TFTD - 10 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

10 January 2014

Genesis 19
Psalms 22
Matthew 12

"POSSESSOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH"

'Big Joke' is a saying you use when you scoff about something that is impossible to believe. This saying came to mind when we read of the reaction of the prospective sons-in-law of Lot when he told them that God was about to destroy the city and they need to get moving fast. It would have been a 'natural' reaction, humanly speaking, but there is a reason why they should have taken him seriously.

There had previously been the remarkable incident involving Lot's uncle, Abraham who, with a band of just 314 men, had surprised and defeated 5 Kings and all their soldiers who had ransacked Sodom and the neighbouring cities and carried off goods and people [Genesis 14:11,12] including Lot.

Abraham had restored to Sodom all its losses. At that time another remarkable thing happened. The King of Salem, Melchizedek had got involved in this; he was not just a King, but is also described as "Priest of God Most High" and speaks of this God as being "Possessor of Heaven and Earth" [Genesis 14:18-19] and Abraham gives him a tenth of everything. Thus Lot, as the nephew of Abraham and who had had such great possessions that he had moved to live separately, he was a man that deserved respect! So the prospect of marrying this man's daughters was quite something.

Today's reading in Genesis 19 also tells us that the depraved men of the city said of Lot "This fellow came to sojourn and he has become the judge" [Genesis 19:9] So the prospective sons-in-law, when told by Lot, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy this city" should have given more thought than they did, for the text says, "he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting" [Genesis 19:14] In today's language, 'that's a big joke'!

Let's put this in the context of recent Centuries. When the Bible was first translated into English and other languages, it was held in very high esteem. The King gave an order that every church should have a Bible for people to come and read - and they flocked to do so. When Abraham was first told by God that he intended to destroy Sodom he thought there could be 50 righteous people there! [Genesis 18:26] It was natural to think there should be some kind of belief and fear of God.

The situation is so parallel to attitudes today where respect for the message of the Bible and the real meaning of its message has sunk so low. Do we really believe it to such an extent that we would act to save our lives?

Later this month we will read, " … and they will see the Son of man coming … he will send out his angels and they will gather his elect …" [Matthew 24:30,31] Will some 'believers' treat it as a big joke?
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- DC


Thought for the Day

10 January 2014

"When much else has been forgotten the fragrance of that room in Simon’s house lingers with us still. Wherever the page of the Gospel is turned with reverent fingers as man contemplates the culminating sacrifice of the Saviour’s dedicated life, Mary appears quietly on the scene, a picture of deep understanding and deeper love. At the very threshold of our Lord’s suffering and death, as we are able to see the magnitude of his love and to realize what we owe to him, we are met by this woman who by a tender act of loving devotion, did what she could. And, meeting her here, we are confronted by the challenge, "What have I done? Have I done what I could?"

- Melva Purkis
A Life of Jesus

TFTD - 09 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

09 January 2014

Genesis 17; 18
Psalms 19; 20; 21
Matthew 11

"TO WHAT SHALL I LIKEN THIS GENERATION"

Jesus said, "to what shall I liken this generation?" [Matthew 11:16] Each generation has had those who search for answers as to the meaning of life. John the Baptist, shut up in prison appears to have wanted reassurance when he sent his disciples to Jesus, are you really the one? Notice how Jesus never gives plain 'Yes' or 'No' answers, the response was to say look at what is happening and consider that in light of what God revealed through the prophets. [Matthew 11:2-6] Those with their own agenda of thoughts were offended at him.

We read today in Genesis of Abraham's conversation with the angel of the LORD about Sodom [Genesis 18] who said, "because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me" [Genesis 18:21] Abraham obtains a promise that if 10 righteous are found there he would not destroy the city. But only 3 were saved! Tragic! As today, sexual perversions were a dominant factor; that generation, like ours, had its thoughts directed to the things of the flesh.

