"I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command Him."--Deuteronomy 18:19. Beginning in Deuteronomy 18:15, God through Moses introduces to the fact that a prophet like Moses would be raised up among the people. Many, this writer included, believe this is pointing forward to the time of Christ. The interesting detail about this prophet is that the prophet would only speak what God has commanded.
A prophet. One of the many facts we know about Christ is that He spoke only as the Father spoke. So what does this mean?
A prophet. A prophet is God's messenger. The beautiful thing about our relationship with God is that He has chosen to use those who decide to follow Him to bring His message to the world. However, the more we look at Scripture, the more we can see that the one condition of this is that the prophet only speaks where God speaks.
A prophet. Later in Deuteronomy 18:22, Moses tells us that if something a prophet speaks that does not come about, then that prophet has spoken "presumptuously." 2 Peter 1:21 would label these "prophets" as false prophets. So what can we learn from this as members of the Lord's church today?
A prophet. Well I am not going to go so far as to call ourselves prophets as the term carries a lot of weight with it. However, that does not change the fact that as Christians we are God's messengers. But like the prophet of Deuteronomy, we too must only speak what God has commanded. What this means is we can only speak what we know for a fact what God has spoken. So what has God spoken? The only way to know is if we look to His inspired Word. Fact is we are treading on dangerous ground if we step outside the bounds of the Bible and more specifically if we step outside the bounds of the New Testament.
A prophet. Again, we must understand that a prophet speaks only as God speaks. God has spoken through Christ, the apostles, and the prophets all of whose words have been recorded for us in the pages of Scripture. This is where we as Christians ought to speak and being ever careful not to step outside of the bounds of what has been spoken by God.
A prophet. This blog is a little more doctrinal in nature than practical so my encouragement to you is simply this. Spend more time in God's Word everyday, take whatever it is you believe and as you study adapt what you believe to the Scriptures, do not try to adapt the Scriptures to what you believe as doing this is treading on dangerous ground.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
God and government...
"Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God."--Deuteronomy 17:18-19. This verse is looking forward to the time when Israel would decide they would want an earthly king. When this time comes, one of the first regulations is that the king should retain a copy of God's law and read it so that he may learn to fear God. This verse is dealing with God and government.
God and government. It is definitely no secret that as we read through the Old Testament, specifically through the books of Kings and Chronicles we see that the majority of kings neglected God's law and brought problems to the nations of Israel and Judah. This reminds me of Proverbs 14:34 which states "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people."
God and government. As Christians, this concept of problems being caused in a nation due to the neglect of God's law should not be foreign to us. Unless we have been hiding under a rock somewhere, it is clear that God's law is being neglected in our government. Attempts are being made left and right to remove any and all evidence of God from our courtrooms and our classrooms. I am not here this morning to make a political statement because the real question we need to ask ourselves as Christians is what can we do about it?
Many of us would probably be tempted to say things like go and vote for such and such a cause. This is all well and good and it is definitely wise. However, I am here to make another suggestion. As Christians, it is going to take more than just going to the voting booth to make a difference in our nation today. There is another area where Satan has made his typical back door entrance into our nation and that is in the classroom. You might be asking what the classroom has to do with this concept of God and government but please bear with me.
We all know that the classroom is the training ground for the America of tomorrow. The classroom has become a pulpit for those trying to plant seeds of doubt in our children's mind about our God. We would be naive to believe that our own children are immune to this. I recently heard a stat that said it takes 4 Christian adults to get one faithful child of God into the next generation. But again, how does this relate to the concept of God and government?
This relates to the concept of God and government because making a difference in our nation becomes a little more practical when we make that difference through our children. Parents or not, us older Christians have a responsibility towards the next generation to do everything we can to equip them so that their faith stands up to the test when our government does everything they can to remove God from national life. If you are a teacher, especially in the public school system, with wisdom you have a prime opportunity to make a difference for God's kingdom and in our nation through the pulpit that you occupy in the classroom. Of course we won't see a difference over night but if we plant the seeds and water them God will give the increase. We can start this battle small by simply sharing a Bible verse or having a Bible study with our children. My prayer is that Christians everywhere do all they can to make a difference when it comes to God and government.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The heart...
"Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself."-- Deuteronomy 18:16-17. Moses, warning against the accumulation of things as it can cause the heart to turn away.
The heart. This particular issue of course is a very broad topic because the Scriptures speak everywhere about how easily the heart can turn away from the Lord. In this particular passage, we see that the accumulation of goods can cause the heart to turn away from the Lord.
The heart. Needless to say when we are talking about the heart, we are not talking about the organ that pumps blood through our system. When we speak of the heart, we are talking about the very seat of our emotions and our will. So how does the accumulation of material goods impact our heart, the seat of our emotions and our will? Also, before I go any further my intent here is not to suggest that wealth is a bad thing. My point here is simply to show how the accumulation of material goods can cause our heart to turn from the Lord.
So the question is how, how does the accumulation of material goods cause our heart to turn from the Lord? This last Sunday when we were praying for the offering at Sunday services, the person saying the prayer said that with blessings come great responsibility. That really got me to thinking because it is so true. We do not by any means deserve the blessings that God has given us, material or otherwise. That being said, when God gives us said blessings, He expects us to treat those blessings with the utmost care and that includes our money. God has lined out in Scripture how we ought to use our money including instructing us to give a portion back to Him in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. But our blessings our not isolated to material goods.
Recently, I have received one of the greatest blessings I could ever ask for but it is not a material object, she is a person. She is the girl that stole my heart. However, what I constantly remind myself of is the fact that she is a blessing from God Himself and with that comes the responsibility to treat her with the utmost care.
The heart. I bring up people in this discussion as well because Deuteronomy 18:16-17 also touches on the accumulation of wives causing the heart to turn away. Of course, in today's society the accumulation of wives is not a major issue but the principle still applies. If we find ourselves trying to please people left and right and then forget about pleasing God, our heart can turn away from the Lord. When God places on us the blessing of the responsibility to care for another person, be it a boy/girlfriend, spouse, child or even just a friend, it is our responsibility to care for that person as the Lord would have us to care for that person. Ephesians 5:21-6:9 is a great passage on how to do this practically. This may involve patience, humility, and not to mention self control among so many other things.
These are all issues of the heart. Again, the heart is a very broad topic. In this case, we have looked at how the accumulation of blessings can ironically turn the heart away from the Lord. My encouragement to you this morning is simply this. Go back to the Scriptures to find ways that you can use your blessings to the glory of God. I have given a couple of examples in this blog.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
The heart. This particular issue of course is a very broad topic because the Scriptures speak everywhere about how easily the heart can turn away from the Lord. In this particular passage, we see that the accumulation of goods can cause the heart to turn away from the Lord.
The heart. Needless to say when we are talking about the heart, we are not talking about the organ that pumps blood through our system. When we speak of the heart, we are talking about the very seat of our emotions and our will. So how does the accumulation of material goods impact our heart, the seat of our emotions and our will? Also, before I go any further my intent here is not to suggest that wealth is a bad thing. My point here is simply to show how the accumulation of material goods can cause our heart to turn from the Lord.
