As we begin reading Peter’s second letter we find that he is writing “to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” That means he is writing to you and I as well!
We find that God has granted us knowledge of Him along with “precious and magnificent promises” allowing us to escape the corruption in the world. As we look around we can see corruption at every corner. We see corrupt leaders, corrupt organizations, even corrupt friendships.
How do we escape the corruption of this world? Peter tells us in verses 5-8 we are to be diligent to allow our faith to supply moral excellence. However we do not stop there. We are to be in constant growth and that will lead us through to knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love! This is a truly amazing list that can guide you through the troubles of each day.
Although we each fall short and make mistakes, we are told that if we practice these things we will never stumble. It isn’t too difficult to show brotherly kindness, self-control, and even perseverance on occasion, but to maintain these things constantly is much more challenging. When we struggle we should expect our brothers and sisters to remind us of the calling that has been given to us.
Tomorrow we will look at what Peter has to say concerning the behavior of many and how it affects the judgement of others.
-Bill Dunn
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Ezekiel 9 & 10 and 2 Peter 1
Ezekiel 8:6 – And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing – the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”
For better or worse, I tend to be a bit territorial. I get sort of grumpy when someone else parks in the spot that I like to park in at work.
In high school my friends and I sat at the same spot in the cafeteria for practically four years. In my senior year, a group of underclassmen had the audacity to sit at our table. The gall! We made them get up and move.
As a teacher, I had colleagues play a prank on me. They had the custodian let them into my room after I had left for the day so that they could completely rearrange my tables, desks, and chairs. The next day, I had an early morning meeting and wasn’t able to open up my room until just a few minutes before the bell was to ring. When I opened the door, I found all of the furniture stacked up in a corner of the room. I was almost in tears, the situation stressed me out so much! Thankfully, my first hour class understood and helped me get the room put back together.
My experiences are the teeniest, tiniest speck of “problems” when compared to what is described in Ezekiel chapter eight. In verse six, God says that the action of the Israelites have driven Him far from His sanctuary. The glorious temple, the Holy of Holies, is where the Spirit of God resided. But because God cannot exist where evil exists, He was kicked out of His own house! Talk about audacious behavior!
Jump forward to the New Testament with me. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says,
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.
My friends, are you living a righteous life? Are you choosing with your actions to be set aside for God’s purposes? Or are you living in rebellion?
I’m certainly not speaking of living a perfect life, but a life that honors God with your thoughts, words, and actions? If so, then God’s Spirit is residing in you. If not, God Spirit is not residing in you.
This is why Paul reminds us that we are not our own and we should behave accordingly, so that our bodies can remain the temple of the Holy Spirit.
No one likes being kicked out of what they’ve claimed as their rightful space, even God, especially God. He is your Creator and has claimed your heart as His Home. Live today in such a way that invites Him to stay.
-Bethany Ligon
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – Ezekiel 7 & 8 and 1 Peter 5
Ezekiel 5:8 – Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.
For homeowners in the Southwest, October is usually the month that winter lawn seed is spread. Since we don’t have snow to cover up our yards, we either let the grass die and go brown for a few months, or we make sure that the grass stays green by dedicating an afternoon to lawn care.
So just a few weeks ago, my brother and dad mowed the lawn three times to get the grass cut down as low as possible. That way, when they spread the lawn seed and fertilizer, the seed would have a better chance of taking root and growing into a luscious green carpet. If the lawn wasn’t cut down low, the winter lawn wouldn’t come up.
This reminds me a bit of the pruning that Jesus talks about in John 15. In order for the vine to grow healthy and produce fruit, it has to be cut back.
We read in Ezekiel chapter 5 God instructing the prophet to shave off all of his hair and his beard and to divide it into thirds. One third is to be burned, one third to be cut up, and one third to be tossed into the wind. A small amount was to be reserved and later that portion was to be divided with part of it to be burned and the remaining hairs kept.
These instructions are full of symbolism. The hair represents the Israelites. And because of their disobedience, God has to punish the nation. There would be a small remnant of people who would survive, symbolized by the tiny portion of hair not destroyed.
