The world has normalized sin to where it is considered common place. It has desensitized us to wickedness to the point that we no longer react negatively. The world has glorified and glamourized transgressions by film stars, music moguls, and professional athletes so that we envy rather than abhor their lifestyles. Even in some Churches immorality and other personal wrongs are glossed over as mere human weaknesses…”And it’s ok, everyone does it.” But the Bible is very clear and concise when it comes to sin…it’s wrong, and God hates it. For sin keeps us from fellowship with God and can only lead to Hell. (Romans 6:23)
Psalm 43:3 ” Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them guide me…”
The Psalmist is expressing his longing for the Lord to shepherd and lead him in the paths of righteousness. He knows that God is faithful in His truth and the enlightenment which comes from it. We see this confidence repeated in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my Salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” So in other words, God’s light and truth brings clarity, order, and understanding into every situation we’ll ever encounter as we allow Him to guide us along life’s journey.
Numbers 6:26 ” The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
When inner peace is elusive, look to the Lord Who blesses His people with peace. (Psalm 29:11) When you look at the day ahead with unrest and anxiety, calm your Spirit by remembering that your peace is found in Immanuel, or as Jesus reassured us in John 14:27 before He left this earth… the peace He gives us is one of true reconciliation with God…purchased by His death in our place. And when we find ourselves desperately seeking out Divine peace…remember that God’s peace is like a running river of blessings flowing out from His Presence …surpassing all of our understanding. (Isaiah 66:12 & Philippians 4:7)
Acts 6:11 ” Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘ We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.’ “
Stephen was the first Christian to die for his belief within the early Church. His giftings quickly showed him to be a persuasive public speaker and powerful miracle worker. But this caused much anger and frustration within the Jewish Synagogue Leaders…for they couldn’t answer to or defend themselves before Stephen’s masterful presentation of the Gospel Message. So instead, they quietly instigated a mob and false witnesses that would perjure themselves by slandering Stephen’s good name, character, and integrity. And this is exactly what the Jewish Leaders wanted. Stephen was quickly convicted of blasphemy and stoned to death by the crowd…but not before he delivered one of the most beautiful and comprehensive Old Testament history highlights…ending with defending his belief that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
“To know Christ and believe in Him is no achievement of man, but the gift of God.” Martin Luther
Our Salvation is by grace through faith and is a gracious gift of God…not through any human achievement of ours. This is made plain in Ephesians 2:8-9 which states, ” For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so no one may boast.” Thus, this inexpressible and generous gift of God has nothing to do with our deeds, but everything to do with our dedication to Christ Jesus, His Son.
Psalm 4:1 ” Answer me when I call to You, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”
David wrote this Psalm while in distress but still exhibited a deep confidence and faith in God. And so, in complete transparency and boldness his supplication fearlessly cried out to God because he knew that God was his righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:6) It’s absolutely alright to pray bold, honest prayers in the midst of suffering…reminding God (and yourself) of His unswerving adherence to the standard of fairness, kindness, and mercy…all the while knowing you have His undivided attention.
“Actions speak louder than words. We can apologize countless times, but if our actions don’t change, those words lose their meaning.” Mother Teresa
Without true repentance there will be no modification of behavior. And those empty words spoken by others will ring hollow, and insincere. Our trust will erode away, and feelings of invalidation will soon take over. While thoughts like, “I’m not important.” “I have no value.” or “I don’t really matter to them.” will invade our mind. But God’s Word tells us that, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21) So no matter what others say about us, through the Gospel Message, the perfect righteousness of Christ has been imputed by God and received by us through our faith alone. And in God’s eyes we are of great value and importance to Him.
Ecclesiastes 5:16 ” As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind?”
Here Solomon ponders the frustrations and tragedies of life’s impermanence, and how all of our hard work is for nothing in the end. He uses the word picture of toiling after the wind, or striving after the wind, or feeding on wind throughout the Book to show just how futile earthly labor is. For we come into the world empty-handed, and we leave the same way. Thus, it’s so important to be about the Lord’s work while we’re here on earth…knowing God will not forget our work as we help His people. (Hebrews 6:10)
Amos 9:11-12 ” In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruin, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that will bear My name, declares the Lord, Who will do these things.”
In this passage, Amos gives the promise of future deliverance and restoration by God’s plan to save the Gentiles through the Messiah, Jesus Christ. As the greater Son of David, the resurrected Jesus would raise up the fallen tent of David…rebuilding and fulfilling God’s promise to establish David’s dynasty eternally… or as James described in Acts 15:12-17 when he quoted Amos and applied it to God’s taking a people for Himself from among the Gentiles and including them within His Church. The prophet Amos thus, foresees that the Lord will take possession of the remnant of all nations and will reign over them in a covenantal relationship through Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah.
Matthew 8: 2-3 ” A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him and said, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”
Leviticus Chapters 13 and 14 lay out the Law, regulations, and guidelines for all infectious skin diseases that were considered either clean or unclean by the Priest. If unclean, the person was banished to outside the camp, wore torn clothes like that of a mourner, covered the lower part of their face, and cried out, “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45) So to start, this man broke the rules by coming close to Jesus and speaking to Him. But his words revealed his understanding of just who Jesus was…for he said, “If You are willing…” the Greek word, Thelo, meaning that he knew that Jesus was not only willing, but fully capable of healing him. His next faith-filled statement, “You can make me clean.” used the Greek word, Katharizo, which was often used in the Old Testament for the legal cleansing by the Priest of leprosy. But touching a leper also made the other person ceremoniously unclean…but rather than Jesus becoming unclean – in an instant the leper was healed and made whole.
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