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Daily Bible thoughts 634: Monday 9th June 2014:

 Isaiah 10:20-23

I remember meeting one of our lecturers just before he was about to preach at a Wednesday night meeting at our College. I asked him how he was feeling. I’ll never forget his reply: ”Leaning hard brother!” The responsibility obviously weighed on him. But he also knew where to lean his weight.  Verses 20, 21 look forward to the day of Israel’s/Judah’s deliverance from Assyria and Babylon when a ”remnant will return” to the land. (The symbolic name of Isaiah’s first son, ‘Shear-Jashub’ means exactly that: 7:3) These survivors will no longer rely on foreign alliances, such as the one Ahaz made with the king of Assyria. He was the very one who ”struck them down” (20). Instead they ”will truly rely on the LORD”. ”They’ll lean on GOD” The Message. They will be ”leaning hard”. God does not want us to put our trust in idols, and He will do what is necessary to get His people to the place where they rely on Him alone. There is no true help for us apart from Him. We will simply be hurt by our idols.

God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the ”sand on the seashore” (Gn.22:17). Here, at first glance, God seems to be cancelling his promise to Abraham (22, 23). But, in fact, the saving of a ”remnant” was to be the very means of fulfilling that promise. The preservation of a remnant would ensure the survival of the Jewish people, and from that remnant there would eventually come Jesus Christ, whose followers – Jew and Gentile alike – would indeed become as numerous as God said to Abraham (Romans 9:27,28).

God always keeps His promises. We may go through years when the fulfilment looks unlikely, but the Lord knows what He is doing. He is working out His plans, as we will see. For now, ‘believing is seeing’. Let’s ‘lean hard brother/sister’. He can take our weight.

Prayer: Lord God, I thank you that you are trustworthy; that you will never give way under the ‘strain’ of my life.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 633: Friday 6th June 2014:

 Proverbs 22:1-6

It seems nearly everyone wants to win the lottery. Some of those people even do the lottery!! But there are things that matter more than money (1; see 2 Corinthians 8:18). Our culture prizes cash too highly. ”A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.” The Message.  (2) A couple of days ago we were thinking about how Paul wanted there to be a level playing field in the church (2 Corinthians 8: 13-15). Here Proverbs makes the point that ”The rich and the poor shake hands as equals – GOD made them both!” There are practical implications for us in that very point and they should have a bearing on our giving and sharing. Let’s treat everyone with dignity and charity, knowing that they are made in the image of God.

”A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.” The Message. With wisdom there comes foresight (3). You have radar that picks up the planes flying towards you before they open fire and drop their bombs. But there are those who remain blissfully unaware of what is coming their way until they hear the roar of aircraft overhead and the sounds of explosions all around them.

The best and most rewarding life anyone can live is one of humbly walking before God and worshipping Him and honouring Him in all things (4; see 1:7; 3:1-4; 15:33; 21:21).

(5) is similar to (3). To live in the humble fear of God will mean avoiding dangers to your soul. You will keep your distance from whatever looks like sin or is likely to lead to it. ”The perverse travel a dangerous road, potholed and mud-slick; if you know what’s good for you, stay clear of it.” The Message.

(6; see Deut.6:7; Eph.6:4) It has often been said that parents have six years to help form a child’s character, and after that it may be too late. Of course, as someone rightly pointed out, with God it is never ”too late”. He can break into any person’s life at any age. But it is the duty of parents to do all they can, with God’s help, to launch their children into life well. This often quoted statement in Proverbs should not be regarded as an absolute promise, but rather as an expectation. Our children are not robots. It is possible for them to turn away or backslide. Most promises in the Bible are contingent on our faith and obedience, and this applies to children as well.

Prayer: I pray for all Christian parents to be given the wisdom and courage to train their children in the ways that please God.

 

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 631: Wednesday 4th June 2014:

2 Corinthians 8:8-15

When we tell true stories about the commitment and sacrifice shown by fellow-believers, we are not telling the people under our pastoral care what they must do (8). This is not about emotional manipulation or coercion. But a judicious use of such stories can stir up God’s people to be everything they can be in Him. Sometimes Christians are rocked to sleep in the devil’s ‘cradle’ and they don’t even know that they have ‘dozed off’. They need a wake up call. There are times when what is required is to be exposed to the challenge of red hot Christian lives. Followers of Jesus may get this inspiration by meeting those people who burn with intense love for Christ, or by reading about them, or even hearing about them. There are occasions when we who lead in the church have to, as it were, place the jigsaw box lid on the table where all the pieces are scattered. Then we can all see the picture we are trying to put together. As an apostle, Paul could have told the Corinthians what to do. Instead his approach was more subtle; he told them a story! When you become aware that your own performance is lacking, seeing what best practice looks like can motivate you to want to get there. If your love is ‘sincere’ it will stand comparison with ”the earnestness of others” and seek to rise to that level, and even surpass it. Once give a genuine Christian a vision of what ought to be, and he or she will no doubt aspire to it.

