Search

Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Free Daily Bible notes by Rev Stephen Thompson

Open Search
Tag

coming of Jesus

Daily Bible thoughts 922: Tuesday 14th July 2015: Jeremiah 10:17-22: The heart of the problem.

Jeremiah 10:17-22: The heart of the problem.(click here for todays passage)

‘’Jeremiah saw the invasion of the Babylonian army and the distress it would bring. He urged the people to pack their bags and get ready to move, because they would be hurled out of the land like stones from slings. The prophet lamented the ruin of houses and families, the separation of parents and children, the scattering of God’s precious flock.’’ ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (OT)’: P.1219

This section of chapter 10 brings us to the heart of the problem. Here’s why they were in such serious trouble and facing disaster:

‘’It’s because our leaders are stupid. They never asked GOD for counsel, And so nothing worked right. The people are scattered all over.’’ The Message.

The political and spiritual leaders were not people of prayer; they did not sincerely and earnestly seek God. There were many religious leaders in Judah who were just plain backslidden (Lamentations 4:13).

In a book written in the year 2,000, R.T. Kendall said that according to one survey, many clergy pray for no more than four minutes a day. Of course, there will be other surveys that say something different, and this statistic will not be true across the board. Now we’re not in a competition to see who can log the most hours in prayer, and we cannot measure a person’s spirituality by how long they spend praying. We must not become judgmental, and I don’t want to lay a heavier burden on already pressurised leaders. Nevertheless, it remains the case that the church’s pastors must be men and women of prayer. If we are to experience true ‘prosperity’ in Christian ministry, we must ‘’enquire of the LORD’’ (21). This is not just about saying prayers, or asking for things, but walking closely with God so that we catch even His faintest whispers (Psalm 25:14a).

We need to know His mind;

To feel His heartbeat;

To be filled with His power.

True success in Christian ministry will come to those who ‘pray the price.’ If we fail in our ministry of prayer, others will pay the price, as was the case in Jeremiah’s day. There’s a lot hanging in the balance of a Christian leader’s prayer life.

I find I need to remind myself constantly that Jesus is ‘’the vine’’ and I am a ‘branch’ in the vine, and apart from Him I can do ‘’nothing’’ (John 15:5). Do I want to be regarded as a great preacher or do I want to be fruitful? Do I want God to do something significant through me? Do I want compliments or do I want power? I would choose the latter every time.

Therefore I must pray.

Prayer: Lord, I confess the sin of prayerlessness. I do not feel that I can pray too much, only too little. Please pour upon me the Spirit of prayer and make me even more usable to you. I want to produce eternal fruit for your glory.

 

0

Daily Bible thoughts 921: Monday 13th July 2015: Jeremiah 10: 6-16: Incomparable God.

Jeremiah 10: 6-16: Incomparable God.(click here for passage).
In this chapter Jeremiah ridicules the idols worshipped by the pagan nations (and, sadly, by many of his own people.) He contrasts them with the living God, and shows how, in truth, there is no contest. There is no one like the Lord. The reality of true faith comes across clearly in The Message:
‘’All this is nothing compared to you, O God.
You’re wondrously great, famously great.
Who can fail to be impressed by you, King of the nations?
It’s your very nature to be worshiped!
Look far and wide among the elite of the nations.
The best they can come up with is nothing compared to you…
But God is the real thing—
the living God, the eternal King…
…But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing.
He put the whole universe together…’’

The tenth verse highlights the heart of the contrast:

‘’But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.’’ New International Version.

He is ‘’true’’ while they are false; He is ‘’living’’ but they are dead; and He is ‘’eternal’’ whereas they are transient.