Yet Jesus, in today's reading, mentions Sodom, saying [Matthew 11:22] that if the amazing miracles that the people of Capernaum were seeing had been done in Sodom they would have responded and it would not have been destroyed. He adds, "I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you" [Matthew 11:24]

This is telling us that in the day of judgement it will not be a case of getting a high enough mark , like you need to go to University, but of God seeing how you have responded according to the evidence available to you. No one will "earn" a place in God's Kingdom. The cities in which Jesus did his miracles failed the test [Matthew 11:20-21]. But everyone on that day will need the mercy and grace of our judge, for he will see the real motivations of our heart against the background of the circumstances in which we have lived.

So what did Jesus say about "this generation" as what he should compare it to? You can read it in Matthew 11:16-19. They were like children at play who refused to grow up, willfully misinterpreting the actions of Jesus, saying he was "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners"

And what would he say of today's generation? We are people who have discovered far more of the absolute wonders of creation as we commented 2 days ago and refuse to face the obvious meaning of the evidence, just as the generation that Jesus talked to, who refused to face the evidence. In addition, today we have God's word, the Bible, freely available in every language. This is a blessing so many scorn, just as they scorned the work and teaching of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago.
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- DC


Thought for the Day

09 January 2014

"The race does not ultimately go to the swift by nature; nor the battle inevitably to the strong; nor riches to men of mighty talents. By patience the lowliest gifts become equal to the highest natural talents; and without patience the highest natural powers lose their value. As truly as God gives power and talent to the mighty, much more truly He gives talents to the patient. Did you ever know a proud man patient? Did you ever know a patient man who was not humble? "God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble." (James 4:6)

- F.W. Barnett
Patient Continuance (1961)

TFTD - 08 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

08 January 2014

Genesis 15; 16
Psalms 18
Matthew 10

"THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM"

In Psalm 18 we encounter a major psalm of David in which he surveys all the ways in which the LORD was overseeing his life. God is his rock, his place of refuge [Psalm 18:2]. He writes that the LORD has dealt with him according to his righteousness "according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me" [Psalm 18:20]

This makes us evaluate the 'cause and effect' principle in our relationship with God. We have observed more than once that difficulties can enter a person's life, although he or she does not, in effect, deserve it. Job's life is a classic case, but there are many other examples. David himself experienced this after he had slain Goliath and was exalted in the sight of the nation ­ but then suffered much trouble because of the jealousy of Saul.

So what did David mean when he wrote that the Lord rewarded me because of the cleanness of my hands? This perception of David is so significant that he repeats it, and notice the context, "I was blameless before him and I kept myself from my guilt. So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight." [Psalm 18:23, 24]. There is a present tense here, the reward has been received. We tend to look to the future as the time of reward, as we read last week in Revelation 22:12 about how Jesus, at his return will reward (repay) everyone for what they have done.

So David, despite all the troubles Saul created for him, as the introduction to this Psalm comments, is extremely conscious of the present reward of God's guiding care. "With the merciful you show yourself merciful … but the haughty eyes you bring down" [Psalm 18:25, 27] "The word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him" [Psalm 18:30] When he says of God "you equipped me with strength for the battle" [Psalm 18:39], true followers of Christ can see this as meaning a different kind of battle. The Apostle Paul says "we are not waging war according to the flesh … We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every (human) thought captive to obey Christ" [2 Corinthians 10:3,5]. The regular meditative reading of the Bible is an essential ingredient in each of our lives to enable God and Christ to work in us to achieve this present reward.
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- DC


Thought for the Day

08 January 2014

"Only with God’s help and the intercession of Jesus can we overcome. But both are promised, if we really seek with all our hearts. We need not fail. And the end? What an amazing vista of everlasting joy for those who reach it. Final and utter deliverance from all the weakness and imperfection of Today, in the glorious Tomorrow of God, "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:3)."

- L.W. Richardson
Enduring Unto the End (1970)

TFTD - 07 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

07 January 2014

Genesis 13; 14
Psalms 17
Matthew 9

"THEY GLORIFIED GOD"

Our readings in Matthew demonstrate the power of human nature to deny the evidence. Jesus did a number of remarkable miracles and "when the crowds saw it, they were afraid (struck with fear and awe AMPLIFIED VERSION) and they glorified God …" [Matthew 9:8]. But many of the religious leaders, seeing their authority and prestige threatened "said to themselves, this man is blaspheming" [Matthew 9:3].

