Tag Archives: Proverbs 29:19-20

December 10, 2015 Bible Study — Let’s Keep Working Until We Get It All Right

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 29:19-20

    As I read these two proverbs they each remind me of someone in the news. Both of those men have demonstrated that they should have spent more time studying God’s word. Words alone are not enough to bring about a change of behavior. It is only when those in authority take some action that people will change their behavior. Those who speak before thinking through the implications of what they are about to say have demonstrated themselves to be the worst sort of fool.

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Psalm 129

    I truly believe that this psalm is a prophecy. Those who hate Jerusalem and the Jewish people will be turned back in defeat.

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Revelation 2:1-17

    Every year when I read the messages to the seven churches I am blessed. A couple of things struck me today. The first is that Jesus had a message for each of the churches about what they were doing right, but He also had a message about what they were doing wrong. And His message about what they were doing wrong included Him saying that they needed to repent, or He would bring judgment against them. It is not enough to get it partly right, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to continue transforming us until we are perfected (which is not going to happen in this life).
    The first church, the church at Ephesus, was commended for their hard work, their endurance, and their ability to recognize false teachers. However, Jesus found fault with their lack of enthusiasm. They no longer had the energy for the Gospel which they had when they first accepted it. I have observed that these two things, the positive and the negative, often go together. Those who patiently work hard at doing the Lord’s work and have an instinct for recognizing false prophets/teachers are often boring, uninspired followers of Christ. God wants us to not only patiently endure while working hard at the tasks He has given us. He wants us to be enthusiastic because of the rewards which our faith tells us will be ours.
    The third church, the church at Pergamum, was commended because they were willing to stand up for Christ in the face of persecution, even persecution which led to death. However, they accepted false teachers. In particular, they accepted some who taught that sexual immorality was OK and who encouraged people to be materialistic and greedy. It is not enough to be enthusiastic about proclaiming our faith in Christ. We, also, need to follow His commands about how we live our lives.

    Only the second church, the church at Smyrna, was only given commendation. They were poor and faced persecution. Yet they remained faithful. They were poor in material goods, but in the things which have eternal consequence they were wealthy beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Let us seek out the kind of wealth which the believers in Smyrna possessed.

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Amos 1-3

    When Amos began to prophesy I can imagine that his audience cheered as he listed enemy after enemy of the people of Israel and told how God’s judgment would come upon them. It must have really heartened them to hear him say, “The people of … have sinned again and again.” However, they were probably not so enthusiastic when Amos got to them. It is important for us to recognize that God almost never sends a prophecy that is not also a warning to us. Let us examine ourselves to see if we have forgotten how to do right. Have we filled our houses with wealth taken by theft and violence?

December 10, 2014 Bible Study — What Kind of Church Are We Part Of? (Part 1)

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

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Proverbs 29:19-20

    Words are not, by themselves, sufficient to impose discipline. While those who hear them may understand what is said, unless they lead to greater consequences, they will not change their behavior as a result.
    Talking without thinking how others will hear what you say is the most foolish thing you can do. Thoughtless words will have longer term consequences than any other action you can take.

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Psalm 129:1-8

    This psalm is a reminder that the Jewish people have been persecuted for as long as they have been a people. Nevertheless, they have remained a people favored by God. Those who hate Jerusalem and the Jewish people will suffer and become outcasts. God’s blessings will be withheld from them.

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Revelation 2:1-17

    John gives a message to each of the seven churches. His first message is for the church in Ephesus. He starts out with praise for them. They work hard and patiently endure difficult times. They do not tolerate evil people (an important point for us to note in this age of “tolerance”). They have not been fooled by false teachers who claim to speak for God. They have patiently endured suffering for their faith. All of this is praiseworthy. However, they have lost their enthusiasm.
    His message to the church in Smyrna is praise and a warning. They are materially poor and physically suffering, but they are rich in faith. Unlike the other churches, the warning is not a warning to change somethings. It is a warning that persecution is about to start. But it is also encouragement, reminding them of the reward that awaits those who remain faithful.
    Next is the message for the church in Pergamum. They are praised for remaining faithful in the face of persecution. They continued to call on the name of Jesus, even when threatened with death for doing so. However, they have among them those who encourage sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. I think this can be contrasted with the church in Ephesus which would not tolerate evil people. In Pergamum, they had among them those who preached in the church that they must tolerate all types of behavior. Such teaching encourages people to sin, instead of encouraging people not to sin.
    When we read the messages to the seven churches, we must take careful note of our own lives and our own churches to decide which of these messages most closely addresses where we are. Here in the U.S., there are few, if any churches which fall into the category of the church in Smyrna. We are not poor. nor are we truly suffering. However, much of the church in the U.S. falls into one of the other two we studied today, and some have both problems. All too many of us have lost our enthusiasm for Christ. And all too many people in the church today teach that we must be tolerant of others, no matter what they do, or teach. I do not make the second mistake, but I struggle with the first. How do I regain my enthusiasm?

