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Daily Bible thoughts 861: Wednesday 22nd April 2015: Jeremiah 4:18-22

Jeremiah 4:18-22

‘’Break my heart for what breaks yours.’’

Here are three simple thoughts from today’s reading:

  • The prophet weeps (19a): Jeremiah has come to be characterised as the ‘weeping prophet’. In ‘Jeremiah’ and ‘Lamentations’ we get a number of insights into his heartbreak over the situation. What breaks our hearts? Do we care about sin and how it ruins lives and ravages nations and communities? Do not our all too dry eyes rebuke us? I remember many emotionally charged services and prayer meetings back in my teenage days. I often saw tears and heard crying. It was quite unnerving at times. But what moves us? Jeremiah felt things deeply: ’I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly – a poker burns in my gut. My insides are tearing me up, never a moment’s peace.’’ The Message. How much do you care?
  • The prophet sees farther (19b-21): He or she sees what’s around the corner and they announce it. It may not be popular. People may want to stop up their ears. But the prophetic men and women see the impending disaster caused by sin, and they warn that it will happen, unless there is repentance. But there is that hopeful note in their preaching too, that things don’t have to be this way. While speaking of the coming ‘flood’, they clearly point to the ‘ark’. Praise God for the faithfulness and endurance of the prophets.
  • The prophet sees the stupidity of self-destruction (22): He knows the folly of sin and that ‘’senseless children’’ bring the roof down on themselves. It’s important to note that in the Bible the word ‘fool’ often refers to someone who is both ungodly and immoral. The crazy element of sinful self-destruction comes across particularly well in The Message: ‘’What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.’’ (By the way, this is the only place in today’s reading where the Lord speaks directly. But we must remember that Jeremiah’s own words in this book are also God’s. The Lord is always the ultimate ‘speaker’ in Scripture, whether He is doing so directly or indirectly.)

‘’Notice Jeremiah’s deep love for his people and also his faithfulness in conveying God’s stern message to them. In a sense, Jeremiah was standing between God and the people, suffering on behalf of both. In this, Jeremiah was a forerunner of Jesus, who became the Mediator between God and men, and who suffered to bring salvation to the world (1 Timothy 2:5).’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1084.

Prayer: ‘’Break my heart for what breaks yours.’’ Help me, dear Lord, to see through your eyes and feel with your heart.

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Daily Bible thoughts 860: Tuesday 21st April 2015: Jeremiah 4:11-18

Jeremiah 4:11-18

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

‘’Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!’’ (18). Here is the truth realised too late, and it is tragic. ‘We thought we could sow weeds and grow flowers, but we have in fact reaped what we have sown!’

It did not have to be like this, for even as God warned His people of impending judgment, He made it clear that He did not want this for them. He gave the opportunity to turn back (14).

The judgment coming from the north is depicted in two graphic images: the roaring lion (as we saw yesterday in verse 7) and a raging wind (11, 12)

‘’A wind that’s up to no good, a gale-force wind. I ordered this wind. I’m pronouncing my hurricane judgment on my people.’’ The Message.

As the chapter unfolds it becomes clear that this ‘wind’ is an army:

‘’Look at them! Like banks of storm clouds, racing, tumbling, their chariots a tornado, their horses faster than eagles…Invaders from afar off are raising war cries against Judah’s towns. They’re all over her, like a dog on a bone.’’ The Message.

In (13) it’s like a watchman actually sees the approach of the enemy. In (15, 16) the message is given first from Dan, in Israel’s far north, and then, as the enemy comes closer, from Ephraim in the central hill country, until the news finally hits Jerusalem.

For a person to continue in wrong ways and refuse to repent is to press a self-destruct button. Sin rebounds on the sinner ultimately. We damage and devastate our own lives by persisting in our own ways. Sooner or later it will lead to the words of (18) in our experience too. It would be better to clean up your act while there is still a chance (14).

‘’The essence of Hell is the truth discovered too late.’’

Prayer: Lord give me the courage to face the facts about my situation now while there is still time to turn to you.