If God was to have a people unto His own, He needed to get rid of all the evil. He cannot coexist with unholiness. God had to do some major pruning of His people in order that good fruit (spiritually minded people) could grow and thrive.
I’ve experienced a season of pruning a few times in my life, maybe you have too. When God decides that it is time for you to grow, there is usually something in our lives that has to be cut back first. This is hard. But it is necessary in order to become who God has designed us to be.
I realize that we still have a good two months of 2021 left, and traditionally, self reflection takes place towards the end of the calendar year. But now is as good a time as any to examine different areas of your life to see if there is anything that God is telling you to get rid of or to cut back on.
We have read what God plans for those who are disobedient. Let’s experience God not through His wrath, but through His blessings.
-Bethany Ligon
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Ezekiel 5 & 6 and 1 Peter 4
Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk, reading an article for work, and I found myself nodding off. Which isn’t funny, unless you know that I sit on a physioball rather than a traditional office chair…which means I lost my balance when my body relaxed and I almost fell off…then it’s hilarious!
As I woke up and caught myself, I refocused on the article and realized that I hadn’t comprehended a word of the article. I had to reread it several times before I could understand the point the author was making.
Have you ever found your eyes moving across the page, but not reading? Have you sat through a lecture (or gasp, a sermon!) but not hearing?
As if Ezekiel’s vision of a four faced creature wasn’t extraordinary enough to hold his attention, God specifically says, “Listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you”.
This is pretty much the same thing that happens when adults are speaking to children and when we want to be assured of their attention we say, “Look at me when I am talking to you.”
The message that God was giving to Ezekiel was that important. The task that Ezekiel had to obey was literally the difference between life and death. God wanted to make sure that he had Ezekiel’s full attention.
Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, Scripture tells us to “listen carefully”. Obeying God’s Word is a matter of life and death. Whenever we open up our Bibles, we need to read, not just with our eyes, but with our hearts. When we do so, that is when our lives are transformed into Christlikeness.
Let’s be extra attentive today as we read the Word of God.
-Bethany Ligon
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Ezekiel 3-4 and 1 Peter 3
When children finish high school, and they go off to college or to live on their own for the first time, those frenzied final weeks before leaving are usually a flurry of activities. To-do lists are checked off and then added to, last minute shopping trips become a daily occurrence, and packing everything needed seems an impossible task. Finally, the day arrives, and the slightly panicked parents are often confronted with this stark realization: did I prepare them sufficiently for the challenges they will face in life? And so ensues final reminders, gentle warnings, and many sentences starting with “Don’t forget,” or “Remember.” The parents want the best experience for their children at college and in life.
The writer of Hebrews also desires the best outcome for his dear readers, his spiritual children, as he finishes his letter. Of course, that best outcome is eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Thus, Hebrews 13 concludes with straightforward instruction to reach this prize.
Consider the direct instructions found in verses 1-7, and the reasons WHY these instructions are important.
“Keep on loving each other as brothers”
“Do not neglect hospitality to strangers—(WHY?)—”for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated—(WHY?) – since you yourselves also are in the body.”
“Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; – (WHY?) – for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”
“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; – (WHY?) – for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you.”
“Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; – (WHY?) – considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith.”
Verse 17 goes hand in hand with verse 7. “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, – (WHY?) – because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.”
Hebrews 13:8 can be a stand-alone statement and beloved promise, easy to memorize (and it should be) and underlined in your Bible.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
What an assurance to us that Jesus has not changed and will not change—he is our Savior and coming King. Perhaps the writer felt a plain statement of our basic hope was warranted after his beginning list of directives.
Building on that simple reassurance, verse 9 warns the early Christians and us today, not to “be carried away by varied and strange teachings,” just as parents might advise their departing children—stay true to your foundation, the principles of your upbringing. It is firm, it is solid, it will keep you grounded.
Now, remember our reading from Hebrews 10 a few days ago.
“But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Heb. 10:12-14)
Continuing in Hebrews 13, verses 15-16 should be OUR response for this sacrifice.
“Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Our Salvation Gift from God:
Jesus—ONE SACRIFICE for all time
Our Response:
CONTINUAL SACRIFICE of
Praise
Doing good
Sharing
As the end of verse 16 says, “for with such SACRIFICES God is pleased.”
The writer concludes with a benediction or ending prayer in verses 20 and 21 that sums up his thoughts in this chapter.
“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
This prayer serves as the perfect final reminder for young adults off to college, and for each one of us.
-Paula Kirkpatrick
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 43-44 and Hebrews 13
Have you ever known someone who needs kidney dialysis to live? Your kidneys act as very efficient filters for ridding the body of waste and toxic substances, and they return vitamins and other vital substances to the bloodstream. You need dialysis if your kidneys no longer remove enough waste and fluid from your blood to keep you healthy. Dialysis is usually required if your kidney function is down to 10-15 percent.
Hemodialysis is a procedure where a dialysis machine and a special filter called an artificial kidney are used to clean your blood. For most patients, dialysis is needed three times a week for approximately four hours each session. Most importantly, a dialysis patient needs hemodialysis for the rest of his/her life unless a kidney transplant is received. A dialysis patient continues to live, but not what we would call a “quality” life.
The example of kidney dialysis reminds me of verse 11 of our Hebrews passage today, chapter 10. “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” The Hebraic priests daily performed their duties, offering up animal sacrifices on an altar for the various sins of the people. But the cycle never ended because God’s people then, like us today, continued to sin. Sin needed to be removed by their offered sacrifices just as kidney dialysis removes waste from a patient’s body.
In truth, the sacrifices were simply a reminder of the people’s sin. This is explained in verse one of this chapter. “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” Heb. 10:1 NIV
But Hebrews 10:12-14 NASB continues: “but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering He has PERFECTED for all time those who are sanctified.”
Praise to our Almighty, loving and gracious God. And to His Son, Jesus, our Saviour, the sacrificial Lamb who died for each one of us, once and for all. Verse 14 says Jesus’ death on the cross made we, who have accepted that sacrifice and entered into a relationship with him, perfect! Perfect! Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we appear pure and without sin to God.
“Now where there is forgiveness of these things, an offering for sin is no longer required.” Heb. 10:18 NASB. When we sin, we ask forgiveness of God, and through Jesus’ sacrifice, we are forgiven. There is NO NEED for daily offering of animal sacrifices by priests.
What then should be our response to this marvelous covenant (verse 16) God has given us?
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25 NIV
Draw near, fully assured of our purity before God
Hold fast to our hope in God
Stimulate one another in love and good deeds
Assemble together regularly
Encourage one another
Remember our introduction about kidney dialysis. When a dialysis patient receives the gift of a kidney transplant, from a donor, the regular three times a week dialysis ends. New life begins for the kidney recipient, a life of freedom to enjoy their loved ones, to travel, to appreciate each day. A kidney recipient is no longer tied down to the once necessary dialysis regimen.
Regular dialysis of the Hebrew people’s sins was no longer necessary with the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice. He was their donor; he is OUR DONOR!
Today, when we accept that gift through repentance and baptism, a cleansed and new life is “transplanted” within us. Praise God for the freedom we have in Christ.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8:2 NASB
-Paula Kirkpatrick
Paula Kirkpatrick lives in Minnesota with her husband, and is a wife, mom, grandma, school librarian, and most of all, a child of God.
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 37-38 and Hebrews 10
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.” It’s a nice way to remind elementary students to stop calling each other names and using insults and put-downs to hurt others. Perhaps putting this common saying into practice could lead to a more peaceful classroom or sibling relationship. I am sure I have used it more than a time or two for those purposes.
But, it is not an effective rule for a prophet of God speaking God’s truth to a wayward, stubborn, forgetful, corrupt, sinful nation. Jeremiah has been given the task of speaking some very hard and difficult and “NOT NICE” things. He must confront the people with their many sins that have gotten them into trouble, very disturbing things like killing the innocent and burning their children in the fire as sacrifices to fake and foreign gods. And, he must show the people the terror of their coming destruction which God would send because of their wretched sins, awful things like death by the sword, human remains being left for the birds and wild animals to ravage, and starvation so severe they eat their own children’s flesh.
