Tag: read the Bible

February 20 2023 – Luke 8 – Scattering Seed and Conditioning Soils

I am a beekeeper. I like to give my bees something to make honey from, so I have planted Dutch White Clover seeds occasionally. I don’t have an expensive seed drill or even an aerator so I have hand spread the seed. It is hit or miss. There are lots of factors for clover growth. The soil composition is one. Is it too hard for the seeds to get in and germinate? Does it have too much acidity? Is there too much shade on the lawn? Clover seed is not cheap so I don’t put it out every other week.

In Luke 8, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower. He talks about someone going out and sowing seed. Some seed fell beside the road where it is trampled and birds eat it. Some fell on the rocky places where it springs up quickly but withers because it has no root. Others fell in the thorns and is choked out. Still other seed fell in the good soil where it produced “a crop a hundred times as great.”

The seed is the word of God and the different soils are the hearts of the people who hear it. I invite you to read the parable to hear about the hearts of people and how that affects their receptivity to the word of God. However, I want to think about how the seed was scattered. If I were a farmer listening to this parable I would think, who scatters seed on the roadside, the rocky soil, and in thorns? It must be very cheap seed to scatter it in those places.

The way the seed is scattered is often overlooked to talk about the soil conditions, or rather, the conditions of the hearts of people. How shocking to farmers or people who buy seed to think of sowing so broadly that you are casting seed even in places that you have little expectation of harvesting a crop. However, that is exactly how God operates in spreading his word. He makes no distinction in where the word of God is shared. He doesn’t just pour his word on good people, or people who go to church. He scatters his word everywhere, on the good and the bad.

He does this because God is patient and wants all people to be saved. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter3:9NIV

There are ways to condition soils to make them more receptive to the seed sown. We can fertilize, balance the pH, remove thorns, weeds and rocks, and we can till the soil to make it more hospitable to seed sown. We can also, through our living witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, condition the hearts of people. By our genuine love and care for others, we can change the condition of their hearts whereby they are more receptive to the word of God. Heart conditioning doesn’t happen just because we bombard people with the word of God. It happens as we intentionally care for, and love others.

God does not discriminate in who should hear the word of God. The Bible is the most widely translated book in the world. He spreads his word to the good people and the sinners alike. We can help in producing a bountiful harvest to the word by scattering abundantly and broadly, and by conditioning the hearts of all people by loving others as we love ourselves.

Prayer:

Lord thank you for planting your word in my heart and changing my life! Help me to share your word with everyone and help me to genuinely love others so their hearts will be receptive to your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 22 2023 – Matthew 23 – Hypocrites

In Matthew 23 Jesus castigates the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. Throughout the chapter he calls them hypocrites, snakes, vipers and says they are full of all kinds of uncleanness. As I read their condemnation, I thought how could they be so awful? How could they miss what seems so clear to me as a twenty-first century Christian? I think I understand the Scriptures reasonably well. I have heard some good teachers and preachers explain it.

That is exactly what they thought too. They studied the Scriptures, memorizing whole chapters at a time. They had rabbis and schools of thought that lined up with their understanding of Scripture. They were confident they, and the interpretation they subscribed to, had it right.

Jesus says to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” Matthew23:15NIV   I believe what led to their hypocrisy was pride. There must have been pride that the rabbis had when they garnered followers. There must have been pride that the ardent pupils had when debating the teachings of their rabbis with others.

In this rebuke of Jesus, we need to hear a warning about pride that leads to hypocrisy. We need to talk about our understandings of Scripture with a healthy dose of humility. We need to recognize that “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians13:12NRSV   Coming to the Scriptures in humility will remind us to depend on our true teacher, the Holy Spirit. Humility will help us to listen more and try to convert others to our views less. In the process, Jesus through the Holy Spirit will point out our hypocrisies. Hopefully, we, unlike the Pharisees and teachers of the law, will have ears to hear what the Spirit says to us.

In our reading of Scripture and affirmation of beliefs about it, we have not uncovered all of the mysteries of God. It is possible, being the recipients of these sacred writings handed down from generation to generation, that we could be reading our culture and experience into them, and we could misunderstand what God was inspiring the writers to say.