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Daily Bible thoughts 859: Monday 20th April 2015: Jeremiah 4: 5-10

Jeremiah 4: 5-10

‘’A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out.’’ (7a).

In this section and the next one, which we will read tomorrow, the invader ‘’from the north’’ (6) is depicted in two word pictures: as a roaring lion and a rushing wind. Both will bring devastation. The remainder of chapter 4 portrays judgment on Judah. The speaker throughout is Jeremiah, but he is pronouncing God’s Word, and the speech is sometimes directly God’s (e.g. v 6b).

God’s Word is so sure; so certain, that Jeremiah can speak of the coming judgment as if it has already taken place (7, 8; for a positive version of this see Romans 8:30. The Roman Christians were not yet ‘’glorified’’, but as far as Paul was concerned it was as good as done!) We can have complete confidence in what God’s Word says, whether it comes in promising or threatening form, or a combination of both.

The political and spiritual leaders led the way in rejecting Jeremiah and his message (9), but their tune would change when the Babylonian ‘’lion’’ came near their homes, and their towns and cities; when they heard his terrifying roar and saw his teeth and claws. (Note, though, that the beast is not yet identified as Babylon.) The people who mock Noah cease their jeering when the rain starts, but then it is too late. (The exposure of the leaders in this verse does not diminish the responsibility of everyone who resisted God’s Word.)

In (10) Jeremiah is referring to the words of false prophets who contradicted him and falsely promised peace to an unrepentant people. God is ‘’Sovereign’’ and obviously permitted their preaching. But that does not mean that He was responsible for it. It doesn’t mean that he sent these so-called prophets. God’s only response, as we shall see, is to confirm that judgment is certain. People today who preach that you can live rejecting Christ and the gospel and still expect no negative consequences in the next life are similarly perverting the truth. They are dishing out false hope. Although the Lord allows this, we must never think that He approves it. The false prophets in Jeremiah’s day helped to bring about physical damage and destruction, but something far worse is at stake in false preaching today.

Prayer: Lord please forgive us if we have distorted your gospel in any way, preaching only love and grace, and missing out warning and repentance. Help us stay true to truth.

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Daily Bible thoughts 857: Thursday 16th April 2015: Psalm 116:1-11

 Psalm 116:1-11

‘’…faith working by prayer remains the greatest force available to God’s earthly people.’’ J.A.Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary, p.563.

Just as with the exodus (Ex.2:23, 24) here was a great cry for help that initiated great saving acts of God

‘’…when I was in great need he saved me.’’ (6b);

‘’when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.’’ The Message.

This is a psalm of testimony. It contains:

A definite commitment (1,2): ‘’I will call on him as long as I live.’’ This came from a man who had first-hand experience of the power of prayer. This made him determined to be even more of a pray-er. Rendered literally, the opening words are: ‘’I love him…’’ (1 John 4:19).In (2a) there is a beautiful picture of God listening: ‘’He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him.’’ The Message. He takes our prayers seriously. I want to learn from God in listening to others.

A dire need (3-6): ‘’Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn…’’ The Message. Death and the grave are represented as aggressors. He was in a bad way. ‘’Then…’’ It is so often the case that people pray (or pray especially fervently) at the ‘’Then’’ moment– when trouble strikes. In (5, 6a) there is an important statement about God’s nature/character. Knowing who God is; the kind of God we pray to, encourages our prayers.

The desired deliverance (7-11): As I read through the psalm I thought regarding (8, 9) that Christians have experienced this ‘salvation’ in a richer and fuller way. You can’t help but see the centrality of faith in the psalmist’s experience: ‘’Above all, however, the crisis was met by faith, the key to making all things new (8-11), the pivot of the whole psalm… The key words I believed (10), stand at the mid-point between new life enjoyed (8-9) and old life endured.’’ J.A.Motyer: ‘The New Bible Commentary’,p.565. Because the psalmist had faith he spoke out in accordance with his beliefs, even in the middle of his afflictions (2 Corinthians 4:13.) Against all human hope he held onto his faith and was delivered.

