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Daily Bible thoughts 806: Wednesday 4th February 2015: Ephesians 6:5-9

Ephesians 6:5-9 (click here for todays passage)

The call for Christ-centred relationships continues in this passage about slaves and masters. These principles also carry over into the contemporary workplace, and we can apply them to employees and employers.

‘’…just as you would Christ.’’ (5);

‘’…but like slaves of Christ…’’ (6);

‘’…as if you were serving the Lord, not men…’’ (7);

‘’…their Master and yours…’’ (9).

Paul says that slaves should treat their masters as they would Christ, for He truly is their Master. They really are His slaves. Ultimately, He’s the One paying the wages! (8).

If that seems revolutionary, think through what he says, by inference, to Masters (9). The message is, ‘You and your slaves are employees in the same company, and you have the same Boss!’ If Christian slaves were accountable to Christ so were Christian masters. They could only ever be ‘middle-management’, for they had Someone over them. (This is also true of non- Christian masters/bosses, even though they may not be aware of it. They are answerable to a higher authority.)

‘’Servants, respectfully obey your earthy masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ…And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free. Masters, it’s the same with you. No abuse, please, and no threats. You and your servants are both under the same Master in heaven. He makes no distinction between you and them.’’ The Message.

If the question should be asked, ‘Why did the early Christians not campaign against slavery, as William Wilberforce was to do in later years in the U.K.?’ The answer probably is that they couldn’t! They didn’t live in a democracy, but under an iron-fisted dictatorship. They couldn’t protest effectively about anything. However, it can be argued that teaching like this undermined the institution of slavery and sowed the seeds for its eventual destruction.

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus that knowing you and wanting to serve you makes all the difference in every area of life. You change everything for good.

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Daily Bible thoughts 805: Tuesday 3rd February 2015: Ephesians 6:1-4

 Ephesians 6:1-4 (click here for todays passage)

In the church, there are new relationships. We have already looked at Paul’s Christ-centred approach to marriage. Here we see the centrality of Christ in the home. Note especially the expressions ‘’in the Lord’’ and ‘’of the Lord’’. Whether he is addressing parents or children, Paul has in mind what Jesus would want. Let us adopt his mind-set: ‘What would Jesus do?’ ‘What is most likely to please Jesus?’ ‘What do I believe Jesus wants of me in this situation?’

He begins with the children (1-3). His key message seems to be to remind them that they are ‘’in the Lord’’, therefore they should ‘’find out what pleases the Lord’’ (5:10) with regard to their parents. The implication is that being ‘’in the Lord’’, they will be enabled to become like Him and do his will. We should always honour our parents. There is no age limit on this. We should do so because it is ‘’right’’. We should do it because it is commanded. There is an incentive to do it because is ‘’the first commandment with a promise’’. And because we are ‘’in the Lord’’ we will find the strength to do the right thing, even in difficult circumstances. Children, look to the Lord for your example, teaching and power, whatever your age. Jesus Christ is your Lord.

He goes on to speak to the fathers (4). Clearly Paul saw that the man has an important leadership role in the home. But as someone said, ‘Children are wet cement.’ It’s easy to leave the wrong impressions on their souls if we are too harsh with them. We are not to leave our hefty boot prints all over their soft hearts. We can crush their spirits if we are unnecessarily over-bearing. Christian fathers are to always remember Christ. Here are some of the implications in Paul’s words:

  • Pray for your children – above all you want them to be taught by Christ;
  • Be an example of Christ-likeness to them. Show them the Jesus way in your behaviour;
  • Teach them Christ’s Word. It’s not about laying down your law but lifting up Christ’s Word;
  • Be gentle in your leadership: ‘’Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.’’ The Message.

If you know that you have failed as a child, or as a parent, there is no need to carry that heavy backpack of guilt wherever you go. You can repent; you can apologise, and determine to be different. Jesus will help you, and He will be pleased that you want to change in order to delight and honour Him.

‘’Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…’’ (Hebrews 12:2)

Prayer: Lord Jesus, in every relationship, help me to be like You. I know that I am so unlike You, but I also know that You are changing me. I’m a work in progress and I praise You for your grace.

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Daily Bible thoughts 804: Monday 2nd February 2015: Nahum 3

Nahum 3 (click here for todays passage)

‘’ ‘’I am against you,’’ declares the LORD Almighty.’’ (5a)

‘’What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?’’ (Romans 8:31).

