LEARNING DAILY

 

Ezekiel 12:2, “Son of man, you live among rebels who could see the truth if they wanted to, but they don’t want to. They could hear Me if they would listen, but they won’t listen because they are rebellious. (New Living Translation)

 

Mark 8:18, “You have eyes – can’t you see? You have ears – can’t you hear? Don’t you remember anything at all? (New Living Translation)

 

Ezekiel is living among people who are rebelling against God; they are hearing what God is saying to them but they are not listening to the words and certainly not doing what He is telling them to do. The people do not believe God would destroy Jerusalem and eliminate the king following in the line of David. After all, they were God’s chosen people and believed God would protect them regardless of their sinfulness.

 

Jesus is talking to His disciples in Mark 8:18 and He is making a similar point. Reference to eyes and ears is a literal reference to one’s eyes and ears. It can also refer to one’s ability to see and hear with understanding. They had seen Jesus perform miracles and had heard His teaching. However, it did not affirm their understanding of what the Messiah would do when He came. His methods did not raise a large following that would overthrow the oppressive Roman government. The series The Chosen often shows the conflict within the disciples regarding His real actions versus their perceived actions. It did not take the disciples long to forget past miracles when faced with a different situation in their lives. So often Jesus’ actions did not make sense to them.

 

Not much has changed since that time. It is so much easier to take a scripture we like and make it into something we agree with, that fits into the worldview we have gotten used to. Like the disciples that walked with Jesus we must decide if we are going to trust in the entire truth found in the Word of God or our own interpretations. If we decide on following our own interpretations, we run the risk of finding teachings which go along with what we want to hear. We have heard that recently! The result is following the teachings of those false teachers who will tickle our ears – we have ears but do not hear and eyes but do not see!

 

Jesus asked His disciples if they remembered. In the busyness of everyday life, we must not forget the Word of God we have put into our heart through reading/studying/meditating on God’s Word. If we have not done that, we will not see Him or hear Him among the noise of the day; we will not remember we are walking on a narrow way that leads into His kingdom for eternity. We must remember to be continually growing in our relationship to Jesus Christ is the true and only meaning to walking on the narrow way. May we always remember that repentance for our failures keeps us on the narrow way and leads to growth in our spiritual maturity. May we never forget how we got on the narrow way and always remember what Jesus Christ has done to save us, change us, and to protect us in the past and always remember the love He has for us no matter what. That remembrance is what keeps us moving forward, having eyes to see and ears to hear as He guides us through each day.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Colossians 2:8, See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

 

In the last page of the blog, the sermon about “woke-ism” was briefly summarized. Remember it has become a philosophy that is trying to remove God from all aspects of life and replace it with a different system of beliefs. A biblical worldview is being replaced with a broad acceptance of all beliefs being true, there is no absolute truth, and the individual decides truth for themselves. The verse from Colossians 2:8 was taken from the Listener Guide and is necessary to understand what it means in light of the message of “woke-ism”.

 

Paul’s warning us today “to be on guard against, to be alert, to all philosophies, religions, and traditions that emphasize humans functioning independently from God and His written Word” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible). He is warning us about false teaching that would be strong, especially in the Last Days. It is important that we understand one of the strongest philosophies against biblical truth today – secular humanism. Yes, this philosophy has been around for a long time. Yes, it has become the established thought that inspires the center of thought in secular education, government, and most of the news and entertainment media throughout the world; that would include most of society in general. This is what Paul is telling us to be careful, the thoughts and teachings that are false teachings that deceive people into believing God’s Word, His truth, is false, is no longer relevant, and to be discarded.

 

The philosophy of humanism actually began with Satan’s lie that humans can be like God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5). Romans 1:25 would say that humanists, “exchanged the truth of God’s Word for a lie, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator”. Humanism teaches man evolved from a single-celled organism and the universe exists only because energy and matter were shaped into their present form by impersonal chance (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).  We hear often that “woke-ism” is socialist in nature, cultural Marxism (Listener Guide). The teaching of Karl Marx was that people would be happier without God and would be better off if wealth was shared. Therefore, the belief in a personal God and the inspiration of the Bible is rejected. That being said, humanists believe that human beings have the ultimate authority concerning moral choices. God and His Word are no longer the standard for right and wrong, for good and evil.

 

This thought system is being taught in the public schools in order to improve human behavior. How is that working out? Human behavior is also going to improve (so the humanists promise) through the redistribution of wealth. Again, I ask how that is working out? They teach that a person can do whatever makes them happy, brings them pleasure, or seems good for society as determined by their leaders. Biblical standards and morals are ignored, rejected. Humanists would say that mobs taking merchandise from stores, open theft, violence and all that we see in the news is okay.