So the question is how, how does the accumulation of material goods cause our heart to turn from the Lord? This last Sunday when we were praying for the offering at Sunday services, the person saying the prayer said that with blessings come great responsibility. That really got me to thinking because it is so true. We do not by any means deserve the blessings that God has given us, material or otherwise. That being said, when God gives us said blessings, He expects us to treat those blessings with the utmost care and that includes our money. God has lined out in Scripture how we ought to use our money including instructing us to give a portion back to Him in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. But our blessings our not isolated to material goods.
Recently, I have received one of the greatest blessings I could ever ask for but it is not a material object, she is a person. She is the girl that stole my heart. However, what I constantly remind myself of is the fact that she is a blessing from God Himself and with that comes the responsibility to treat her with the utmost care.
The heart. I bring up people in this discussion as well because Deuteronomy 18:16-17 also touches on the accumulation of wives causing the heart to turn away. Of course, in today's society the accumulation of wives is not a major issue but the principle still applies. If we find ourselves trying to please people left and right and then forget about pleasing God, our heart can turn away from the Lord. When God places on us the blessing of the responsibility to care for another person, be it a boy/girlfriend, spouse, child or even just a friend, it is our responsibility to care for that person as the Lord would have us to care for that person. Ephesians 5:21-6:9 is a great passage on how to do this practically. This may involve patience, humility, and not to mention self control among so many other things.
These are all issues of the heart. Again, the heart is a very broad topic. In this case, we have looked at how the accumulation of blessings can ironically turn the heart away from the Lord. My encouragement to you this morning is simply this. Go back to the Scriptures to find ways that you can use your blessings to the glory of God. I have given a couple of examples in this blog.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Enemies...
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."--Matthew 5:43-44. Jesus, taking people's relationship with their enemies to a whole new level. Here, Jesus tells us a familiar command which is in two parts, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.
Enemies. Whether we choose to realize it, we all have enemies. We might not call them that but we all have those people in our lives that we just seem to constantly be at odds with for whatever reason. It might be something as simple as a personality difference or you just don't get along for any given reason. The question we need to ask ourselves in light of Matthew 5:43-44 is what do we do when we encounter our "enemies"?
Enemies. Well we already know Jesus tells us to love our enemies but how do we do that? Or more to the point, why should we do it? I will attempt to answer these two questions and we will also look also at why we should pray for those who persecute us as our enemies may be these very people.
Love your enemies. When I have looked at the concept of loving our enemies in the past, I thought it meant not much more beyond simply turning the other cheek. However, while taking another look at this verse, there is more to loving our enemy than simply tolerating them. Loving our enemies is more practical in nature than that. Proverbs 25:21-22 tells us that if we are kind to our enemy we will heap burning coals on his head. Every time I read this verse I am reminded of the old adage "Kill them with kindness." The beautiful thing about loving our enemies is that if we put forth enough effort, we may quickly find that our enemy soon becomes our friend. While this may be true this still begs the question, why? Why should we love our enemies? Well aside from the command, our motivation should also be the fact that you and I were also enemies of God. If we have obeyed the gospel, we have gone from being enemies of God to being children of God. God loved His "enemies" enough to send His Son to die for their (our) sins. If nothing else, that should be our primary motivation to love our enemies. But what about praying for those who persecute us?
Those who persecute us. As faithful Christians, persecution in some form or fashion is a guarantee (2 Timothy 3:12). While I can't claim I have suffered persecution anywhere near to the extent the early Christians did, I have had to put up with more minor forms. What I mean for example is being ridiculed for standing up for what God says to us through His Word. But I still choose to pray for these people. Do not be discouraged if you are ever persecuted for your faith. Pray for those who persecute you. When we face discouragement from persecution, remember that Paul was one of the greatest persecutors of the church and if he could be converted, there is a chance for everyone.
In conclusion, my encouragement to you is this. If there is someone you consider your enemy, I challenge you to go out of your way to perform some random act of kindness for them such as going out to lunch with them or offering to help them in some way. This can go a long way. Furthermore, continue to pray for those who persecute you because you never know, they might convert through your efforts or those of another.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Enemies. Whether we choose to realize it, we all have enemies. We might not call them that but we all have those people in our lives that we just seem to constantly be at odds with for whatever reason. It might be something as simple as a personality difference or you just don't get along for any given reason. The question we need to ask ourselves in light of Matthew 5:43-44 is what do we do when we encounter our "enemies"?
Enemies. Well we already know Jesus tells us to love our enemies but how do we do that? Or more to the point, why should we do it? I will attempt to answer these two questions and we will also look also at why we should pray for those who persecute us as our enemies may be these very people.
Love your enemies. When I have looked at the concept of loving our enemies in the past, I thought it meant not much more beyond simply turning the other cheek. However, while taking another look at this verse, there is more to loving our enemy than simply tolerating them. Loving our enemies is more practical in nature than that. Proverbs 25:21-22 tells us that if we are kind to our enemy we will heap burning coals on his head. Every time I read this verse I am reminded of the old adage "Kill them with kindness." The beautiful thing about loving our enemies is that if we put forth enough effort, we may quickly find that our enemy soon becomes our friend. While this may be true this still begs the question, why? Why should we love our enemies? Well aside from the command, our motivation should also be the fact that you and I were also enemies of God. If we have obeyed the gospel, we have gone from being enemies of God to being children of God. God loved His "enemies" enough to send His Son to die for their (our) sins. If nothing else, that should be our primary motivation to love our enemies. But what about praying for those who persecute us?
Those who persecute us. As faithful Christians, persecution in some form or fashion is a guarantee (2 Timothy 3:12). While I can't claim I have suffered persecution anywhere near to the extent the early Christians did, I have had to put up with more minor forms. What I mean for example is being ridiculed for standing up for what God says to us through His Word. But I still choose to pray for these people. Do not be discouraged if you are ever persecuted for your faith. Pray for those who persecute you. When we face discouragement from persecution, remember that Paul was one of the greatest persecutors of the church and if he could be converted, there is a chance for everyone.
In conclusion, my encouragement to you is this. If there is someone you consider your enemy, I challenge you to go out of your way to perform some random act of kindness for them such as going out to lunch with them or offering to help them in some way. This can go a long way. Furthermore, continue to pray for those who persecute you because you never know, they might convert through your efforts or those of another.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Investigation...
Image courtesy of Simon Howden
"If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing His covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them...and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly."--Deuteronomy 17:2-4. Here Moses tells the people how they ought to handle it if the situation arises when someone is said to have been unfaithful to the Lord. They ought to conduct an investigation.
Investigation. So yesterday we had our first day of classes at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. Prior to the beginning of class I posted something on Facebook regarding the beginning of classes. It was nothing bad. However, a comment was made in response to this post that I thought was serious and I thought this person thought I meant something negative by what was said. Therefore, I had to go to this person to clear the air. Turns out said person was actually only joking. Although I was kind of frustrated the situation happened, in the end I was glad I took care of it because it clarified my misunderstanding. Furthermore, I was encouraged in this aspect by my wonderful girlfriend because she also thought it was good that I cleared the air regarding the situation instead of letting that misunderstanding sit there.
So why do I bring this up and how does it fit in to Deuteronomy 17:2-4? As already stated. Moses is commanding the people to investigate the matter if someone is said to have been unfaithful to God. Now there was nothing of this nature involved in the situation I just described but the principle still applies, I had to conduct an investigation to clear a misunderstanding regarding what I heard because there was a chance I had misconstrued what was said. Obviously, even among the Lord's church, this can still happen today where something will be said or heard and get entirely misconstrued and left hanging without an investigation.
