Just as Paul desired to visit his fellow-believers in the faith…I pray you have someone just as special in your life. Someone, that despite the time that may go by, or the many miles between you, the minute you begin to talk, inspiration, hope, comfort, and exhortation will flow freely as you both give and receive encouragement. For our Spiritual gifts are for the edification and common good of others. And you’ll find that as you share this mutual encouragement, you both can’t help but be strengthened in your collective faith.
Month: July 2021
John 8:47 ” He who belongs to God hears what God says.”
The concept is simple but the ramifications are profound. If we belong to God we listen to what He says, and are then able to recognize between the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood. (I John 4:6) But what does listening to God encompass? We need to first receive it and receive Jesus to become children of God.( John 1:12) We need to then acknowledge that only God’s Ways are right. (Luke 7:29) We need to accept these Words planted in us, (James 1:21) and understand what they mean. (Psalm 119:125) And finally, we need to obey what we hear. For, “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
Jeremiah 30:23-24 ” See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.”
When I moved back to the Midwest I was immediately reacquainted with the severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that happen very frequently in the area. I had forgotten just how powerful, and overwhelming…not to mention how unpredictable and extreme these storms can be. You only have to ride out one tornado to understand the feelings of total helplessness and vulnerability as the fierce winds whirl outside. These verses compare God’s anger to these violent and destructive winds…but unlike the tornado that dissipates…God’s wrath does not cease until His plans and purposes are fully established and accomplished, according to His divine wisdom and understanding.
Jeremiah 9:12-14 ” Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? The Lord said, ‘It is because they have forsaken My Law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed Me or followed My Law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts.’ “
From God handing down the Ten Commandments to today, humans have been very poor at observing God’s Laws. We like to misapply them…mainly to judge other people with. Or we flatly refuse to follow them, arguing someone else can do that. Or we view them as heavy-handed regulations, but then decide to heap man-made rules on top…forcing everyone to comply with this impossible mess we’ve made of God’s Laws. So sadly, instead of giving heed to God’s Laws, we’d rather rebel, reject, and refuse to respond appropriately to Him.
Colossians 1:19-20 ” For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the Cross.”
There is power in the blood. It restored a once fractured and hostile relationship between God and human-kind. It made peace between former enemies…a righteous God and sinful man. The shed blood of Jesus was God’s intention and resolution from the beginning in order to reconcile us back into a right relationship with Him. There is power in the blood…for there is acceptance…redemption…and peace.
Jeremiah 9:3 ” They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies…”
Elsewhere Jeremiah wrote, “They attack with their tongues…their tongues are deadly arrows.” Just think of it…deceitful speech directed towards someone can destroy them, their integrity, character, and good name. That’s because lies are groundless words with no basis in fact or reality… but they can still do irreparable damage with no way to undo it.
Micah 3:11 ” Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us?’ “
A bribe can easily twist the words of the righteous (Exodus 23:8), we should not show partiality (Leviticus 19:15), and we should never seek our own selfish gain (Isaiah 56:11)…but it happens all the time. And when it’s all done under the guise that somehow the Lord is in the middle of it…it can only be called pride, conceit, and complacency on our part. For anytime we smugly think that God won’t mind what we’re doing…think of His reprimand in Ezekiel 13:19, “You have profaned Me among My people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.” No, we’ll never desecrate the Word of God and then think we can get by with it if we add, “In the Name of Jesus” at the end.
Ephesians 3:16-19 ” I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
As Believers, we’ll never be able to fully comprehend the love of Christ…it’s beyond our understanding. Psalm 103:11 describes it as, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t strive daily to imitate and duplicate this love towards others. For we are to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God as we grow and mature in the faith…and that includes emulating God’s wondrous and merciful love.
Matthew 6:2-4 ” So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the Synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
When Jesus spoke these words He wasn’t saying we needed some kind of deficit in our upper extremities in order to give to the poor. He wasn’t really looking at our hands at all but rather at our heart, mind, and the aim of our attention. Jesus wants us to give to charities and help the needy among us…but with the right attitude. If you give on the pretense of being honored for it, or are somehow scheming how your contribution can be made public…that’s wrong giving. Jesus counters here that right giving is hidden from public view, always done in secret, with no one informed about it.
Titus 3:1-2 ” Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility towards all men.”
Paul packed a lot into these two verses for Titus to challenge the Churches in Crete. Titus was facing opposition and insubordination within the Churches and Paul was encouraging him to exercise his authority with firmness. But Paul also threw in a unusual Greek word…humility. Now the English translation for humility usually means weakness, meekness, or lowliness but not here. For the Greek word for humility according to Aristotle is the middle ground between two extremes…getting angry without reason, and not getting angry at all. It’s getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, for the right reason. This type of humility is more a condition of the mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness not in weakness but in power. Thus, it’s a balance, build on strength of character, gleaned from God’s grace, as we learn to emulate Him to our fellow man.
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