 

Christian parents, teachers, pastors must do all we can to protect our sons, daughters, grandchildren from this indoctrination by exposing its error and instilling biblical teaching and standards of right and wrong. Paul refers to “human tradition” which is a reminder that simply because a teaching is preferred or even historical does not mean it is God’s truth; it may be simply human teaching. Compare everything to the Word of God. Our focus needs to be on truth found in His Word and on Jesus Christ – never on human deceit or preference. So, once again, I remind you, encourage you to make the reading/studying/meditating on God’s Word a preference for you each day. Do not put it off until later or when you find time. We are in a time of great deceit and you must make it a priority to take a few extra minutes to spend in prayer with your heavenly Father.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Colossians 2:8, See to it that no one takes you captive but philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the essential spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

 

In the last page of the blog, the sermon about “woke-ism” was briefly summarized. Remember it has become a philosophy that is trying to remove God from all aspects of life and replace it a different system of beliefs. A biblical worldview is being replaced with a broad acceptance of all beliefs being true, there is no absolute truth, and the individual decides truth for themselves. The verse from Colossians 2:8 was taken from the Listener Guide and is necessary to understand what it means in light of the message of “woke-ism”.

 

Paul’s warning us today “to be on guard against, to be alert, to all philosophies, religions, and traditions that emphasize humans functioning independently from God and His written Word” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible). He is warning us about false teaching that would be strong, especially in the Last Days. It is important that we understand one of the strongest philosophies against biblical truth today – secular humanism. Yes, this philosophy has been around for a long time. Yes, it has become the established thought that inspires the center of thought in secular education, government, and most of the news and entertainment media throughout the world; that would include most of society in general. This is what Paul is telling us to be careful, the thoughts and teachings that are false teachings that deceive people into believing God’s Word, His truth, is false, is no longer relevant, and to be discarded.

 

The philosophy of humanism actually began with Satan’s lie that humans can be like God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5). Romans 1:25 would say that humanists, “exchanged the truth of God’s Word for a lie, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator”. Humanism teaches man evolved from a single-celled organism and the universe exists only because energy and matter were shaped into their present form by impersonal chance (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).  We hear often that “woke-ism” is socialist in nature, cultural Marxism (Listener Guide). The teaching of Karl Marx was that people would be happier without God and would be better off if wealth was shared. Therefore, the belief in a personal God and the inspiration of the Bible is rejected. That being said, humanists believe that human beings have the ultimate authority concerning moral choices. God and His Word are no longer the standard for right and wrong, for good and evil.

 

This thought system is being taught in the public schools in order to improve human behavior. How is that working out? Human behavior is also going to improve (so the humanists promise) through the redistribution of wealth. Again, I ask how that is working out? They teach that a person can do whatever makes them happy, brings them pleasure, or seems good for society as determined by their leaders. Biblical standards and morals are ignored, rejected. Humanists would say that mobs taking merchandise from stores, open theft, violence and all that we see in the news is okay.

 

Christian parents, teachers, pastors must do all we can to protect our sons, daughters, grandchildren from this indoctrination by exposing its error and instilling biblical teaching and standards of right and wrong. Paul refers to “human tradition” which is a reminder that simply because a teaching is preferred or even historical does not mean it is God’s truth; it may be simply human teaching. Compare everything to the Word of God. Our focus needs to be on truth found in His Word and on Jesus Christ – never on human deceit or preference. So, once again, I remind you, encourage you to make the reading/studying/meditating on God’s Word a preference for you each day. Do not put it off until later or when you find time. We are in a time of great deceit and you must make it a priority to take a few extra minutes to spend in prayer with your heavenly Father.

 LEARNING DAILY

 

Genesis 1:27, So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 

By now you realize I try to write about something that impacted me during the weekend’s sermon. In his series on issues that are “Trending”, Dr. Ed Newton spoke on the topic of “Woke-ism”. I must preface this page of the blog with I have had a difficult time understanding fully what “woke-ism” is all about.  There was so much information given about this topic that I would suggest you listen to it yourself at OnlineChurch.com, if you are interested. I am going to summarize just a portion of the message as best and as clearly as I can and then give some thoughts.

