We have been struggling with our study of the Book of Isaiah. We are about 1/3 of the way through it and it has been a very laborious journey. We finished chapter 23 and we had to pause and ask why these chapters are in the Bible. Is God showing us how he could predict the future through His Prophet Isaiah. It's easy to start to look at the historic evidence and stop there, but that same evidence can be found in other Books of the Bible. This week, we asked how this can serve us today and we concluded, that through His Prophet we get to look through the eyes of God Himself and see the world as he sees it.
God, through Isaiah, pointed to all the nations surrounding Judah and warned the Jews of the judgment that was coming to all those nations. He was warning the Jews not to adopt the ways of the world and turn their backs to God as the Northern tribes in Israel had done. That same warning applies to us today. God judges nations and therefore it is vitally important who the leaders of the nations are. God tells us to submit to our government, so if we elect non-believers, people who do not acknowledge Jesus as Savior, Son of God, and Redeemer, then we are agreeing to follow leaders who will lead us away from God.
The Church must embrace the teachings of the Bible which will help us to see the temptations of the world for what they are, and to hear the warnings that God shares through His Spirit. One other thing that has become evident through our study of Isaiah is that God is bigger that we can fathom and we fail to recognize His magnificence, His providence, and His love for us. He will judge the world and He wants us to be judged in the righteousness of Christ.
Discover and Proclaim the Truth of The Bible which is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." (John 3:16 NRSV). Jesus came to humanity to proclaim and give evidence to that love and He has commanded us to do the same. We, who believe, must not merely be followers, but we must be proclaimers of the Gospel Message and we can only do that by being filled with the love of God.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Sunday, September 15, 2019
"The voice of my Savior needs to be louder than the voice of my accuser!"...Pastor Ronnie Reid
Matthew 13 13; 16-17 (NKJV) Jesus said, "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
"The voice of my Savior needs to be louder than the voice of my accuser!".
When Pastor Reid said those words in his sermon, it really got my attention. I knew immediately that God had a message for me in those words. I am one of those people who follows news, politics, sports...just about anything the world wants to throw at me. Not only do I follow current events, but I also have opinions about most everything I hear (or see). Now I have some very smart friends, as evidenced by the fact that most of them recognize the brilliance of my opinions and I know they would support me if I pursued a political office. Full disclosure and confession....I want the acceptance and agreement of friends and family too much! I'm quick to get their approval and honestly don't give much thought to the other side of arguments/ opinion when they don't line up with mine.
Not only am I dismissive of others opinions, but honestly I'm dismissive of the people offering these opinions as well. I see them as less intelligent, less informed, lacking enlightenment, and less caring and compassionate. Full disclosure and confession...My pride is surfacing.
With the words of Pastor Ronnie, I recognize that instead of listening for God to speak through the news, the debates, the chaos that the world bombards us with, I parrot the world. It doesn't matter which side of issues you are on, the world supplies the talking points, the re-posts, the headlines, the photos to share.
The Holy Spirit's "Still Small Voice" is available to us if we tune out the world and listen for and seek God's voice. God's word will draw us to be more loving, more patient, kinder, more faithful and joyful. We will discover that peace can be experienced not by winning the argument but by being right, and that only comes by giving God a voice.
"The voice of my Savior needs to be louder than the voice of my accuser!".
When Pastor Reid said those words in his sermon, it really got my attention. I knew immediately that God had a message for me in those words. I am one of those people who follows news, politics, sports...just about anything the world wants to throw at me. Not only do I follow current events, but I also have opinions about most everything I hear (or see). Now I have some very smart friends, as evidenced by the fact that most of them recognize the brilliance of my opinions and I know they would support me if I pursued a political office. Full disclosure and confession....I want the acceptance and agreement of friends and family too much! I'm quick to get their approval and honestly don't give much thought to the other side of arguments/ opinion when they don't line up with mine.
