Category: unbelief

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Genesis 48-50 Blessings, Death, Forgiveness

Forgiveness ..man's greatest need

As we close out Genesis, we come to these three chapters which might be called, God’s Diary for in it we find how God operates through human history. 

God blesses those who obey and honor Him. He brings “home” those of his servants to enjoy the afterlife. And lastly, maybe one of the most important lesson and take away for us is the trait of forgiveness.

As we have said, God never wastes a trial but uses it to show His faithfulness and his lovingkindness. We see that in the life of Joseph and even though it was years and years, God used them to grow Joseph to be the man of God He could use to bring about His plans for his people.  In the meantime, Jacob has to learn from his sins, which were many, to prepare his sons for the next stage in their lives. God opens the windows of heaven and pours out his blessings on Jacob after he has lived in the cauldron of affliction and sin. He is now humble and ready to see God’s plan unfold in steps in the restoration of his family in a very agonizing and challenging time. God restores Joseph to Jacob so that he and his children might be spared the death knell of famine. 

Jacob has a family time and pronounces “blessings” upon each boy  “what will happen to you in future days.” It seems strange to hear the words of Jacob because they don’t sound like blessings to us, but God will use each to show us Jacob may have had 12 sons but he knew the character of each. And after this time of reflection, Jacob blesses Joseph’s children, draws up his knees and dies. 

But, the last lesson is what we want to focus on: forgiveness. Joseph has had many a year to process his life and what has happened to him but has come to terms with “God’s ways are not our ways.” [Is 55:8-9] As he welcomes his brothers and provides for them,he is astounded and deeply hurt when they announce they will give their lives to be his slaves. They have not learned the lesson of forgiveness as seen by Joseph’s tears. They really didn’t get it! 

Which brings us to our own lives. Do we get it? Do we understand that verse in Isaiah? 

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Salvation by Grace or Rules?

Galatians 2 Where have you met others who insist that you must do this or that to be an acceptable Christian, like the lady in our former church that insisted that women must wear hats, gloves and dresses to be a “true Christian.,” She, like these who infiltrated the Jerusalem church are called legalizers by definition because of their insistence that salvation must be accompanied by an outward sign. 

It is into this that Paul mentions two other men, Barnabas and Titus, who are Gentiles by birth. Both have special places in the heart of Paul and are used by God to help him in various matters. They are trustworthy men and God has noted their faithfulness. They are accepted by the church without the rite of circumcision, because as Paul notes, that rite is of the Law and not by grace. It is a rite God set for the Jews but not for the Gentiles. The Galatian church needed this reassurance that they too would be acceptable without this rite. 

Where have you met others who insist that you must do this or that to be an acceptable Christian? Today do not allow others, the “busy-bodies,” to take your salvation gift away by some outward antiquated rules that God did not require.

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A Truth

2Tim 3 “Don’t be Left Behind”

The “Left Behind Series” grabbed many viewers and revealed much about the rapture and the end times. But, suppose you could write the headline for the last day’s newspaper that will only be read by those who are “left behind.” Would it say something like this: Where were you when everyone disappeared? This chapter describes in detail why they are “left behind.” They like the people in Noah’s day were ignorant and indifferent to the signs that Jesus and Paul revealed.

Open today’s newspapers and it is almost as if you are reading from Matthew 24 and 2Tim 3! But, with all of that before us, we are to be busy about the Master’s business so that when he does return we are faithfully serving wherever and whenever. And part of that serving is to teach the inspired Word of God which is why Paul ended this chapter with this profound verse:

“Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,…” [2 Tim 3:16]

Not only does Paul tell us that the very Word of God was God breathed but also has four distinct purposes: teaching or instructing; reproving or revealing where one has erred; correction or bringing one back to the foundational principles; and lastly training in righteousness—that is ordering the training steps that will achieve that purpose.

Why did God prepare the scriptures and pass them on century after century? He tells us the reason: that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.

Don’t be caught unawares and left behind. Instead drink in the God breathed Word so that you are prepared and ready to meet the Master. Know the scriptures and use them to equip yourself for His work.

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Hindsight

Acts 27 They say hindsight is 20-20 and it seems that this is true in this chapter. Paul had wisely told the centurion that they should not try to sail but his words were lost to the wind, (pun intended). As it happened, Paul’s words came to be and the ship and all of its cargo was lost, but the 276 persons were saved. 

How often has someone given us wise counsel and we have ignored it only to face the consequences of our choice that will turn out to be harmful and injurious, not just to ourselves but others around us. Take heed dear reader, listen to the counsel of others and test the words by prayer and the reading of the Word. 

God will not lead His children astray. Prov 3:5-6 comes back to tell us: trust in the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding but acknowledge him and he will lead us in the way we should go. This also brings to mind that verse in Isaiah: “You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, This is the correct way, walk in it,” [Is 30:21] 

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Can you prove it?

John 11/Mark 11 Hypocrisy or Truth

John accurately wrote: If we say we have no sin, we deceive our selves. That was the condition of the religious leaders. They had seen the miracle of the blind man made whole and heard his testimony, yet threw him out of the synagogue. Later Jesus found the formerly blind man and seeing he now worshiped. How about us? In John 5 we meet a disabled man at the pool. Jesus “resurrected” him and he could now walk. He obediently picked up his mat and walked but unlike the blind man of John 9, yet he never honored or praised God for his healing.