 

The term “woke” was “first used in 1923 from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) towards racial prejudice and discrimination” (from the Listener Guide Notes given at Community Bible Church).  The Listener Guide Notes continue to say that definition has been modified today to define “Woke-ism as the all-encompassing word for all things considered politically liberal or progressive in belief or practice”. What began as a term to emphasize everything wrong with discrimination and prejudices associated with what was happening in the 1920s, and continues today, has been changed to redefine “historical, social, political, ideological forces” (listener Guide) in our society. This philosophy has invaded our government, educational system, the economy, and religion.

 

What does all this mean? Consider what is happening in our country since the redefining of the term woke. With the addition of the “ism” God has been removed or the attempt to remove God has become a prevalent force.  This is not a new concept as the attempt by groups to remove God have been happening from as long as I can remember. But, with this new push of “woke-ism” the attempt to remove God from significance and replace it with another system of beliefs has grown significantly. There is certainly a greater acceptance that “all things can be true”. Perhaps not a brand-new thought but a greater acceptance of the thought that all beliefs are right (pluralism) has happened with “woke-ism”. Pastor Newton stated that if the “isms” replace God, then anybody determines who or what is right or wrong. Those pushing the agenda of “woke-ism” refuse to accept God’s plan for right and wrong, moral and immoral, and what is true and not true; they push the belief that people would be happier without God.

 

 I would like to continue this in the next page of the blog. Let me finish with Ephesians 5:14, “Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

We need to wake up to what we are being told to think, what are our kids being told in the public-school systems. Sin is sin! As Believers and walking on the narrow way into His kingdom, we must have a Bible-based, Bible-centered worldview. Not all things that are said or taught are true. Not everything can be true. The truth that we must know and walk in is found in God’s Word. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. In the last days there will be all sorts of schemes and false teaching that try to tempt even those walking on the narrow way to get off it and follow an agenda that only leads away from God. Does that sound like or describe the agenda we see in ‘woke-ism” today? That is why it is so important to stay centered in God’s Word – so that we are able to know when something is not right. The target statement on the Listener Guide was a quote from Charles Spurgeon.  “Discernment is not just knowing right from wrong. It is knowing right from almost wrong.” Consider that as you encounter how “woke-ism” has infiltrated every aspect, every segment of society. It is time to stand up for the standards God has established and the lifestyles He has created in His Word!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Jeremiah 10:6-7, No one is like You, O Lord; You are great, and Your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere You, O King of the nations? Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like You.

 

We just finished watching the third season of a series called The Chosen. It tells of the ministry of Jesus Christ. It also tells a story about the disciples, their lack of faith, their amazement and wonder at seeing the miracles He performed, and their misunderstanding (or lack of understanding) His true purpose and His teachings. I am thinking of taking a day each week to research each disciple and pass on what I find thinking it might be of interest to you and to see their struggles walking side by side with the Messiah. The portrayal of Jesus has been quite interesting to see. I have had to smile, even laugh, at the humanity of Jesus that has been shown. Seeing Him laugh as He enjoyed the company of His disciples and people has made me reflect on the knowledge that He was human, yet God. His smile at the healing of a person has made me smile. His acknowledgement of a cross has reminded me of His mission to provide the only way to His Father in heaven. His dealing with the misunderstanding of His disciples has made me consider the need to be patient with those I think should be further down the narrow way than when they first stepped on to it by the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

When I read Jeremiah’s prayer above, I thought there is no one like the Lord. Yet, people looked to their worthless idols, made of wood and stone and had no power at all. During The Chosen I kept thinking that there is no one like the Lord. He is awesome and no one, nothing is like Him in any way. The fulfillment of every prophetic utterance about the Messiah was fulfilled by Jesus. His miraculous birth cannot be said about any other prophet, teacher, good man or anything else He has been called. His power and might has never been duplicated by another.

 

People may have wealth, power, position and even knowledge of things, but there is nothing that compares to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, of truly understanding who He is and what He has done for whosoever believes in Him and the cross He took in our place. The Jewish people in the Old Testament, God’s Chosen people chose to be like the nations of the world; they wanted a king instead of King Jesus to lead them. They wanted to do the things of God but also worshipped the ways of men and their idols.

 

There were not many people in the Israel of Jeremiah’s day and there are not many in our day who fear God. What a shame as those who are called by His name – Christians – should reverence Him and be in awe of Him because that is what is due Him.  As Jeremiah said there is no one like the Lord! He said to look at the nations. Look at the leaders of the nations. Look at the “supposedly” wise in the world. As high and mighty as they are, they pale in comparison to power and might of God! What a day it will be when all will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Better get ready and better stay ready for that day may be soon!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24, This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let them who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”

 

Do you know someone who likes for everyone to know how wealthy he/she is, or how respected he/she is? This is the person who wants everyone to look at him/her because of what he/she possesses or their position in their occupation or organization. What a person boasts in tells a lot about that person. The Lord says through the prophet Jeremiah that one must not boast in their wisdom, strength, or riches. Isn’t wisdom good? Reading the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah has made me understand that human wisdom without God is unreliable. Gaining wealth outside of God’s wisdom or His standards will not last.

