Category Archives: Discerning / Judging

Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Promises, Thankfulness, Worldliness

Jehovah Reaffirms Mans Dominion Over the Earth

First with Adam, and again with Noah, Jehovah affirms clearly the dominion of man over the earth where He has placed us. We can appreciate the bountiful gifts which our Creator has provided that allow us not only to live as necessity but to live in comfort. Equally important is the concept that life is meaningful. Even the life of animals has value. We are not to eat them while they yet have blood. This most likely is stated to avoid unnecessary cruelty to animals by ensuring that they are already dead before we process or prepare them to eat. Lest we get too comfortable with shedding the blood of animals, our Father puts here a stark reminder that although man has dominion over animals… people are clearly different. People are made in the image of God. Our lives are not to be taken lightly. We belong to the Father.

Genesis 9:1-7

      1And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2“The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given. 3“Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4“Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5“Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

      6“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God
He made man.

7“As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.”

There are many interesting further areas one could explore in this scripture, but I believe the main point is quite simply about man’s position of dominance over, not being coequal with, the animals and the earth. Many today have gone astray in pursuit of elevating animals and the earth God has provided to be more important than the people God clearly made in His own image to have dominion over it.

Let us be thankful to our Creator for His bountiful provision and respect the place He has put us in over creation.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy, Self Control, Study the Word, Teachable

Avoid What Is Unclean

Avoid what is unclean. This remains good advice for many things. We should exercise discipline to avoid what Jehovah says we should avoid. Through obedience we can learn to be set apart and holy, distinct from other pagans who ignore or dismiss the Lord.

In Leviticus 11, scripture records what is clean and unclean to eat. Jehovah does not record why he sets these guidelines about what we are to eat, and what we are to avoid. We can certainly study and speculate the “why”… but more importantly, we should obey.

Let us start by recognizing that all of us inherently already make a distinction about what is good and what is bad, whether in regards to food or behavior… so we should be slow jump to conclusions that Jehovah should not set aside this type of instruction. It is quite natural even for us to establish boundaries like these for ourselves.

By obeying our Father and Creator in our diet we demonstrate obedience and self control, just as in other areas of our lives where we submit to Him. We demonstrate we are different from others around us in a practical way. It reminds us three or more times a day that our Creator exists and we are submitted to Him in all we do. It puts before us a test of self control and obedience similar to the one Adam and Eve failed in the garden with regards to having plenty they are allowed to eat and one item they were forbidden to eat.

God is direct in telling His people not only not to eat certain things, but not even to touch them. We are to approach all temptation to sin in this way. Do not even rationalize getting close to it. Steer clear. Stay far away.

There were also some additional cultural context of idol worship of some of these “unclean” animals within the pagan nations around the Israelite people.

Leviticus 11:13-47

Avoid the Unclean

13These, moreover, you shall detest among the birds; they are abhorrent, not to be eaten: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 14and the kite and the falcon in its kind, 15every raven in its kind, 16and the ostrich and the owl and the sea gull and the hawk in its kind, 17and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl, 18and the white owl and the pelican and the carrion vulture, 19and the stork, the heron in its kinds, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

20All the winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth. 22These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds. 23But all other winged insects which are four-footed are detestable to you.

24By these, moreover, you will be made unclean: whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 25and whoever picks up any of their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. 26Concerning all the animals which divide the hoof but do not make a split hoof, or which do not chew cud, they are unclean to you: whoever touches them becomes unclean. 27Also whatever walks on its paws, among all the creatures that walk on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening, 28and the one who picks up their carcasses shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening; they are unclean to you.

29Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds, 30and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon. 31These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. 32Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack any article of which use is made it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean. 33As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel. 34Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean, and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean. 35Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you. 36Nevertheless a spring or a cistern collecting water shall be clean, though the one who touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37If a part of their carcass falls on any seed for sowing which is to be sown, it is clean. 38Though if water is put on the seed and a part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.

39Also if one of the animals dies which you have for food, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. 40 He too, who eats some of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, and the one who picks up its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

41Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable, not to be eaten. 42Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. 43Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 45For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.

