Tag: purity

Zoned for Purity

Ezekiel 45-48

Devotion by Daniel Smead (Minnesota)

Have you ever read a description of an imagined society, perhaps Plato’s utopia ruled by philosophers, or some other example? Or, going a different route, has a child ever drawn a city and shown it to you, perhaps with a single hospital and a block of farmland off to one side – in fact, often most things set up as blocks right next to each other, rarely with any attention given to parking or railway stations.

Reading the last four chapters of Ezekiel, the third part of his final vision, reminded me of both these things. In today’s text the vision’s focus shifts to zoning: land set aside for the Temple, priestly and Levitical residences, the city of Jerusalem, property for princes, and land for the regular people. And in the last part of the book, land for each tribe. This is laid out down to the cubit, with right angles, like it might be in a child’s drawing. And the social groups are assumed to remain separated and balanced, as in proposals for utopian societies. Perhaps it isn’t meant to be treated as a practical description, but more to say “God has not forgotten anyone, and all will get what they need.”

The description of Israel’s society here emphasizes improvement, with comments like:

“My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes” (45:8b). The powerful will not act for their own benefit, and all of the tribes would get what they needed, though in Ezekiel’s time most of the tribes were scattered – so the vision itself is promising the regathering of the tribes.

“You shall have just balances, a just ephah and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity” (45:10-11a). This comment rebukes theft by cheating in business. Weights on sets of balance scales were used to calculate payments. By using differing sets of weights that looked the same, a merchant could vary which they used when buying or selling to unfairly benefit in every transaction.

Similarly, “ephah” and “bath” were supposed to be the same volume – apparently about 22 liters – just with one measuring dry goods like grain (that might be in sacks or baskets) and the other measuring liquids like oil or alcohol (perhaps kept in stone jars).

The last part of chapter 45, and chapter 46, contains more about God’s expectations for honorable and pure actions by the prince and the priests, which circles back to the Temple’s layout. Washing at the Temple had always required a great deal of water, brought there with difficulty. But here this issue of purifying water is reversed, it is not brought into the Temple but flows from it and will affect the nations.

“By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.” (47:12)

I have previously cited the estimate that the book of Revelation contains over five hundred references to other biblical texts which are not direct quotations. And, to save you looking it up, here is the similar language to Ezekiel 47:12 in Revelation:

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (22:1-2).

The two quotes share many details, but they also differ. In Ezekiel, for example, the water comes from under the wall of the Temple and then deepens to become a river. The Revelation text involves the huge New Jerusalem, while the “18,000” cubits of the city mentioned in Ezekiel 48:35 is a bit under six miles. Such issues are another reason to question whether the vision is to be taken as about the precise details of future events or themes of purity and redemption.

A message of purity and redemption for the exiles flows through the text. They were torn from their people and their land, forced even to hear about the destruction of their city and its Temple at a distance. They mourned in exile. But God intended to restore what was broken – including the people. God’s people had been broken long before, that is why the exile took place. Exile was part of the penalty God kept putting off generation after generation, though ultimately God’s words had to be fulfilled. But now God was again offering the people an opportunity to live as they should, interacting in purity, they and their princes, priests, and merchants. And no matter how many more times those relationships were damaged, God was committed to them being set right. God’s name was to be exalted, and the people who lived where God’s name dwelled needed to be purified, in keeping with that city being known as “ ‘The Lord is there.’ ” (Ezekiel 48:35b).

Reflection Questions

  1. What application do you see of the principles God applied to the conduct and attitudes of the exiles, in terms of your own life? How demanding do you perceive God as being, compared with how forgiving God is? What impact does the presence of Jesus in the situation have?
  2. Do you think anyone might be looking at you expecting that “the Lord is there”? (Perhaps this would be through an interpretation of Christians being the Temple, having the Holy Spirit in them, etc.) In what senses might that be a reasonable way to understand the text, and in what ways might it be unreasonable?
  3. Ought believers to take more encouragement or discouragement from the thought of the Holy Spirit being in their lives?
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Potty Talk

Titus 1

Thursday, September 15, 2022

POOP.