 

We live in a world today that temps us to love all sorts of things which provide health, wealth, and wisdom; it will even provide ways to provide people with the way. Be careful! Jesus said that walking on the narrow way would be difficult. The Lord told us through Jeremiah that we only boast in understanding and knowing Him. Human beings do not have the same perspective as God; He knows tomorrow and all that comes with it. Therefore, we are foolish to proudly rely on our own limited knowledge. No matter how intelligent a person is, no matter how much one learns, our wisdom always will be limited. There will always be problems we cannot solve and mysteries we cannot understand.

 

There are so many who have done everything they can to gain great wealth and the things they have bought with their wealth. How much wealth is enough? What do athletes do with the millions and millions of dollars they have from playing a particular sport? Are they happy? I would like to tell these people that someday they are going to lose all this stuff or it is going to be given to someone else.

 

Let me ask what comforts you when faced with your life? In the verses above God makes it clear who He is, what he stands for, and what He delights in. Everyone who wants to know God and walk with Him on the narrow way into His kingdom better pay close attention to this! When He says He “delights in”, He is telling us He enjoys and is satisfied in something; He is personal not impersonal. He tells us He “delights in” those who know Him as their Lord. Seeks Him, and walks in kindness, justice, and righteousness. He “delights in” showing love to His people and when His people show love to others.

 

Not one of us will know everything about God – He is beyond our comprehension! But we can have insight into Him from diligently pursuing Him and from readying/studying/meditating on His Word. Be thankful for whatever insight you have about God and find that to be comfort for your life. Let me build on yesterday’s blog page. Our goal regarding heaven is not to be able to talk with the prophets or any biblical or historical character there (but that does excite me!). No, the goal of heaven is knowing that God is there. He has removed the barrier of sin that separated us from Him. That means we will be rewarded for walking the narrow way, no matter how difficult it has been for us, by living with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and knowing Him and His glory! That is certainly something to boast about. What we must understand is we do not have to wait until we get to heaven to begin knowing Him! It begins with our salvation and our desire to walk a narrow way doing all we can to become like Him. If a person misses knowing Him now – it does not really matter what else, you have or what you accomplished.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 59:1-2, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

 

I imagine that there are days Christians might wonder why God just does not save them from the trials they face. Do you ever find yourself wondering about this? Is it like the concern Christians have when they see the unrighteous prospering? The people in Isaiah’s time were no different; they were wondering out loud if God’s ability to help them was diminishing (Is God’s hand shortened?). Isaiah was assuring them that was not the case.  We all have heard the same questions about God allowing such and such to happen and all the stuff people say to try to make the case that God does not care about His people.

 

Let me see if you agree or disagree with a statement: There is no standing still as a Christian! One is either walking down the narrow way, growing closer to the Lord, growing in humility and obedience and experiencing more and more of His grace or staying in the milk of God’s Word, staying a baby Christian. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul would call a baby Christian carnal which refers to one still walking in their fleshly desires, not growing spiritually. As I read through the prophets again, Israel refers to people who are not following God and experienced the consequences for not being obedient, for not growing closer to God; they lived for themselves and not the Lord. They wondered why God was not stepping in and taking them out of the trials they found themselves in.

 

Isaiah told the people that God was not limited in His ability or power to do anything. The real problem was their sin. That has not changed in people’s lives today! Sin and wickedness still create a barrier between us and God. Here is the thing: sin does not necessarily separate us from the presence of God because He is omnipresence; He is present everywhere. It does not even separate us from the love of God because He loves sinners. Jesus Christ came to save us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). But it does separate us from fellowship with God. Because of this barrier Christians can no longer experience the blessings of God’s protection or His favor. Prayers are not answered. When we sin, we stop thinking like God; we are no longer trusting Him or relying on Him. Perhaps that is why we can’t understand why He does not take us out of our trials or why we believe “good” people go to heaven even though they are not saved. It is easy to blame our problems on all sorts of other things when in reality it is the sin we have not confessed in our lives. We just cannot trick or fool God.