There is no greater example in the matter of Christian giving than that of Christ Himself (9). Stories of other Christians may inspire us, but no-one we know has given as Jesus did. He gave up (leaving the glory and wealth of heaven for a time: ”He was rich beyond our telling…” J.B.Phillips); He gave out (in a life of unstinting service to others); and He laid down (His life on the cross for the sins of the world.) No other has ever given like Jesus. Seek to copy Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is possible in any area of the Christian life to make a good start, and then begin to flag in the middle section of the race (10, 11). This was how it had been with the Corinthians with reference to this collection for the poor Christians in Judea. They had shown great ”desire” to help in the fairly recent past, and had made a start with their giving. Paul wanted to motivate them to finish what they had started. Of course, he was expecting them to give according to their ”means” (11).

What Paul wanted to see was more of a level playing field in the church (11-15 cf. Ex.16:18), where those with more helped those with less. There is a strong sense of mutuality and interdependence in these words. We need each other. ”…the important thing is to be willing to give as much as we can – that is what God accepts, and no one is asked to give what he has not got. Of course, I don’t mean that others should be relieved to an extent that leaves you in distress. It is a matter of share and share alike. At present your plenty should supply their need, and then at some future date their plenty may supply your need.” J.B. Phillips.

Prayer: May I so live that my life will inspire others to ‘burn’ with love for Jesus.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 630: Tuesday 3rd June 2014:

2 Corinthians 8:1-7

There are times when we need to communicate good news to fellow Christians so that it will be an example and an encouragement to them. Let’s learn to tell each other true stories that will help to promote godliness. Paul had something to tell the Corinthians about the ”grace of giving”. Giving is a mark of God’s grace (1). It is a sure sign that He is at work. Wherever there is a work of God you find generosity of heart and action among God’s people. As the Baptist pastor, William Still , said when there is a deep work of the Word and the Spirit in a local church, the people of God ”will delve deeper into their pockets without anyone telling them, and the offerings will swell, and the question on everyone’s heart and mind will be: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Letters of William Still, p.77. In (2; see Luke 21:4) you find a combination of ideas that you would not expect to see hanging out together: ”severe trial…extreme poverty…overflowing joy…rich generosity.” It undoubtedly took ”the grace that God has given” (1; see also 6, 7) to bring about such an outcome. ”Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor.” The Message. This giving was supernatural and miraculous. It certainly was an expression of God’s grace. They gave more than they could afford (3). No wonder Paul wanted the Corinthians to hear about them. He wanted to spur them on to ”love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24). 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 deal with the offering Paul was taking for the needy believers in Judea. The Corinthian church had signed up to help, but they had been dragging their feet (6, 7). Paul used this powerful (and true) ‘sermon illustration’ in order to re-motivate them. We can all be challenged and inspired by hearing about good things other Christians are doing, and we regularly need to be.

How we need to see giving as a ”privilege” (4). F.B. Meyer suggests one reason why Christians don’t give as they should is due to a mistrust of God, and a fear that one day the supplies may run dry. And then what? ”Probably there is no greater test of our true religion than our behaviour in giving. How few, comparatively, give in proportion to their income! How few give systematically! How few have learnt the joy and luxury of giving, so that they abound therein!” Great verses through the Bible, p428.
The key to becoming a generous believer is self-surrender to the Lord Jesus. Put yourself in the offering bag! Stand on the collection plate!! You won’t give your substance if you don’t first give yourself (5). If you’ve responded as you should to the Lordship of Jesus, you will see that everything you have is His, and you will want to use it as He directs. ”What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.” The Message. ”Pray day and night that you may abound in this grace also; and then, in faith that God is answering your prayer, begin to do violence to your churlish, niggard nature. What though it protest – Give!” F.B.Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.429.