That was the very first word my then-4-year-old son taught himself to write, all on his own. (Proud homeschooling mama here…)

Like many boys his age, he was fascinated with all things disgusting. It was rare for even a few minutes to pass – especially at supper time! – without him making reference to some sort of bodily function, and laughing hysterically at the mere mention of it while the rest of us just prayed it would stop. My other son, now four years old, has followed suit and is also obsessed with preschool potty humor. To him, every funny noise is flatulence; every repulsive smell must be lingering from the bathroom, and it is all hilarious. Even if we explain that the sound was just a balloon releasing air or the smell was simply spoiled food, he entertains himself for a long while with the (pleasant?) thoughts of bodily functions in the house. He cannot seem to get his mind away from potty talk. 

As humankind, we, too, can become stuck in thought patterns or ideas and continue to feed those beliefs. In verses 15 and 16, Paul writes to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.” Now, I am not at all implying that innocent preschoolers have corrupted consciences; that was simply a humorous and relatable example about what happens when our minds are focused on one kind of thing. However, there are many people who continue to feed, to themselves and others, lies and negativity and unpleasant thoughts, which are contrary to God. As believers, we are called to live pure lives, demonstrating the redemption of Jesus’ sacrifice. We can claim to know God, but if we deny him by living without pure motives, we have lost our testimonies and are guilty of corrupted minds. Paul calls those kinds of people “detestable, disobedient, unfit for doing anything good.” Ouch. I don’t want those labels assigned to me. When my mind begins to dwell in negativity, judgmentalism, or even perversion, God often brings these lyrics to my mind: 

Give us clean hands; give us pure hearts. 

Let us not lift our souls to another… 

Oh God, let us be a generation that seeks, 

seeks Your face, O God of Jacob. 

In this book of Titus, much like he did in 2 Timothy, Paul is addressing the issue of “meaningless talk and deception” among rebellious people. Such tendencies must have been rampant then as they still are today. He calls believers to rebuke people who demonstrate this behavior so they will be “sound in the faith.” He also sets high standards for leaders within the church in verses 6-8: “An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” 

Whew! I’m glad I’m not expected to follow such stringent guidelines, aren’t you? Not so fast. Though these qualifications are given to a specific church, they can still be applicable guidelines for our church leaders – and attenders! – today. Since our leaders are also human and prone to stumble like the rest of us, we must continue to pray for them as they seek God and lead His people. And, as Christians aiming to honor God and constantly growing in our faith, we too should aspire to live up to similar expectations as we serve and connect with our local bodies of believers. I’ll close with this verse that seems to fit with this passage and is a good reminder about how we should think (and therefore how we should behave, since our thoughts influence our actions): 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.

Philippians 4:8-9

-Rachel Cain

Reflection Questions: 

With which of the qualifications in verses 6-8 do you most struggle? Pray for God to help lead you to overcome it. 

Most of us who are reading this claim to know God, but have denied him by our actions at times. What are some ways you have done this? Ask God for His strength to live fully for him.

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The Words of the God You Love

Psalm 119

Wednesday, July 13, 2022 

            Back when I was a child, at Church camp when you stood in line for a meal they made you say a Bible verse.  Us young boys learned that John 11:35 was the “go to verse” for quick memorization: “Jesus wept.”   A two word verse, easy to memorize- boom “Jesus wept!” the legal requirements are met, now can I eat? 

            Bonus round—what is the shortest book in the Bible?  2 John or 3 John depending on how you measure it.  2 John has the fewest verses, 3 John has the fewest words.  For fun sake, Obadiah is the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testament).  We can argue about anything, can’t we?

            But there is no argument about the longest chapter in the Bible- Psalms 119 is the big winner.  Psalm 119 has 176 verses.  Compare that to the shortest chapter in the Bible – Psalm 117 which has only 2 verses. Not only is Psalm 119 unique because of its length, but its structure is quite unique as well.  Psalm 119 is written as an acrostic poem.  It is made up of 22 sections which are 8 verses each and each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, beginning with the first Hebrew letter “aleph” and ending with the final Hebrew letter, “taw”.  This was likely a device that helped the student to memorize the Psalm, which good little Jewish boys and girls did.