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Amos 1-3:15

    The book of Amos starts of with repeated statements saying, “The people of XXX have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished.” This is to remind us that we cannot escape judgement for our sins by saying, “But everybody else was doing it.” God brought judgement against the peoples living around the land of Israel for the injustices they did against the people of Israel. But Israel did not get a pass because they were so mistreated. God will not excuse us for our sins just because we were “misunderstood”, or had a difficult childhood, or whatever other excuse we may have.

December 10, 2013 Bible Study — Categories of Christian Groups (Part I)

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Amos 1-3:15

     The first thing to take note of is that Amos was a shepherd when God called him to his ministry. He was not one of the elites, nor was he particularly well-educated. If God could call Amos to be one of the men who wrote part of the Bible, He could call you or me for a similar role. Certainly, He has a ministry in mind for us that is just as important to Him as Amos’ ministry was.
     First Amos prophesies against all of Israel’s and Judah’s near neighbors. He prophesies their destruction for their sins. Then he prophesies the destruction of Judah and Israel. He indicts them for selling the honourable and the poor. They trample the helpless and abuse the oppressed. They are immoral and corrupt. Then he comes to the worst of their sins, they forced those who had made vows to the Lord to serve Him break those vows and silenced the prophets whom God had sent to warn them of their sin. The people have forgotten how to do what is right and all of their wealth was acquired by deceit and violence.
     I read this and see that this indictment holds against our society today. Can God’s judgment be long in coming if we do not change our ways and turn back to Him?

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Revelation 2:1-17

     In today’s passage we have the messages for the first three of the seven Churches. I believe that every Christian group falls into one of these seven categories. The first category is that of the Church of Ephesus. Those in this group work hard for God and are patient in waiting for Him to work His will in this world. They will not tolerate those who do evil in the name of God or Christ, who use religion as a cover for self-aggrandizement. They hate the practices of those who use the freedom we have through Christ as an excuse for immorality (the Nicolaitans, more of my thoughts on them later). However, they have lost their enthusiasm, their love, for Christ and doing God’s work. They continue to do God’s work, but it is out of obligation and duty, not out of love. Let us serve God, not because we are obligated to do so, but because our love for Him makes it a joy to do what He desires. If you have forgotten the joy of serving the Lord, search your heart and fall to your knees, asking the Spirit to bring it back to you.
     The second category of Christian group is the Church of Smyrna. They are poor and they are suffering persecution. They face opposition from groups who claim to serve God, but actually reject His commands. They face prison and martyrdom. However, they are rich in faith and the joy of serving the Lord. They are enthusiastic for Christ and give of what they have to help those in even greater need. Let us praise God if we find ourselves amongst such Christians.
     The third category is the Church of Pergamum. They remain loyal to Christ despite living among those who dedicated themselves to serving Satan (I do not think that this refers to Satanists per se). Despite the fact that they live among people who worship actions which are evil and immoral, they strive to follow God’s commands. However, they tolerate those who use the freedom we have in Christ and God’s grace in forgiving our sins as an excuse to justify sins of various kinds, but especially sexual immorality. There are two groups among these whom they tolerate. Those who seduce people away from God by encouraging their baser instincts and lusts and those who use these base instincts and lusts to gain power over people. Those who use people’s base instincts and lust to control them include people like David Koresh and Jim Jones, but there are others who are not as obvious. We are to reject such people from our fellowship, so that we, and our weaker brothers and sisters, will not be tempted by their evil. We must not have an attitude of “go along to get along” with such people.