This is a lovely summary: ‘’The situation was one of deadly threat (3, 8, 15), brought about by human deceitfulness (11) and personal lack of discernment (6). But into this situation came prayer (1-4). The Lord listens (1-2), is gracious (bestows favour on the undeserving), righteous (never deviates in his commitment to his people and promises) compassionate (is emotionally moved by their plight) (5), and sensitive about the death of his beloved (15). So there came about salvation (4-6), deliverance from death (8) and bondage (16), and full provision…’ J.A.Motyer: ‘The New Bible Commentary’, p.563.

‘’I will call on him as long as I live.’’

Prayer: Lord, I make this my commitment too, by your grace. Please help me to fulfil it.

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 856: Wednesday 15th April 2015: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Resurrection!

Good examples (17): The best examples to follow are those Christians who, like Paul, are ‘’straining’’ after holiness; those whose minds and hearts are set on things above, and whose hopes are all centred in Christ. ‘’Let my example be the standard by which you tell who are the genuine Christians among those about you.’’ J.B.Phillips. Bill Hybels says ‘’Speed of the leader, speed of the team.’’ In days before the New Testament was written down, Christians needed living examples of what would eventually be put into writing. Emulating good examples and constantly living in the light of the Lord’s return is the way to ‘’stand firm in the Lord.’’ (4:1)

‘’It was as much necessary for Paul to live the kind of Christian life that others could follow as it was for him to preach a pure gospel for them to believe…Our situation is not exactly the same today, as the NT is people’s basic guide to Christian life-style, but it is still the case (as Paul puts it in 2 Cor.3:1-3) that the Christian is called to be like ‘a letter from Christ’, ‘known and read by everybody’, including many who would not turn to the Scriptures.’’ Francis Foulkes: ‘The New Bible Commentary, p.1257

Bad examples (18, 19): ‘’There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street.’’ The Message.

It seems that the people described by Paul were professing Christians, but I think we would call them ‘backslidden’, or ‘worldly’ at very least. The big problem was that ‘’Their mind is on earthly things.’’ They didn’t like the cross. The cross is central for our understanding of discipleship, but they were not inclined to take it up and die daily! They didn’t want it getting anywhere near their flesh life, and slaying it. They weren’t into self-denial. Rather, they wished to give free rein to their carnal natures. Be careful about which ‘Christians’ you spend a lot of time with. Deliberately choose friends who will be ‘firelighters’; who will inspire you and spur you on in the life of faith and holiness.

Great expectations (20): Somebody wrote about ‘living in the future tense.’ True Christians have their minds set on things above, for that is where they really belong (Colossians 3:1-4). Philippi was a colony of Rome in the heart of Greece. Its citizens were Roman citizens. Philippi was ‘Rome from Rome, you might say. It was a little bit of Rome found elsewhere (just as an embassy is a piece of one country located in another.) This idea surely forms the background to Paul’s words here: that of citizenship elsewhere. I often like to think of the church as heaven’s ‘embassy’ here on earth. When people come in among us they should experience a little bit of heaven; sense it, feel it, encounter it. Heaven is where we really belong.

‘’He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.’’ The Message.

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Daily Bible thoughts 855: Tuesday 14th April 2015: Philippians 3: 12-16

 Philippians 3: 12-16

Reaching!

‘’I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.’’ The Message.

Paul had not yet fully experienced all that was his in Jesus, but he was certainly reaching for it. (Note that there was no ‘sinless perfection’ in this life; not even for Paul.)We have seen Paul ‘the accountant’ and here we see Paul ‘the athlete’, running for the prize; straining and stretching to hit the tape (see also Hebrews 12:1, 2).

But although Paul was not yet ‘’perfect’’ he was ‘pressing on’ to become everything God wanted him to be. He knew that Jesus had taken hold of him for this purpose (12b). He would not settle for moral mediocrity. His heart said to him, ‘I want to have everything Jesus wants me to have.’

‘’…I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus. I’m off and running and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.’’ The Message.