            Obviously with 176 verses we can’t look at the whole Psalm in one brief devotion and we won’t even try.  I’ll just point out something basic for you to consider and then focus on one section in some detail.

            Something basic for us to consider is that this Psalm is devoted to an appreciation of God’s Word.  Different Hebrew words are used in the Psalm including “Torah”, which can mean: “teaching, direction, guidance and law”; “Debar” which means “word” and “Misva” which means commandment or ordinance.  The entire Psalm is devoted to having a love for God’s word or commands or teaching.   This clear expression of love for God’s word is important.  In many places in the Bible, beginning in the Old Testament in places like Deuteronomy 6:5 , we are told to love the LORD/YHWH/God with all of our hearts.  Here in Psalm 119 we are told to also love God’s Word  or teaching.  Vs. 97 says “O how I love your ‘Torah’ (law/teaching) I meditate (think about/ponder deeply) on it all day long.”

            I don’t know about you but there are only a few things that I’ve ever thought about literally “all day long”. (One of them was my wife back when we first began dating, and another may or may not be Krispy Kreme hot donuts-they are beautiful and delicious and hot).  You usually only think about something constantly if it’s someone/thing that you really, really love a lot, or something that you are really, really worried about.  In the case of Psalm 119 it’s clear that the writer is thinking about God’s Word all day long because he/she loves that Word.

            Is there a difference between loving God and loving God’s Word?  In one way, yes.  There are people who diligently study the Bible simply as literature or history.  They tear it apart and analyze it like someone might dissect an animal or human cadaver or look at tiny things in a microscope.  But in this case, the person writing the Psalm loves God’s Word and thinks constantly about God’s Word because it’s God’s Word and this person loves God wholeheartedly so he also loves God’s teaching, instructions, commandments.  Jesus would later tell his disciples “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15).

            Let’s go back to that thing that I said I have literally thought about all day long (not the Krispy Kreme donut, but my wife, Karen, who is also beautiful, delicious, hot and begins with a K- sorry, but I needed to include that in order to embarrass any of my adult children who might be reading this devotion today, you’re welcome).   Because I love my wife I usually try to pay attention to the words she speaks to me. (I’ll admit, I’m not always perfect on this, but in my defense, sometimes she’s just talking to herself and I have to clarify who the intended listener is, me or herself, sometimes I miss the things that I’m supposed to hear).  Part of love is paying attention to the words spoken by the one we love.  So, for the Psalmist, he loved God so he also loved God’s word.  So for Jesus, if we love him we also need to keep his commandments/teaching/words.  So the overall theme of Psalm 119 is “I love God and so I also love God’s word.”

            The section of Psalm 119 I want you to think about is the second section- verses 9-16 which begins with the Hebrew letter “Beth” ב.  It begins with a question and answer:  “How can a young person stay on the path of purity?”  That’s a great question and reveals the important desire that forms the content of this person’s heart.  They love God so much that they want to know how to keep on the right path, the path of purity.  They want to know how to live a life that is pleasing in the sight of God.  The answer is by living according to God’s word.  If a person wants to walk a path that is pleasing to God then he or she needs to follow the word of God.  God has revealed to us, by His word, how to live a life that is pleasing to him.  We need to follow that path. 

            In order to stay on that path of purity we must be intentional.  We need to seek God with all of our heart.  Why do I want to pay attention to and follow God’s word?  Because I’m seeking God with my whole heart.  How do we avoid falling into sin? By putting God’s word deep into our hearts.  He speaks about the Law with strong emotional words: joy (rejoice), meditate and delight.  For him staying on a path that is pleasing to God brings him such joy that he is thinking deeply about God’s word all of the time and finds his delight in doing what God’s word says.

            You can love someone’s words without loving the person, but you really can not love a person if you don’t also care deeply about the words they use to convey what is important and meaningful to them.  The next time you look at your Bible, consider this: out of all the trillions of words that have ever been spoken or written in the history of the world, these words contained in this Bible are the words that were spoken by God to human beings in order that we might know, love and serve God.  So why would we not love the words that come from the God that we love, and why would we not obey the words that come from the God that we love?