46This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

Before you dismiss God’s dietary restrictions as obsolete or as no longer “required”, take time to study the word carefully. Jesus taught clearly that He did not come to abolish the Law and further stated that the Law would not pass away, not even a jot or tittle, until “all was accomplished”.  Jesus never changed this teaching even after He died and was raised again. All is not accomplished until after He returns again. He instructed His disciples to teach new believers to observe all that He commanded them. He did not declare new commandments or drop old ones.

Matthew 5:17-19

 17Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18For 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. 19Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 28:18-20

18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Have you submitted to the Lord in all things? Are you holding back certain areas of your life? Pray for God’s help and study the scripture closely. Do not assume everything you have been taught is correct, for there is much false or misunderstood teaching in churches today.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Offering Sacrifices, Seeking God, Study the Word

Learning to Dig for Gold

After spending a few days focused on Leviticus 6, I am convinced I need to set aside some time and go for a deeper dive into the meaning behind the details recorded here for my personal growth in relationship with God. I will not likely be able to capture and share it here in short daily articles.  There is a humorous song I have heard from which a verse goes something like this, “The Bible is a gold mine, now where is your pick and shovel.”

The level of detail included in the text may be overwhelming to those of us who are trying to make sense of all of it without the benefit of living in that culture and time. Fortunately there are great resources available online. You will surprise yourself if you try a simple internet search for something like “compare burnt offering to sin offering Leviticus”. Of course you have to take some time to discern which explanations  appear reasonable and which are “missing the mark”.

Leviticus 6:24-30

      24Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 25“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is slain the sin offering shall be slain before the LORD; it is most holy. 26‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting. 27‘Anyone who touches its flesh will become consecrated; and when any of its blood splashes on a garment, in a holy place you shall wash what was splashed on. 28‘Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel, then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water. 29‘Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy. 30‘But no sin offering of which any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place shall be eaten; it shall be burned with fire.

Take a few minutes to find your favorite search engine and do a search like the one I listed above. Scan through a few listed explanations and materials. It is amazing what is available on the internet, but we must still be prepared to dig through it to make sure we find real gold and not just accept the rock someone hands us. There are many wonderful resources and many that will lead you astray. The challenge I lay out… most of us already do this kind of research all the time. We may be buying a washer or dryer or oven or car. We get online and search. We review and discern truth from lies in advertising. We do this in deciding what foods are healthy to eat and which are not.

Doesn’t it make sense to put the same time and energy into seeking the truth of God’s word and applying it to our lives? The implications of developing this study habit focused on our relationship with God will last a whole lot longer than your next car.

What more can you find to help you get deeper understanding from today’s scripture?

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Discerning / Judging, Is the Old Testament Relevant Today?, Prayer, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable

Digging for Truth in Scripture

I am continuing to walk through Leviticus slowly and challenging myself to look through the context and cultural differences and seek to understand more about it every time I read. I am always looking for some valuable nugget of scripture that I can apply in my life. The scriptures are filled with meaning and significance. The question is who will dig to find it and take time to look for it.
As we read about the grain offering in Leviticus 6, there are several areas of interest in which we could dig for “gold”. Our offerings are pleasing to God. Though God wants to provide for those who carry out His work, such as the priests in this scripture, the first portion goes to God. The priests get what is left. There is a common theme of unleavened bread or cakes. Leaven is often symbolic of sin, a small amount affecting the whole loaf or cake. Here the symbolism seems to be applied again… those that serve God are to be set apart
for His purpose, to avoid sin, to be holy. We are reminded that their provision is not from the one giving the gift or offering, but rather from God Himself. He provides some of His portion for them.

Leviticus 6:14-18

      14‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall present it before the LORD in front of the altar. 15‘Then one of them shall lift up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil and all the incense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a soothing aroma, as its memorial offering to the LORD. 16‘What is left of it Aaron and his sons are to eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place; they are to eat it in the court of the tent of meeting. 17‘It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their share from My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18‘Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to the LORD. Whoever touches them will become consecrated.’”

Seek to dig a bit further on these themes. Study the commentaries and pray for God to guide you. It is a good discipline to develop… to dig for truth in scripture as if we were digging for gold.  The treasure is not always just lying in the open waiting to be found… sometimes we must seek it with discipline, commitment, and passion to find it.
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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, False Prophets / Teachers, Study the Word

Turn Away From Those Who Teach Contrary To The Scripture

We are not to just trust anyone who claims to teach the word of God. We are to test them and what they teach against the truth of scripture. Many will come pursuing their own appetites and with flattering and smooth speech to deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. We are to study and understand scripture ourselves and use it as a constant measure to discern who is a false teacher who claims to come in the name of Jesus. We are to seek out those who teach truth and follow them and help them to remain accountable to God’s truth.