Prayer: Lord help me to slay everything that belongs to my old nature, including the fear of lack, and the selfish desire to grip tightly to what isn’t mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 629: Monday 2nd June 2014:

 Isaiah 10:5-19

God was going to use the Assyrian superpower (5-11) to punish a ‘‘godless nation” (Judah). Judah was ”full of idols” (2:8; see 11). ”God is going to send the Assyrians to loot and plunder Judah and to trample its people down like mud in the streets! The people of Judah had become like salt that has lost its saltiness and is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men (Matthew 5:13).” Tom Hale: The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1008. The Assyrians, for their part, were proud and arrogant and did not see themselves as the instruments of God; they did not view themselves as ‘His'(5). They were out to get power and glory for themselves. They planned to conquer as many nations as they could (7) and boasted of their great success (8-10). ”But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He’s out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can.” The Message. (7)

So, once Assyria had been used to punish Judah, Assyria itself would be punished (12). God was going to deal with them for the pride that said: ”I’ve done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I’ve wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I’ve walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird’s eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.” The Message. (13, 14).

Verse 15 is surely the key question in this section. It is folly for a tool to suppose it is greater than the one using it. In fact that would never happen. It’s like a pot thinking it is greater than the potter (Ro.9:20, 21). ”This thought underlays the apostle’s reply to those who magnified him against Apollos or Cephas. What are we, he cries, but ministers through whom ye believed, even as God granted to each of us? We are only instruments of God’s husbandry, implements through which He fulfils his plans (1 Cor.3). It dates an era in the life, when we cease to work for God, and allow God to work through us. Thoughts like these correct alike pride and despondency. Pride, because whatever is the result of our work, we can no more take the credit of it than the pen that wrote the ”Paradise Lost” could take to itself the credit of its production. At the best, it is not you, but the grace of God that was with you. You are only a pipe in the organ, but the breath that educed your music was divine. And in despondency it is very helpful to remember that if we are nothing, God is all-sufficient; if we have failed, it is the more needful for Him to exert more power. Throw back the responsibility of all results on God. Only see to it that you are a polished shaft, an unblunted saw, and leave Him to do through you what He will.” F.B.Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.272. If God uses you it doesn’t do to boast.

In (16-19) Isaiah describes the punishment to come to Assyria. A ”wasting disease” will kill his troops (16). This happened. They died of a plague during the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. King Sennacherib of Assyria later died by the hand of his own sons        (2 Kings 19:20, 32-37). In Isaiah’s day flaming torches were used for both light and heat. God is a ‘light’ of salvation’ to those who trust Him, but He is a ‘fire’ of judgment to those who don’t. This is similar to Isaiah’s earlier teaching about God being a rock of protection to some but a stone of stumbling to others (8:13-15). The Assyrian empire was to fall ”in a single day’’ (17). It’s thought likely that Isaiah is referring to the fall of the capital city, Nineveh, in 612 B.C., about a hundred years after Isaiah wrote these words.

Prayer: ‘’I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom.’’

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 626: Wednesday 28th May 2014:

 Isaiah 9:1-7

Yesterday we considered the darkness that people get into by rejecting God’s Word, and true preaching such as Isaiah’s, and when they start dabbling in false religion; particularly when they splash around in the muddy waters of the occult. There was great darkness in Isaiah’s day, brought on through sin, the rejection of God’s revelation and turning to false gods. This would ultimately lead to the darkness of invasion and captivity. But when we step into to chapter 9 there is a huge contrast. Bright light floods the stage. In the darkest days of Israel’s history, the prophet Isaiah received this vision of light and hope, and it concerns the coming of Jesus.

God will save His faithful people in the end (1). A day will come in the future when He will once more give His people ”light”. In (1) Isaiah mentions the humbling of ”Zebulun” and ”Naphtali”, Israel’s two northernmost tribes. These were the first areas to be invaded by Assyria; they would also be the first to witness the ”light” of salvation in Christ. Jesus was to commence His ministry in northern Israel, in Capernaum, a Roman (Gentile) town on the Sea of Galilee. In this way God would ”honor Galilee of the Gentiles” (see Mt.4:12-15).  Compare 9:2 with 8:20. The ”light” was Christ, who is the ”light of the world” (John 8:12). He is a ”light for the Gentiles” (Is.42:6; 49:6). It’s interesting to look at the tense Isaiah uses. He says the people in darkness ”have seen a great light”. Bible writers often spoke of future events in the past tense. They did so to indicate their complete certainty that their words would come true. If God says it, it’s as good as done already. Isaiah did not know when the Messiah would come, but he was sure that he would. Likewise we do not know when Jesus will come a second time (Mark 13:32, 33) but we know that He will. His Word says so repeatedly.