Investigation. So why investigate? Oftentimes when we take a matter at face value and fail to investigate, it creates a bigger problem. What happens is that we will talk to everyone else about what we think is true and never go to the person. This leads to gossip and slander and the person involved is none the wiser about why all of a sudden people are acting differently towards him or her. In Matthew 18:15-20, the instructions are clear that we ought to go directly to our brother (or sister) before we go to anyone else if he or she has sinned. What has been heard may be true but on the flipside, it may not be true at all. If we fail to investigate matters in a more thorough manner, then we fail to please God and furthermore, we fail at restoring what could be a soul in danger of hell fire.
So what does this all mean to us? My encouragement to you in this aspect is simply this. If you know of a situation or have heard of a situation that has not yet been handled, encourage those involved to look deeper into the matter to get it resolved. We can't let these kinds of situations fester as this only causes them to get worse.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Junk...
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici
"But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God."--Deuteronomy 15:21. Moses, regarding animal sacrifices, reminding the people that whatever they offer is to be the very best. God does not want junk.
Junk. In the last blog that I wrote we looked at the fact that God wants to be first in everything, including in our material gains. God does not want junk. As a disclaimer, I just want to say up front, this particular blog might step on some toes and make some people uncomfortable but I think this is something we all need to be reminded of, myself included.
Junk. Consider for a moment the image above. It's a pretty disgusting sight isn't it? This is an image from a scrap metal yard taken by the gentleman acknowledged above. The image above is not something we would probably want to look at for an exorbitant amount of time. But let me ask you this, have we ever taken time to step back and ask ourselves if what if God sees our sacrifices, financial in this case in the same way we look at the image above, with disgust. What if God sees our "sacrifices" as junk?
Junk. I was reminded of the fact that God wants our very best in a couple of different ways over this last weekend alone. First, it was Sunday morning during the prayer for our offering at services where the person praying recognized that with blessings come great responsibility. Second, last night during the sermon, our preacher at the Bear Valley Church of Christ reminded us of Luke 12:48 which says that to him whom much has been given, much will be required. So this begs the question how much has God given us? As a result, how much is He requiring of us?
The fact that God has given us much. Nay, I would go so far as to say He has given us everything due to the fact that He gave His Son to die for our sins thereby meeting our greatest need. However, it is no secret that God stopped there. God continues to shower us with blessings day in and day out, whether we recognize it or not. Even after meeting our greatest need through the gospel message, God continues to bless us. Simply put, this is all because of how much He loves us. So if this is the case, how can we even think to give Him nothing more than our "scrap metal" or simply what is left over, our junk???
So what does this all mean to us? Well God wants the first of everything we have. God wants the best of everything we have. Of course, we are no longer required to sacrifice animals but God still expects us to give back and yes that includes with our money. My encouragement to you this morning is this. With the next paycheck you get, instead of thinking of all the bills you have to pay, first decide how much to give back to God and then figure out your bills second. After all, isn't it God that has given you the means to be able to make your bills in the first place??? If you are already of this mindset, my encouragement is to try to give more. After all, God wants more than just junk.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Friday, October 7, 2011
The first...
"You shall consecrate to the Lord your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock."--Deuteronomy 15:19. Moses, telling the Israelite people that the first of everything they have belongs to God.
The first. As a society, we are living in a "me first" kind of world. In the corporate world, people are trying to get to the top. In schools, many students are vying to be the top of their class. On any given game show and/or reality show, people are trying to get in a position of being first. Also in any given sports competition, people are trying to get first place such as in the most recent Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees series for the American League Divisional Series. The Yankees and Tigers were vying to be in first place but as most of us know, the Tigers won out and were first. Sorry to all you Yankees fans. This is simply the kind of society we live in.
The first. Given that we live in a world with a "me first" mindset, we have all but forgotten what God has to say on the subject and that is that God wants us to have a "me second and God first" kind of mindset. God wants to be the first in everything we do. And I do mean EVERYTHING. Just this week I spoke with my best friend Kenny and my other friend Rachel about the direction we are headed with our lives. These were two entirely separate conversations but what they both had in common was that both Kenny and Rachel talked about ending up where God wants us to end up even if it doesn't match up with where we want to end up. Keep that mindset Kenny and Rachel!!! This attitude is a great example of a "me second and God first" mindset. God wants to be the first every time whether it's in our career choices, the decisions we make on a daily basis and as we learn from Deuteronomy 15:19, God also wants to be the first in our life events and material gains.
The first. In Deuteronomy 15:19 Moses instructs the people to consecrate or to sanctify the first of all the Israelite people had whether it was their children or their animals. The first of anything is what we give the most attention to because of the value it carries. Think about it. How excited were you when you got your first car? How excited were you when you got your first job and that first paycheck? How about your first apartment or your first house? Or in the case of Deuteronomy 15:19, how about your first child? There is just something special about that first anything and it is that first anything for which God should be especially thanked.
The first. Now while today we are no longer required to take our first fruits to a temple to show it to some priest, God still expects us to give the first of everything back to Him. And He does expect the FIRST, not what is left over. Yes, at this point I am talking about our money. Too often we will get that paycheck and decide what bills we need to pay and how much we can play with before it even crosses our mind how much we need to give back to the Lord. We need to first think of how much we can give to the Lord and then think about our other things because the Lord comes first ALWAYS. Something I am still getting better at myself.
So my encouragement to you this morning is this. Whether it's with your life decisions or with your money, put God first by going to Him in prayer but also by taking a look at your budget. See if there is somewhere you can cut some corners so that you can give more to the Lord in your contribution this coming Sunday. My prayer is that we keep the "me second and God first" kind of attitude. If we do, everything else will begin to fall into place.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
The first. As a society, we are living in a "me first" kind of world. In the corporate world, people are trying to get to the top. In schools, many students are vying to be the top of their class. On any given game show and/or reality show, people are trying to get in a position of being first. Also in any given sports competition, people are trying to get first place such as in the most recent Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees series for the American League Divisional Series. The Yankees and Tigers were vying to be in first place but as most of us know, the Tigers won out and were first. Sorry to all you Yankees fans. This is simply the kind of society we live in.
The first. Given that we live in a world with a "me first" mindset, we have all but forgotten what God has to say on the subject and that is that God wants us to have a "me second and God first" kind of mindset. God wants to be the first in everything we do. And I do mean EVERYTHING. Just this week I spoke with my best friend Kenny and my other friend Rachel about the direction we are headed with our lives. These were two entirely separate conversations but what they both had in common was that both Kenny and Rachel talked about ending up where God wants us to end up even if it doesn't match up with where we want to end up. Keep that mindset Kenny and Rachel!!! This attitude is a great example of a "me second and God first" mindset. God wants to be the first every time whether it's in our career choices, the decisions we make on a daily basis and as we learn from Deuteronomy 15:19, God also wants to be the first in our life events and material gains.
The first. In Deuteronomy 15:19 Moses instructs the people to consecrate or to sanctify the first of all the Israelite people had whether it was their children or their animals. The first of anything is what we give the most attention to because of the value it carries. Think about it. How excited were you when you got your first car? How excited were you when you got your first job and that first paycheck? How about your first apartment or your first house? Or in the case of Deuteronomy 15:19, how about your first child? There is just something special about that first anything and it is that first anything for which God should be especially thanked.