Romans 16:17-27

     17Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. 18For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. 19For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. 20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

      21Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

      22I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.

      23Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. 24[The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

      25Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; 27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

There are many, even today in churches who teach false doctrine. We are still to test them against the word of God and reject those who teach false doctrine, for they lead us away from the truth of God’s word. Pray for wisdom from God and remain in His word personally so as to learn truth from deception. Beware… the deceptive teaching usually seems flattering and pleasant as a lure to lead you down a path more devoted to self than the path that leads to God Himself. But it is God’s path that brings joy and peace and right relationship with our Creator. Let us each choose wisely.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Discerning / Judging, Help / Serve Others, Humility, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Provider, Teachable, Wise

Listen To Wise Advice And Work With Others

Moses was chosen by Jehovah to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. After many miracles and a deepening relationship with Jehovah, it would seem easy for Moses to be vulnerable to pride and not be open to the wise council and advice from someone else. However, Moses deserves credit for listening to and following the advice he received from Jethro.

Exodus 18:1

Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law

      1Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” 4The other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

      5Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God. 6He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10So Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people.” 12Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

      13It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” 15Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16“When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Jethro Counsels Moses

      17Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18“You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. 19“Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God, 20then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. 21“Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 22“Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23“If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace.”

      24So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. 26They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge. 27Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

When Jehovah gives us a responsibility to serve Him, we absolutely want to take it seriously and work hard at doing it right. However, we must be careful that we do not wear ourselves out by taking on too much of the burden on our own. We must learn to listen to wise advice and take it, whether from Jehovah or from man. We have greater and longer lasting impact when we can lean on others who can be trusted and let them help us do our Father’s work.

Are there any situations in your life that are putting a heavy burden on you? It can be work or family or even ministry… as in Moses’ case. Pray for Jehovah to send you help and wisdom on how to do His work most effectively and sustainably.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Am I on the path?, Discerning / Judging, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Greed, Idols / False Gods, Righteousness / Serving God, Salvation, Thankfulness

Should A Christian Judge Others?

The topic of judging others is one that typically brings out strong emotions amongst Christians today. One can have an argument erupt without ever getting deeper into the discussion behind the word “judge”. It is important to consider context of how we use the word “judge”. It can be used to refer to determining one’s salvation in Christ or also used in regards to determining right actions and motives from wrong ones. These are two very different contexts, even though the external actions are often a reflection of the internal motives. How might we go about considering this topic? How about we pick a good role model and see how they show it should be done?

From the time we are young children we are often taught to look at role models to guide our behavior. The concept is simple… identify someone who is doing something well and that you want to “be like” and then study how they think and act. Repeat their actions and hope to repeat their successful outcome in your own life.

The right role models help us succeed in our endeavors, but the wrong role models can lead us on a path to failure and destruction. The wise take great care in evaluating proper role models to follow, but the foolish decide quickly whom to imitate based on surface evaluation of fame or money or status. What we perceive to be “success” has great influence in whom we choose as a role model. Am I pursuing a football career? or a close personal relationship with God? If both, which is my higher priority?

Pause for a moment and consider who you would use as your role model in evaluating the topic of “judging others”. Now let us consider who Paul points to in Ephesians 5.

Ephesians 5:1-21

Be Imitators of God

      1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

      3But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

      6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

14For this reason it says,
“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.”

      15Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

I hear many cling to false doctrine that “I can do anything I want and the grace of God will cover it“… which essentially makes the case that we can intentionally rebel against God, or just ignore Him, instead of submit to Him and He does not mind! That is absurd.  Paul clearly teaches differently as did Jesus and all the prophets. The key message of all of them was to “repent, turn away from wrong behaviors and attitudes, submit to God, and sin no more“.  No Biblical prophet or disciple (and certainly not Jesus) ever taught that it was ok to keep sinning willfully. If you find that scripture… please send it to me. It is not there.

It should be sobering to all of us to read Ephesians 5:5.

Ephesians 5:5  5For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Yes… our behaviors and attitudes, which are observable by other people, are a reflection of our inner faith and relationship with God. We cannot claim to be righteous and in right relationship with God just because we say so and then keep on sinning!