 

Stop trying to believe sin is something trivial. Sin is an abomination to God! He will not tolerate it! Believers in Isaiah’s time were credited with righteousness and all Believers in this Church Age are saved by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Faith alone brings salvation; faith that God the Father poured out His wrath on sin on His Son while He was hanging on a cross – taking the place each of us deserved! Sin causes separation between the believer and God; it prevents the believer from enjoying a close fellowship with Him. But when the sin is confessed and forgiveness asked for, that fellowship is restored with God (1 John 1:9). God is faithful to keep His promises, but He demands we are to walk on the narrow way as He demands, growing mature in Him spiritually. Never forget our faith is to be growing continually as we walk in God’s truth and enjoy fellowship with Him.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 29:13, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”

 

I have been reading through the prophetic writing of those God used to warn His people to live their lives according to His desires and those warnings consistently called the people to look to God not worthless idols and the ways of foreign nations. I think of the writings in this blog and I pray you never get tired of being encouraged to walk a narrow way, God’s way and His desire to live according to His Word and not the ways of men and the world. We live in a dark, evil and unrighteous world that is not moving toward God. The writings and words spoken by the Old Testament prophets speak loud and clear to those of us in 2023! The Word of God still speaks for people to repent of their sinfulness, be forgiven by Jesus Christ, and to be changed by the Holy Spirit in order to walk into God’s kingdom for eternity.

 

Isaiah was speaking to “people who were coming before Him in prayer, worship, song and praise, even though their hearts were not committed to Him or His Word. They acted as if God’s revelation and His righteous standards were not obligatory. Instead of cherishing God and His Word, they filled their lives with the religious rituals and traditions taught by their leaders, and in false security lived for themselves” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).  I wonder if that is still true today. I wonder if people praise and honor God with their lips, while they have no real love for God and the way He tells His people to walk – on a narrow way. When the church service is over, do they seek the pleasure of sin, want everyone to see just how great they are and live to satisfy their own wants and desires. Isaiah was stating the problem for the people of Judah was their hypocrisy – they were saying the right things, but their hearts were far from God.

 

The heart is the center of one’s will and from where decisions are made; when we are told to love “with all our hearts” we are being told to love with everything we have within us. When God told Isaiah that “the people’s hearts were far from Me,” He meant they had chosen to be loyal to something(s) other than Him. They had begun to be loyal to man-made things and worship; they worshipped, but their heart was not in it. As Christians we need to be very careful about going through motions of worship and outward appearance of following the basics of walking with God, but without a real relationship with God. Let me be straightforward. When a person goes to church every Sunday but forgets God the rest of the week that person is “honoring God with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me”.

 

This verse from Isaiah is a reminder that rules, rituals, man-made ideas do not please God. God wants His people “to love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength” (Mark 12:30). He expects from those who receive His salvation their desire to be obedient to Him, diligently seek Him and to bring honor and glory to Him above all else. That includes our total loyalty and commitment to Him; it is the desire to be constantly in His presence and be in fellowship with Him. What an honor it is to be called a child of God! We need to act like one.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 26:3, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You! (New living Translation)

 

The last few weeks I have been taking a thought or two from the message preached at Community Bible Church where we attend. Dr. Ed newton, Lead Pastor, has begun a sermon series on trends or topics we face today. This weekend he discussed the amount of time people spend on technology – especially time spent on their cell phone looking at social media and everything else the phone is used for. One of his thoughts was a question about whether people are tech-savvy or in tech-slavery. He spent a great amount of his message on the distraction caused by the cell phone and what it has done to those who are so distracted. You will need to find the message at OnlineChurch.com if you are interested.

 

That short introduction regarding the message has led me to the thought I want to center on today. I have written about distractions before; yes, all of us have those things that we spend time with or doing that might be better spent in other things. Yes, we all have our excuses for not spending time in God’s Word or in prayer or using our gifts to serve Him. Perhaps, the distraction of technology, the time we spend on our smart phone, should be something we stop allowing to dominate our time.

 

The question Pastor Newton asked toward the end of his message was this. “What if we treated our Bible like our cell phone?” To consider an answer to that, let me ask a few questions regarding your thoughts about your phone. How much time do you spend on your phone during the day? While at work? I see employees in stores on their cell phones all the time; you do too. Would you go back to your house or apartment to get your cell phone? I remember driving back home after forgetting mine – and I drove back home (which was 20 miles home and 20 miles back) – just to get my phone. Do you take your phone to the dinner table or have to have it at the table when you go to a restaurant? Pastor asked a few more questions. Do you use your smart phone to give you directions? I get lost even then! Where do you go to find answers to your situation or circumstance? Do you spend time on your smart phone and suddenly realize you have been looking at it for an hour or more? I admit, this might not be my phone, but this happens all the time when I play solitaire on my computer. What about the time you spend shopping with your smart phone. Okay, enough; you get the idea, right!?