There was single-mindedness about Paul’s approach to living the Christian life: ‘’But one thing I do…’’ (13). He also realised that Christianity takes effort. He uses the word ‘’straining’’ (13) and he twice employs the expression ‘’I press on’’ (12, 14). (It literally means ‘pursue’, the same word he used for his persecuting activities in verse 6. At one time he went after Christians; now he was going after Christ!) Paul did not think that anyone could live the life of discipleship in their own strength. The effort he expended was God-enabled (Colossians 1:29). But he did know that it takes work to be a good Christian, and he was prepared to roll up his sleeves and labour. He went after God’s best with every fibre of his being, all the while leaning on God’s ability. Do you? Do I?

He believed that ‘’mature’’ believers would see things the same way as he did about progressing in the life of holiness (15). So sure was he about what he was saying on this point that he believed God would put right anyone who disagreed him. ‘’If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision – you’ll see it yet!’’ The Message.

Here, then, are two key challenges from this passage:

  • ‘Press on’ to enjoy everything that is yours in Christ;
  • ‘Live up’ to what you already know (16); keep on doing those things you know you’re doing right. There is the idea in this verse that we should do this together and not just individually.

Prayer: Lord help me to live this Christian life with an appropriate intensity of desire. Enable me, please, to go hard after all you have for me.

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Daily Bible thoughts 854: Monday 13th April 2015: Philippians 3: 4b-11

 Philippians 3: 4b-11

Repenting!

In terms of Judaism, Paul was as good as it gets (4b-6). He was a prize specimen of a Jew. He had first rate credentials, religiously speaking. He worked hard to get right with God and believed he was accepted by Him. If anyone was ‘in’ it was surely Paul. He’d totted up lots of ‘brownie points’. Probably everyone who knew him thought it, and he certainly did. Paul belonged to ‘’the tribe of Benjamin’’. This was a prized heritage among the Jews. Israel’s first king, Saul, came from this tribe (1 Samuel 10:20-24). The tribes of Benjamin and Judah were the only two tribes to return to Israel after the exile (Ezra 4:1). He was also ‘’a Pharisee’’: a member of a very devout Jewish sect that scrupulously kept its own numerous rules in addition to the laws of Moses. He felt he had so much going for him.

But ‘’After showing that he could beat the Judaizers at their own game…Paul showed that it was the wrong game.’’ ‘The Life Application Study Bible.’ There came a point when Paul repented (7). He changed his mind about the things that matter most. He saw everything in the light of Christ and so came to see everything in its true perspective. It’s been said that in this seventh verse he is like an accountant. Everything that was at one time ‘’profit’’ to him, he now put down in the ‘’loss’’ column.

‘’All I once held dear, built my life upon, All this world reveres and wars to own. All I once thought gain I have counted loss, spent and worthless now compared to this.’’ Graham Kendrick.

Paul came to see that knowing Jesus matters more than anything. Nothing comes anywhere near in value and worth. The things Paul once valued he now considered ‘’rubbish’’ – and I understand that here he uses a strong word that our translation may not fully convey.

For Jesus’ sake he had ‘’lost all things’’ (8) Compare this with chapter 4 verse 12. He had not literally lost everything, but the point is it cost him dear to be a Christian. He lost everything that had been most important to him in his pre-conversion life. None of these things mattered to him anymore; not compared to knowing Jesus (8b-10). He had tasted the sweetness of Christ, and could not want more – or be satisfied with less. Everything he now wanted was wrapped up in Jesus, even if that meant suffering, along with resurrection life and power. Jesus was the only way to be right with God.

 ‘’’The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.’’ The Message.

‘’Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you; there is no greater thing. You’re my all, you’re the best. You’re my joy, my righteousness, and I love you Lord.’’

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

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Daily Bible thoughts 853: Friday 10th April 2015: Philippians 3: 2-4a

Philippians 3: 2-4a

Recognising!