We can know God as our enemy, as this chapter (and book in general) shows. Or we can have Him as our Friend. It is a terrible thing to have God be ‘’against’’ you; but it is wonderful to know that He is ‘’for’’ you. God is always ‘for’ Jesus, His perfect Son, and He is ‘for’ all who are in Jesus by trust in Him (See Nahum 1:7, 8).

The vivid picture of the judgment of Nineveh continues (1-4). You can hear the noise of the battle as well as see it. It is a portrait of shame and disgrace as well as one of death (5-7). The punishment described in (5) was a common one for prostitutes and adulteresses in Bible times. Such women were publicly put to shame. Did the Ninevites (Assyrians) have any true friends anywhere in the world? If they did, they were ‘conspicuous by their absence’. There was no queue to comfort this once brutal, now fallen, people (7). The Assyrians were among the cruellest people of their time and there was applause all round when they went down (19). They didn’t just spill copious amounts of blood, but also tortured people before killing them. Pride is a perennial problem of the human condition. The people of Nineveh were full of it. They thought they were standing, but they were going to have a great fall. They were not better than ‘’Thebes’’, another great city swept away in a tide of divine judgment (8-11). They had not learned the lesson of this disaster. Thebes was the chief city of Upper (southern) Egypt. For centuries it was one of the leading cities of the Middle East. But it was eventually captured and came to ruin. Its magnificent ruins can still be seen today. The Babylonians were going to find a vulnerable, wide-open people (12, 13), ‘’ripe’’ for the picking. Work as they might (14-17) the Assyrians will not be able to protect themselves. Their ‘’merchants’’ and ‘’guards’’ will let them down, making off with whatever they can take. When the time for judgment comes there is no adequate defence that can be constructed. You can’t keep God out! Here was a nation that was past the point of no return. It was too late for healing (18, 19). Her condition was terminal, and everyone standing round the ‘bedside’ was uproariously happy.

‘’When the story of your fate gets out, the whole world will applaud and cry ‘’Encore!’’ Your cruel evil has seeped into every nook and cranny of the world. Everyone has felt it and suffered.’’ The Message. When you watch the news this week, you may well hear disturbing things; alarming things – similar to the atrocities carried out by the Assyrians. I’m sure you don’t need me to make the connections between Nahum’s world and ours. The message remains the same. God will have the final say.

‘’Nahum’s message to Nineveh has been proven true by history: evil will be punished. But Nahum’s message to Judah (and to us) has also been proven true: The LORD is …a refuge in times of trouble (Nahum 1:7). The book of Nahum is thus a book of judgment and of comfort – judgment for the wicked and comfort for the righteous. For us, may Nahum be a prophet of comfort.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1275.

Prayer: ‘’Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.’’

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Daily Bible thoughts 802: Nahum 1:9-15

Nahum 1: 9-15 click here for passage
‘’Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end.’’ (9).
These words have relevance for us. We are seeing an explosion of wickedness in the world, with the blood almost daily splattering onto the TV screens of our lives. It’s certainly not true regarding all of it, but it is a fact about much of it, that it is anti-Christian in nature. So here is ‘’good news’’ for us, just as there was for Judah in Isaiah’s day, when the southern kingdom was on the verge of extinction (15); compare with Isaiah’s similar announcement about deliverance from Babylon (Isaiah 52:7). Here are some reasons to take heart:
• All evil is ‘on a metre’. The clock is ticking. It will eventually run out of ‘sand’. There will be ‘’an end’’ to it. Evil people also (for they are the ones causing it) are on borrowed time. Of course, we are all ‘’evil’’ in the sense that we have a sinful nature (L uke 11:13), but we are thinking especially here of the evil of plotting against God and His people; that violent (and futile) commitment to His and their destruction.
• Evil people will bring evil on themselves (10). As we sow, so shall we reap. Wickedness has a ‘boomerang’-like quality, and it often seems bigger on its return journey!
• God is not scared of any of the frightening people who terrify us. He is not afraid of their plots ‘’against’’ Him. They pose Him no threat at all. He knows that He will deal with them, how He will deal with them, and when. When the time is ripe for judgment, no human help will avail those the Lord moves against (12). Big numbers on the enemy’s side won’t bother God. He has bigger boots! ‘’In Nahum’s time, Assyria was the greatest power on earth; that It could be destroyed so quickly was beyond anyone’s belief. But Nahum, inspired by God, did believe it; and his little book shows us once again that godless and wicked nations cannot last…In 612 B.C., about twenty years after Nahum spoke these words, an invading army of Babylonians and their allies attacked Nineveh and destroyed it…Assyria had dominated the known world for four hundred years. The northern kingdom of Israel had been swallowed up; the southern kingdom (Judah) was on the verge of collapse…Nahum teaches us that the final word of history will come from God…’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, pp.1272-1274. ‘’And GOD has something to say about all this: ‘’Even though you’re on top of the world, With all the applause and all the votes, you’ll be mowed down flat.’’ ‘’The Message.
• There are plots that get past the watching eyes of the best security networks, but not so with the Lord. That’s one good reason to trust Him (7).
• The cross is the ultimate demonstration of this principle enunciated in (9). Terrible plots have been launched, (and are still getting off the launch pad) ‘’against the Lord’’. But Calvary was the worst to an immeasurable degree. Yet God brought it all to an end swiftly and turned it into a glorious resurrection and ascension. As someone said, when you move against the Lord, it’s like playing chess against a Grand Master. Even your moves against Him He will use to defeat you! No wonder ‘’The One enthroned in heaven laughs…’’ Psalm 2:4a.
Prayer: Thank you Lord. I take heart from this. Help me to view the news through this Biblical ‘lens’.