            Do you want to keep your way each day pure (pleasing in God’s sight).  Then pay attention to those words each day, think deeply about them, immerse yourself in them, delight in them, find joy in reading and obeying them because you love those words because they are the words of the God you love.

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions:

  1.  Which words from today’s reading (Psalm 119) will you choose to think deeply about?
  2. Which words from today’s reading will you take special delight in thinking about?
  3. Which words from today’s reading will bring you the most joy?
  4. How will these words from God help you when you find yourself tempted to go in a direction that is not in keeping with loving God?
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The Early Church : The Purity and Persecution of the Early Church

Acts 5


Today, I’d like to focus on two more aspects of the church, both of which defined the church in its earliest days: purity and persecution. 


Purity


Yesterday, we read how God used his church to care for the least fortunate. No one in the church had any need. One of the ways this was accomplished, remember is that those who had property would sell it and give the proceeds to the church. There was no demand or command to do this, but those who did were honored by the church. In Acts 5:1-11, we read about a husband and wife duo who tried to buy the affection of the church. They sold a piece of property, but kept back a portion. But that wasn’t the problem. In verse 7, Peter asked Sapphira whether this was ALL the money they received for the land. THAT was the lie. They wanted everyone to think they were just as good as those who gave ALL their money to the church. 


But the church is not about building up our own ego. The church is about caring for those who need help. When Ananias and Sapphira lied, they lied to the Holy Spirit and they lied to God! In our world, some use church or religion for their own status. God has shown since the birth of the church that he’s not fooled. He desires to keep his people pure, focused on his mission, his goals, and not on themselves. 


Persecution


The disciples kept proclaiming Jesus. Those who were powerful were being told there was someone more powerful. Those who denied the resurrection were shown there was a resurrection. Those who considered themselves righteous were proven to be wicked. That is going to make people mad. They had told them that they couldn’t preach in the name of Jesus, but the apostles reply “We must obey God rather than human beings!” What an AMAZING testimony. They are not worried about people. They aren’t worried about the commands of men, of governments, of those who can kill the body but not the soul. 


God said “Go!” and so they go. Jesus said “Disciple others!” and so they disciple. The Holy Spirit gives them words and so they speak. 


Because of this, they were flogged (v40) and ordered not to speak. And the reaction of the disciples is fascinating. They were rejoicing. Rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer disgrace. Counted worthy to suffer. God thinks of them highly enough to be humiliated. 


Because in our humiliation, in our suffering, in our rejection, we look most like Jesus. God reverses our fortunes in the same way that he raised Jesus from the dead and sat him at his right hand.

In our humiliation, God gives glory. 

In our suffering, God gives joy. 

In our rejection, God gives acceptance. 

In our weakness, God gives Jesus. 

May you, my brothers and sisters, be more like the early church, today. 

May the message fill your mouth and the mission compel your feet. 

May the Spirit of God give you power and the love of God give you passion.

May the dedication of the apostles and the purity of the church define your own worship of God. 


May you do all this so that God is glorified, Jesus is honored, and many find faith. 

-Jake Ballard

Jake Ballard is pastor at Timberland Bible Church. If you’d like to hear more from him, you can find Timberland on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TimberlandBibleChurch/ ) and on Instagram (https://instagram.com/timberlandbiblechurch?igshid=t52xoq9esc7e). The church streams the Worship Gathering every Sunday at 10:30. Besides studying and teaching God’s word, he is raising three beautiful children with the love of his life, plays board games and roleplaying games with amazing friends weekly and recently celebrated both Cinco de Mayo and May the Fourth (Be with you). If you’d like to reach out to talk Bible, talk faith, or talk about Star Wars, look Jacob Ballard up on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336 )or email him at jakea.ballard@yahoo.com. 
God bless you all!