 

What would happen if you substituted your Bible for your phone in the above questions? The question becomes why our technology is more important than the Bible. Okay, I know you have a Bible app on your phone. So do I – but I seldom use it. That may be the closest we come to having our Bible with us. I know you cannot carry it around with you in the workplace. But do you see the point of the discussion. We cannot allow technology to become more to us than God’s Word. We cannot allow technology to be a distraction from reading/studying/ meditating on God’s Word or an excuse to be all God wants us to be.

 

It was a message that provoked one to give some serious thought about the technology’s influence on our society today. I think Pastor’s thought that we live in a state of perpetual distraction due to our technology is something we must not allow in our lives.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 51:7-8, “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation.”

 

Today this might be written: “Listen to Me those of you who have accepted My Son into your heart, to be saved by Him, to be cleansed of all unrighteousness by Him, to be changed by Him and are walking on the narrow way into eternal life in My kingdom. Do not be afraid of what those who do not know Me as their Savior and Lord say and do. Yes, they will insult you and do all they can to get you to come back to the ways of unrighteousness and to walk the broad way that only brings destruction. Do not listen to them! Do not follow them! Do not fear them nor let them discourage you! They will soon be destroyed by Me and I will deliver you from their treatment of you.”

 

To know the righteousness of God is to be saved by Him and to be diligently seeking Him every day. It is doing everything we can, trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us into becoming more like Jesus Christ every day. Matthew Henry has written, “those whose happiness is in Christ’s righteousness and salvation, will have the comfort in it when times and days shall be no more. The believer will enjoy his portion, while revilers of Christ are in darkness”.

 

It is important to read that Isaiah wrote about “people in whose heart is My law”. This is not referring to those who have head knowledge only about the Lord and Bible writings. I fear that many have head knowledge about Jesus Christ but have not truly asked them to save and change them; that does not even include those who just want nothing to do with Him.

 

When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He spoke against the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. He often did things that were against the traditions they had established in their 600+ laws and of course that brought shouts of blasphemy, the desire to put Him away, and to eventually have Him crucified. That desire to silence His teachings came with the persecution and death of His disciples and many followers who would not renounce their faith in Him. Their hateful speech, persecutions, and the terrible forms of death did not silence nor prevent the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Here is the takeaway from this today. Pursue God’s righteousness, by walking the narrow way into His kingdom. You must be in God’s Word in order to know who He is and what He thinks about you. His words are life, an abundant life found in Him and His righteousness. It does not matter what others, those who would laugh and make fun of you for your life in Christ, think of you. It is what God thinks of you that matters! God has promised to teach us right from wrong – stand firm for what is right and true. In doing so Believers become the light of Jesus Christ to a dark and dying world. People need to see Jesus Christ in you! Strand firm in your faith, be bold in your walk on the narrow way! Oh, the promises of God are great, and we shall soon see Him face to face!

 

Matthew 6:33, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 26:8-9, Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for you; Your name and renown are the desires of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world will learn righteousness. (New International Version)

 

I have read that Isaiah’s words above can be compared to the cries of the martyrs in The Revelation 6:10, “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’”  Both Isaiah and the martyrs, those who have become Believers in Jesus Christ and were killed because of it, are waiting and earnestly wanting God to deal in His justice with those who have chosen to walk in ungodliness with the world. The righteous and faithful followers of Jesus Christ should long and pray for the day the trumpet of the Lord sounds and call them to meet Him in the clouds that they might be with Him for eternity. Isaiah’s heart so desired to be with the Lord and for His judgments to begin so the unrighteous would learn what justice and righteousness are. Should that not be the desire of every Believer today and that the Lord would reign in His glory forever and forever?!

 

 

My heart is heavy this morning from some thoughts I have read today. In my devotions, I have been reading what God has said through His prophets concerning His disgust (and that is a mild description) of His people being so slack in their worship of Him. Obviously, God hates that His people have walked in the ways of the nations around them by worshipping idols. The prophet Ezekiel has even written that God took him to Jerusalem to show him the idolatry in the temple and shown him what He was going to do to punish the idolaters and corrupt leaders. In addition, I read some crazy statistics about how few who have said they have been “born again” actually do not follow Christ or the teaching in His Word and that is centered around their own admission. Is that really true? Is it really true that few earnestly long for the Lord as Isaiah did – “My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You.” Go back and read what the Lord said to the church of Laodicea regarding being “lukewarm”. He is going to “vomit the lukewarm out of His mouth”.