The first. Now while today we are no longer required to take our first fruits to a temple to show it to some priest, God still expects us to give the first of everything back to Him. And He does expect the FIRST, not what is left over. Yes, at this point I am talking about our money. Too often we will get that paycheck and decide what bills we need to pay and how much we can play with before it even crosses our mind how much we need to give back to the Lord. We need to first think of how much we can give to the Lord and then think about our other things because the Lord comes first ALWAYS. Something I am still getting better at myself.
So my encouragement to you this morning is this. Whether it's with your life decisions or with your money, put God first by going to Him in prayer but also by taking a look at your budget. See if there is somewhere you can cut some corners so that you can give more to the Lord in your contribution this coming Sunday. My prayer is that we keep the "me second and God first" kind of attitude. If we do, everything else will begin to fall into place.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The Extra Mile...
"Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two."--Matthew 5:41. Here Jesus is beginning a discourse on how to deal with our enemies. It is here in this context that we learn that we are to love our enemies. More specifically in this verse we are told to go the extra mile.
The extra mile. Going the extra mile is a familiar saying to all of us. What this means is doing more than expected. Doing more than just the bare minimum.
The extra mile. A lot of times we are going to be asked to do something we do not necessarily want to do. The question becomes what do we do then? Go the extra mile.
The extra mile. More often than not, when we do more than is expected of us, it makes an impression on people. It shows people that despite the fact that we might not want to do whatever it is we are asked to do, we are still making a choice to put our best foot forward. This makes an impression on people when you go the extra mile.
The extra mile. So how can we apply this to our Christianity? We know that there are people out there that we don't necessarily like. Furthermore, these people might ask us to do something for them. What do we do then? Again, go the extra mile.
The extra mile. The funny thing about people we don't like, "enemies" if you will is that if we make a choice to serve them and even if they don't ask us to, the relationship can slowly begin to change. This is one major benefit of going the extra mile with our enemies or those people we might not necessarily like. There are other passages that speak about doing good to our enemies but tonight we are looking at what Jesus says about the situation. The fact that the relationship can change is one of the major benefits of going the extra mile.
The extra mile. So my encouragement to you tonight is this. GO THE EXTRA MILE! This will take swallowing and maybe even chewing some of our pride. We all have one or more people we don't necessarily like. My encouragement or even my challenge to you tonight is to go that person you probably can't stand and do some kind of act of service for him or her. Easier said than done I know but that's just the point when we go THE EXTRA MILE!
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
The poor man...
"If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks."--Deuteronomy 15:7-8. Here Moses instructs that Israel ought to help their own if and when it was necessary. Here we see the principle of helping the poor man (or woman) among us.
The poor man. What is being spoken about here is the Sabbatic or Sabbath year. Every seventh year, God commanded the Israelites to let the land rest from harvesting any crops. I have heard that today while this is not a law, the principle of letting the land rest still applies. This is because if you don't, you deplete the land of all its resources and then you can no longer use it at all. With Israel, what this means is that without working the land on the seventh year, there would obviously be no harvest every seven years. Therefore, if for some reason they had a bad year at some point during the previous six years, they might have to go without during the seventh year. If this is the case, Israel had a responsibility to freely open their hand, generously lend, and lend sufficient for the need. These three points are what we will explore and apply to ourselves in this morning's blog about how we ought to deal with the poor man.
The poor man. It is no secret that we are living in tough economic times. Many of our brethren are suffering from the effects of the economic downturn. Having come out of the secular workforce, I understand the feeling. Hours are getting cut, people are getting laid off and families are having to go without some things that they once enjoyed. So how are we to respond to our brethren who might be suffering in this way?
Open our hands. The first thing we must do is be willing to help. This of course calls for wisdom. There are some out there that are simply trying to take a handout without putting forth any effort themselves. On the other hand, there are some people that are simply "down on their luck." These are the ones we need to be willing to open our hand to and help however we can.
Generously lend. The key thought here is not just lending but lending generously. If you are able, don't just give the bear minimum, lend generously. Recently, I had a couple of situations where I needed some financial help and the people that helped me not only helped me but were very generous about it. They helped me with more than sufficient for the need.
Lend sufficient for the need. Another thing we can do when dealing with the poor man (or woman) is determining the specific need. This is another area where we can apply wisdom. Do they need money to feed their family? Instead of giving money, go out and buy their groceries for them expecting nothing in return. Do they need money for gas? Instead of giving money for the gas, fill up their tank for them. Again this all calls for wisdom. There are times when we should give cash if the need is there.
The poor man. The point here is not what we do for the person. The point is the person has a need that needs to be met. As followers of God, we have a responsibility to do what we can to meet people's needs, both physical and spiritual. Sometimes we need to meet the physical needs before we are able to address the spiritual needs. Jesus tells us in Mark 14:7 that we will always have the poor with us and that whenever we wish we can do good to them. Do you know someone who is in need? I am sure you do. Take some time to see what you can do to meet that need, whether it is physical, spiritual, or both. As we serve one another, let us never forget the poor man.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
The poor man. What is being spoken about here is the Sabbatic or Sabbath year. Every seventh year, God commanded the Israelites to let the land rest from harvesting any crops. I have heard that today while this is not a law, the principle of letting the land rest still applies. This is because if you don't, you deplete the land of all its resources and then you can no longer use it at all. With Israel, what this means is that without working the land on the seventh year, there would obviously be no harvest every seven years. Therefore, if for some reason they had a bad year at some point during the previous six years, they might have to go without during the seventh year. If this is the case, Israel had a responsibility to freely open their hand, generously lend, and lend sufficient for the need. These three points are what we will explore and apply to ourselves in this morning's blog about how we ought to deal with the poor man.
The poor man. It is no secret that we are living in tough economic times. Many of our brethren are suffering from the effects of the economic downturn. Having come out of the secular workforce, I understand the feeling. Hours are getting cut, people are getting laid off and families are having to go without some things that they once enjoyed. So how are we to respond to our brethren who might be suffering in this way?
Open our hands. The first thing we must do is be willing to help. This of course calls for wisdom. There are some out there that are simply trying to take a handout without putting forth any effort themselves. On the other hand, there are some people that are simply "down on their luck." These are the ones we need to be willing to open our hand to and help however we can.
Generously lend. The key thought here is not just lending but lending generously. If you are able, don't just give the bear minimum, lend generously. Recently, I had a couple of situations where I needed some financial help and the people that helped me not only helped me but were very generous about it. They helped me with more than sufficient for the need.
Lend sufficient for the need. Another thing we can do when dealing with the poor man (or woman) is determining the specific need. This is another area where we can apply wisdom. Do they need money to feed their family? Instead of giving money, go out and buy their groceries for them expecting nothing in return. Do they need money for gas? Instead of giving money for the gas, fill up their tank for them. Again this all calls for wisdom. There are times when we should give cash if the need is there.