Romans 6:1-3 1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Ephesians 5:6-7 are actually a command for us to avoid the deception of empty words! Far too many are confused and declare no one should “judge” anyone else. We are clearly instructed to discern genuine followers of Christ from liars by their actions and then to keep away from those who are not truly following God!

Ephesians 5:6-7  6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not be partakers with them;

It is equally true that we should test even our own actions to see if they reflect Christ or not. Let us not be complacent in that we say Jesus is Lord, but rather test our actions to see if we are living in such a way that demonstrates we believe Jesus is Lord. This means we obey His commandments, not our own desires and not the value system of the world.

Ephesians 5:11 goes on to instruct us explicitly to not participate in and even to expose the deeds of darkness rather than ignore them for fear of “judging” others who do wrong. We are not called to just go along to avoid offending other people.  We are called to use wisdom and discernment to judge right from wrong!

Ephesians 5:11 11Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

If we listen to many role models, even leaders in many churches, we will be told not to “judge” actions of others. But when we choose God as our role model, and the Bible as our primary source of revelation about God… an unchanging source of knowledge about an unchanging God… we see different instruction. We must wisely judge right from wrong so that we can do right and avoid wrong. To do so we must identify by their observable actions who are those that we can trust and who are those we can not. We should even go so far as to challenge ourselves by comparing our observable actions to the words we say when we claim to submit to Jesus.

As an interesting exercise, consider the following. If you were on trial, accused of being a Christian… a true follower of Jesus Christ… could anyone convict you based on actual observable facts?

James 2:18-19

18But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

What changes should you consider to your life that may help build the evidence that you are a genuine Christian?  Keep in mind, of course, that doing works just to do works amounts to nothing. We must start by testing what we really believe in our heart, submit to and follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and you will want to do the works.

Said a different way, if you can not find evidence to convict you as a follower of Christ, do not try to fix the problem by starting with more works, but rather by inspecting your heart and transforming your heart to fully submit to following Jesus. Then simply live your life with a genuine love for Jesus and desire to obey His commands… and the works will just show up.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discerning / Judging, Money / Finances / Wealth, Righteousness / Serving God

Wealth Gained Through Righteous Effort Should Not Be Condemned

Using God’s gift of wisdom to achieve wealth and financial gain is not wrong, if done in a righteous way in which you plan and invest wisely, avoid deceit and trickery, and live according to God’s commands. Joseph was a man who was faithful to God throughout his life in good times and in bad. God blessed him with the ability to interpret dreams and then God used that gift to place Joseph in a significant leadership role as governor over all of Egypt. Through Joseph, God blessed the descendants of Israel (formerly known as Jacob) and he also blessed Pharaoh, making him very wealthy and protecting his people from famine.

Genesis 47:1-27

Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

      1Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.” 2He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” 5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6“The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.”

      7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?” 9So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 11So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones.

      13Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone.” 16Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent, and the cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 19“Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

Result of the Famine

      20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s. 21As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24“At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

      27Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous.

Many will complain that Joseph took advantage of the people by taking all they own for Pharaoh. This view just simply does not stand up to careful scrutiny. The people were thankful to Joseph for feeding them and keeping them from death. Further, once Joseph had gained everything for Pharaoh, he allowed the people to work the land and keep the large majority of what they grew. Even though Pharaoh “owned” it all, Pharaoh only collected 20% or 1/5. This is incredibly fair… I can hardly resist comparing this to what we consider a “free” nation of the United States of America today, in which the government takes higher personal and corporate income tax than Pharaoh did! At least Pharaoh owned what he collected income from.

Joseph used the gifts God gave him in a righteous manner to glorify God, support God’s people, and even to fulfill the duties of the position under Pharaoh that God had placed him in and to do so very effectively… and he became wealthy along the way.