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 1 Samuel 21-22 and Acts 5

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Thought Checker

Psalm 119:1-88

Psalm 119 11 NIV sgl

(We will read the second half of the longest chapter of the Bible on Sunday – but feel free to actually read the whole thing both days – it is full of good stuff!)

What comes to mind when you hear the word purity? Because we currently live in a fallen world where sin is part of our human nature, we are all impure. Think about it… what about your thoughts? What do you think about? Are there any sins that don’t start with a thought? I’m sure we could learn a whole lot about someone if we could read their thoughts, because the thing about our thoughts is that they are essentially hidden from the rest of the world. And this is why it can be so dangerous. What starts to be a single almost innocent thought can then eventually or suddenly develop from good to bad to ugly. So when would be a better time than now to examine our thoughts and heart. God knows our thoughts, we can’t hide anything from Him, remember? Our thoughts do matter. They reveal what is in our heart. 

 

Thankfully, we can find in Psalm 119 how to stay pure. 

 

Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.

 

Psalm 119: 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 

Because God’s word should be our treasure in life we should hide it in our heart and meditate on it so that we can obey it and therefore stay pure. So let’s see what Philippians 4:8 says. “ And now dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” This makes staying pure a little harder, not only should they be pure, they should be honorable as well.

 

 I am so glad this verse made it into our Bibles because it has certainly helped me. When I was little I used to have trouble falling asleep from worrying, until my mom wrote out Philippians 4:6-8 and hung it up next to my bed. Suddenly I had a way to check my thoughts. A thought checker. If it doesn’t align with Philippians 4:8 throw it out of your mind. And even more than that, I was able to memorize it and because of that I’ve been able to use it throughout the years. 

 

Starting some habits can be really helpful in controlling your thoughts. But the first step is to really know the scriptures so you know what is right and wrong. Because how else can we know what the Bible says if we don’t take the time to study, meditate, memorize, and know what it says? Also you will need to commit to memorizing scripture so that when the time comes that they are needed you will be able to pull them out of our pocket and meditate on them. 

Here are some great verses to memorize and hide in our hearts.

 

1 Timothy 4:12 “ Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way  you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 

 

Romans 8:1-2 “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for your. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Or 2 Corinthians 6:6, Romans 8:6, or 2 Corinthians 10:5, and many many others. 

 

So the next time you feel like your thoughts are controlling you, make it a habit to test your thoughts and make sure they align with Philippians 4:8.  When they don’t, affirm that it is a thought that doesn’t align with God’s word and toss it out. Just like Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan,” when Peter was a stumbling block for him, you might choose to say something in response to it to help combat it. Then, ask God to renew your mind and help you strive to live a life pleasing to Him. Lastly and one of the most important steps, meditate on scripture. Choose a specific verse that is personal and recite it over and over again. 

 

So how can a young person stay pure? By living according to God’s word. By meditating on Scripture and hiding it in your heart so that you don’t sin. 

 

Makayla Railton

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+119%3A1-88&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be 1 Kings 3-4, 2 Chronicles 1 and Psalm 72 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

 

The Other Person

FRIDAY

1 thessalonians 4_6 wood

1Th. 4:6 that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

 

We noted that Paul’s first instruction on morality was external, the second internal, i.e., what were you taught, then what is good for you. This third guideline for moral behavior is again outside of us, i.e., how am I treating the other person?

 

When I first went into youth ministry, almost 40 years ago, a study asked young people why they first had sex. The number one reason for girls was love, for guys was curiosity. The only thing that has changed over the years is that now the girls also are acting out of curiosity. As Bob Seger sang in the classic rock hit, Night Moves, “I used her, she used me, neither one cared. We were getting our share.”

 

As Christians, can we use another person for our personal sexual gratification? What impact does our action have on the other person?

 

Sometimes I think this is a special issue for Christians. Maybe worldly people can see former sexual partners as just passing acquaintances with whom they had a good time, but can it be that simplistic for Christians? Don’t we as Christians think of sex as more than a good time? It is a gift that God has given us to share with our life partner. We might think our romance is going to lead to marriage, but what if it doesn’t?

 

What does it mean to respect others in regard to our moral decisions?

 

-Greg Demmitt