provide for us.
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.
When Josiah had gotten his restoration of the Temple well under way, he announced that the Passover feast would be held in Jerusalem. He gave orders organizing the priests and Levites so that they could perform their duties efficiently. The Passover festival held by Josiah was a time of great joy and worship of God.
Sometime after this, King Neco of Egypt was marching against the Babylonians and passing near Judah with his army. Despite Neco’s assurances that he was not going to attack Judah, Josiah entered into battle against him. Josiah was wounded in battle and was taken back to Jerusalem, where he died. Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was made king. However, he only reigned for three months when King Neco took him captive and put his brother Jehoiakim on the throne. The passage tells us that Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord and King Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive. Jehoiakim was succeeded first by Jehoiachin, then by Zedekiah. Each of these kings did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and the people became ever more unfaithful. God sent prophets to call them back to him, but they did not listen. Finally, King Nebuchadnezzar came, destroyed Jerusalem, and took the people into captivity.
Paul starts off by stating his credentials and that he is writing to the church in Corinth. Paul says something very important here. He says that the church in Corinth was called by God to be His holy people; that is, saints. But, Paul tells us, this is true not just of the church in Corinth, it is true of everyone everywhere who calls on the name of Jesus.
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There is a great song by Wayne Watson called “People of God” which takes what Paul is saying here and puts it into musical form. I won’t quote it here because of copyright, but you can go read the lyrics and listen to it here
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Paul goes on to thank God that the church in Corinth has been blessed by God with speech to suit every purpose and the knowledge to serve God according to His will. They do not lack any spiritual gift that might be necessary to carry out God’s will among them. This too is true of the church everywhere.
Having finished his introduction, Paul gets into the heart of why he is writing to the church in Corinth. He writes that he has been told that there are factions among them. That various ones among them are lifting up the teachings of one or another teacher of the early Church as being authoritative while that of other teachers was not. Paul is writing to tell them to live in harmony with one another. The Church should be united in mind and thought.
What Paul is writing about is denominationalism. Some people are Baptists (or Methodists, or Brethern, or Catholics, or…) and anyone who is not Baptist (or whatever denomination that person is) is going to Hell. Paul is writing to tell the Corinthians (and us) that such an approach is wrong. Of course, some Christians try to say, “Well, he’s not talking to me. I’m non-denominational. I’m not part of any denomination. I just worship Christ.” Paul doesn’t let them get off that easy, see verse 12:
Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
Christ was not divided and those leaders who we look to as the founders of our various denominations were not crucified for us. We were all baptized in the name of Christ, not some other leader.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
There is no one and nothing I need fear except for God Himself. Nothing can happen to me that is against God’s will. No matter what anyone wishes, no matter what happens in the world, nothing can harm me in anyway against God’s will.
I will strive to live all my life by what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar when he threatened to throw them in the fiery furnace:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