Wealth should not be despised, but rather only unrighteous behaviors and attitudes should be despised and rebuked. Wealth developed by righteous people is often used to glorify God and help His people. We should be thankful to God and give Him the glory and avoid resenting His servants who become wealthy. Perhaps we should even try to learn from those who gain wealth righteously rather than condemn them.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I on the path?, Anger (unrighteous anger), Consequences of Sin, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, How do I get started?, Humility, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Peace / Rest, Righteousness / Serving God, Wickedness / Evil

Delight In The Will of God, For His Works Are Wonderful

God calls each of us to not only accept, but delight in His will rather than clinging stubbornly to our own. He is like a master craftsman working on a tapestry. He knows the entire picture, including not only the parts that have already been completed but also the parts that have yet to be completed. He sees the whole picture and how it works together. Each of us is but a single thread, without a view of the rest of the tapestry. He invites us to become part of His masterpiece. How often we stubbornly insist to God that we know what is best, but in truth… we see only a small part whereas He has great vision.

Psalm 37

  1Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

      2For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.

      3Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

      4Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

      5Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

      6He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

      7Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

      8Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

      9For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

      10Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

      11But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

      12The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.

      13The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.

      14The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.

      15Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.

      16Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.

      17For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.

      18The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.

      19They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.

      20But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures, they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

      21The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.

      22For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

      23The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.

      24When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

      25I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.

      26All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.

      27Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever.

      28For the LORD loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

      29The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.

      30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.

      31The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.

      32The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.

      33The LORD will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

      34Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

      35I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

      36Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.

      37Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity.

      38But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

      39But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in time of trouble.

      40The LORD helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.

Submit your will to the Master and embrace His will with delight!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Discerning / Judging, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Righteousness / Serving God, Temptation/Tempting

One of Jesus’ Disciples Plots to Betray Him

Matthew 26 demonstrates the extremes Jesus experienced in terms of loyalty in the last few days before He was turned over to be crucified. Earlier in Matthew 26, a woman honored Jesus by pouring expensive perfume on Him. Jesus was so pleased, that He said, 13“Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” In the next verse we see Judas plotting to betray Him.

Matthew 26:14-19

Judas’s Bargain

      14Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 16From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.

It is worth noting that Judas spent a lot of time with Jesus. He witnessed many miracles and heard much of Jesus’ teaching personally and directly. He gave the appearance to all except Jesus that he was a loyal follower and disciple. Note that Judas was not even approached by the chief priests… Judas went to them! What a truly hard heart and selfish spirit. Jesus knew He would be betrayed by Judas before Judas ever began to follow Him. He was not surprised. Jesus accepted Judas that long because He knew it was part of God’s plan.

Just because someone is involved in a church or ministry or other good activities does not mean they have a true personal relationship with Jesus. It does not mean they have submitted their lives to Jesus. We should look beyond actions to attitudes when discerning whether or not someone is genuine in their relationship with Jesus. This discernment is very important… who do you trust your children with in the nursery or kids church? who do you listen to as your pastor? what about young men and ladies considering marriage?

Many, when they read this scripture, want to quickly assert that they would never betray Jesus for such a sum of money… or at all. But we should all pause to consider… many believe they will not fail Jesus, but may not really be prepared for the difficulty or persecution they may face if they stand up for Jesus.  Peter thought he would stand with Jesus unto death when Jesus told him that he would deny Him three times? Yet when the time came, Peter denied Jesus.  I am sure also, that Eve did not plan to fail God in the garden, but when the time came, she did so by listening to the serpent.

The situation with Peter and Eve are different from that of Judas. Judas intentionally betrayed Jesus for profit. Peter and Eve failed to stand firm for God when tempted and tested. However, these examples stand as a warning for each of us to avoid being overconfident. If we are overconfident, saying to ourselves, “That will never happen to me”, then we are not, in fact, preparing ourselves for when that situation confronts us. We are more likely to fail if we are not planning ahead how to deal with such a situation.

Have you ever been tempted to steal, perhaps rationalizing that someone’s insurance will cover it or it is only a small item? Have you made business deals or personal deals to make money that compromised the values that Jesus teaches? Have you taken advantage of someone else by lying or deceiving them?

These are real life examples we are faced with in our lives where we either stand for Christ, fail under pressure, or outright betray Him… often for much less than the 30 pieces of silver that Judas received.

Decide ahead of time, now, to stand up for Jesus even when you think it may not matter. Get comfortable representing Him well and being a loyal servant even when you expect to be mocked or persecuted in return. Prepare to behave the way Jesus teaches us, even if it costs you money to do so. Choose to honor God in what you do and in what you fail to do.

If you find that you make a wrong decision, admit to yourself you did wrong, ask forgiveness from Jesus and dedicate yourself to do better next time. God’s grace is wonderful!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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