The religious leaders found Jesus and sought to trap him by asking him to prove his authority to heal. From John 5 we see that Jesus gave them four witnesses to prove his identity: John the Baptist who said; Behold the Lamb of God. Secondly, the works which Jesus did proved that He had the authority to heal and teach. Thirdly, His Father was working and He was working. Lastly, the scriptures themselves proved his authenticity. Jesus reminded them that they studied the scriptures seeking eternal life but He was standing there before them and they rejected the evidence.

Jesus asked the lame man at the pool: do you want to become well? He never answered Jesus affirmatively or negatively. When the religious leaders found him, they did not rejoice but castigated him for breaking a Sabbath rule they had in their books.

When we read stories like this how do we respond? Are we comfortable in our sin or do we honor He who healed us of our sin?

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Sin and Holiness cannot co-exist!

Numbers 33 God desires a holy people. As Israel’s people near the end of their wilderness wandering, Moses takes them aside to remind them to purge the land of the idolaters and their idols. “Destroy all their carved images, all their molten images, and demolish their high places.”[Num 33:52]Then God gave them a warning: “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.” Further: if you do not do what I intended to do to them, I will do it to you. [Num 33:55,56]

Yes, when we do not purge the idols in our lives, they become irritants, a constant reminder of our unwillingness to get rid of sin. Paul reminded the Ephesians to imitate God, not the other way around. We must be holy people because God is holy. Psalm 1 reminds us of how to test ourselves. Do we walk in the ways of the ungodly? Do we stand in the way of sinners? Do we sit in the seat of the scoffers? Practically, what does that mean? We must choose our associations, the places we visit, and our companions.

What choices are before us today?

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Two Hearts

Two heartsExodus 7-10 Welcome to February and our thoughts of hearts. In today’s reading, we see two different hearts. Moses’ heart was waffling when he heard what God wanted him to do, and it took a mighty work of God to get him to leave Midian and return to Egypt. God sometimes does that with us as well. We drag our feet, but when push comes to shove, we step out, and then, wonder of wonders, we see all that God has promised was precisely as He said! Jesus once said, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” [Luke 24:25] God is Jehovah Jireh, and He provides everything we need!

In sharp contrast is the unbelieving Pharaoh. God has already told Moses what to expect, so it is not a new revelation when he meets this man who thinks he is God. But what is surprising to us is what we see even today. He says show me a miracle, and then I will believe. What a sham! They won’t believe because they are like the Pharisees in John 9. They see the evidence, and instead of believing, their hearts grow callous and hard.

Are you like a Moses, dragging your feet, or like Pharaoh who, even with evidence, refuses to believe?

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Are we compelled to contend for the faith?

Are we compelled?

Jude, Contend earnestly!

Leaving 2021, Jude prepares us for 2022 as we walk through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He was eager to write to his fellow believers but now he says I am “compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” [Jude 1:3] That should be our challenge as we step away from 2021 and into 2022.

Graphically Jude describes the ones threatening the church that we may recognize them and step away from their influence. Notice they are led by dreams. They are just like the faulty magicians who could not discern and explain King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams; but, Daniel, anointed by God, was able. Jude reminds us that these false believers are dangerous, so we must be discerning.

Amazingly Jude writes as if it were today: “At the end of time there will come scoffers, propelled by their own ungodly desires.” We are seeing them even now! How relevant are his words today as even today, NASA has hired a priest just in case life is found beyond earth! Incredible fools!

Today are we compelled to contend for the faith? Are we ready for 2022?

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Grumbling or Trusting

God is Jehovah Jireh

1Kings 17-19  Do you grumble? If you say yes, you are just like King Ahab who grumbled about Elijah and about a drought. Like many, we grumble and do not thank God for His provision. To teach Ahab that He, not Baal, is the God of the universe, God would use his faithful prophet, Elijah, and a drought. Elijah is a man of God who came out of nowhere to confront King Ahab about his lifestyle.

After the confrontation, God protected and provided for Elijah in dire situations because nothing is too hard for God for that is his name: Jehovah Jireh, our provider. He sent Elijah to a place of refuge from the wicked king and queen at the brook Cherith. There, ravens brought him food every day until the brook dried up. Then God sent him to a widow in Zarephath. God again provided oil and flour day after day. But when the widow’s son died, both she and Elijah needed the only resource left: prayer. It was the faithful prayer of Elijah that restored the child to the woman. In the meantime, while all of this was going on, God provided a simple man named Obadiah to protect and provide for a hundred of God’s prophets.

Step by step, God provided for every need. If He could use unclean ravens, an unnamed widow, or an Obadiah, will He not provide for your every need? Do you trust Him to take care of your essentials or are you just grumbling like Ahab?

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God Tests Balaam & Us

God tests our heart motives

Numbers 22  Just as we test metals to determine their worth, so God tests our hearts to know it’s worth, and as Paul prayed, so should we: That “our God will make [us] worthy of His calling.” [2Thess 1:11] Enter Balaam, the son of Beor, a false diviner whose worth will be proven. When the Moabite King sent a delegation, God intervened by asking Balaam,  “Who are these men?” Balaam kept up a dialog with God about them, and on the surface, it seems that he was obeying. However, as we see, Balaam fell headlong into the temptation of earthly riches, which was more potent than obeying God. Like many today, Balaam tried to appear righteous by his answer that he could not curse Israel, but his actions prove the opposite. Balaam sought ways to obey God and yet get the riches the King offered.

The last test came when God explicitly tested Balaam when he said: “if” these men have come to call you, get up and go with them. But Balaam didn’t wait for the “if” clause and instead got up and went.

Today God tests our hearts just as He did Balaam’s. Therefore, we must ask God for his wise counsel and we must stand firm.  God gives us tests to discern if we will obey His voice or our own.

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