The poor man. The point here is not what we do for the person. The point is the person has a need that needs to be met. As followers of God, we have a responsibility to do what we can to meet people's needs, both physical and spiritual. Sometimes we need to meet the physical needs before we are able to address the spiritual needs. Jesus tells us in Mark 14:7 that we will always have the poor with us and that whenever we wish we can do good to them. Do you know someone who is in need? I am sure you do. Take some time to see what you can do to meet that need, whether it is physical, spiritual, or both. As we serve one another, let us never forget the poor man.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Our word is our bond...
"But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil."--Matthew 5:37. Here, Jesus is dealing with the simple concept of keeping your word. Here we see that our word is our bond.
Our word is our bond. Keeping our word. I hate to be the first to admit that this is something I have failed at time and again but it is something I am getting better at. This too is part of helping us surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. It is no secret that the Pharisees were quite literally hypocrites. They would be preaching one thing but doing another.
Our word is our bond. Jesus tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. He goes on to say that anything beyond this is of evil. Evil as it is used here means that what is being spoken of is socially or morally worthless. I think everyone of us know someone or know of someone who really cannot be counted on in any way. Much of the reason for this is because that person is not one known to keep their word and/or they have let us down more than once in the past. What we can gather from this text is that if we don't keep our word, our word is worthless.
Our word is our bond. Something else that plays into this is the issue of credibility. As Christians and especially for those of us that are preaching God's word on a full time basis, credibility is crucial. Our credibility can be destroyed in any number of ways but our credibility ultimately comes down to our ability to keep our word. To illustrate how crucial keeping our word is we can look to how many people's faith has been destroyed as a result of someone not keeping their word. This can lead to something a little more drastic and that is the issue of trust.
Our word is our bond. If we continually fail to keep our word, people's ability to trust us is utterly destroyed. I know from personal experience, there is not much of an uglier feeling than knowing you are unable to trust someone. No matter how you cut it, every single relationship in our lives, including our relationship with God is built on trust. What makes our relationship with God unique is that with God, it is impossible for Him to lie as we read in Hebrews 6:18. Therefore, we can ALWAYS trust God to keep His word when we choose to obey His commands as given through Christ and the apostles in the New Testament.
Our word is our bond. Have you recently made a promise to someone? Follow through with that promise, no matter how big or small. If there is something that needs to be made right, make it right. Our whole relationship with someone, God or people rides on our ability to trust and to be trusted. I know many times this is easier said than done. If you have gone back on your word with someone, it is not too late to make it right but if for whatever reason it is too late, learn from it and don't let it happen again. But more importantly, if you have found yourself going back on your word to God that you would follow Him, it is not too late for you to come back and never will be as long as we are on this side of judgment. So do what you got to do. Why? Because our word is our bond.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Our word is our bond. Keeping our word. I hate to be the first to admit that this is something I have failed at time and again but it is something I am getting better at. This too is part of helping us surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. It is no secret that the Pharisees were quite literally hypocrites. They would be preaching one thing but doing another.
Our word is our bond. Jesus tells us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. He goes on to say that anything beyond this is of evil. Evil as it is used here means that what is being spoken of is socially or morally worthless. I think everyone of us know someone or know of someone who really cannot be counted on in any way. Much of the reason for this is because that person is not one known to keep their word and/or they have let us down more than once in the past. What we can gather from this text is that if we don't keep our word, our word is worthless.
Our word is our bond. Something else that plays into this is the issue of credibility. As Christians and especially for those of us that are preaching God's word on a full time basis, credibility is crucial. Our credibility can be destroyed in any number of ways but our credibility ultimately comes down to our ability to keep our word. To illustrate how crucial keeping our word is we can look to how many people's faith has been destroyed as a result of someone not keeping their word. This can lead to something a little more drastic and that is the issue of trust.
Our word is our bond. If we continually fail to keep our word, people's ability to trust us is utterly destroyed. I know from personal experience, there is not much of an uglier feeling than knowing you are unable to trust someone. No matter how you cut it, every single relationship in our lives, including our relationship with God is built on trust. What makes our relationship with God unique is that with God, it is impossible for Him to lie as we read in Hebrews 6:18. Therefore, we can ALWAYS trust God to keep His word when we choose to obey His commands as given through Christ and the apostles in the New Testament.
Our word is our bond. Have you recently made a promise to someone? Follow through with that promise, no matter how big or small. If there is something that needs to be made right, make it right. Our whole relationship with someone, God or people rides on our ability to trust and to be trusted. I know many times this is easier said than done. If you have gone back on your word with someone, it is not too late to make it right but if for whatever reason it is too late, learn from it and don't let it happen again. But more importantly, if you have found yourself going back on your word to God that you would follow Him, it is not too late for you to come back and never will be as long as we are on this side of judgment. So do what you got to do. Why? Because our word is our bond.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Family Influence...
"If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying 'Let us go and serve other gods' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him..."--Deuteronomy 13:6-8. Moses, instructing the Israelite people what to do when they are influenced by those closest to them to disobey God.
Family influence. We all know our family has a huge influence on us. Our family is a lot of the reason we are who we are today. Many of us were fortunate enough to grow up in a household where our parents were members of the Lord's church. However, for many others such as myself this was not entirely the case. It is when this is the case that being a follower of God can become difficult. It can become difficult due to the family influence that still surrounds us. Even for those who did grow up in Christian households, there are those who have other family members that are not followers of God so that influence to not follow God can still exist, even if it is not particularly strong.
Family influence. Early on in my Christianity, the influence of the world that came through a lot of my family still had a pretty good grip on me because even though I knew I was saved, I still had no idea what God really expected of me now that I had chosen to follow Him. Yes I knew I had to make adjustments to my lifestyle which involves repentance, but I had no idea how much of an adjustment. As those first few years carried on, I stumbled on Luke 14:26 where Jesus says that if we do not hate our father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even our own life, we cannot be His disciple! This verse did not really set right with me at first. I originally construed it as and asked do I literally have to HATE my family in order to follow Christ? I have not been the first to ask this question and I am pretty sure I won't be the last. The answer to this question is yes, we do have to hate our family. However, not according to the world's definition of hate but according to God's definition of hate as it is used in Luke 14:26 which more often than not can be drastically different. When we use the word hate, we intend to say we have an intense dislike toward something or someone. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines the word in this way. However, the Greek word miseo which is used here in Luke 14:26 means to be disinclined to or disfavor in contrast to preferential treatment (BDAG 653). In other words, what we have to do is love our family less than we love Christ which means that our commitment to Him is primary even above our own family.
Family influence. So how does this all fit in to Deuteronomy 13:6-8 and how can we apply this? Well as we read on through Deuteronomy 13:9-11, we find that the one who is influencing the people toward not following God is to be quite literally gotten rid of. Of course we are no longer under this law but the principle still applies. When it comes to our family trying to influence us toward ungodliness, we must remember our commitment to Christ comes first even in the midst of persecution. Secondly, what we can do in the coming days is as opposed to letting our family influence us, try to influence them toward obedience to the gospel. One way to do this is simply striking up a conversation about God or even something as simple as inviting them to church services. While our family influence can be strong, the influence we can have with the gospel message can be much stronger.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Family influence. We all know our family has a huge influence on us. Our family is a lot of the reason we are who we are today. Many of us were fortunate enough to grow up in a household where our parents were members of the Lord's church. However, for many others such as myself this was not entirely the case. It is when this is the case that being a follower of God can become difficult. It can become difficult due to the family influence that still surrounds us. Even for those who did grow up in Christian households, there are those who have other family members that are not followers of God so that influence to not follow God can still exist, even if it is not particularly strong.