In his commentary on the Old Testament, Warren Wiersbe quotes A.W. Tozer:
‘’…the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.’’
He goes on to say: ‘’The remedy for idolatry is for us to get caught up in the grandeur of God, the true God, the living God, the everlasting King. An idol is a substitute, and you would never want a substitute once you have experienced the love and power of the Lord God Almighty.’’ pp.1218, 1219.
May I suggest that we take some time during this week to just meditate on God. Focus on who He is, and watch happens to your heart.
Prayer: How I thank you Lord God Almighty that you are ‘’the real thing’’. Make my heart a blazing furnace of fiery love for you, and let many others be drawn to the ‘heat’.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 920: Friday 10th July 2015: Jeremiah 10: 1-5: Don’t be a chameleon!

 Jeremiah 10: 1-5: Don’t be a chameleon!(click here for todays passage)

This chapter sees the conclusion of the series of messages that Jeremiah delivered at the gate of the temple (7:1, 2). It contains a warning against idolatry (1-16).

In Romans 12:2 Paul writes: ‘’Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world…’’ He says, in effect, ‘Don’t be a chameleon, taking on your moral colouring from the environment.’ (I heard recently, by the way, that the way to kill a chameleon is to place it on tartan!!)

‘’Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.’’ The Message.

This passage in Jeremiah reminded me of Romans: ‘’Do not learn the ways of the nations…For the customs of the peoples are worthless…’’ (2, 3)

Idolatry was one of the ‘’ways of the nations’’. The people of Judah were about to go into exile in Babylon. There they might be tempted to worship Babylonian gods. They might conclude, incorrectly, that these gods were responsible for their downfall. God’s people were not to go down the ‘way’ of idolatry. They must not let the world of their day squeeze them into its mould. They shouldn’t be like jelly. (Notice these words were addressed to the ‘’house of Israel’’, verse 1, and not only to Judah). Through Jeremiah, God warned the exiles not to learn these idolatrous ‘’ways of the nations’’ – and especially not the ways of Babylon.

Pagan people worshipped the heavenly bodies as gods (2b). They put great stress on comets, meteors, eclipses and the like. God’s people were not to do that.

This is another of those great Old Testament passages that shows how ludicrous it is to worship idols (3-5).

‘’They trim it with tinsel and balls, use hammer and nails to keep it upright. It’s like a scarecrow in a cabbage patch – can’t talk! Dead wood that has to be carried – can’t walk!’’ The Message

It brings a smile to your face. An idol is like something to frighten off the birds, and not a holy power to subdue the sinful inclinations in the human heart (5). It leaves you scratching your head, asking, ‘Why would anyone be an idolater?’ (See also Psalm 115:2-8; Isaiah 40:18-20; 44:9-20; 46:5-7).Yet we know how easy it is to slip into idolatry – even without bowing down before statues: 1 John 5:21. We can easily adopt substitutes for God. An idol is anything or anyone taking His rightful place in our hearts.

The last part of (5) spoke to me as I prepared for a prayer meeting this morning: ‘’…they can do no harm nor can they do any good.’’ I thought, ‘Yes, but our God, the ‘’living God’’ (10) is good and He does good. He does good in answer to our prayers.’

So let us pray…and worship Him alone.

Prayer: Lord, you alone are deserving of all my worship. Help me to stay true to you.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 918: Wednesday 8th July 2015: Colossians 4:16-18: And finally…

Colossians 4:16-18: And finally…(click here for passage)

There are three clear exhortations in the final verses of this wonderful letter:

