Just a Thought! - 26 November 2012

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25)

Over the last few weeks we have looked at the Word of God and the implications of various passages to our lives. One theme that comes out quite strongly is that of the necessity to read the Bible. We have been also challenged in terms of passion, discipline, and its benefits. But our reading of the Bible should not end there. In our verses today, James tells us that our responsibility goes further than that. It demands obedience.

Hearing is Not Obeying

It is clear from this passage that God expects to take our reading of the Bible and put it into practice. In fact, James warns us that to not do so means we are deceiving ourselves. James likens it to a person looking into a mirror and forgetting what they look like when they walk away.

To understand James point here we need to understand the purpose of a mirror. Quite simply, for the most part it is for self-examination. As you look at yourself you see the flaws and do something about fixing them. Imagine waking up in the morning and looking at yourself in the mirror to see bloodshot eyes, dishevelled hair, unshaven face, and then you dress and leave for work forgetting what you saw in the mirror? For the rest of the day you will look like a fool and people may ridicule you for it. This is what James is talking about.

When we read the Word of God, we see ourselves in it. We see our faults and sin. But to walk away and do nothing about it is pointless. We need to do something about it by obeying what God says.

Obedience and Blessing

Seeing ourselves in the mirror of God's Word is not a pleasant experience. No one like to see their true state of sinfulness. David was in the same predicament when he was challenged by Nathan for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the resulting murder of Uriah. When David heard Nathan's parable about a man who stole another man's lamb, David was enraged, but then Nathan pointed it out to him that David was himself that man (2 Samuel 11-12).

We hate people pointing out our flaws and sin, and we do not like it when the Bible points it out to us either. Sometimes it happens when we read the Bible for ourselves, read a book, hear a sermon, or even have someone confront us like David did. The question is, what are we going to do about it?

David dealt with it. Psalm 51 is an excellent portrayal of David's heart at this time. He saw the error of his ways, that he had sinned against God, and requested God to change his heart. When confronted with God's Word, David obeyed.

When we are confronted with God's Word we need to obey it. And when we do, we will be blessed in what we do. Note that the blessing is tied in with obedience to God's Word. It is not that we will be blessed in every area of our lives, that we are now going to be healthy and wealthy, but rather that through our obedience, we will receive blessing in those areas where we obey.

The challenge is, do we obey God's Word in everything, or do we only obey the things we like, that we believe still apply in our situation or culture? Though not every command in the Bible applies to us directly, we still have the responsibility to learn from them and apply the basic principles to our own lives. After all, God has called us to be holy as He is holy, and to do that requires obedience to His Holy Standard given to us, the Bible.

Just a Thought!

© 2012

Just a Thought! - 19 November 2012

"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11)

How highly do you value the Bible and its message for you? Your answer may depend on how much you practice what it tells you. Or it might depend on how often you read or study it. It may simply depend on how thick the dust is that has settled on it since you last read it. Too often we tend to put the Bible aside for other things in life as if reading it is optional.

Busyness and Sin

There are two things in our lives that tend to keep us from the Bible - busyness and sin. Too many people allow their lives to become so filled with activities that they have little time to read the Bible. As a result, they depend on what other people have studied about the Bible than actually studying it themselves. When this happens, then we begin to sin more and maybe even justify our sin if someone points it out to us. We ignore what the Bible actually says because we have not studied it for ourselves.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). Although in this context He was not speaking about the Bible directly, the principle is true none the less. If you value things that are not of God; such as possessions, idols, self, sin, etc. then that is where your heart will be. Those things will consume you and you will do anything for them. Even neglect God and his Word.

However, if you value the things of God, including God's Word, over everything else, then you will become so passionate about the Word that you will want to study it as often as you can, and you will want it to change you. And when it does, the things in life that seemed absolutely important previously, will seem less so. The truly important things will then be provided, for as Jesus promised later in the Sermon on the Mount, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

There is a saying that is so true in this regard: The Bible will keep you from sinning, but sin will keep you from the Bible.

Hide the Word in Your Heart

So many claim that they cannot memorise the Bible. However I can almost guarantee you that you can quote 10 arbitrary facts off the top of your head? You probably know the words to a number of TV commercials by heart. You could probably also sing along to a number of well-known contemporary songs on the radio without even thinking about it. Men, I bet you remember a whole host of sports or car facts.

Yet for some reason we believe that we cannot memorise the Bible. Did you know that in the time of the Bible, a young Jewish boy could quote the entire first five books of the Bible (Genesis - Deuteronomy) by heart by the time he had his bar mitzvah at age thirteen? What a challenge for us!

So what is our excuse? I suggest two: laziness and a low value of Scripture.

David in our verse above treasured the Scriptures in his heart. Also in Psalm 119 we read that David meditated on the Word, that he delighted in God's statutes, and that he loved God's law. How many of us can say that?

How much do you study the Word of God? How much do you treasure it and delight in what it has to teach you? Do you consider it to be essential to life, or is it merely a book you take to church on Sunday or a weekly Bible study? How much dust does it gather on the shelf?

The challenge to all of us today is to value God's Word far greater than any other worldly possession, and to hide it in our hearts as much as possible. Allow God's Word to change you from the inside out.

Just a Thought!