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Psalm 129:1-8

     The Lord will free us from being bound to serve the ungodly. The psalmist instructs us to refrain from blessing those who hate the City of God and righteousness. I do not believe by this he means (or at least that God intends us to interpret it that way) that we should refuse to desire that good things happen to those who reject God and righteousness. Rather, my understanding is that we should not offer our support to efforts to work against righteousness and God’s will.

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Proverbs 29:19-20

     Sometimes it takes more than words to convince people to mend their ways. They may understand what you say, but if they suffer no consequences for their bad behavior, they will not change what they do. It is worse to say something without thinking about how it will be understood than it is to take ill-advised action.

December 10, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Commedia Dell’Arte at Bhakail Yule

Amos 1-3:15

     Amos the prophet was a shepherd from a small village in the Kingdom of Judah when he was called by God. He begins his prophetic words by warning Israel’s neighbors that God is going to bring judgment against them for their sins. But these are not the point of his ministry. When he gets to Israel, Amos goes into detail regarding their sins. They mistreated the poor, selling them into slavery. They abused those who could not look after themselves. They shoved those without power out-of-the-way. They were shamelessly adulterous. They celebrated religious festivals using goods acquired through corruption. They did everything in their power to corrupt the righteousness of those who publicly dedicated themselves to righteous living. For all of this God was going to bring judgment and there would be no escaping it.
     This reminds me of our society. Some elements of it sound like it is describing the Christmas shopping season:

“They trample helpless people in the dust
and shove the oppressed out of the way.

Other parts sound like a sitcom (couldn’t you see this being an episode of next season’s “Two and a Half Men”):
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
corrupting my holy name.

But I look around and this really strikes home, because I see it everywhere:
“My people have forgotten how to do right,”
says the Lord.
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth
taken by theft and violence.”

Let us read God’s word and learn once more how to do right. Too many of our churches spend Sunday morning entertaining those who come to service rather than teaching them what God commands. And we who attend them demand that they do so. We seek out churches that entertain us rather than those which discipline us to follow God.

Bhakail Yule Watching Commedia Dell’Arte

Revelation 2:1-17

     Today I read the message to the first three of the seven churches. The first message is to the church in Ephesus. They are commended for their patience and hard work. They are further commended for recognizing false prophets and teachers for what they are and not following them. In particular for not following the teachings of the Nicolaitans (a sect that appears to have taught that grace allows Christians to live immoral lives). However, they are condemned for having lost their enthusiasm. It is not enough that we get our doctrine correct, we need to be enthusiastic in our love of the Lord. Remember the enthusiasm we had when we first came to know the Lord, we need to recapture that.
     The second message is the church in Smyrna. They are commended for their suffering and poverty. The writer tells us that despite their reputation for poverty they are rich. Since their is no condemnation given of them, I will assume that he was referring to spiritual riches, not material ones. Further they are praised for standing up against blasphemous opposition. Finally they are warned that there is more persecution coming against them, but if they remain faithful they will receive eternal life. Let us strive to be like the church in Smyrna, faithful in the face of opposition and persecution.
     The third message is to the church in Pergamum. They are commended for remaining faithful in the face of persecution. They remained faithful despite a strong anti-Christian religious establishment in the city. However, they are criticized for tolerating those who follow the teachings of the Nicolaitans. They partook of the ceremonies of pagan religions and practiced sexual immorality. Is this not something that we face in our society today? A temptation to go along with non-Christian religious rituals so that we do not stand out and appear judgmental? A tendency to accept as normal and ok the rampant sexual immorality of the society around us so that we are not called “prudes”? We are told that we must repent of our sins and stand strong against such false teaching.

Commedia Dell’Arte At Bhakail Yule

Psalm 129:1-8

     The Lord has cut me free from the bonds of sin and godlessness. Those who oppose righteousness will suffer defeat and humiliation. Hopefully this will turn their hearts to God.

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Proverbs 29:19-20

     Words alone are not discipline. If they are not backed up by further action, they will be ignored. It is worse to speak without thinking through how your words will be understood than it is to act foolishly.