 

The reason for God’s judgment is so “the people of the world will learn righteousness” – God’s righteousness. The coming judgments of God on this earth have been spoken of for thousands of years. It is coming! The One coming to judge the nations is Jesus Christ. May each of us be a part of the faithful and diligent followers of Jesus Christ who long for Him to come day and night. May we be counted in that small percentage that diligently seek Him, search the Scriptures in order to walk the narrow way into His kingdom. Few are on that road according to the Lord Jesus. May we never grow tired of being in His Word and seeking to be like Him by the renewing of our mind and presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2). May it be each of our desire to be filled with His glory that others might see His great love and that He is our only hope!

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 8:12-14, “Do not call a conspiracy everything that these people call a conspiracy, do not fear what they fear, and not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as holy, He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread, and He will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel He will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare. (New International Version)

 

The Lord is speaking something important to the prophet Isaiah. It is related to the verses 9-10. Isaiah has been trying to persuade Judah to seek the help of God instead of running to other nations believing they would be all the help they needed. God was trying, through Isaiah, to get the leaders of Judah to realize that their only hope of peace was through His presence with them. Isaiah was accused of conspiracy and treason.

 

Isaiah was being given a very personal word from God; he was not to join in with the people’s beliefs and their sinful practices. As a prophet of God, he was to bring forth the word God gave him for the people. He was also to live a way of life that was an example to the people. He was to remain faithful to God’s Word in every circumstance life brought. He was not to fear other people even when they brought some form of persecution to him. Isaiah was to fear only the Lord.

 

Isaiah spoke to the people what the Lord spoke to him – he was not to get involved with any conspiracy theories that was circulating among the people. Isaiah does not tell us what was circulating at the time. It must not be anything we needed to know. I doubt people were any different from people today; don’t we want to try to explain the things we don’t understand. Suggestions are made about someone being the power behind the scenes and fear helps others run with the story and before long all sorts of craziness are happening. You know what I am talking about, right!? The result can be people forgetting about the Lord, thinking they have no control over situations that may not even exist. He is telling Isaiah not to get caught up in all that and to trust Him alone, completely! That kind of fear is not from God.

 

Each of us have our trials and dangers as we walk the narrow way; and there are sure a lot of conspiracy theories to become absorbed in. But God’s warning to Isaiah holds true for Christians today. We are not to fear what unbelievers fear. That said, unbelievers may have things to fear – that fear is misdirected. It is God who they need to fear (v. 13). When there are times of danger, when trials come, God alone is the One to fear and the One to look to for our help and deliverance. Matthew 10:28 tells us, “And do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”. “Fear” of God is something far different from blind panic or terror. It is respect, honor, and obedience with healthy mix of “fear”. That simply means we fear the consequences of disobeying God. When we disobey, we return to Him in repentance, obedience and in true worship. To those who do this and who honor God, He becomes our sanctuary, our place of refuge and our protector.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Psalm 2:1-6, Why do the nations rage? Why do my people waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot against the Lord and against His anointed one. “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from this slavery. But the One who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger He rebukes them, terrifying them with His fierce fury. For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, My holy city.” (New living Translation)

 

I would ask you to read all of Psalm 2 in order to understand what is exactly being said to people today. Go ahead and take the time to read it! Not much has changed since this Psalm was written. What do you think?

 

The Psalmist begins with a rhetorical question. He seems amazed that people and the kings of nations of the world would take a stand against God’s Anointed by thinking they could overpower and escape God’s will. He sees so many different people, cultures, and nations united to do evil, to rebel against God. Notice the temperament of these people; rage and anger are often the response of people who have turned against God. That rage and anger is often used against those who have chosen to be obedient and walk on the narrow way (remember what Jesus said about it). Christians have always been persecuted for choosing God’s way instead of the way of the world – too often with violent persecution. This is a “sad picture of the arrogant rebellion of humankind against God, His Word, His redemption, His Messiah and the moral teaching and standard of His Word” (Life in the Spirit Study Bible).