Not only am I dismissive of others opinions, but honestly I'm dismissive of the people offering these opinions as well. I see them as less intelligent, less informed, lacking enlightenment, and less caring and compassionate. Full disclosure and confession...My pride is surfacing.
With the words of Pastor Ronnie, I recognize that instead of listening for God to speak through the news, the debates, the chaos that the world bombards us with, I parrot the world. It doesn't matter which side of issues you are on, the world supplies the talking points, the re-posts, the headlines, the photos to share.
The Holy Spirit's "Still Small Voice" is available to us if we tune out the world and listen for and seek God's voice. God's word will draw us to be more loving, more patient, kinder, more faithful and joyful. We will discover that peace can be experienced not by winning the argument but by being right, and that only comes by giving God a voice.
Friday, April 19, 2019
Commandment #9...Exodus 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor".
My son just returned from a vacation in Europe where he enjoyed the history and the discovery of cities in France, Spain, and Portugal. Of course vacationing overseas put him out of touch with U.S. news and events. When he returned I asked him if he was glad to be home and he made an interesting comment. He said that the problem coming home is that he is constantly being lied to. He said that here in the United States with all the TV advertising and the 24/7 "news"/ commentary programs, we are bombarded with lies and deceptions Sadly, I have to agree with his observation.
God gave us His Ten Commandments because He wants us to be in relationship with Him and to live in peace with one another. The first four Commandments draw us into a relationship with Him that enable us to keep or return to keeping the other six Commandments. With my son's comment about the lies we experience, Commandment #9 came to mind; “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor".
What is False Testimony? The phrase bearing false testimony is commonly described as lying. However, it is more specifically referred to giving false testimony as a witness. In other words, it is the act of telling a falsehood about something or someone to others in a legal context. In my opinion, it includes telling half-truths (lies), deceiving people to believe untruths, and sharing the deceptions with others even if you were not the original source.
Who is our neighbor? Jesus makes it clear in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) that everyone we encounter is a neighbor. In this world of Facebook and Twitter, we can spread lies, deceptions, falsehoods through posts, re-posts and re-tweets, and just by being wrong in our opinions and understandings. I honestly have to confess that probably the most truthful thing I can say is "I don't know." God will give us discernment if we seek it, however we are usually so quick to embrace opinions that agree with our thinking, that we don't question the truthfulness.
As Christians, I have to wonder what kind of impact we can have in the world, if we collectively and deliberately refuse to re-post or re-tweet lies, falsehoods, and half-truths and consciously refuse to participate in deceiving others. Satan introduced sin into this world through lies and deception. Let's not join him in his work.
God gave us His Ten Commandments because He wants us to be in relationship with Him and to live in peace with one another. The first four Commandments draw us into a relationship with Him that enable us to keep or return to keeping the other six Commandments. With my son's comment about the lies we experience, Commandment #9 came to mind; “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor".
What is False Testimony? The phrase bearing false testimony is commonly described as lying. However, it is more specifically referred to giving false testimony as a witness. In other words, it is the act of telling a falsehood about something or someone to others in a legal context. In my opinion, it includes telling half-truths (lies), deceiving people to believe untruths, and sharing the deceptions with others even if you were not the original source.
Who is our neighbor? Jesus makes it clear in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) that everyone we encounter is a neighbor. In this world of Facebook and Twitter, we can spread lies, deceptions, falsehoods through posts, re-posts and re-tweets, and just by being wrong in our opinions and understandings. I honestly have to confess that probably the most truthful thing I can say is "I don't know." God will give us discernment if we seek it, however we are usually so quick to embrace opinions that agree with our thinking, that we don't question the truthfulness.
As Christians, I have to wonder what kind of impact we can have in the world, if we collectively and deliberately refuse to re-post or re-tweet lies, falsehoods, and half-truths and consciously refuse to participate in deceiving others. Satan introduced sin into this world through lies and deception. Let's not join him in his work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)