The enlarging of the nation (3) may well refer to the return from exile or the growth of Christ’s worldwide church. Perhaps both. There is going to be an ”increase of his government” (7). In (4, 5) Isaiah compares this future deliverance to Israel’s amazing victory over Midian, when God enabled three hundred Israelites to defeat a large and powerful army (Judges 7). But the means of this great future deliverance would not be a small army of 300; it would be a ”child”, a ”son” (6): a royal descendant of David (Matt.1:1), who would ”reign on David’s throne” (7). The coming of this Son would fulfil the promise God made to David that his throne would be ”established forever.” (2 Sam.7:16). Isaiah cannot have in mind merely a future great king of Judah. The person described here is God Himself (6). ‘’He’ll take over the running of the world.’’ The Message. He is the key to the growth of the church (3), the increase of joy (3b) and the releasing of ”their shoulders” (4). He is the One who has ”the government” on His (6). And He is God’s gift ”to us” (6).

”…he who has extended the dominion of Jesus to the furthest limits of his being, will know most of the peace that passeth understanding.” F.B.Meyer: Great verses through the Bible, p.272.

Prayer: Lord I ask for deliverance for your oppressed people who are under any yoke other than that of Christ. And in my life may I know the increase of your government and enjoy all the peace that goes with that.

 

 

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 625: Tuesday 27th May 2014:

Isaiah 8:18-22

Don’t go to the religious rubbish dump to pick up your religion! Listen to God: Seek Him always and seek Him only. We should look to the living God for our answers (19). He is well able to speak to us (18). The people of Isaiah’s day did not need to turn to other religious practices to get their guidance. God had clearly spoken. However, they did not like what they heard. That is regularly the case. The demonic powers will often oblige you with more palatable messages in the short term. They will use the ‘sprat’ to catch the ‘mackerel’. But in the long run they intend to destroy (21, 22). They do not deliver what they appear to promise. They draw you close to them so that they can put a knife in your ribs.  (Note: the writer to the Hebrews applied verse 18 to Christ and His ”children,” His followers. They were a ‘sign’ to the New Testament Jews that the Lord was once again dwelling with His people.)

Stick fast to His Word (20; Ps.119:105): Here is the right way to test preaching; to measure the religious ideas and messages of others. ”When people tell you, ”Try out the fortunetellers. Consult the spiritualists. Why not tap into the spirit-world, get in touch with the dead?” Tell them, ”No, we’re going to study the Scriptures.” People who try the other ways get nowhere-a dead end!” The Message. People who do not ”speak according to this word” have no light to share with those who are in darkness.

Recognise the futility of false religion (21, 22): It will leave you ”Distressed and hungry” and angry and in ‘utter darkness”. In rejecting the truth of the Bible, it is fascinating and shocking to see what some people will turn to and believe. People are incurably religious. They have a ‘God-shaped hole’ in their hearts and must fill it with something. They do try to stuff it full of some pretty ludicrous things. But behind all false religion there are deceiving spirits, and in some forms of religious expression people are actually seeking to make contact with the spirit world. This is dangerous and expressly forbidden in the Bible (Lev.19:31; Deut.18:9-12)

”Frustrated and famished, they try one thing after another. When nothing works out they get angry, cursing first this god and then that one, Looking this way and that, up, down, and sideways – and seeing nothing. A blank wall, an empty hole. They end up in the dark with nothing.” The Message.  Empty religion has ultimately nothing to offer to empty people. It just leaves them feeling even more empty, and hungry!

In reading (21) I am reminded of a couple I met whilst doing ‘door-to-door’ work with my church in Wigan. We were attempting to meet people where they were and engage them in conversation about Jesus. One night a husband and wife came to a particular door. They were both spiritists. While she was gentle and kind, he was livid. He was so angry. In fact I would say he was ”enraged” (21). But they were willing to talk and we spoke to them more than once. What that man got from his religion was not attractive. Although his wife wore more of the form of an ‘angel of light’, tragically they were both lost in the darkness. I trust something we said may have encouraged them into the light, but I have no way of knowing.

In these days there is a renewed interest in occult activity, especially among the young. Here is a solemn warning to steer clear of such deep, dark, demon-infested waters where people will surely be gobbled up and savaged or drown!