  • Read it (16): It is important that Paul’s letters are read. Still today their contents are to be digested by the churches. Don’t neglect the Bible as a whole. Don’t let the Apostle Paul stay on the shelf! (This verse shows that there was another letter written by Paul to a neighbouring church at Laodicea. These letters were to be swapped over and read by both churches.) In living the Christian life we don’t make it up as we go along. We are not left to our own devices to decide what is right and wrong. We have authoritative documents, and they are to be obeyed and not merely considered.
  • Stick with it (17): Jesus said: ‘’No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’’ (Luke 9:62). Did ‘’Archippus’’ feel like giving up? And what happened to ‘’Demas’’ (14)? There surely is a warning in his story (2 Tim.4:10)? All kinds of forces can combine and conspire against those in Christian service, causing us to feel tempted to drop out of the race. The way to persevere is to ‘’fix’’ our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). If anyone could have given up it was Jesus. Nobody suffered like He did. But He ‘’endured’’. (By the way, we are all in Christian service!!)
  • Remember them (18): This is a touchingly simple comment coming at the end of the letter. There is no self-pity in it. It is the briefest reminder of his sufferings. He wanted their prayers, as we have seen. ‘’Remember to pray for me in this jail.’’ The Message. He also wanted them to remember his love for them; his heart for the church as a whole; and the cost of being a Christian. In a way those ‘’chains’’ sum up a whole way of life. Paul was chained to Christ, and as His ‘prisoner’ he knew perfect freedom.

‘’When Jesus bids a man come and follow Him, He bids him come and die.’’ Dietrich Bohnoeffer.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 917: Tuesday 7th July 2015: Colossians 4: 12, 13: The hard work of prayer.

Colossians 4: 12, 13: The hard work of prayer.(click here for todays passage)

In Paul’s ‘final greetings’ section of the letter to Colossae, he lists a number of people, most of whom are not well known. One of them was ‘’Epaphras’’. Here are four things we can say about this man:

  • He was a faithful witness (1:7): It is generally believed that Epaphras was the ‘church planter’ in Colossae. It’s thought that he was probably a convert from Paul’s two year ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19). He went back up the Lycus valley to his home city of Colossae, and there he founded a new Christian community. (He may also have started the churches ‘’at Laodicea and Hierapolis’’.) Having found Jesus for himself, he did not keep Him to himself. This one ‘beggar’ told other ‘beggars’ where to find bread. (2 Kings 7:9).
  • He had a servant heart (12a): This is evident not only from what Paul said about him, but also in view of the picture of the man that emerges as we read between the lines. He was a willing servant of the church because he knew himself to be, first and foremost, Christ’s slave.
  • He was a praying man. He had the spirit of prayer about him. He prayed ‘’without ceasing’’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Paul said, ‘’He is always wrestling in prayer for you…’’ He wanted this church he had founded to grow; he deeply desired that the congregation would develop spiritually. Much vital pastoral work is carried out on bended knees.
  • He was a hard worker. The implication in the passage is that he worked hard in prayer. He laboured and toiled in the place of prayer. He put his back into it. Like Paul himself, he worked hard in God’s strength (1:29). He had a good mentor as he set out to follow Christ. Prayer is hard work. It is not glamorous. This may explain why it is not popular with many, and why prayer meetings are often poorly attended. I find that many people love to hear about prayer. But the doing is another matter. To make matters more difficult, we have invisible spiritual enemies who are committed to keeping the ‘missile’ of prayer on the launch pad. They know full well what it will do to their domain if it blasts into the air.

It will be obvious from these words that Epaphras combined evangelism, discipleship and prayer in a balanced ministry.. It is important that we too hold these things together. Our entire work must be undergirded by prayer. Without it we will lack power, and we will not see eternal fruit for Jesus. As someone said, we must work like it all depends on us, but pray like it all depends on God.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please pour out the spirit of prayer on your church. Help us to be like Epaphras: vocal in witness, faithful in service and earnest in prayer.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 915: Friday 3rd July 2015: Colossians 4:7-9: No insignificant people.

 Colossians 4:7-9: No insignificant people.(please click here for todays passage)

There are no insignificant people in God’s Kingdom, and there is no insignificant work. ‘’Tychicus’’ and ‘’Onesimus’’ are not the best known figures in the New Testament. We have a little more information on Onesimus because of the letter to ’Philemon’. We know that he was a runaway slave who met Paul in prison and was converted. But in comparison with Paul these two men were not high profile. Paul, however, valued them and the contribution they made. Paul’s appreciation of people shines through his letters. You don’t get any sense of hierarchical thinking. Paul, who wrote about the church as a body, was appreciative of the role played by each part. (I once heard someone comment that a part of the body having no work may soon become ‘a grumbling appendix’!! There are to be no redundant or unemployed members in Christ’s church.)

