We have become an entitlement society. Young people think they are entitled to the latest smartphone or electronic gadget. Former employees believe they are entitled to compensation whether or not they were faithful employees. And men and women of all ages, physical conditions, and situations seem intent on living off whatever they can get. Of course, there are times when churches, families, and even strangers, should take care of others, especially widows, but the Bible gives careful instructions for the dispensing of such help.
Also, read about the cost of obedience, what it has cost others, and what Jesus said about the cost of not standing up for the truth.
Many people today want to throw the Bible out completely. They try to discredit God’s people by saying we’re intolerant and mean-spirited when we call for a biblical standard. Attempting to destroy God’s Word is nothing new, but God will preserve it and one day judge those who try to destroy it just as He did in Jeremiah’s time.
While we can rejoice that God will deal with evil men who reject His Word, we may need to examine our own attitudes toward Scripture, as well. How do you view the Bible? As a cafeteria line where you can pick and choose what you like? Do you cut and paste it at will? Do you view it as merely a book of nice suggestions for living or do you view it as God’s Word and allow it to direct every area of your life?
Do you know someone who used to come to church, but somewhere along the line they became discouraged, even angry at God? Maybe He didn’t answer their prayers or work the way they thought He should. Or, perhaps, they suffered some tragedy.
Maybe that’s you! If you have walked away from God because of something He has allowed in your life or because you’ve been hurt or disillusioned by someone or something in the church, could it be you had a wrong understanding of who God is or how He works?
Today we’ll, also, talk about prayer, obedience, godly friends, requirements for church leadership, and the importance of good doctrine.
I was meeting with a sister in Christ about the struggles in her marriage. We had been discussing the role of women. On this occasion, we were talking about submission. She responded, “I’m an educated woman! Why should I submit to him?” Since then I’ve heard many such comments. But I’ve never forgotten how saddened I was by her statement and the awareness of how much feminism has infiltrated the church.
Many of us, though we want to live godly lives, chafe against some of the Bible’s teaching on women, including submission. We’re told on the one hand that we are equal to men, yet we are to submit to our husbands and male leaders in the church. So, are submission and equality mutually exclusive?
What thoughts run your life? What do you think about in those idle moments? Are you nursing old hurts and disappointments? Do you spend your time focused on what your spouse, your children, or others do wrong? Do you feel like you’re a victim of thoughts that run rampant in your head? Is it possible that your thoughts have a bigger impact on your life than you know? Could wrong thoughts, actually be running your life and stealing your peace and joy in the process?
In the garden, Satan sold Eve a bill of goods by telling her she could be like God. In Jeremiah’s day, he spoke through false prophets who told the people that the consequences of their sin wouldn’t be so bad. False teachers and false prophets are saying much the same things today. Some propagate lies because they are misinformed and listening to the wrong voice themselves, but others have their own selfish agenda. But each one of us is responsible to rightly divide the Word of God for ourselves, to know how to study it, and to examine what we hear in light of it. When we don’t we, too, can fall prey to the enemy’s lies.
Abortion is all over the news. It’s fodder for political debates and can spark emotions on every side of the issue. As we move closer to the end of this age and the rise of anti-Christ, we shouldn’t be surprised that this continues to be a bigger and bigger issue.
But abortion is also a deeply moral, personal issue. If you’ve ever had an abortion, you probably know that. Or, perhaps, you know someone else who has? It’s possible you’re contemplating an abortion now.
What do you believe God says about your possible choice? What are your reasons for contemplating that choice? Are you simply scared and don’t know what else to do?
Are forgiveness and peace possible after an abortion or are there some sins for which we never find redemption?
Whether we’ve been there, are contemplating these things personally, or just live in this fallen world with other sinners like us, we need to know how to answer these questions.
Words and attitudes matter! Whether we’re nagging or encouraging, praising or criticizing, they matter. They matter in our relationships with the people in our lives. Words and attitudes also matter in our relationship with God. Will we be patient and faithful in times of tribulation, as well as blessing, or will our praise quickly turn to anger and bitterness? And if we realize our words and attitudes need to change, where do we start?
Do you believe Jesus is coming back soon? If so, what does it mean to live in light of that truth?
When we don’t, we may end up living like the people in Jeremiah’s time who needed God’s rod of judgment, as we will see in our Old Testament reading.
And as we dig deeper into Psalm 119, we will see how knowing and contemplating God’s Word can help us stay clear of sin and grow in our understanding of God and His will.
Solomon said that God has put eternity in our hearts. Most of us have had those times, perhaps even as a child, when we wondered about eternity and what would happen when we die. Even believers can wonder about eternity. If not where we will spend it, we wonder what eternity will be like.
Today, TV producers and movie-makers, while not focused on death and eternity in a godly way, seem obsessed with the afterlife. Movie and TV screens are full of vampires and the so-called living dead, a perversion of the kind of eternity that God places in our hearts.
But there was a time when the dead came out of their graves and the Bible says it will happen again. But instead of bodies ravaged by death and filthy grave clothes, they will receive bodies fitted for heaven.