Paul’s steps were frequently dogged by certain people we refer to as ‘Judaizers’ (2). They were Jewish legalists. They wanted to supplement the simple message of trust in Christ. They said, ‘You need Jesus plus certain other things in order to be saved.’ They were into additives. In particular they said, ‘You need to be circumcised in order to be saved.’ That’s why Paul calls them ‘’those mutilators of the flesh’’. He also pulls no punches, calling them ‘’dogs, those men who do evil’’. Paul was never in doubt that false teaching is dangerous and viciously harms and even destroys people. We must similarly ‘’Watch out’’ for any form of warped teaching that might encroach on the church. We must guard our hearts and minds against any erroneous thinking. Only the truth which set us free will keep us free! ‘’Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances – knife-happy circumcisers I call them.’’ The Message

True Christianity is so simple (3). It is:

  • Christ-centred;
  • Spirit–led; and
  • Grace-filled. It is ‘’not by works, so that no one can boast’’. (Ephesians 2:9). The gospel of grace tells you that your good deeds can’t get you into heaven and your bad ones won’t keep you out, if you’re trusting Jesus to save you (see also 9). ‘’I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s ’’ The Message.

A book title proclaims ‘Jesus plus nothing equals everything.’

But at one time Paul was a stranger to grace (4a). He was full of self-confidence before God. However, a meeting with the risen Lord Jesus on the ‘Damascus Road’ was to puncture his pride.

His wonderful story is coming up next

Prayer: Lord, deliver us from a performance based mentality and the pride that goes with it. Help us to feel and know what is so amazing about grace.

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Daily Bible thoughts 852: Thursday 9th April 2015: Philippians 3:1

 Philippians 3:1

Rejoicing!

Paul says ‘’Finally’’ then continues for a further two chapters – rather like some preachers! But he is beginning to pull things together. He’s coming in for a landing.

This is a command, so it can’t be primarily about feelings. The rejoicing is ‘’in the Lord’’. In Him we will always find reasons for rejoicing, and we need to ensure that our focus is continually on Him. An Argentinian pastor, Juan Carlos Ortiz, wrote a book entitled ‘Disciple’. It came out in the 1970’s and created quite a stir. He filled it with some outstanding and thought-provoking lines. I seem to remember him saying that if he preached a sermon, and it clearly wasn’t obeyed in the congregation, he would preach it over and over until he did see it being lived out. It is a fact that preachers will need to repeat familiar truths (even if not always in consecutive sermons! But I could understand why he did that.) It seems obvious that Paul had said this before, and he would say it again (Philippians 4:4). Here is a message we believers need to hear, i.e. that we can choose a stance of joy before God. ‘’I don’t mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don’t mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry…’’ The Message.

Rejoicing in the Lord is a ‘’safeguard’’ against many things – like, for example, pessimism, low spirits, bitterness and ‘poor me’ ism! But in the context it is specifically presented as protection from false teaching. It seems to me that the more our vision is taken up with who God is, the more we will be guarded against error. How could you be seduced into some pitifully small erroneous view of God while the truth of who He is shines so brightly in your heart?

So how might you ‘’rejoice in the Lord’’ today? Well, there’s nothing exhaustive about what I’m writing, but here are a few suggestions:

  • Think about Him: meditate on the Person of God. Reflect on His nature and attributes. Read Scripture and good quality Christian materials;
  • Thank Him: count your blessings (How about taking a day, or part of a day to simply thank the Lord?);
  • Sing to Him: you may or may not have a good singing voice, but God delights in love songs that come from sincere hearts. What’s more, it will do you good;
  • Play Christian music; listen to Christian music; watch (some!) Christian T.V. (Be selective!!) But have a God-filled atmosphere around you;
  • Do every needful thing you can do to absorb yourself in God.

The challenge, of course, is to do this in bad times and on difficult days. But it may help to remember that ‘the epistle of joy’, as Philippians has been described, was written from prison by a man who did not deserve to be there. He spoke from experience, and maybe he was even reminding himself. (The first person to preach to is yourself!)

Again, this not principally about your emotions. Make a decision today to ‘’Rejoice in the Lord always.’’ (4:4). Probably your feelings will eventually catch up with your commitment. But even if not, it’s the right thing to do.

Prayer: Lord I choose to thank you and count my blessings.

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