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May 2014

Daily Bible thoughts 610: Tuesday 6th May 2014:

 2 Corinthians 5: 3-12

”We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God.” (3, 4a). Here you have a fine personal mission statement for every church leader to adopt. Paul recognised that it’s not just about speaking, but ‘living’, ‘acting’ and ‘showing’. If what people see in your conduct contradicts what you say in your sermons you are going to have a big credibility problem. Here, then, are some hallmarks to be found in a ministry of integrity:

  • Patience in troubles (4b, 5): Hardships will be faced by every faithful leader. It ‘goes with the territory’ as they say. Very few of us in the West know anything of the intensity of the difficulties faced by Paul and certain of his colleagues. But whatever comes our way will still be painful to us. Even if you are only run over by a single-decker bus (whereas Paul got hit by a double-decker), it’s still a bus and it will injure you. But patience in trying circumstances shows a vital connection with the Holy Spirit, as He grows His fruit in you.
  • Commitment to holiness (6): These character traits all speak of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within you and show you to be the genuine article. It is possible to translate part of this verse as: ”We have proved ourselves by…the holiness of spirit.” It’s good to remember that no-one drifts into holiness. (Note in verse 7 how ”righteousness’ ‘ is both an offensive and defensive weapon. See Eph. 6:13)
  • Faithfully preaching God’s Word (7): There could be a temptation to go quiet and seek out a hiding place when you suffer so much for what you say.
  • God’s power at work in you (7b):
  • Serving as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (7c): You are willing to engage in the spiritual battle. You are not a ‘chocolate soldier’ who melts in the heat of the fight.
  • Serving whatever comes your way (8-10): Even though a gale is blowing against you, you keep on going into the teeth of the biting wind. Nothing can stop you because God has called you.

We can’t reproduce for ourselves the context in which Paul lived and served, nor would we want to. But where we are, where God has called us to be, let us determine, as leaders to be faithful in the way Paul was, so that the way we live is never a stumbling block to anyone.

Prayer: May my life never become a blockage, getting in the way of others who are seeking you Lord. I pray rather that I may be a clean channel through whom you can flow.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 609: Monday 5th May 20014:

 Isaiah 5: 1-7

There is a book, written by Bob Goff, entitled ‘Love does.’ Love indeed does show itself in action. Bob Goff says his personal motto is: ”Love God, love people, do stuff.” Out of His love for His ”vineyard” (i.e. His own people/nation) God did so much for them. He gave them a great start; every chance to be fruitful. God could not have done more for them (3, 4a). But the fruit did not show (7; see 4b).

I am caused to think of the words of Jesus recorded in Luke: ‘Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” (Luke 13:6, 7).

The Lord looks for ”fruit on this fig-tree’’ of my life. We are called to bear fruit as we abide in Christ.

”I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing...This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last…” (John 15:5, 8, 16) 

The whole purpose of our ‘marriage’ to Christ is for the sake of fruitfulness for God:

”So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  (Rom.7:4)

It is this production of fruit which authenticates any claim to be Christ’s. If we really are in Him, as a branch in the Vine; and if He (His life) is in us, we can expect for the fruit of Christlikeness to form (see Gal.5:22, 23). Without such manifestation the prospect can only be one of judgment (Isaiah 5: 5, 6). God has given us all we need to grow. If we don’t, there are no excuses to cling to.

Prayer: Make my life ‘delicious’ with your fruit Lord.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 608: Friday 2nd May 2014:

Isaiah 4:2-6

Once again we see the balance in the prophetic literature; the balance between stern warning and bright hope. ”We have already seen Isaiah change abruptly from scenes of judgment (Isaiah Chapter 1) to scenes of redemption (Isaiah 2:1-5). From this we can understand that the ”day of the Lord” includes both judgment and redemption – judgment for the wicked and redemption for the Righteous.” Tom Hale: The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.997

The primary meaning of ”the Branch of the LORD” (2) relates to the remnant of Judah: the Jews who would survive God’s judgment and return from Babylon to resettle their land (see 1:9). God would grant renewal of life to this ”Branch” and produce ”the fruit of the land”; i.e. both physical and spiritual fruit. Not only would the Jews be revived, but their land also. All this happened when the Jews returned, as described in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But there is another and more important meaning. The ”Branch” is also a name for the Christ, the Messiah. Yes, this verse does refer to a renewed community of Judah. But one day, that community would be embodied in one Man, Jesus. So Isaiah’s vision applied to both the near and more distant future. (We often find this double fulfilment aspect in the prophets.) God had a greater blessing for the Jews than just a fruitful land. He was planning to come to them Himself and redeem them by the sacrifice of His body on the cross. God’s revelation in the Bible is progressive. Words like ”Branch” came to have a new meaning as the revelation unfolded. Later prophets used this term specifically regarding the Messiah (Jer.23:5; 33:15; Zech.3:8; 6:12. Even Isaiah himself did also: Isaiah 11:1-3).