Jeremiah’s assignment from God was to speak and write these horrific things to his friends, neighbors, co-workers, countrymen, and perhaps even some family members, as well as the king and government officials and the priests and religious leaders. And the people didn’t like hearing it at all. I’m guessing he was probably not a real popular guy to have around and likely wasn’t invited to many parties. They would much rather listen to the prophets who prophesied lies – that all is well with the world, that God is not angry (I saw that on a church sign once), that God’s mercy will always triumph and there will be no judgment, that all will be whisked away to play harps in heaven with no fear of the Almighty.
In today’s chapter 20, those who should have been listening tried to silence him with a beating and a night in the stocks. It is much easier for us to read it, than if we were to endure it ourselves. Adding to the pain of Jeremiah’s trouble and torture – it was the priest of the temple who had ordered his punishment! This was the man who should have been on Jeremiah’s side. He should have been in tune with God and should have seen the sins for what they were and should have been speaking against the sinful people, not against the brave lone prophet of God.
I love Jeremiah’s heart after this painful experience.
“I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. 8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. 10 I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior…”
Jeremiah 20:7b-11a NIV
But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior! He was tired of the ridicule and insults (and physical pain) he received from speaking for God. It seemed so easy and tempting to walk away from it all or just start saying nice things the people wanted to hear. But, he couldn’t. God’s truth was bubbling up inside him and he couldn’t and wouldn’t hold it in. So, regardless of what people would think of him or do to him, he would speak for God, even when it wasn’t nice things to say. And he would have the confidence that God was with him like a mighty warrior!
I pray we may have that same courage, that same convicting knowledge of the sin in and around us that can’t be ignored, that clear vision of God’s mercy and judgment, that same willingness and unstoppable desire to speak God’s words that can’t be held back, and that same confidence that we have a mighty warrior God standing by our side.
Speak His Words,
Marcia Railton
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 19-20 and Hebrews 1
What is the best way to lead people? You may be a leader in some area of your life, at school, at work, at Church, among your friends, on a sports team, in your marriage, with your children etc… Most of us have had some experience being a leader and I’m going to guess that everyone has had the experience of having a leader, probably many, in your life.
There are a number of leadership styles. Authoritarian leaders impose expectations and define outcomes. It’s a very top down approach. It’s efficient and sometimes required, but doesn’t always create a great experience for those being led. If you’re the parent of a 2 year old, it’s pretty much the only leadership style. But what works with a 2 year old doesn’t work as well with a 16 year old, or with your spouse. It might work okay if you’re the manager of a fast food restaurant with a bunch of first time teen-age employees, but probably not so well if you are managing a medical practice with a group of physicians.
Participative leadership is more democratic and helps people feel more engaged, but it can be more time-consuming and lead to poor decisions if the employees participating lack necessary information or skills.
Delegative leaders step back and let the members of the team set their own agendas, which in the right environment can produce a lot of creativity, but can also lead to disunity.
Transactional leaders use a lot of carrot and stick, reward and punishment. They give clear expectations and offer clear feedback and immediate rewards and punishments. It works well getting a 7 year old to clean her room or finish her vegetables, but doesn’t inspire a lot of creativity in capable adults.
Transformational leaders inspire with a vision and then encourage and empower followers to achieve that vision. They act as a role model. This type of leadership is not coercive and leads to high morale. To learn more check out: https://www.imd.org/imd-reflections/reflection-page/leadership-styles/
Great leaders adjust their leadership style to the appropriate context and situation. The little book of Philemon is a wonderful case study on Christian leadership. The Apostle Paul writes to his disciple, Philemon, about their mutual acquaintance, Onesimus. Paul and Philemon were brothers in Jesus Christ. Paul was responsible for Philemon coming to faith in Christ. Now, Philemon was a leader in the Church and actually had a congregation that met in his home. When he wrote the letter to Philemon Paul was in jail, probably in Rome awaiting his trial. While in prison he met Onesimus. Onesimus was a runaway slave who had been the property of Philemon. It seems that Onesimus became a follower of Jesus Christ through Paul while they were in prison. Onesimus had become a supportive helper to Paul. Paul has a dilemma. He has two Christian brothers, Philemon, a slave owner and Onesimus, a runaway slave. Paul wants Philemon to release Onesimus from his enslavement and either welcome him back not as a slave but as a fellow Christian, or allow him to return to Paul and support him while he’s awaiting trial.