Family influence. Early on in my Christianity, the influence of the world that came through a lot of my family still had a pretty good grip on me because even though I knew I was saved, I still had no idea what God really expected of me now that I had chosen to follow Him. Yes I knew I had to make adjustments to my lifestyle which involves repentance, but I had no idea how much of an adjustment. As those first few years carried on, I stumbled on Luke 14:26 where Jesus says that if we do not hate our father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even our own life, we cannot be His disciple! This verse did not really set right with me at first. I originally construed it as and asked do I literally have to HATE my family in order to follow Christ? I have not been the first to ask this question and I am pretty sure I won't be the last. The answer to this question is yes, we do have to hate our family. However, not according to the world's definition of hate but according to God's definition of hate as it is used in Luke 14:26 which more often than not can be drastically different. When we use the word hate, we intend to say we have an intense dislike toward something or someone. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines the word in this way. However, the Greek word miseo which is used here in Luke 14:26 means to be disinclined to or disfavor in contrast to preferential treatment (BDAG 653). In other words, what we have to do is love our family less than we love Christ which means that our commitment to Him is primary even above our own family.
Family influence. So how does this all fit in to Deuteronomy 13:6-8 and how can we apply this? Well as we read on through Deuteronomy 13:9-11, we find that the one who is influencing the people toward not following God is to be quite literally gotten rid of. Of course we are no longer under this law but the principle still applies. When it comes to our family trying to influence us toward ungodliness, we must remember our commitment to Christ comes first even in the midst of persecution. Secondly, what we can do in the coming days is as opposed to letting our family influence us, try to influence them toward obedience to the gospel. One way to do this is simply striking up a conversation about God or even something as simple as inviting them to church services. While our family influence can be strong, the influence we can have with the gospel message can be much stronger.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Divorce: What does Jesus say? Part 2...
"They said to Him, 'Why then did Moses command to 'Give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?' He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.'--Matthew 19:7-9 Here we see why Moses and in turn God allowed divorces for just about any reason. It was not because God wanted it that way. It was because of their hardness of hearts.
Divorce. Earlier today, we did a mock counseling session in my marriage and family class. We the students did this with each other. The sessions involved various issues that married couples face up to and including marital unfaithfulness. Those of us involved in the sessions played the part. It was kind of fun actually but it did give us a taste of what we preachers will face when we get into our work. Of course divorce came up during the session on unfaithfulness.
Divorce. As I mentioned before, divorce in Jesus' day was not much different than it is today. Originally, people could legitimately divorce for just about any reason but this all changes when Jesus utters five little words: "And I say to you..." in Matthew 19:9. What Jesus says next is what would be at the center of divorce controversy within the Lord's church. Jesus will state that the ONLY reason one could legitimately divorce is because of immorality or porneia which encompasses all forms of sexual immorality. Jesus takes this an additional step further. He says if a divorce happens for any other reason besides porneia, in the eyes of God you are still married to the one from whom you thought you were divorcing. So what this means is that if someone (never married) marries someone who is previously divorced for any other reason besides porneia, both parties are committing adultery. This is a difficult pill to swallow. The apostles recognized that this was a difficult teaching to accept based on Matthew 19:10-11.
Another thing that was discussed during our mock counseling sessions today was the fact that divorce can be such an ugly thing. This is no secret especially when there are children involved. Divorces impact not just the couple but also others that might be linked to the couple in some way such as the children. One of the most notorious divorces in recent months has been that of the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers from his wife. This divorce impacted the team in that the Dodgers were left bankrupt. I bring this out to illustrate how divorces impact more than the just the ones getting a divorce. This is why divorce is such an ugly thing and this is one among many reasons, God never intended for divorce when He created marriage.
Divorce. In Matthew 19:5, Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 where marriage was originally instituted. This is where God joined man (Adam) and woman (Eve) to be one flesh through marriage. In Matthew 19:6, Jesus affirms that since God joins man and woman (and man and woman ONLY, NOT man and man or woman and woman like many are propagating today) through marriage, He intended for the two to be PERMANENTLY bound. Therefore, as Jesus says in the second part of Matthew 19:6, what God has joined together let no man separate. Furthermore, in Malachi 2:16, God says very plainly (and bluntly) "I hate divorce."
Divorce. So my encouragement to you in all this is simply this. First of all study this issue further as there is much more to be said regarding the subject. Additionally, if you are reading this and have been the victim of porneia, make an attempt to first work it out even if you do have every SCRIPTURAL right to get a divorce. But if you are the one who was unfaithful or is being unfaithful, repent of that sin and work things out with your spouse and make an effort to rebuild that trust. God has said He HATES divorce. So even if you are within your scriptural rights to get a divorce, this does not necessarily mean you should. Make an effort to work it out even if it is for the sake of the children that might be involved. As for the rest of us who have not yet been married, remember that if and/or when you do, God intended marriage to be permanent. This includes our "marriage" with Him which we have through Jesus Christ so if you are being unfaithful to Him in any way, may we also repent of those sins and if we have not done so, be baptized for the forgiveness of those sins. Encourage others with these words.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Divorce. Earlier today, we did a mock counseling session in my marriage and family class. We the students did this with each other. The sessions involved various issues that married couples face up to and including marital unfaithfulness. Those of us involved in the sessions played the part. It was kind of fun actually but it did give us a taste of what we preachers will face when we get into our work. Of course divorce came up during the session on unfaithfulness.
Divorce. As I mentioned before, divorce in Jesus' day was not much different than it is today. Originally, people could legitimately divorce for just about any reason but this all changes when Jesus utters five little words: "And I say to you..." in Matthew 19:9. What Jesus says next is what would be at the center of divorce controversy within the Lord's church. Jesus will state that the ONLY reason one could legitimately divorce is because of immorality or porneia which encompasses all forms of sexual immorality. Jesus takes this an additional step further. He says if a divorce happens for any other reason besides porneia, in the eyes of God you are still married to the one from whom you thought you were divorcing. So what this means is that if someone (never married) marries someone who is previously divorced for any other reason besides porneia, both parties are committing adultery. This is a difficult pill to swallow. The apostles recognized that this was a difficult teaching to accept based on Matthew 19:10-11.
Another thing that was discussed during our mock counseling sessions today was the fact that divorce can be such an ugly thing. This is no secret especially when there are children involved. Divorces impact not just the couple but also others that might be linked to the couple in some way such as the children. One of the most notorious divorces in recent months has been that of the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers from his wife. This divorce impacted the team in that the Dodgers were left bankrupt. I bring this out to illustrate how divorces impact more than the just the ones getting a divorce. This is why divorce is such an ugly thing and this is one among many reasons, God never intended for divorce when He created marriage.
Divorce. In Matthew 19:5, Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 where marriage was originally instituted. This is where God joined man (Adam) and woman (Eve) to be one flesh through marriage. In Matthew 19:6, Jesus affirms that since God joins man and woman (and man and woman ONLY, NOT man and man or woman and woman like many are propagating today) through marriage, He intended for the two to be PERMANENTLY bound. Therefore, as Jesus says in the second part of Matthew 19:6, what God has joined together let no man separate. Furthermore, in Malachi 2:16, God says very plainly (and bluntly) "I hate divorce."