 

This turning away from God and His Word is not a spur of the moment idea. Notice that the “kings of the earth prepare and plot against the Lord and His anointed One”. They deliberately prepare and take an aggressive stand with evil intent. The attempt to get rid of the Christian movement has been present since Christianity began. The Jewish leaders had Jesus crucified. The Romans made Christians the focus of barbaric entertainment in their coliseums. Throughout history the Christian beliefs and faith have been mocked; today we have seen persecution of Christians around the world and the rights of Christians taken away. The purpose for this rage against Christianity is to destroy the authority of God and His Messiah. The devil and His followers hate God, His Word, His followers, and everything associated with His authority. The desire of the devil to take the place of God is not new. He was removed from heaven, got Adam and Eve removed from the Garden of Eden, got the Israelites to desire to rule themselves by doing what was right in their own eyes, and we see unbelievers in the world choosing to pursue a self-centered lifestyle instead of walking the narrow way of obedience that God demands.

 

Those who resist God’s rule over their lives and His truth do so with rage, plotting and planning to do away with all things related to Him. But God’s response as He sits on His throne in heaven seeing all the plans of man to overthrow Him and believing they have the ultimate authority over their lives is to laugh. The plotting and schemes of men do not intimidate Him. United together, the kings of the earth are no match for he who sits on the throne of heaven in complete control over all the events happening on earth. Read two verses from the prophet Isaiah. “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are counted the dust on the scales, behold, He takes up the coastline like fine dust” (Is. 40:15). “All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are counted by Him as less than nothing and emptiness” (Is. 40:17).

 

God will speak to them, and his wrath will terrify those who plot to overthrow God and establish themselves as the rulers of this world. Read The Revelation, chapter 20 where the devil gathers the nations of the world in the battle of Armageddon. Verse 8 states their number will be as “the sand of the sea”. It is at that time that the fury, the wrath of God will rain down fire from heaven and destroy all those who thought they could bring down the Creator of all things.

 

 The day when Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom on earth is coming. On any given day we are only seven years away from that day. He could take His faithful followers out of this evil world at any time with seven years of tribulation to follow. With the battle of Armageddon, tribulation comes to an end and King Jesus begins His earthly reign from God’s holy city, Jerusalem. Choose wisely who you serve and which way you walk on into eternal life.

 

LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 13:37-39a, He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, …”

 

In Matthew 13;24-30, Jesus tells a parable about a field that had been sown with wheat but one went into the field and also sowed tares over the original crop. These tares looked identical to the wheat, but actually had no market value. It was only at the time of the harvest that the farmer could distinguish between the wheat and the tares. The teaching was at the harvest – and it is coming – the wheat and tares would be separated; the tares will be burned and the wheat will be gathered into the barn (heaven) (from the notes of the David Jeremiah Study Bible).

 

The message today at Community Bible Church is the beginning of series of messages concerning “Trends” being faced in our world today. You might want to check out the message at OnlineChurch.com. Be sure it is from Community Bible Church with Dr. Ed Newton. I could not help but think about the evil that is in the world as I listened today; it was too difficult not to consider evil. Evil has been around since Adam and Eve were deceived into biting into the fruit from the tree forbidden them to eat by God. So, evil entered into the world because of disobedience and continues today because people are evil. Evil is sown into the world by the devil, according to the parable Jesus told.

 

The “sons of the kingdom” seem to mean all people described as God’s people, those who have asked Jesus Christ to save them, change them, and are walking on the narrow way into eternal life in the kingdom of God. The “sons of the wicked one” are those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, belong to the devil and are walking on a broad way that leads to destruction. Do you notice the narrow way and the broad way are the only options; there is no middle way The parable is clear that the One who sows good seeds is God alone.

 

The devil is the one who plants the bad seed along the side of the good seed. He is the enemy and the reason there is evil in the world. Far too many people desire the things of the world – wealth, things, position, pride – that cause them to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. People who desire worldly praise and things gravitate away from Jesus Christ and a biblical way of living because they misunderstand the teaching of God’s Word; they believe His way is a way of poverty and meekness (what they define as weakness.).  They have allowed “culture to define the Bible instead of the Bible defining what culture is” (Dr. Ed Newton).

 

Jeremiah 17:9 states, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Evil is continually growing darker. Free will, the ability to choose to do good or do evil is always at the center of what a person does. I believe the only hope is for each one of us to choose to do good; the only way that can happen is to choose to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to allow Him to change us as we walk a narrow way, a biblical way.  He changes us by changing our heart, so we diligently seek Him, His truth and His way each day for our lives.

 

The rest of verse 39 tells us, “the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.” Verse 40 continues, “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.” Know that evil will be destroyed at the end of the age. Is that time near? I would suggest that it is. The only way to live as true children of God is to live life on the narrow way. Those on this narrow way are being forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness and being prepared for the harvest to come when the Lord Jesus Christ will be their righteousness.