So what leadership style does Paul use? He could have played the authoritarian card and said “Philemon, I’m an Apostle, I met Jesus personally, I brought you to faith, and now I order you to release Onesimus.” Under Roman law Philemon had the right to demand Onesimus’ return. He was not legally obligated to release him. Legally, under Roman law Paul had no authority to force Philemon to let Onesimus go. Paul practiced transformational leadership. He inspired Philemon and gave him a vision of how being a follower of Jesus Christ can transform a person and their values and relationships. He gave him a vision of Onesimus as more than property or an asset, but as a person, a child of God, as a fellow heir of the kingdom of God bought from slavery to sin and death through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In using this leadership style Paul creates space for the spirit of God to transform Philemon’s heart, and have a much wider impact on the Church (for nearly 2000 years). Hopefully, other Christian slave owners saw Philemon’s example and also chose to release their slaves and welcome them as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul uses his personal relationship with Philemon to persuade and inspire him to recognize what Paul had done for him and what Paul was inviting him to do for Onesimus. This is a great example of persuasive transformational leadership. In times when God calls you to be a leader either at school, at work, in your family, at Church, in community, or wherever you might be called to lead, remember Paul’s great example of how to be a transformational leader.
The passage in Isaiah also gives a glimpse of leadership. In this instance. God is leading his disobedient and rebellious children, Israel. God’s leadership style here might be interpreted as transactional. God has punished Israel for their idolatrous and rebellious ways. God also promises better days ahead for those who faithfully listen to God and walk in the ways of obedience. Ultimately, God is a transformational leader calling people to look to the vision of a new heaven and a new earth to inspire them to faithfulness now. God doesn’t enjoy punishing the disobedient. It’s true that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”(Provers 9:10), but ultimately God wants us to respond to Him out of love- to love him with all our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:5). God always leads in exactly the way we need, because He is the perfect leader. Let us follow Him and learn from Him just as Paul (and hopefully Philemon) did.
-Pastor Jeff Fletcher
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Isaiah 65-66 and Philemon
I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Which would you like first? If you’re like me, you’d prefer to rip the band-aid off and get the bad news over with and finish with the good news. So let’s get to it.
The bad news. Humans have made a pretty big mess out of this world. Yes, we’ve done some amazingly good things too, but we’ve made an awful mess of the world. One of my ministry settings is as a hospital chaplain. When I visit with patients, a lot of them are there because either they, or someone else, has made a huge mess of their lives. Sometimes it’s from drug or alcohol abuse, sometimes they are victim of crime, often they have not taken very good care of their bodies. Sometimes they’ve been in such despair that they attempted to end their life by suicide. I’m not going to spend a lot of time listing the ways human beings have made a mess out of the world, if you need proof, just turn on the news for an hour or two.
Here’s the thing about messes, you can ignore them, and they will simply get worse, or you can clean them up. Usually when you clean up a mess you preserve somethings and you discard others. You try to salvage what is worth saving and discard what isn’t. That requires some decision making. What to keep and what to discard. If you want clean dishes, you have to discard the dirty stuff that’s on the dishes. If you want a clean house, you have to purge the junk. If you don’t ever throw anything out then you become a hoarder and that’s an awful mess and no way to live a flourishing and happy life.
In today’s first reading in Isaiah, Israel had made quite a mess. They failed to be faithful to YHWH, the God who created them and called them to be His. Despite warnings and pleadings, Israel worshipped other gods. They failed to give YHWH their exclusive love and devotion. After numerous attempts to get them to stop, God finally allowed them to face the consequences of their unfaithfulness. God allowed their enemies to conquer them, destroy their beloved temple and city, Jerusalem, and they went into captivity for 70 years. That was the bad news.