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Daily Bible thoughts 801: Wednesday 28th January 2015: Nahum 1:1-8

Nahum 1:1-8 (click on Nahum for passage)

‘’The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away.’’ (5a)

Here are firm, steadfast things; things that endure, that remain: ‘’…mountains…and…hills…’’. Later this year, God-willing, Jilly and I will be travelling to Saas Fee in the ‘Valais’ region of Switzerland, and then we hope to move on to Wilderswil in the ‘Bernese Oberland.’ It is some twenty six years since I was last there, but I don’t expect much to have changed; at least not in the physical features of the landscape. The towns and places nestling at the foot of these ‘mountains’ and ‘hills’ will have altered somewhat, but I expect the mighty peaks to look the same. So we can say that things that don’t change, or don’t change quickly or perceptibly, can change by God’s presence and power. He is ‘’great in power’’ (3a). God can deal radically with our longstanding problems and immoveable difficulties.

There are things in life that we can’t change. There are big things we can’t alter. They are much bigger than us and tower over us, leaving us in their dark shadows. ‘Mountains’ may represent the larger difficulties, but ‘hills’ can still be sizeable. It’s an awesome sight to be in Grindelwald and look up to see the snow-capped ‘Eiger’, ‘Monch’ and ‘Jungfrau’. They cause you to feel dwarfed. But I can also feel little when I’m driving down the road from Skipton to Kendal, and I see Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent to my right. But God can deal with these big realities that are too big for us. The words ‘’quake’’ and ‘’melt’’ speak of powerful action. (Look also at the language used in verses 4, 5b, 6b and 8). God can do what we can’t. He is able.

But although it is consistent with the teaching of Jesus that mountainous obstacles can be moved in response to faith (Mark 11:22-25), and I feel it right to emphasize this truth, we must not miss the main point that the passage is about God’s judgment on Nineveh. Great cities, empires, power structures in this world will not last forever. In due course all that opposes God will be defeated. The only way of escape is to take ‘’refuge’’ in Jesus (7).

GOD is serious business. He won’t be trifled with…He’s powerful, but it’s a patient power. Still, no one gets by with anything. Sooner or later, everyone pays.’’ The Message. God’s patience should not be confused with indulgence (3).

‘’The stage of history is large. Larger-than-life figures appear on this stage from time to time, swaggering about, brandishing weapons and money, terrorizing and bullying. These figures are not, as they suppose themselves to be, at the centre of the stage – not, in fact, anywhere near the centre…At any given moment a few superpower nations and their rulers dominate the daily news. Every century a few of these names are left carved on its park benches, marking rather futile, and in retrospect pitiable, attempts at immortality. The danger is that the noise of these pretenders to power will distract us from what is going on quietly at the centre of the stage in the person and action of God. God’s characteristic way of working is in quietness and through prayer.’’ Eugene Peterson: Introduction to ‘Nahum’ in ‘The Message’, p.1684. In Nahum’s day, Assyria, with its capital Nineveh, seemed invincible. A world free from Assyrian terror was unimaginable. But Nahum was sent to announce that such a thing would come about. It did!

Prayer: Lord God, I thank you that you do have the ‘whole world’ in your hands. There isn’t a mountain or hill that you can’t move.

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Daily Bible thoughts 800: Tuesday 27th January 2015: Psalm 113

Psalm 113 (click for todays passage)

It is thought that Jesus and His disciples used psalms 113-118 at the last supper. This psalm of praise, which opens and closes with the words, ‘’Praise the LORD’’, says a number of important things about praise (1-3):

  • God is to be praised by His people;
  • Praise should be given in time and through eternity. Everlasting praise is due to God;
  • Praise is to be offered everywhere in the world.