The purpose of the Lord’s judgment on Jerusalem was not only to destroy the evil there, but also to purify what remained (4-6). ”GOD will give Zion’s women a good bath. He’ll scrub the bloodstained city of its violence and brutality, purge the place with a firestorm of judgment. Then GOD will bring back the ancient pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night and mark Mount Zion and everyone in it with his glorious presence, his immense, protective presence, shade from the burning sun and shelter from the driving rain.” The Message.

What a beautiful picture of the calm after the storm.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for how you so carefully prepared the way for the coming of your Son into the world. It amazes me to think how much you revealed hundreds of years earlier, and it causes me to worship you. You are great beyond any words.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 607: Thursday 1st May 2014:

Isaiah 3:12-4:1

Verses 12-15 continue to describe the failed leadership of Judah. Spiritual leaders should never forget just whose ”vineyard” they are tending (14), and whose ”people” they are leading (15). We have the privilege and responsibility of overseeing God’s church; the Lord’s people. Knowing that they are essentially His and not mine should shape my approach to ministry. The leaders of Judah should have protected the poor. Instead they abused their privileges and took advantage of them: ”You’ve played havoc with this country. Your houses are stuffed with what you’ve stolen from the poor. What is this anyway? Stomping on my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dirt?” The Message

The proud and wealthy women of Jerusalem (16-23) were one big example of the decadence that was eating into the core of national life. The problem wasn’t so much that they were well off, but that they were proud, and did not care about the poor. It was also that they had got some, at least, of their riches unjustly, at the expense of the poor. (See Amos 4:1ff for a similar tirade against the women in Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom.) ”GOD says, ”Zion women are stuck-up, prancing around in their high heels, Making eyes at all the men in the street, swinging their hips, Tossing their hair, gaudy and garish in cheap jewelry.” The Master will fix it so those Zion women will all turn bald -Scabby, bald-headed women. The Master will do it. The time is coming when the Master will strip them of their fancy baubles – the dangling earrings, anklets and bracelets, combs and mirrors and silk scarves, diamond brooches and pearl necklaces, the rings on their fingers and rings on their toes, the latest fashions in hats, exotic perfumes and aphrodisiacs, gowns and capes, all the world’s finest in fabrics and design.” The Message. ”Isaiah was especially grieved because the women of the land had become addicted to wealth and fashion and were more interested in social status than spiritual character. The day would come when their artificial glamour would be gone and they would be sitting in the dust. (See 1 Pet.3:1-6).” Warren W. Wiersbe: With the Word, p.454.

Things can change! They can, let it be said, change for the worse as well as for the better (24 – 4:1). Isaiah foresaw that a calamitous reversal of fortune would come to the citizens of Jerusalem. After living in luxury they would be taken captive as slaves. Their men would die in battle (25). In fact, so many of Judah’s men would be lost in battle that the women would outnumber the men by seven to one (4:1). The war widows would seek to marry the few men who remained in order to have the security of a family name, and also bear children. (In ancient societies it was considered a ”disgrace” to remain childless: Gen.30:22, 23; Lk.1:24, 25) They would also be bereft of the leaders who used to sit in council at the ”gates” (26). ”Instead of wearing seductive scents, these women are going to smell like rotting cabbages; Instead of modeling flowing gowns, they’ll be sporting rags; Instead of their stylish hairdos, scruffy heads; Instead of beauty marks, scabs and scars. Your finest fighting men will be killed, your soldiers left dead on the battlefield. The entrance gate to Zion will be clotted with people mourning their dead – A city stooped under the weight of her loss, brought to her knees by her sorrow. ” The Message.

If we are living through days of prosperity, let’s ensure that it has all been gained justly and that it is used wisely, so that good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us. Let us always put the spiritual above the material. Let’s remember that care for the poor and needy is not optional.

Prayer: Lord, you have blessed us with much. May we never lose sight of our responsibility to use our wealth wisely in ways that fully please you. May we carry a great ambition to give all we can.

 

 

 

 

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