Month: May 2024

It’s easy to be pleasant & good natured to someone who is considerate & thoughtful back. But in this Scripture we are told to be kind to the thankless & hateful people we encounter daily. It goes on to tell us that we are commanded to be like the Lord…full of mercy & kindhearted to all rather than becoming mean & callous towards the unlovable among us. Lord, help me to show Your compassion to those who deserve it least.

As it tells us in Romans 2:28-29, our life should be so God-centered that seeking His approval is all we should desire. But pride & self like to sneak in and steal the show too many times, and the result is us compromising or watering down God’s Word just to please man. Our egos relish approval & acceptance from others, so we will conform our words in order to please rather than to speak the truth. But faith and obedience to God are not some such intellectual understanding that we can arbitrarily change God’s Word at will…No, rather pleasing God is an intentional, deliberate, and continuous day by day conduct of actively choosing who we will look to for praise.

The Jewish leaders wanted to be done with the Apostles once and for all. But Gamaliel, a renowned Teacher known for his wisdom and humane interpretations of the Old Testament Law, warned his colleagues not to kill them. Gamaliel very wisely pointed out that if what the Apostles were doing was of human origin – it would fail. But if it came from God – they’d never be able to stop it, and it would essentially become a fight against God Himself…and no one ever wins that battle. Unbeknownst to him, Gamaliel was being used by God to further embolden the Apostles to preach the Good News of the Gospel Message… and he also became a very unlikely harbinger of the words of Jesus to Peter in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Everything we see around us has an expiration date on it…for everything is but temporary and limited in its nature. Psalm 102:26 tells us that God existed before His work of creation, and someday it will all perish, for it is destined to vanish and be replaced…but His Word & Salvation will last forever. (Isaiah 51:6) That’s because God’s Word is eternal & valid in its ability to speak to all people for all time. (Psalm 119:89) The Prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) So just think of it…the Word of God, declared before its actual realization, will last forever into timeless eternity.

The foundation for the Temple had been laid when opposition caused progress to be halted in the rebuilding project…and it would be a long 16 years before work would resume. During those years do you think many of the Jewish exiles felt the Temple would never be rebuilt…and that it wasn’t just a setback but a failure? Looking across Scripture, we see that whenever the cause of God moves forward, it will encounter opposition, malice, harassment, and hostility. So for our part, we need to first realize that opposition follows obedience, and that we need to pray for God’s help in overcoming these challenges. For just because there’s a delay doesn’t mean it’s a defeat.

The biggest communication problem we have is we don’t listen to understand – we listen to reply. We listen, but we’re already formulating our answer in our mind as they’re speaking…waiting for them to take a breath so we can jump right in with our opinion, our story, our feelings, or our judgment. But Proverbs 10:19 warns us that, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” There will be times you’ll be privileged enough to have someone confide in you. And this is the time for active, purposeful, and deliberate listening…a time of putting aside yourself and rather giving them and their words validation. It’s a time of giving this person your undivided attention… not to spew advice at them, but to allow them to express pent-up emotions, fears, and worries as you simply listen. For many times frankly, you have no control over the situation…only God does. But non-judgmental listening and just being there can still make a huge difference in that person’s life because they have been heard.

This quote should be the prayer of every Believer for themselves and their walk with the Lord. First, our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ coming to earth to die in our place and to secure our redemption & eternal life must be fierce & rock solid. Or as Paul wrote to Timothy, “I know Whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able…” (II Timothy 1:12) Next, our love & devotion for the Lord must be sincere, pure, and wholehearted…not allowing anything or one to usurp His throne or take His place in our hearts. (II Corinthians 11:3) Finally, we should always serve the Lord with enthusiastic zeal and fervor, eagerly desiring to do His Will. (Romans 12:11)

The Messiah, Jesus Christ, was called the Wonderful Counselor…but when our plans don’t work out as we wanted them to, we have a hard time admitting they weren’t meant to be. ..and that God’s plans & purposes are far better. Proverbs 19:21 tells us that, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” That’s because God’s Divine Will is unchangeable, and no power on heaven or earth can stand against or subvert it… thus we must be confident that His Sovereign plan & purpose for our life will only bring about good.

God wants us to grow. He wants us to develop Spiritually, mature in our relationship with Him, and become what He has designed for us to be. And as we grow & gain more wisdom, we are to imitate God’s character to others…so that they may see His love & forgiveness in action. But with any growth there will be growing pains, especially when our growth is brought about by the stresses & strains of suffering, pain, and loss. But ultimately, God wants us to grow in the ever-deepening experience & relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, that we might thrive and not become stagnant.

King Manasseh’s reign was 55 years long, and for much of it he did evil in the eyes of God. It tells us that the spiritual depravity in Judah had digressed to such a low point that the people gave no heed to God’s warnings of enemy invasion. And so the Assyrian army struck & exiled Manasseh as a prisoner briefly. It was during that time that Manasseh humbly repented & begged for mercy… finally realizing his disobedience to God. And God listened and graciously responded…allowing Manasseh to return to Jerusalem and his kingdom, where he mended his ways. Manasseh had come to the stark realization that it was only through God’s gracious retribution that he was saved & restored at all. And so we need to remember this…we can never be so far from God that His hand can’t reach us…for He is always waiting to respond to our heart-felt prayer of repentance.