It is believed that Tychicus was the ‘postman’ who delivered Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In the previous paragraph we saw how Paul earnestly requested the prayers of the Colossian Christians. It is helpful if people can pray intelligently, so Paul sent key information with Tychicus and Onesimus. He wanted his friends to know how he was. He wanted to assist them in their prayers: ‘’My good friend Tychicus will tell you all about me…I’ve sent him to you so that you would know how things are with us…Together they’ll bring you up-to-date on everything that has been going on here.’’ The Message. This may not seem like a glittering assignment, but it was important.

The other purpose for sending Tychicus was: ‘’…and that he may encourage your hearts.’’ (8b). You may feel that you can do very little for God, but everyone can be an encourager. There is endless scope for those who are willing to take up the work of encouraging others. Who of us can carry on without it? Who could you encourage today? There are so many ways in which this can be done.

It was said of Hudson Taylor, I believe, that he was ‘’a man small enough for God to use.’’ He was due to speak once at a meeting, and the convener, no doubt meaning well, gave him an impressive build up. It is said that Hudson Taylor came to the pulpit and simply commented, ‘’I am but the small servant of an illustrious Master’’, or words to that effect.

In the church, some people will become well known, such as Paul was. Others, like Tychicus and Onesimus, will be in the ‘support cast’. They won’t win any ‘oscars’ for their performances. They will not be lauded as ‘stars’. But their work is vitally important. Whether well-known or anonymous, remain small in your own eyes, and look to serve and glorify your infinitely big God.

‘’There’s a work for Jesus none but you can do.’’

Prayer: Lord God, help me to be humble and usable before you.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 913: Wednesday 1st July 2015: Jeremiah 9:23-26: The greatest thing.

Jeremiah 9:23-26: The greatest thing.(click here for todays passage)

This morning, some words from a song went through my mind after reading this passage:

‘’The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you. I want to know you more…’’

Nothing compares to knowing God (Proverbs 1:7; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Think about all the things people may boast about. For example:

  • ‘I got a first at Oxford’;
  • ‘I made a fortune in business’;
  • ‘I got invited to the Queen’s Garden party’;
  • ‘My team won the F.A. Cup’;
  • ‘I won a medal for gallantry’.

No-one can deny that it may well be wonderful to have these experiences, or to notch up these achievements and accomplishments, but their value is as nothing when compared to knowing God. To know Him is of supreme value. Everything else fades by comparison. That’s what the Isaiah passage means by talking about ‘boasting’. It is expressing the supreme importance of knowing God. This really matters whereas, in the grand scheme of things, none of the other stuff does. When it comes to the end of your life, what will truly matter is not the O.B.E. pinned to your coat, but your hand reaching out in faith to the Christ of the Cross.

Of course, boasting seems out of place in talk about knowing God. So the passage from 1 Corinthians, quoted above, needs to be emphasised also. God has chosen us to be in Christ. So our boast is not that we made ourselves Christians. The boast is ‘’in the Lord’’ Himself (1 Corinthians 1:31). It’s in who He is and what He’s done for us. In such ‘boasting’ we worship the Lord who saved us. It is the only form of boasting that is permissible for Christians. In fact, it is to be actively encouraged.

Another thing we can’t afford to boast about is religion. External rites and rituals will not save anyone (25, 26). All the nations mentioned in (26) practiced the surgical operation of circumcision, but it did not change their hearts. When someone is converted, God does a work in their heart, enabling them to trust in Jesus. Because it’s God’s work, there’s no room for pride. All the glory goes to Him.

‘’It is not our minds, our might, or our money that wins the day (v.23) but our faith in God and our desire to glorify Him.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.503.