Divorce. So my encouragement to you in all this is simply this. First of all study this issue further as there is much more to be said regarding the subject. Additionally, if you are reading this and have been the victim of porneia, make an attempt to first work it out even if you do have every SCRIPTURAL right to get a divorce. But if you are the one who was unfaithful or is being unfaithful, repent of that sin and work things out with your spouse and make an effort to rebuild that trust. God has said He HATES divorce. So even if you are within your scriptural rights to get a divorce, this does not necessarily mean you should. Make an effort to work it out even if it is for the sake of the children that might be involved. As for the rest of us who have not yet been married, remember that if and/or when you do, God intended marriage to be permanent. This includes our "marriage" with Him which we have through Jesus Christ so if you are being unfaithful to Him in any way, may we also repent of those sins and if we have not done so, be baptized for the forgiveness of those sins. Encourage others with these words.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Caution...
"Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it."--Deuteronomy 12:32. Moses stated a similar command all the way back in Deuteronomy 4:2. I dealt with Deuteronomy 4:2 in my blog called "Adding or Subtracting." It is here in Deuteronomy 12:32 that we see that we are not only to not add or subtract from what God has commanded but we also see here that doing this requires caution.
Caution. I am sure we have all seen caution tape similar to that in the image above. This tape is usually put up to keep us from stepping into a dangerous area. This morning I want to break this verse up into three parts. First, "Whatever I command you to do." Second, the focus of this verse, "You shall be careful to do," and third "You shall not add to nor take away from it." Then we will tie them all back together in the end.
Whatever I command you to do. These areas where God has "put the caution tape" up are areas where God has stated specifically what He wants from His people. Just last night I was doing my personal reading back in Exodus. I was reading about the construction of the tabernacle and about the priests that were to preside over the tabernacle. One thing I noticed as I was reading was that God was VERY specific as to what He wanted. This is not the only time. God was also very specific even earlier when He was giving Noah the instructions as to how to build the ark and as to what kind of how many animals were to go on the ark with him. These are examples we will look more closely at along with New Testament examples as we move in to the second part.
You shall be careful to do. In today's world, almost everywhere you go there is some sort of protocol or instructions has to follow. Problems arise when any one person deviates from that protocol in any way, shape, or form. This of course means when one is doing any given assignment, one must exercise great CAUTION to do the assignment according to the given protocol. The same is true when it comes to following God. God gave very specific protocol to His people in the past. There are countless examples of what happened to those who deviated from the God given protocol in the Scriptures, they were disciplined, if not destroyed altogether. Many times these people were trying to please God but they did not do so according to what God had commanded so in this way they "broke protocol." This can lead us to ask what would have happened if Noah had decided to use oak instead of gopher wood for the ark? Or what if Moses had chosen to make the table of the tabernacle 3 cubits long as opposed to 2 cubits long as given in Exodus 25:23? (1 cubit is approximately 18 inches). There are areas where God has also gotten VERY specific in the New Testament. For example, we see that bread and fruit of the vine was used for communion. What would happen if we decided to use milk and cookies? In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus tells us we must believe AND be baptized to be saved. Shouldn't this logically mean that we must do both and not just one or the other in order to be saved? Again, God has put the caution tape up in these areas and others because God has spoken or commanded us as to what He wants in these areas. As I mentioned before, caution tape also functions to keep us from stepping into dangerous areas. This brings me to my third point.
You shall not add to nor take away from it. This part of the verse is one that has generated controversy. The question rises, what is addition and subtraction? The question is harder than the answer. Addition and subtraction deals with adding to or subtracting from areas where God has given very specific commands and/or examples in Scripture. For example, what if Noah used gopher wood but decided to add some oak in there for good measure, God would not have been pleased. Or what if with communion, we just thought partaking of the bread or the fruit of the vine by itself was enough, God would not be pleased. Another example that has been the center of a lot of arguments is that in Ephesians 5:19, God has commanded us to sing. Given that singing has been specified, shouldn't that logically show us that God wants singing and singing ONLY without the use of instruments? All through the Scriptures, we see that people are careful or CAUTIOUS to do everything that God commanded according to HIS specifications.
Caution. There are areas where God has not spoken one way or the other. However, there are countless others where God has been very specific as to what He wants. It is in these areas where God has put up the caution tape. Just like it's dangerous for us to cross the caution tape at something like a construction site, it is also dangerous to cross the caution tape that God has put up when it comes to His specific commands. So this morning I encourage you to study God's commands to determine where we have wiggle room and where there is caution tape that we cannot cross without putting ourselves in danger.
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Divorce: What did Jesus say? Part 1
"It was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce;' but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."--Matthew 5:31-32. Here Jesus begins a section on what has been at the center of a lot of controversy among Christians. Here Jesus deals with the topic of divorce. We will deal with this in two parts. We will look at this passage in Matthew 5:31-32 and then tomorrow night we will briefly jump ahead in Matthew and look at Matthew 19:7-9 since both deal with the same topic.
Divorce. I come from a divorced family myself. My parents divorced when I was very young so it did not really phase me as much as it would children who were older when their parents split up. I got used to growing up in a single parent household. Furthermore, I know several people, young, old, and everywhere in between that come from families that have been torn apart by divorce.
Divorce of course is no foreign concept to us. It seems divorces are being granted at the same rate that pancakes are being sold at IHOP. It has been noted that the divorce rates are actually on the decline. Tonight we won't go into the reasons for that. However, tonight we will look at why people are divorcing and compare/contrast it against the Scriptures, namely what Jesus says here in Matthew 5:31-32 about divorce.
Divorce. So why are people divorcing? Well it seems divorces happen for any given reason these days. This too was the case in Jesus' day but it is after Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 24:1 that He says a key phrase in the Sermon on the Mount: "But I say to you..." so what does Jesus say about divorce?
Divorce. Looking at Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:9 which we will explore further in context tomorrow night, Jesus is saying that unchastity or adultery is the only reason for divorce. Unchastity comes from the Greek word porneia which has to do with any and all sexual sins including sex outside of marriage. This word may look familiar because it is the same term from where we get the word pornography. Just like today, in Jesus' day people could get divorced for any reason. Something as small as burnt toast could be grounds for divorce before Jesus says what He says.
Divorce. In today's culture we also hear of any number of reasons for divorce. Everything from 'irreconcilable differences' to 'It just wasn't working out.' As I have already mentioned, the issue of divorce has been and continues to be at the center of a lot of controversy among Christians. We will look further at this issue tomorrow night and bring this issue to a conclusion. Even though tomorrow night's blog will conclude the issue, there is still so much more to be said about the issue. What we looked at here and what we look at tomorrow night only scratch the surface.
I have no practical application for this specific issue tonight simply because this issue is just as much a reality for us today as it was then and I will deal with the practical side of this when we conclude tomorrow night. My encouragement for tonight is simply this. Whenever you are challenged with the issue of divorce or any other issue and someone says "Well I say...," remember that while people have their opinions, Jesus said "But I say to you..." A popular adage in years past was "WWJD?" or "What Would Jesus Do?" With the way our faith is challenged today with the issue of divorce and so many others, our mindset as Christians needs to be "WWJS?" or "What Would Jesus Say?" And what He would say can be found in the pages of the New Testament. So, in closing WWJS?