Prayer: Lord, in this dark world, and in these dangerous waters, I choose your Word as my constant navigation aid. Let me never stray from the sound of your voice.

 

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Daily Bible Notes 622: Thursday 22nd May 2014:

Psalm 105:23-36

In these verses the psalmist deals with the 400 year period the Israelites were in Egypt, and he sees God’s overarching sovereignty in it. Being a different people in the world’s culture needn’t work against us (23). In this strange and often threatening environment, we can flourish and grow (Remember verse 12, and consider what a change God can make). We may be ”aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11) but that should not be seen as a drawback. If God is on our side, who will be against us (Rom. 8:31)?God gives the growth (1Cor.3:6, 7).

So it was in that ”alien” place that God gave huge population growth to His people, which was a matter of grave concern to the Egyptians (Ex.1:6-10). They oppressed the children of Israel until God raised up a deliverer (24-26). ” God gave his people lots of babies; soon their numbers alarmed their foes.” The Message. It was in that self-same place that God performed His miracles through Moses and Aaron. ”They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland, miracles in the Land of Ham.’’ Once, in this passage we read about what ”They” did (27). But even there ”They performed his miraculous signs…his wonders… Thereafter the emphasis is repeatedly on ”He” (7 times in 28 -36 in the NIV. See also ”his” in 28) God was the One who struck the Egyptians with plagues (In 26-36 eight of the ten plagues are mentioned), and they finally caused Pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage (Exodus chapters 7-11).

In the New Bible Commentary, Alec Motyer makes the point that the people of Israel did not enter Egypt due to any sin on their part, but by God’s command and under His promise (Gn.46:3, 4). Nor was it for any sin of their own that they experienced Egyptian hostility. Indeed (25) it was by an act of God! Here is the mystery of divine providence. His thoughts and ways are not ours, but higher (Is.55:8). But how marvellous His ways are (Rom.11:33-36)! He brought them into an atmosphere of intimidation, danger and pressure, and there He revealed His great power. God always, it seems, has a man or woman ready when a job needs to be done. He waits to hear you say: ”Here am I! Send me!” (Is.6:8)

Some people argue that we now live in a ‘post-Christian’ culture. There is a growing indifference on the part of many, and even antagonism, and a shrug of the shoulders that says, ‘This is just irrelevant to me.’ But let us take heart, for if God could do such a mighty work in Egypt, He can do it here in our day. He is the same God for all time, and eternity. Nothing will ever change Him.

Prayer: Thank you Almighty Lord that you still show your wonders in ‘Egypt’.

 

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Daily Bible Notes 621: Wednesday 21st May 2014:

2 Corinthians 7: 8-16

Leaders have to develop a toughness that is also tender, and it’s not always an easy line to tread. It is certainly a narrow one. How can you be firm when and where you need to be without at the same time becoming cruel and harsh? As we saw yesterday, and see again today, Paul was in turmoil over a severe letter he’d had to send to the church at Corinth. At the same time he was tough enough to write it and courageous enough to put it in the post. He was strong enough to say and do things that might hurt (although it was not his intention to hurt them) in order to see a God-honouring result. The ”Godly sorrow” his letter had caused them had led to ”repentance”. So all was well.

”I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad – not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him…Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God?” The Message.

‘Trust in God and do the right.’ There are times when a leader has to say to himself or herself, ‘Whatever anyone else is doing, I’m going to do the right thing in this set of circumstances.’ It may not be popular. It may not win you a lot of friends. But if you see people straying from God and His ways, and you try to bring them back to the fold, you can live with your conscience and sleep at night. Hopefully, as here, the outcome will be good. But whatever, you will always know that you showed the courage of your convictions.

A person’s response to confrontation and correction reveals a lot about their heart. Paul believed he knew what the Corinthians were really like at heart, and he had ”boasted” to Titus about them. They had not let him down (14). The seed sown by Paul had fallen into good soil (which was essentially his conviction about their hearts) and produced good fruit. How lovely it is when you meet people who ‘refresh’ you (13). I guess we all know what that feels like.

Maybe you are facing a difficult situation today. You have to say or do (perhaps both) something that is really tough. May God give you the courage to do the right thing, being willing to stand alone if necessary; and the courage to leave the outcome with Him.

Prayer: Lord, let me not be lacking in the courage department when backbone is what is required.

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