As the miracles multiplied and the crowds said, "never was anything like this seen in Israel", those religious leaders became more desperate in their comments. They said, "he casts out demons by the prince of demons" [Matthew 9:33-34] - for they had embraced the demoniac ideas of the Greeks. Even if such an evil leader of spirits existed, which it didn't, it defies all logical reasoning to think this way as Jesus told them (see Luke 11:15-23).

Because their position and authority mattered to them more than anything else, the religious leaders would not face the evidence; this was an attitude that reached its peak when they thought about putting the resurrected Lazarus to death as, because of him, more and more were believing in Jesus [John 12:10-11].

This evidence of the extreme limits to which humans will go to maintain a belief and support a cause, driven by their own ego as much as anything else, made us think of the present obsession to believe that the world and everything in it, evolved of its own accord, that all that exists is the result of an endless series of "chance" happenings.

The greater the evidence has become in recent years, such as the discovery of the remarkable properties of DNA, the greater the determination seems to be, to say it was all one super-colossal accident! Of course they don't quite say it that way!

Yet, part of the reason for this attitude, we suspect, is the image of the Church, if belief in God is the alternative, do churches generally, reflect the ways of living for God you read about in the Bible. Do they show how a person moved by a conviction that there is an Almighty Creator should live their lives? There is an uncomfortable sense of truth in this attitude; but we are not responsible for the church, but we are responsible for ourselves - and God is looking to save individuals.
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- DC


Thought for the Day

07 January 2014

"Why we should have been chosen as recipients of God’s favour is a question we cannot answer, and it would not be profitable for us to try. Let us appreciate the blessings which have come our way, hoping that in the end we may be accounted worthy to belong to those of whom James speaks:

"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?" (James 2:5)"

- Howard Walker
Meditations (1975)

TFTD - 06 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

06 January 2014

Genesis 11; 12
Psalm 14; 15; 16
Matthew 8

"BUT THOSE WHO ARE WISE WILL UNDERSTAND"

Our reading today in Genesis 11 particularly caught our attention because of the reason given for confounding the languages as the descendants of Noah multiplied and said "let us build ourselves a city … let us make a name for ourselves lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth" [Genesis 11:3,4]. The reaction of the Creator was to say, "Behold, they are all one people. And they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them." [Genesis 11:6]

As a result the all seeing Creator decided to "confuse their language, so they may not understand one another's speech" [Genesis 11:7]. This caused them to leave off building the city of Babel and be dispersed from one another. We think it is reasonable to suppose that each married couple had their own language and became parents of a nation. It is also interesting to note that the word Babel when put into the Greek language, becomes Babylon.

Another possibly interesting point is the name for God in various ancient languages, it is claimed that the words have such a strong affinity to each other that some philologers are convinced they "have sprung from some common source."

However, our thoughts were particularly arrested by thinking how much language barriers have been overcome in our lifetime. The internet provides automated translation today. Also when you visit other countries, such as when we visited Russia, we found that nearly all the young people were learning English at school and could converse with you. English is becoming the world language, it is the main language of the internet.

So the Divine motive in confounding the languages at Babel is being overcome and a great many clever developments now happen because of worldwide cooperation. Daniel's prophecy that at "the time of the end many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase" [Daniel 12:4] takes on increasing significance. Men have achieved things which we never though possible, such as walking on the Moon and the Hadron Collider project. This adds to the reasons why God must intervene in human affairs. As in the days of Noah, nearly all have done away a need for God in their lives, this includes those who accept their must have been a Creator. We will finish with a challenging quotation, again from Daniel, " … the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end … none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand" [Daniel 12:9,10] How wonderful to be among the wise!
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- DC


Thought for the Day

06 January 2014

"In the days of his flesh Jesus made his Father’s will his own, and glorified Him in all his ways, and the Father acknowledged him as the Son in whom He was well-pleased. The sharing of the divine will which enabled Jesus to identify himself so closely with his Father was ultimately completed by his participation in the divine glory and nature. It is in this true fellowship that we can share. It was the very will of God which the Son made his own, that other children should share the same glory."