Read the Bible independently and in a community of faith, in humility and in dependence on the Holy Spirit. Give others the same attentive patience as they share what they have heard and understood from it. Share what God has revealed to you through the Holy Spirit, not as an expert, but in humility as one who knows in part, because in this world only God knows fully.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for revealing yourself and your love for me in your Holy Scriptures! Lord, help me to depend on your Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth. Help me to have an attitude of humility as I join conversations about your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 13, 2023 – 1 Timothy 4 – Apostasy

Leviticus 14, Matthew 14, 1 Timothy 4

There is a trend of people leaving the church in western Christianity. The people leaving are sometimes referred to as “the nones and dones.” They identify themselves as no religious affiliation and they say they are done with organized religion. Many will tell you they are done with organized religion because of hurts they’ve suffered in church. Many of these people will still say they believe in God or believe in Jesus and that they are spiritual. They are just done with church and denominations.

In 1 Timothy 4, Paul is telling Timothy about what the Spirit says about people abandoning the faith. That is something different from the nones and dones. The people Paul is talking about abandon faith in Christ altogether. He says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy4:1–2NIV

Believing and then abandoning the faith is called apostasy. The Bible talks about a time when many people will abandon the faith. That time is referred to as the great apostasy. Apostasy is the opposite of perseverance and enduring. We are encouraged throughout the Bible to persevere and endure and remain faithful to Christ. We have warnings to watch for his return and be ready. We also have warnings about being deceived.

Knowing that there have been, are, and will be efforts to deceive us and lead us away from Jesus, we should make every effort to persevere and not be deceived. Those efforts include praying, reading the Bible, and being with other believers so we can grow together in Christlikeness. If we don’t want to be deceived, we have to be intentional about our faith.

Prayer:

Thank you Lord, for calling me to faith in you. Help me to actively seek you daily in prayer and in the Holy Bible. Help me to become like Christ as I grow together with others in a community of faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 10, 2023 – Matthew 11 – Yoked with Christ

Leviticus 11, Matthew 11, 1 Timothy 1

As a follower of Jesus, I try to learn from him. Jesus was a rabbi. He taught the 12 disciples that followed him everywhere he went. He also drew crowds with his miracles and his teachings. I read his teachings and I contemplate on them. I pray about them and the Holy Spirit helps me understand meaning. One of the interesting things about reading the Bible is that you can read it over and over and the Holy Spirit keeps teaching you new things with what you’ve read.

Another thing the scripture does is give us historical events in the life of Jesus. In the Bible we read about how Jesus was baptized. We see how he interacted with the people who came to him. We see how he responded to persecution and praise. The historical events of the life of Jesus give us examples of how to live our lives. We can see what Jesus did and incorporate those behaviors into our lives to live as he did.

At the end of Matthew 11, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew11:28–30NIV

We hear in these verses that being yoked means learning. From our perspective as post resurrection Christians we understand that to mean reading the Bible to understand the teachings and example of Christ. However, this word picture Jesus gave us includes more. A yoke is used to put two oxen together to pull a load. They walk closely together. From this we understand that Christ not only teaches us as we read the Bible, he teaches us as he helps us bear the burdens of life.

Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we are yoked with Christ. We are not alone. Daily Jesus walks by our side and teaches us as he helps us bear the burdens of life!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for being by my side as I go through life. When I feel alone and overwhelmed remind me that you are yoked with me, helping me bear my burdens. Amen.

January 8, 2023 – 2 Thessalonians 2 – Rapture or Day of the Lord?

Warning – Longer than usual, but still worth reading.

Leviticus 9, Matthew 9, 2 Thessalonians 2

Have you ever thought that you knew something pretty good, but if you had it wrong you would be happy about it? That is the way I am with my End Times beliefs. I grew up believing in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. If you don’t know what that is, think Left Behind. If you read that series of books or watched the movies you have a good understanding of what pre-trib rapturists believe. I have come to embrace what has traditionally been looked for in the church…  the day of the Lord, also known as the second coming.

The church has looked for a second coming that it identified with the day of the Lord in the Old Testament. In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul is trying to remove fears that the church at Thessalonica had missed the day of the Lord or second coming. He says, “As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.” 2 Thessalonians2:1–2NRSV

There are some things that Paul says will precede the day of the Lord, things that the Thessalonians could look for and recognize as signs of the coming day. “Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians2:3–4, 7–8NRSV  Before the day of the Lord or second coming, the lawless one or anti-christ is revealed.  He will take his seat in the temple declaring himself to be God. Finally, the Lord Jesus will destroy the lawless one at his coming.