‘’Start right now and keep on going! It is always time to praise the Lord. Make every breath a hymn of worship…If you have a problem praising the Lord from sunup to sundown, what will you do for all eternity?’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, pp.382, 383.

Why does the Lord deserve such praise? Because of who He is (4-6), and because of what He does (7-9); because of His greatness and His closeness (His transcendence and immanence).

‘’The movement of thought is from the sovereignty which rules all, to the goodness which touches each.’’ J.A. Motyer: ‘New Bible Commentary’,p.562.

Who He is (4-6): He’s the King of the Universe. Although, as we will see, He is obviously present and active within it, He is so far above it. He’s in charge of all things and all peoples. There is no one like Him. ‘’God is higher than anything and anyone, outshining everything you can see in the skies. Who can compare with GOD, our God, so majestically enthroned, Surveying his magnificent heavens and earth?’’ The Message.

What He has done (7-9): He has shown His compassion and power.

  • Look at (7 and 8) and compare them with Ephesians 2:1-10.Do you see a parallel?
  • How often this story IS told in the Bible (9). Someone is biologically unable to have a child, and then God, the Creator, does a miracle. (Let’s not forget that the Son of God came into the world because of a miracle of conception. It wasn’t that Mary was ‘’barren’’ , but she was unable to have a baby in her circumstances. She was a single woman living a pure life. God did a miracle!) As we read these words let’s take heart that the Lord can overturn our spiritual ‘barrenness’ and give us ‘children’. How we long to see many miracles of new birth, and our mighty God can make this happen. ‘’He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children.’’ The Message. A line in a hymn comes to mind as I think about this: ‘’May barrenness rejoice to own your fertilizing power.’’ B. Meyer says that Hannah’s story (in 1 Samuel) ‘’…should be a great comfort to those who have never been used in soul-winning…God can make barren souls authors of life to thousands.’’ However, he adds: ‘’Souls are only born to those who cannot live without them.’’ Great verses through the Bible’ p.235.

‘’Mary’s joyful song of praise (Luke 1:46-55) echoes Psalm 113:7-9. God’s grace makes kings out of beggars and joyful mothers out of the barren. Praise the Lord!’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.383.

Prayer: ‘’Fill thou my life, O Lord my God, in every part with praise.’’

 

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Daily Bible thoughts 797: Thursday 22nd January 2015: Isaiah 66:14-24

Isaiah 66:14-24

This wonderful prophecy of Isaiah concludes on a note of triumph. In the end God will triumph over all His enemies. However, what is a triumph for God and His people will be a tragedy for those who reject Him and worship other gods.

‘’Many may wonder why Isaiah ends his book with such a negative final verse. The reason is simple: it is the true ending for all those who rebel against God. If, after hearing all of Isaiah’s marvellous promises and terrible warnings, one still chooses to rebel against God, let that person know what his end will be. Isaiah’s book is written not so much to make believers happy as to bring unbelievers to repentance. Remember that Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah’s last verse in order to deter people from going to Hell (see Mark 9:47-48). The good news of salvation must always be combined with warnings of judgment; otherwise we will end up preaching only half the truth.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1074.

I read a story about a simple Christian man who took a labouring job. Each lunch time he took out a book of Moody’s sermons and read them. One day one of his fellow-workers asked him what he was reading. He told them, and they said, ‘Well read them to us.’ So that was what he did, every lunch time, until one day he forgot his book. ‘Then you’ll have to give us one of your own sermons,’ they laughingly told him. ‘’All right’’, he said. When a friend asked him what he said, he answered, ‘’I told them about ‘ell. They’d never heard about ‘ell.’’

It seems to me that many Evangelicals are going soft on the Bible’s clear and repeated teaching about Hell and Judgment. We have no right to re-write Scripture. A preacher’s job is to say what the Bible says. It is not to re-create the content. This last part of Isaiah is a reminder that there are two ways we can choose, and the way that leads away from God will have eternally disastrous consequences (14b). ‘’Many, oh so many, are under GOD’s sentence of death.’’ The Message. That is something people don’t like to hear and we may feel reluctant to say it. But we didn’t write the script; our job is to deliver the lines. God will bless our preaching if we honour Him and His Word.