- Rodney Spencer
Sharing (1985)

TFTD - 05 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

05 January 2014

Genesis 9; 10
Psalms 11; 12; 13
Matthew 7

"LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN"

The Psalms are the Hymn Book of Israel and most of their hymns address situations among the people of God - as David understood God's all seeing eyes would perceive them. We learn that human mentality never changes - except when it is influenced by divine words and messages to "lay up treasure in heaven".

Much of the world has been blessed because 400 years ago, the A.V. version of the Bible was first printed and then sold in tremendous quantities. Many blessings came at that time because so many human minds were influenced to think godly thoughts and, as a result, to live in godly ways: that influence slowly faded away over time; it was an influence on individuals most of all.

However, those who know the Bible well know that it frankly considers the whole of our human situation. David grew up in a world that was far from godly: King Saul was a man of very limited spirituality. In one of today's Psalms we read David's words deploring the godlessness around him. He did what he could when he became king to influence his people to better ways of thinking and living.

Some of the Psalms he wrote are so true of life today. He pleaded for God's help - "Save O LORD … for the faithful have vanished from among the children of men. Everyone utters lies to his neighbour; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak" [Psalm 12:1,2] Further on we read, "On every side the wicked prowl as vileness is exalted" [Psalm 12:8] It sounds so much like the days of Noah that we read about 2 days ago; thankfully God promised Noah he would never again destroy all life on earth.

Nevertheless, our readings last week in Revelation again indicated that awesome judgements from God would occur when "the Word of God", obviously meaning Jesus, returned to judge and punish the world [Revelation 19:11-15] But looking at Psalm 12 again lets special note David's words, "The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace …" [Psalm 12:6] How great our need to feed on such words, may all who read this give priority to reading God's words every day.
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- DC


Thought for the Day

05 January 2014

"As the Lord agonized at Gethsemane one fact must have been constantly before him, upon which his whole faith rested, and that was the knowledge that all was happening to "fulfil" that which was written of him. In this he was content. May we, ... in all our strivings over our doubts and problems, in the dangers and perils, return to a simple minded approach and acceptance of the Word, crying: "Lord, I believe ..." (Mark 9:24)."

- W.I. Evans
Sunday Morning (1965)

TFTD - 04 January 2014 - Thoughts from Today's Bible Readings

04 January 2014

Genesis 7; 8
Psalms 9; 10
Matthew 6

"THE LORD IS KING FOREVER AND EVER"

David in the Psalms reveals how he goes through various moods as he pens his thoughts. He, like us all, goes through different situations in life. Sometimes he is inspired by the wonder of God, all that he is, his majesty [Psalm 8:1]. Sometimes he wonders why God takes any notice of human beings [Psalm 8:4]. Sometimes he is filled with a spirit of thankfulness toward God [Psalm 9:1] Sometimes he looks into the future and sees the need for God to discipline the nations, "Arise O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! [Psalm 9:19,20]

But at other times, David is perplexed, just as we saw that Job was perplexed, and commences a Psalm with questions, "Why O LORD do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? [Psalm 10:1] Yet, in just about every Psalm that starts in this and similar ways, by the time he reaches the end his mind has re-focused on positive attitudes of thinking. In this Psalm he is frustrated, just as we are, by the attitudes that are prevalent around him; "the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD … all his thoughts are, 'there is no God' " [Psalm 10:3,4]

David proceeds to ask more questions, "Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, 'you will not call to account'?" [Psalm 10:13]. We are also reading Genesis and we see there how the wicked were dramatically called to account! God destroyed them all with a flood. Now note this Psalm's final verses, they are a declaration of God's ultimate acts, "The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land" But of the afflicted he says, "you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear" [Psalm 10:16,17]

Thought for the Day

04 January 2014

"A star shone at his birth, and was seen by Magi in the East as a sign; and the star which is the herald of dawn, or the rising sun itself the bringer of dawn, become his symbols. Both are light givers, and become the symbols of the righteousness and peace which will spread over the world as the morning of a new day - and that day a Sabbath of rest - in the history of God’s creation."

- L.G. Sargent
The Morning Star (1952)