Now for the good news. God was going to rescue them, restore them and return them to their beloved Jerusalem.
Isaiah 61
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a] 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”
Isaiah goes on to describe how much better things will be for God’s people. He uses the image of a bride being rejoiced over by her groom. God’s love for his people is great.
Toward the end of the section is the promise: ” ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him”
Notice God’s rescue of his people is good news for some, and bad news for others. It’s both the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance.
Think about WWII for a minute. When the Allied Forces defeated Hitler and his armies and came to the internment camps like Auschwitz, it was good news for the prisoners, but bad news for the German army. Hitler chose suicide over the swift justice that was sure to come. For the men and woman who were set free it was good news but for the perpetrators of injustice it was a day of vengeance.
Jesus is coming again. In Titus 2 we are told:
“11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
God’s purpose in allowing His people Israel to face judgement was his way of cleaning up the mess that they had made and giving them a chance to start fresh, free from the worship of idols.
God’s purpose in sending Jesus was to extend the opportunity of salvation to all people, again, to clean up the mess and rescue those who are willing to receive the grace of God. While we are waiting for Jesus to come and all the mess to be finally cleaned up, God invites us in the name of Jesus to follow him and live Godly lives, rejecting the mess of the world.
The world is a mess and God is fully and finally going to clean it up through the coming of Jesus Christ. For those who reject God’s grace and mercy it will be a day of vengeance. While we wait, God is working in our lives to clean up our messes and put us to work doing good, helping point others to God. Are you willing to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions? Are you willing to be different (FUEL 2019). Are you eager to do what is good? God wants to purify you and put you to work. Are you willing?
-Jeff Fletcher
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at Biblegateway.com here. Isaiah 61-62 and Titus 2.
We’ve talked about giving money to the church, but is there anything else we should be doing with our money? I found several ways in the Bible that we should be using our money.
The first way is not necessarily the most important thing I learned during my study of money in the Bible, but it is the most surprising thing I found. Jesus told us to use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves. Yup, we are encouraged to buy our friends. People have a hard time believing Jesus said that, but look at it for yourself in Luke 16:9. I think he is trying to tell us that relationships are important, and buying someone a lunch may be the start of a friendship that could have eternal consequences in a good way.
It is not surprising to hear that we should provide for our relatives, especially our own household in 1 Timothy 5:8. However, it is bit shocking that the verse tells us that we have denied the faith and are worse than a non-believer if we don’t. Worse than a non-believer! Don’t ignore the financial needs of your relatives.
1 John 3:16-18 questions if the love of God can be in someone who has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them. The verse in Timothy was talking about our relatives, but notice that these verses are referring to our brothers and sisters in Christ, our church family.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 goes a step further by telling the Israelites that they should give generously to fellow Israelites who are poor. This opened the giving beyond the church family to any poor people in their community. In verse 9 it warns them that if they show ill will toward the needy and give them nothing, they will be found guilty of sin. It’s not just a good thing to give to the poor, it is a sin if you don’t.
Along those same lines, Proverbs 21:13 states that whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. Ouch.
Acts 4:32-35 is not a commandment for us to follow, but it is an interesting way that believers took care of each other. No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own and they shared everything they had so there were no needy people among them. They went so far as to sell their land or houses and give the money from the sales to the apostles so they could distribute it to anyone in need. It mentioned that God’s grace was powerfully at work in them all. Would you be willing to sell your house for a brother or sister in need?
I hope the verses we covered today were enlightening or a good reminder if you had heard them before. I think Proverbs 3:9-10 sums up pretty well what we should be doing with our money. It says to honor the Lord with your wealth. I would feel pretty good about honoring the Lord, but wait, there’s more. It says your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine if you honor God with your wealth. And I think it is safe to say that some really nice blessings would be headed your way even if you don’t have a barn or a vat.
Got money? Honor the Lord with it.
-Rick McClain
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Isaiah 57-58 and 2 Timothy 4
Seek Grow Love 