Pre-tribers will say but the rapture happens when that which restrains the lawless one is removed so that the lawless one can be revealed. They say that is the church being raptured out because the church is what is restraining the lawless one. Maybe, but there are some problems with that. First, why was the church worried about missing the day of the Lord (which comes after the lawless one is revealed) and their being gathered to him if they were going to be raptured out before that day? Second, why bother teaching them the signs of the day of the Lord if they weren’t going to be here?

There are some other reasons I opted to reject a belief in a pre-trib rapture. The development of this end time belief is less than 200 years old. It began with J. N. Darby around 1830 and was made popular by the Schofield Bible. As I said, traditionally (for more than 1800 years) the church has looked for the day of the Lord or the second coming.

The pre-trib rapture belief mistakenly assumes the great tribulation is from God on the unbelievers in the world. If you read through the Bible, you will recognize that what is coming for unbelievers and the wicked on the day of the Lord is not tribulations. It is the wrath of God. Tribulations in the Bible are usually from the world. Jesus said, “…In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John16:33NASB1995 Christians have suffered, and are today suffering tribulations at the hands of the world. We have been going through tribulations since the resurrection. I believe we are in the great tribulation now.

Lastly, if Christians believe they are going to be whisked away before the anti-christ is revealed, they may not be looking for the signs of his coming. There are many given and we need to know them and look for them so we are not deceived if there isn’t a pre-tribulation rapture. Jesus gave signs to look for. Paul also told the Thessalonians signs that accompany the coming lawless one. “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians2:9–10NIV

I do not consider myself an end times prophecy expert. I have just shared some of my beliefs. As I said, if I were wrong and the pre-trib rapture were true, I would certainly be happy to be wrong and be joined with those gathering to meet Jesus in the air.

One thing is certain, Jesus is coming again! Whether that be a pre-trib rapture or a second coming, it is important to read the Bible, know the signs of his coming, and be expectantly watching for it.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your promised return! Thank you for Scripture that gives me signs to look for. Thank you for your Holy Spirit leading me into all truth! Help me to know what to look for and help me to be looking. Amen.

December 24, 2022 – Ephesians 6 – Spiritual Struggles Require Spirit Empowerment

Exodus 35, John 16, Ephesians 6

There have been many times I have been in a hurry to get somewhere… to an appointment, to my mothers, or just home. It never seems to fail, when you are in a hurry, you end up behind someone in the fast lane driving under the speed limit or driving inconsistent speeds. They slow down. They speed up. Sometimes when I try to go around in the other lane they speed up. It creates some pretty negative feelings in me about the person who won’t get over and won’t let me get around them.

I’m sure you have been in similar situations with people that caused you to have negative feelings about them. When we have these negative feelings we need to remind ourselves that people are not necessarily evil. There may be a few who are committed to evil, but most people are like you and me.

In Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul tells us, “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians6:12NIV  Most people are not necessarily evil, but there is evil at work in the world. There are evil spiritual forces at work in this world and in the heavenly realms. Depending on the translation you are reading, verse 12 could seem to imply that there were people in high places operating under evil spiritual power.

Paul doesn’t encourage us to lock and load to take these spiritual forces of evil out. He goes through a detailed description of preparing to battle these forces on a spiritual plane. He tells us to get ready to fight by putting on the full armor of God. I am not going to try to explain each piece. They are pretty self explanatory and others have already explained them in detail. My point in mentioning them is we battle on a spiritual plane. Our defenses are spiritual, as well as our weapons.

Paul also tells us to, “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians6:18NIV  We spiritually prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. We also rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us for action in this spiritual plane. Paul tells us to cover our brothers and sisters in prayer. We support one another in this spiritual warfare we are engaged in here by relying on the Holy Spirit for the victory.

Don’t let the devil deceive us into giving up our armor and power by thinking people are our struggles in life. We are in a war with evil spiritual forces and that requires spiritual preparation and reliance on the Holy Spirit for power.

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for giving me the things I need to prepare for spiritual warfare! Thank you for empowering me to win and cover my brothers and sisters with your Holy Spirit! Thank you that this battle has ultimately already been won by Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection! Help me be strong and courageous in the spiritual power you have given me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.