Prayer: ‘’The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you. I want to know you more…’’

0

Daily Bible thoughts 912: Tuesday 30th June 2015: Jeremiah 9: 17-22: ‘A time to weep.’

Jeremiah 9: 17-22: ‘A time to weep.’(click here for todays passage)

In Ecclesiastes 3: 1a & 4, Solomon writes: ‘’There is…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…’’

As Jeremiah considered what he knew was going to happen to his people, he saw that it was a time for tears.

Tom Hale makes these interesting and perceptive comments: ‘’Since the Lord’s judgment on Judah has been determined, there is nothing left for the people to do but lament their fate. The Lord tells Jeremiah to call for the wailing women, professional mourners whose job it was to arouse the bereaved to weep and mourn (verses 17-18). In verse 19, the Lord gives the words the women are to say. In verse 20, Jeremiah tells the ‘’wailing women’’ to teach their daughters how to wail; otherwise there will not be sufficient wailers, given the terrible judgment that is about to fall! In verses 21-22, that judgment is vividly described.’’ He goes on to say, ‘’The people of Judah no doubt wept and mourned when Jerusalem fell and they were carried into exile; but they wept and mourned for their loss and not for their sin. If they had repented of their sin, they would not have had to weep for their loss.’’ ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’’, pp.1090/1091.

It was a terrible and graphic scenario painted by Jeremiah: ‘’Death has climbed in through the window, broken into our bedrooms. Children on the playgrounds drop dead, and young men and women collapse at their games.’’ The Message.

‘’God called the nation to lament because they would soon be going to their own funeral. Death was coming, and the politicians and false prophets wouldn’t be able to hinder it. Death is pictured as a thief who comes unhindered through the windows to steal precious lives.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (OT), P.1218.

Just imagine if such things were being said to us: ‘’The dead bodies of men will lie like refuse on the open field, like cut corn behind the reaper, with no-one to gather them.’’ (22).

Yet is our situation in any less serious? Do we not live in a nation that is shaking its fist at God? We have broken His laws. We have passed our own laws that are contrary to His. We reject Christ and the gospel. We do not want this Man to reign over us. Is this a time for frivolity in the church? Is it a day for apathy? Why are our prayer meetings so empty? Why are our eyes so dry? May God have mercy on us.

‘’Never in history has there been more ribald hilarity with less to be funny about.’’ Vance Havner.

‘’Look over the trouble we’re in and call for help.’’ The Message.

Prayer: Lord God, turn the heart of your church back to you. Help us to understand the seriousness of the times and the part you are calling us to play.

0

Daily Bible thoughts 911: Monday 29th June 2015: Jeremiah 9: 12-16: Two ways.

Jeremiah 9: 12-16: Two ways (click here for passage)

From beginning to end the Bible shows that there are two ways in life and we must choose which road we will travel. One way is ‘’narrow’’ having relatively few people on it. The other is ‘’broad’’ and thronged with crowds (Matthew 7: 13, 14). But this broad, popular route leads to ‘’destruction’’ while the other leads to ‘’life’’.

This was essentially Jeremiah’s message. Those who rejected God’s way for their own were going to suffer a terrible fate. Yes, God would be patient with them, and give them many opportunities to repent. He wanted to save them. But in the end, if they insisted on their own way, they surely would have it. Then they wouldn’t want it. It would lead to ruin and waste and the bitter experience of death, captivity in a foreign land, and scattering among the nations.

C.S. Lewis said that in the final analysis there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who say to God, ‘Your will be done’, and those to whom God says, ‘Your will be done.’

As Dorothy L. Sayers commented: ‘’The essence of Hell is the truth discovered too late.’’

The destiny of the people of Judah is a pale foreshadowing of the final judgment, which will surely come. Someone pointed out that Adam and Eve first chose to hide from God before they were removed from the Garden of Eden. He went on to say that ultimately, all that God does in judgment is to ratify the choices we have already made.

Prayer: Lord, I acknowledge that your way is best. Help me to choose it today and always.

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