Today's Reading
1 Chronicles. This description of the final days of David's reign is a wonderful climax to his story. He instructed his son Solomon to seek the Lord, gave him details about the construction of the Temple, then led the way in giving to pay for it. What a word picture!
Romans. I thank God for the day when He began to wake me up to the depths of my sin. Only then could I begin to realize the greater depths of His love and grace. He loved me as a sinner, not as someone who had cleaned up my act enough to deserve Him. Now, from the deepest part of my heart, I want to know Him and serve Him. It is the natural response to His great love.
There is, I think, a very important verse in today's passage. I was a young pastor when I was asked why we believe that tiny children haven't reached an "age of accountability" for their sins. I wondered what Scripture we used to back it up. I called a Bible professor whom I knew (perhaps the most learned Bible Scholar I ever knew) and asked him. He wasn't sure of the answer. Then one day I was reading in Romans 5 and came upon verse 13, which says, "...it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break." I asked my professor friend if he thought this could be the answer -- little kids (and some others who have certain mental challenges) can't understand that they have broken God's law until they reach a certain maturity. Only then are they held accountable for their sins. My professor friend agreed with my interpretation and I have found no other verse that so clearly states our "age of accountability" belief.
Psalms. For you and me, worship in God's sanctuary means having intimate heart-communion with Him. Notice the list of attitudes and actions that will keep us from such intimacy. Also, verse 3 says "...speak evil of their friends." A more literal translation says, "take up a reproach against". I like that because it can be taken two ways. Reproaching (speaking evil of) our friends will short-circuit our communion with God. However, we can also squeeze God out by picking up the reproaches others make against our friends. God never gives you the grace to handle my reproaches, but He gives that grace to me! If you grab hold of my offenses and get angry at the offenders, you will lose communion with God because of your bitterness.
Proverbs. An angry person is no fun to be around, but we do them no good by rescuing them from the results of their anger. If we let them face those results, perhaps they will be broken and let God change their heart.
Whew! That's a bunch. What do you see today? Questions for us?
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1 Chronicles 28 – God blesses whom He will, apart from human merit or happenstance of birth (v. 4-7). His blessing is unfailing and all-sufficient (v. 20-21). Can that same blessing be forfeited (v. 8-10)? If not, why? If so, how?
ReplyDeleteRomans – Paul can be quite verbose. I’m sure it was necessary for him to make a point in many different ways using various analogies. Or, maybe he just liked to talk. Whatever the reason, the idea was clear that Christ is there to lift us up above the ladder of the law and take us directly to God. Moreover, if we fall Christ will be there to catch us.
Question: How much of God’s peace and hope need to begin with a “feeling” and how much must begin with “head knowledge” and “conscious claiming of peace and hope”?
Psalm 15 – Who gets to live on God’s “holy hill”? Why isn’t God’s dwelling available on an “equal housing opportunity” basis? Though this question is somewhat baiting, I believe that human nature defines fairness as working for what you have. Even the Bible states that we must work to eat (Proverbs 21:25). Can our “works” purchase a lot on God’s “holy hill”?
Your Comment: If you grab hold of my offenses and get angry at the offenders, you will lose communion with God because of your bitterness.
ReplyDeleteMy Question: Do we lose communion with God because our heart and mind are not right to enter that place of worship? Or, do we lose that communion because God rejects us even if we may try to have fellowship with Him in our bitterness? For example, I have hate in my heart but I try to give it to God and ask for forgiveness. But, I still feel like I am still holding on to negative feelings. Nevertheless, I feel the urge to pray for my friend’s salvation because it is on my heart. Does God hear my prayer? Don’t the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit bridge the gap between God and us even in our sin? Haven’t we been forgiven for our imperfection? Aren’t we incapable of mending our communication with a holy God? If not, how can we restore that spiritual union with God? Perhaps “we” can’t.
Okay, Luke, here goes. You wrote, Question: How much of God’s peace and hope need to begin with a “feeling” and how much must begin with “head knowledge” and “conscious claiming of peace and hope”? My answer is that it begins with God's Spirit and trusting in Jesus. Think of the illustration I used on Sunday about entrusting your car to the "Car Transformation Center." You leave your problem with Him and He goes to work while you rest and rely upon Him. That may be done through logic or emotion, but the end is the same: hope and peace.
ReplyDeleteYour question in the second comment seems to be about forgiveness which is a deep topic and requires a bit to answer. I teach on it fairly often, but haven't done so lately. Send me an email if that's the foundation of the question and I will send you some things we have used to help with this.
The theology of that second question is difficult, but here's my thinking: when we are saved, all our sins (past, present, future) are covered by the blood of Christ. We are no longer under condemnation and are permanently in relationship with God. We can be like the prodigal son, though, having left the Father and being off in a far country. Our Father hasn't moved and He is still our Father, but we have cut ourselves off from fellowship with Him. Is He still concerned about us? Yes! Does He care about things like the salvation of our friends? Absolutely! But we can be in a self-imposed exile from Him and have trouble getting through with those requests.
Thank you. I know my questioning was all over the place. FYI, my questions aren't meant to trip anyone up or to justify some sin in my life. I love and cherish my relationship with the Father more than anything. Many times my questions are to spark discussion or to get the opinions and/or interpretations from someone who has studied theology and interpreting scripture. THank you again for your input.
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