In (19-21) Isaiah foresees the day when Jews and Gentiles will be one before God (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11. They will be a ‘’holy priesthood’’ (1 Peter 2:5, 9). He also looks ahead to when all people will ‘’bow down’’ before the Lord (Phil.2:9-11). It is good to know that a day is coming when every knee will bend before Christ and acknowledge His Lordship over the entire universe. They will not all be saved; but they will all ‘’bow’’ and ‘’confess’’.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for this wonderful book of Isaiah and its timeless message. Help me to never be ashamed of any part of it. Please strengthen me to always say what you say, even though it might be unpopular.

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Daily Bible thoughts 796: Wednesday 21st January 2015: Isaiah 66:7-13

Isaiah 66:7-13

This final chapter of Isaiah, it has been said, deals with trembling (1-6), travail (7-13) and triumph (14-24).

Normally, there is no birth without travail; without labour pains. But (7-13) point to a rather unusual kind of childbirth, i.e. one that is pain free, and incredibly quick. Commentators seem to agree that Isaiah is looking beyond the restoration of Jerusalem, following the exile, to the ultimate coming of Christ’s Kingdom. Under Jesus’ rule there will be a ‘population explosion’. There will be multiple miraculous, supernatural ‘new’ births. Our God is the ‘God of surprises’. He does surprising things in surprising ways (8). It is clear that God is responsible for these births (9). He brings people to ‘birth’ with great ease. He also is the ultimate source of all the nurture, care, comfort, abundance and deep satisfaction that these brand new ‘babies’ are going to find in ‘’Jerusalem’’ (11-13). In this day of Christ’s of Kingdom, people should be able to find all of these wonderful realities in the church, but ultimately they come from God.

Do we look to Him for our ‘’comfort’’? (13). Do we trust Him to be to us what only He can be? God offers more ‘’peace’’ than you know what to do with (12a). It’s so deep you could swim in it. Do we live like paupers when in fact we are in a place of lavish provision? (11, 12) Do we ‘’drink deeply’’ and ‘’delight in’’ all that God so generously provides in Christ? (11). There is no need for anyone in Jesus’ Kingdom to go hungry or thirsty, or to lack any good thing.

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to grasp all that is mine in Jesus. Enable me to revel in it, and draw on all these wonderful and limitless resources in Christ.

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Daily Bible thoughts 795: Tuesday 20th January 2015: Isaiah 66:1-6

Isaiah 66:1-6:

This is a tale of two types of people – those who respond appropriately to God and those who don’t; those who have true religion and those who have trivial ritual

‘’What sort of house could you build for me? What holiday spot reserve for me? I made all this! I own all this!’’ GOD’s Decree. ‘’But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say.’’ The Message.

There is a danger of putting too much emphasis on buildings. They can take on an iconic status and be (almost) worshipped. There is no preoccupation with church buildings in the New Testament. It is clear that the people form the church; they are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). This is not to say that it is wrong for a church to have a building. If the church is going to meet it will be in some kind of building. But we must never think that God lives in a man-made building. God’s temple in Jerusalem was only ever a symbol of His dwelling place among men (Acts 7:48-50). People are His temple; people who humbly and receptively bow before Him and His Word (2; see also Isaiah 57:15).

However, people who respond positively to God won’t necessarily find life easy. They will be a counter-cultural group in society, and will swim against the tide. They will be opposed by others who want to go their own way. They will be on a collision course with secular society.

‘’ But listen to what GOD has to say to you who reverently respond to his Word: ‘’Your own families hate you and turn you out because of me. They taunt you, ‘Let us see GOD’s glory! If God’s so great, why aren’t you happy?’ But they’re the ones who are going to end up shamed.’’

The most fierce opposition to God-fearing people may well come from those who are merely religious. There was a lot of religion in Isaiah’s day, but the people wrapped up in it carried on living how they chose. The religious do not like humble, simple, godly people who love God and His Word and who live to obey it. They can be violently and murderously angry with them. The people described in (3 and 4) are always liable to persecute those described in (2 and 5). This is part of the cost of true discipleship. It is important to remember that in the end they will not win. God says through Isaiah that he hates merely ritualistic acts of worship (see Proverbs 15:8). In God’s eyes they are equivalent to brutality and idolatry. These things are ‘’abominations’’ to Him (3b).

‘’Your acts of worship are acts of sin: Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox is no different from murdering the neighbour…You choose self-serving worship, you delight in self-centred worship – disgusting!…You did the very things I exposed as evil, you chose what I hate.’’ The Message.

Prayer: Help me today, and every day, to humbly respond to your Word, Lord. If this means that I am despised and mis-understood, strengthen me to endure it. I want to cheerfuly carry the cross for you.

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