© 2012

Just a Thought! - 12 November 2012

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)

Some have said that these two verses are the hardest to interpret and understand in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. With three interpretations of verse 17 alone, there have been a number of teachings that have circulated in the modern church as a result. Some with consequences that make the church look more worldly, or, at the other extreme, seem "too holy." Let us look at these words briefly and see how they apply to us today.

The Fulfilled Law

There are three basic interpretations of this text:

1. There are different types of law; moral, civil and ceremonial (This comes more from interpretations of the laws rather than from the Word directly), therefore, we are not bound by the ceremonial laws as Christ fulfilled them, or by the civil laws as they were specific to the Israelite nation, but we are bound to the moral laws (e.g. the Ten Commandments). One simple word in the text seems to imply this is an incorrect interpretation, "all," Jesus was clearly referring to ALL the Laws.

2. Jesus came to confirm the Law, therefore we are still bound to obey all the Old Testament Laws. However, when you look at the Jewish sacrificial system in the Old Testament, Jesus fulfilled all of them on the cross, where He declared, "It is finished," implying that there is no longer a need for the sacrifices. Clearly this interpretation is also incorrect.

3. The Jews used the words "the Law and the Prophets" to refer to the whole of Scripture, therefore:

Jesus fulfilled, but not yet completely, the Prophets through His death on the cross, and all will eventually fulfil the rest in the last days upon His return. But He also fulfilled the Law in every aspect - moral, civil and ceremonial - through His sinless life and death on the cross.

Looking at the context of the passage, it is the third interpretation that is the correct one. Jesus was making a bold statement about himself that none of the teachers of the law could have made. Jesus in obeying and fulfilling what was written in the Scriptures was saying that He came to show the true meaning of the law.

The Eternal Law

Verse 18 tells us that not the smallest letter, nor the slightest stroke of a pen, in the Scriptures will pass away until all the Law and the Prophets have been fulfilled. In terms of our studies the last few weeks, this has a couple of important implications for us.

Firstly, every single thing written in the Bible is of importance to God. It does not matter whether we consider it important or not, it is God's decision as to what is important. We may prefer certain words or phrases in one translation over another, or we may believe that certain laws or statements do not apply to us, but at the end of the day, it is not up to us. God has clearly deemed all Scripture important.

Secondly, God's Word is eternal. We can take things out of our Bibles, or ignore certain passages, but at the end of the day, what God has determined to be part of His Law and Prophets will remain there until all is fulfilled. As we read in Isaiah 55:11, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

God's Words will last until the end of time and will fulfil everything that God has determined them to fulfil. Therefore, let us heed His Word, study it, and let it work in our hearts to fulfil what God desires it to do in us. We cannot change God's Word, but God's Word can change us.

Just a Thought!

© 2012

Just a Thought! - 5 November 2012

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"" (Matthew 4:1-4)

God in His wisdom created man and beasts with the ability to know when we are hungry or full, so that we will desire or refuse food in order for our bodies to function properly. We have all been told how important it is to have breakfast in order to function for the day. We are also aware of what foods are good or bad for us. We also know when we have eaten too much. We also understand the consequences of ignoring all of the above.

The question is though, do we understand the consequences of ignoring our spiritual diets? Do we know the signals to heed when to eat and what not to eat?

Spiritual Hunger

Our natural desire to eat causes us to search out food to satisfy our hunger. The problem is, when we eat the wrong food, we continue to desire food. We are not truly satisfied. For example: we are hungry and we see a chocolate cake, we cut a slice and eat it. Afterwards we are either still hungry and search for more food or have another slice, or we feel sick and wish we did not eat it in the first place.

The same is true with our spiritual hunger. We have urges to satisfy our souls in one way or another. The problem is, most people eat the wrong spiritual food in order to satisfy that hunger. Some chase after money, others careers, others recognition or praise, and still others chase after people that teach wrong doctrines just to tickle their ears (2 Timothy 4:3). The problem is, when one feeds on those things, one is either never fully satisfied and searches for more, or one realises that it is not what they really wanted and wish they never had it.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew records the following words of Jesus in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (5:6). We can concluded from this that there is something that will satisfy our hunger, and that is righteousness. Satisfaction is not found in money, promotion, recognition, or teachings of man, but in the righteousness that comes from God. And how can we know what this righteousness is like if we do not read the Bible. It comes out of the very mouth of God and as Jesus said in His rebuke of the devil, we cannot live without it.

The Signals

As with our physical bodies, our spirit also gives us signals on when we need to feed of God's Word. For example, have you ever felt as though God is not hearing your prayers, that He is so distant from you that you feel like crying out with Jesus on the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34)? This is a sign to take seriously that you need to start eating from God's Word.

Other times such as when it feels as though the world is falling down around you, that life is falling apart and that it is not worth carrying on, they are all signals of spiritual hunger. It could also be a conviction you feel when you hear a stern message from the pulpit, in a book, or when a loved one confronts you about an issue in your life. Though you may feel hurt and offended, they are times when you need to get into the Word and see what God has to say about it. To feed off His truths and allow them to satisfy you.

Eat of His Word

I encourage you to spend more time in God's Word. You need the truths it contains to satisfy that craving you have in your spirit that is never quenched. It will encourage you, convict you, equip you, and strengthen you for life. Without God's Word, you will be a sitting duck for the devil, and you will not be able to defend yourself against him should he challenge you like he did Jesus in the wilderness.

Just a Thought!

© 2012