“… but turned aside after gain”

(June 27)

1 Samuel 8 starts by telling us “when Samuel became old …” and the next few chapters tell us of all the drama that happened in his old age. The first problem was that Samuel’s sons whom he had made judges “did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (verse 3).

There is no record of Samuel’s wife. How important it is for a wife to support her husband in the spiritual training of their children especially one as busy as Samuel for “he judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel …” (7:15-17).

We live in a world where few if any of those in authority have any real Bible based principles, everyone is “after gain” in some way to some degree. Those who seek to serve the Almighty and his Son must be after a different kind of “gain” – treasure that they can lay up in heaven (see Luke 12:21,33,34)!

When Jesus returns those who have done this will be “judges” – reigning with him in his kingdom. Maybe Samuel’s role as a judge is an example – but they will have divine power, which the Apostles experienced as a foretaste of “the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:4).

In those days the whole world will be taught righteousness and what a wonderful word picture we read today in Isaiah of this time! “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says in Zion, ‘Your God reigns’ … The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (52:7,10).

To talk of beautiful feet is a poetic expression of the joys of doing the Lord’s work. What a challenge it is to “walk” in that way now. As a final passage look at Hebrews 13, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he (Jesus) has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (verses 5,6). Let us confidently say that!

Today's thought “… but to please God”

“… but to please God”

(November 16)

A simple – and maybe obvious point – attracted our attention as we read the first 2 chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. What motivates us to do things? What motivated Paul? Today, it can be: to make money, to create an opportunity for enjoyment; some excitement – and other things which centre on ourselves.

Paul makes a simple, yet vital point when he writes, “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God” (2:4).

Let us be conscious, as Paul was – and states in his next words – that we, “… please God who tests our hearts”. So man, especially those who have no consciousness of the all-seeing eyes of God and his angels, speak and act with different motives. Paul observes this in the verses which follow; we note the contrast between his motives and theirs. He says, “for we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with pretext for greed – God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others …” (verses 5,6). The extreme opposite of this is seen in those seeking political positions of high office.

Prayerful reading and meditation of God’s word is the antidote for any inclination to do this, notice how Paul was pleased with the believers at Thessalonica over this, writing, “we also thank God constantly … that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God , which is at work in you believers” (2:13).

May that be happening among us, but it will only happen when we constantly read and reflect and act upon what we are reading so that the thoughts, God has inspired, become part of our way of thinking. We do this “to please God” and, as a result, it becomes true of us also that “the word of God” is “at work in you believers”.

Resources | Today's thought - based on the daily readings

Resources | Today's thought - based on the daily readings

“… but to please God”

(November 16)

A simple – and maybe obvious point – attracted our attention as we read the first 2 chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. What motivates us to do things? What motivated Paul? Today, it can be: to make money, to create an opportunity for enjoyment; some excitement – and other things which centre on ourselves.

Paul makes a simple, yet vital point when he writes, “we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God” (2:4).

Let us be conscious, as Paul was – and states in his next words – that we, “… please God who tests our hearts”. So man, especially those who have no consciousness of the all-seeing eyes of God and his angels, speak and act with different motives. Paul observes this in the verses which follow; we note the contrast between his motives and theirs. He says, “for we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with pretext for greed – God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others …” (verses 5,6). The extreme opposite of this is seen in those seeking political positions of high office.

Prayerful reading and meditation of God’s word is the antidote for any inclination to do this, notice how Paul was pleased with the believers at Thessalonica over this, writing, “we also thank God constantly … that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God , which is at work in you believers” (2:13).

May that be happening among us, but it will only happen when we constantly read and reflect and act upon what we are reading so that the thoughts, God has inspired, become part of our way of thinking. We do this “to please God” and, as a result, it becomes true of us also that “the word of God” is “at work in you believers”.

Today's thought

“I was ashamed to ask”

(November 12)

Today’s reading in Ezra (chapter 8) does not look at first very interesting with all its detail about those returning from captivity in Babylon. It appears that Ezra himself wrote this chapter and the next. He led a company of Levites who were returning to Jerusalem and they had with them a great quantity of gold and silver, as detailed in chapter 7; this was the what Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from the Temple about 100 years before.

The Persian King is motivated to send it back to the Temple that had now been reconstructed. It is just possible that this King was the son of Queen Esther of whom we are going to read in a couple of weeks’ time. Ahasuerus is mentioned chapter 4:6 and Daniel refers to a king of this name in Daniel 9:1: a connection would explain the action of this king Artaxerxes (see chapter 7:21).

These Levites are carrying a cargo of enormous value, the 20 gold bowls (verse 27) alone contained 250 ounces of gold! What a target for robbers what a challenge of faith for Ezra and his fellow Levites.

Ezra proclaims a fast (verse 21). before they set out “that we might humble ourselves”. He then said, “For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ‘The hand of our God is for good on all those who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all those who forsake him’”.

Scripture shows that sometimes God leads us through the valleys for our ‘long term’ good – that we grow and gain the full assurance of faith: these are times of testing to teach us to even more earnestly commit our lives to God. If we are ‘soldiers for Christ’ there are journeys to be undertaken and tests to be endured; we will read examples of such in Paul’s letters from tomorrow as we have just finished reading in Acts. As we grow spiritually stronger we must not be ashamed of professing our faith.

When Ezra reaches Jerusalem he says, “The hand of our God was on us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way” (verse 31). As we complete the journey of our own lives may we say the same – or when it is evident that our Lord is returning and the ‘virgins’ are going forth with their lamps and are seeing “the power of his wrath … against all those who forsake him” (verse 22).

http://www.thechristadelphian.com/thought_for_the_day.htm

Thought for the Day 10 7 13 Based on the Christadelphian Bible Reading Planner

Thought for the Day 8 7 13 Based on the Christadelphian Bible Reading Planner

‘FRESH WINESKINS’                                                                                                                                

    Those who do not read the Gospels regularly may be puzzled by many of the things Jesus said.  He often spoke in parables, simple stories, but they had deep spiritual meanings, a lesson for the ordinary folk “who heard him gladly” [Mark 12 v.37] but which the haughty religious leaders had no time for. Their religion was centred on observing the rituals they had developed out of the Laws of Moses, much of it went beyond the commands the Law contained. They failed to see the spirit of the Law – the need to come humbly before God, a lesson the last book of the Old Testament particularly teaches. (see Malachi 2 v.1-8; 3 v.16-18)

    We read today the words of Jesus that “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.  Neither is new wine put into old wineskins.  If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed.  But new wine is put into fresh wineskins and so both are preserved.” [Matt.9 v.16-17].

    This was a lesson for the disciples of John the Baptist as well as the scribes and Pharisees (v.3,14); the latter were critical that he ate with “tax collectors and sinners” (v.10) They were critical that the disciples of Jesus did not practice fasting like they did, indeed, as we read in Matt. 6 v.16,17 some, and he called these hypocrites, even disfigured their faces to exaggerate their fasting, they added to the Law to increase the times they could boast of their apparent spirituality.

    So what is the lesson of the “fresh wineskins”?  It would be tragic if his teaching was only seen as an extension of the ritual observances their human thinking had created; distorting the Laws God gave through Moses. .  True religion must flow out from a genuine spiritual “heart”. Much of the rest of the New Testament illustrates the endeavour of Christ and the Apostles to make this happen.  Yet in the centuries that followed the purity of the “new wine” has so often been diluted and polluted.  We must recapture the purity of the “new wine” if we are to be wondrously blessed in participating at the return of Jesus in “the marriage supper of the Lamb” [Rev.19 v.9] as we read last week..