Matthew 26:38, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
John 19 is arguably the most sobering chapter in all of the Bible. A couple months ago, I read this chapter to the church while leading the Lord's Table. This portion of Scripture is a powerful reminder of God's love and judgment. I've been reading the book of John for my personal devotions that last several weeks. The Lord challenged me with a new thought as I read chapter 19 again the other day.
Cary Schmidt is one of the assistant pastors at Lancaster Baptist Church. He is a tremendously spiritual and wise man. He has special wisdom when it comes to modern issues and technology. He has a great philosophy about life and ministry. He has written a couple of articles on his blog about social networking I think every blogging, facebooking, tweeting, RSS reading Christian needs to read.
You can find them here and here.
I agree wholeheartedly with a statement he made in the second post: “You might say these reasons apply to everything we do online—whether a blog, a website, or a twitter feed.”
I am still debating whether or not to jump in the Twitter bandwagon. I might do it to publish a verse I read that day or a praise or prayer request. Simply telling people what I’m doing sounds ridiculous. I’ll let you know if I start tweeting. By the time I do, that fad will be over.
“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
- 1 Peter 2:1-3
Peter is addressing Christians in his epistles to the “strangers scattered” (1 Peter 1:1) throughout Asia Minor. It would be easy to think that he is referring to unsaved people when listing the characteristics found in 1 Peter 2:1. He’s actually talking about attributes that can belong to immature Christians. He calls them “newborn babes” in vs. 2.
He lists five characteristics:
Malice – evil or wickedness
Guile – deceit or subtlety
Hypocrisies – acting a feigned part
Envies – jealousy
Evil Speakings – defamation or backbiting
Now, read the following five passages of Scripture:
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Wickedness)
John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (Deceit)
2 Corinthians 11:14, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (Acting a feigned part)
Isaiah 14:14, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Jealousy)
Revelation 12:10, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Defamation)
These five passages are speaking of the devil and the characteristics they describe match exactly the characteristics Peter attributes to immature Christians.
Immature Christians can act just like the devil!
God wants us to grow and our churches need us to grow.
I’ve been teaching a series through Psalm 25 in my adult Bible class the last several weeks. The theme of the lesson is taken from verse 1 where David says, “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.” The main point of the series is that it is vital for victorious Christian living to offer our lives to God on a daily basis. We’ve been looking at the rest of the Psalm to learn some of the results of lifting up our soul to God.
The result I taught on last week is found in vs. 4-5 where David writes, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me…” The result of offering our life to God I see in these verses is a desire for God’s will. David was a man who sincerely desired to fulfill God’s plan for his life. Like the rest of us, he faltered from time to time, but it was a true desire of his heart nonetheless.
A study of some of the key words in this passage offered some very encouraging thoughts. The Hebrew word for the word “ways” in vs. 4 is derek. It literally means a road. It figuratively means a course of life. Of all the roads this life has to offer, the desire of the Christian ought to be to get and stay on the road God has for them. There is a path God wants us to travel in this life and we should desire to walk it.
The Hebrew word for “paths” in vs. 4 is orach which means a well trodden road or caravan. It caught my attention that David used two different English words in this verse that, on the surface, appear to have virtually the same meaning. A quick look at the Hebrew definitions reveal the difference. Every time a Christian takes the first step down the road God wants them to walk in this life, it is a giant step of faith. The encouraging truth I see in this verse is that when you start down that road, you will quickly find that you are not alone. The path of God’s will is a path that many have been on in the past and many are on now. It’s a well trodden road. You’re part of a caravan on that road.
There are certainly times when surrendering to God’s will is a nerve racking thing. Just encourage yourself with the thought that when you step on that road, you’ll be marching along side an army of people striving to serve God themselves.
Calvinists and "Five-Pointers" who believe in God's arbitrary election regarding those who could possibly be saved are big on His Sovereignty. They don't want to limit God in any way...except for the saving power of the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Article XIV Section 3(3): “At the option expressed in writing by the parents and guardians, religion shall be allowed to be taught to their children in public elementary and high schools within regular class hours by instructors designated or approved by religious authorization…”
That excerpt is found in the Philippine Constitution. Why is there nothing like that in ours?
In my last post, I pointed out that every decision God makes is right. God never makes a wrong decision. That’s a pretty amazing concept. Why does God judge right?
Answer this question: What is Solomon known for asking God for?
If you said wisdom, you’re wrong. God gave him wisdom, but that’s not what he asked for.
1 Kings 3:9, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
Solomon asked for understanding. He asked for understanding because he’d have the difficult task of judging. He knew he’d have to make some tough decisions as the new king of Israel.
Knowledge, wisdom and understanding are all things the Bible tells us we should strive for. Knowledge is the what, wisdom is the how and understanding is the why. The reason God always judges right is because He is perfect in these three areas. God knows what to do in every situation. He knows how to do it. He also knows why it should be done.
The main reason we have trouble with some of the decisions God makes is because we are not perfect in those three areas. There are many times when we don’t know what to do or how to do it. Even if we do know those things, we don’t always know why. We must come to the place where we recognize that God is on the throne. He is in charge. He always makes right decisions.
We may not know why He does certain things, but we can be sure that He does.
“For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.” – Psalm 9:4
I’ve been reading through Psalms lately and this verse caught my attention the other night. It’s one thing to acknowledge that God is King (sitting on His throne) and Judge. It’s another thing to acknowledge that He judges right…always.
The last word of that verse could be translated rightly or righteously. Every judgment of God is right.
There is never a time where God makes a wrong judgment. Whenever God decides to do anything, it is always right. It’s right by default because He’s God. Next time you’re dealing with a tough circumstance or being chastised for disobedience, keep in mind that God always does things right. Next time God leads you and you have questions and doubts, don’t forget that God always does things right.
Posts
All Comments