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Divorce. I come from a divorced family myself. My parents divorced when I was very young so it did not really phase me as much as it would children who were older when their parents split up. I got used to growing up in a single parent household. Furthermore, I know several people, young, old, and everywhere in between that come from families that have been torn apart by divorce.
Divorce of course is no foreign concept to us. It seems divorces are being granted at the same rate that pancakes are being sold at IHOP. It has been noted that the divorce rates are actually on the decline. Tonight we won't go into the reasons for that. However, tonight we will look at why people are divorcing and compare/contrast it against the Scriptures, namely what Jesus says here in Matthew 5:31-32 about divorce.
Divorce. So why are people divorcing? Well it seems divorces happen for any given reason these days. This too was the case in Jesus' day but it is after Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 24:1 that He says a key phrase in the Sermon on the Mount: "But I say to you..." so what does Jesus say about divorce?
Divorce. Looking at Matthew 5:31-32 and Matthew 19:9 which we will explore further in context tomorrow night, Jesus is saying that unchastity or adultery is the only reason for divorce. Unchastity comes from the Greek word porneia which has to do with any and all sexual sins including sex outside of marriage. This word may look familiar because it is the same term from where we get the word pornography. Just like today, in Jesus' day people could get divorced for any reason. Something as small as burnt toast could be grounds for divorce before Jesus says what He says.
Divorce. In today's culture we also hear of any number of reasons for divorce. Everything from 'irreconcilable differences' to 'It just wasn't working out.' As I have already mentioned, the issue of divorce has been and continues to be at the center of a lot of controversy among Christians. We will look further at this issue tomorrow night and bring this issue to a conclusion. Even though tomorrow night's blog will conclude the issue, there is still so much more to be said about the issue. What we looked at here and what we look at tomorrow night only scratch the surface.
I have no practical application for this specific issue tonight simply because this issue is just as much a reality for us today as it was then and I will deal with the practical side of this when we conclude tomorrow night. My encouragement for tonight is simply this. Whenever you are challenged with the issue of divorce or any other issue and someone says "Well I say...," remember that while people have their opinions, Jesus said "But I say to you..." A popular adage in years past was "WWJD?" or "What Would Jesus Do?" With the way our faith is challenged today with the issue of divorce and so many others, our mindset as Christians needs to be "WWJS?" or "What Would Jesus Say?" And what He would say can be found in the pages of the New Testament. So, in closing WWJS?
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Not even a hint...
"You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place."--Deuteronomy 12:3-4. God, through Moses instructing Israel that they are to completely destroy anything having to do with the false gods the people they would conquer are serving so that there is not even a hint of them left in the land.
Not even a hint. Yesterday at worship services, our preacher made the statement that when we are first baptized into Christ, much of the time is that our mindset at that point is that we are going to serve God with everything we have and nothing is going to stop us. This is a great mindset and the Lord expects this kind of commitment from us. However, the next the statement our preacher made was that soon the challenges to our faith come and tempt us to give second thoughts to the commitment we made. This was in the context of a sermon based on Luke 9:23 where Jesus says that whoever wishes follow Him must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow Him.
So with all this is mind the question becomes what can help Israel follow God with everything they have and most importantly what can help us as Christians follow Christ with everything we have? In both cases, we must do everything we can to destroy anything having to do with foreign gods so that there is not even a hint of them left.
Not even a hint. Of course today the foreign gods people serve are not always worshipped in temples or sacrificed to at altars on some high mountain. No, the foreign gods today are sacrificed to at our jobs, our extrra-curricular activities, banks, at casinos, on our computers and dare I say it? Even on Facebook!!! The list goes on and on. No, I am not by any means suggesting that we go out and destroy the places or abstain from some of the activities I just mentioned. I am simply saying is that if we don't have our hope fixed on the living God (1 Timothy 4:10), then we will very easily fall into idolatry if we allow some of these activities to separate us from God.
But why? Why is it so important that we make an effort to get rid of any hint of a foreign god in our lives? Well the fact is that if we don't they will become a snare or a stumbling block to us. As we read on through the Old Testament we see that Israel actually failed to get rid of those foreign influences. What it led to was them being separated from and in some cases forsaking God altogether. Much of the time this does not happen overnight. It happens a little bit at a time because we choose to make compromises. Pretty soon we are no longer attending worship services and next thing we know, we find ourselves doing the things we vowed not to do anymore when we became Christians. This is all because we did not "utterly destroy" any and every hint of foreign gods in our lives.
So my encouragement to you is simply this. Is there something keeping you from being all you can be in the army of the Lord? Figure out what you can do to take steps toward "destroying" that god in your life. This might mean you have to shut off the television. This might mean you have to stop hanging out with certain people. It might mean you have to stop going certain places. There are any number of ways we can "destroy" the foreign gods in our lives. My prayer is that you keep your commitment to Christ. But also if you have not yet made that commitment to Christ by obeying the gospel, do not delay because without doing so, there is no hope of salvation since the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
Not even a hint. Yesterday at worship services, our preacher made the statement that when we are first baptized into Christ, much of the time is that our mindset at that point is that we are going to serve God with everything we have and nothing is going to stop us. This is a great mindset and the Lord expects this kind of commitment from us. However, the next the statement our preacher made was that soon the challenges to our faith come and tempt us to give second thoughts to the commitment we made. This was in the context of a sermon based on Luke 9:23 where Jesus says that whoever wishes follow Him must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow Him.
So with all this is mind the question becomes what can help Israel follow God with everything they have and most importantly what can help us as Christians follow Christ with everything we have? In both cases, we must do everything we can to destroy anything having to do with foreign gods so that there is not even a hint of them left.
Not even a hint. Of course today the foreign gods people serve are not always worshipped in temples or sacrificed to at altars on some high mountain. No, the foreign gods today are sacrificed to at our jobs, our extrra-curricular activities, banks, at casinos, on our computers and dare I say it? Even on Facebook!!! The list goes on and on. No, I am not by any means suggesting that we go out and destroy the places or abstain from some of the activities I just mentioned. I am simply saying is that if we don't have our hope fixed on the living God (1 Timothy 4:10), then we will very easily fall into idolatry if we allow some of these activities to separate us from God.
But why? Why is it so important that we make an effort to get rid of any hint of a foreign god in our lives? Well the fact is that if we don't they will become a snare or a stumbling block to us. As we read on through the Old Testament we see that Israel actually failed to get rid of those foreign influences. What it led to was them being separated from and in some cases forsaking God altogether. Much of the time this does not happen overnight. It happens a little bit at a time because we choose to make compromises. Pretty soon we are no longer attending worship services and next thing we know, we find ourselves doing the things we vowed not to do anymore when we became Christians. This is all because we did not "utterly destroy" any and every hint of foreign gods in our lives.
So my encouragement to you is simply this. Is there something keeping you from being all you can be in the army of the Lord? Figure out what you can do to take steps toward "destroying" that god in your life. This might mean you have to shut off the television. This might mean you have to stop hanging out with certain people. It might mean you have to stop going certain places. There are any number of ways we can "destroy" the foreign gods in our lives. My prayer is that you keep your commitment to Christ. But also if you have not yet made that commitment to Christ by obeying the gospel, do not delay because without doing so, there is no hope of salvation since the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).
PRAY ABOUT IT! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!
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