Compromise/Corruption/Collapse - Day 152 Through the Bible

Giant roses and peonies on the altar today at Mt. Celo Church - out of the garden of one of the members

Gleanings from Today's Readings

These readings today are so catastrophic for believers "looking back."  That is what I hope each person reading this today will do - "look back"...consider...what went wrong in these leader's, people's and nations' lives...consider our own leaders, our own lives, our own nation.  Are we in the same downward spiral?  Charles Stanley said one of the most succinct, salient and prescient statements I have heard in a long time - the kind that makes you groan in your spirit when you hear or read it - knowing it is God's truth, God's warning.  Dr. Stanley first distinguished between healthy and unhealthy compromise.  Then - speaking of UNhealthy compromise he said:  First comes compromise, then corruption, then collapse.  I submit we are in the corruption stage of this cycle, having long ago compromised our core Biblical beliefs and values - in every single strata of our society.  If there is not an immediate, collective and individual turn around (repentance), we will enter that third stage - the collapse of our nation and the eternal destruction of the souls of unbelievers.  How could a nation, a people so blessed have come to this point?  Let's take a look at how this played out in Biblical history with God's chosen.

Apostasy Destroys Israel and Judah - (1 Kings 13 and 14) Israel - now split into 2 nations over Solomon's great sin - is now Israel and Judah.  The chosen people, the elected nation, saved over and over by the miraculous Mighty Hand and Outstretched Arm of our Sovereign LORD, is beginning to collapse.  God has asked one main thing all along - that there be no other gods before Him. Solomon - the wisest and richest man ever so blessed by God - does just this - worships other gods.  Jeroboam is raised by God and given 10 of the tribes torn out of Solomon's rule - if only - he will have no other gods before him and obey God's commands.  He fails worse than all others before him - bringing judgment against his house and all Israel.  Then he panics.  Then he sends his wife - in disguise - to the true prophet in Judah, acknowledging that he knows where God's power is, but denying that power until a point of great need.  Deception with God never works.  His sin - as with us - finds him out.  His house, his sons, his kingdom is taken from him.  Likewise, Rehoboam (Solomon's son) who rules over Judah also "does evil in the sight of the LORD" with idolatry and allowing perverted persons in the land, mimicking the godless nations around them.  God destroys His chosen nation and people - except for a remnant.  (A very special note to those grieving the death of a loved one:  The son of Jeroboam, who God takes by physical death, is a favored child of God and is mourned by all Israel.  Death may be a grace, a mercy given by God.  Dr. Stanley quotes Isaiah 57:1 on this and comments, "Sometimes God takes the life of the righteous to spare them from evil.")

My Lessons and Applications:  Do I honor and love the Lord...study and apply His Word...seek his counsel...in times of blessing as well as times of trouble?  Remember what happened on 9-11... how the churches filled to overflowing...for a few months? This was like Jeroboam.  There was no need for God, or fellowship with believers (rather mock and ridicule them), no need for God's Word as long as life continued as usual.  But in the depths of their hearts they too seemed to know where to draw near to God in a time of panic and uncertainty.  What is drawing people away from God now in this time of relative peace and blessing?  Idolatry? As with Solomon, Jeroboam and Rehoboam?  Molded calves can be replaced by money, sports, fleshly lusts, materialism, and a host of other idols.  Are our churches ready for the next panic moment?  What will be heard from the pulpits?  How will each of us respond to those seeking answers from God's Word.  Are we "sanctifying the Lord God in our hearts, always ready to give a defense for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience? (1 Peter 3:15)

Jesus in His Agony  / We in Ours - My Lessons and Applications- (John 12:27-50) "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour?'  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  When we - like the disciples - become weary, discouraged, downhearted because our hope, our faith, our lives have not taken the paths we chose...can we still believe...still follow Him...still trust Him...that His way, His path, His plan is the best...when all life's circumstances scream otherwise?  Do I love His blessings more than I love Him?

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself." (Acts 20:24)  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest - " What do I really count dear?  If I have not been gripped by Jesus Christ, I will count service dear, time given to God dear, my life dear unto myself...Practical work may be a competitor against abandonment to God...Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that you are not your own but His."

Rest / Sit Down / Consider - Day 109 Through the Bible

Blue Ridge Fitness Center in Burnsville, NC -  part of Blue  Ridge Regional Hospital -  part of the acclaimed Mission Hospital system in Asheville.  Exercise machines, a walking course, racquetball, a therapy pool, and a physical therapy center are part of the offerings here.

Applying Scripture to My Daily Walk

Rest / Sit Down / Consider:  We are called to these moments of reflection in today's readings.  In Judges 3 and 4 God gives the continuously rebelling Israelites moments of rest.  This is time to think...consider...what you, your leaders, and others are doing.  Consider what is happening and why.  The first enslavement to Cush was for 8 years; the people cry out to God; Othniel is raised up by God as the 1st judge; God gives rest to the people for 40 years; they rebel and do evil again; the second enslavement to Moab is for 16 years; the people cry out to God; God raises up Ehud; God gives rest to Israel for 80 years.  The time of trouble doubles for the second offense...But God...in His mercy...doubles the time of rest as well.  Time to sit down and consider.  Sin is ultimately enslaving and deadly; the "thrill of rebellion" is only for a moment.  Psalm 48:9-14 tells what the Israelites should have done in these moments of grace and mercy:  "We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness...According to Your Name, O God, is Your Praise... (so we)...Walk about Zion...Go all around her...Count her towers...Mark well her bulwarks...Consider her palaces...that....you may tell it to the generation following...for...this is God...our God forever and ever...He will be our guide even to death."  But no.  They indulge in pagan worship, intermarry with unbelievers, focus on selves and world...forget God.  In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus again warns His listeners that each should:  Sit down first...count the cost, whether he has enough to finish...whether he is able...to forsake all and be My disciple.  

My Lessons and Applications:  This is one of the greatest lessons God has taught me.  In times of peace (always relative on this earth), take time (sit down), listen (consider)  prepare yourself (study), gather with other believers (worship, praise, support, encourage.)  These are so very essential for the trials that WILL come.  Some will be disastrous and very difficult, shaking your faith to its foundations.  This time of rest will enable us to persevere, to walk with God, to honor Him through it all.  Notice in Judges 3 at the beginning.  God was bringing / allowing trouble for the Israelites by permitting enemy nations to remain...to test His people...to prepare His people for war who had not seen war...to see if they would obey Him when the blessings were removed.  Notice this throughout the Bible...with the temptations of Christ, Peter, each of us as believers.  We are also often given many more years of rest to prepare for the times of trouble.  How will we handle both the rest and the trial?  Will we be ready?  Will we persevere?  Will we honor God? Jesus is warning us:  This will not be easy.  Sit down and consider.  Count the cost.  Do you have enough to finish? Are you able?

Patterns of Pagans and Pilgrims: They have continued in their - and our - usual pattern:  doing evil in the sight of the LORD, serving/worshipping/bowing down/ to other gods, have been sold by angry God, have cried out to God for help, have been sent a deliverer by God, God has given them rest.  They forget God, and the pattern continues. 

My Lessons / Application: Breaking the Pattern / the Mold - But God - This is what God does.  He shows us the better way, His way, not the way of the world.  The world of historical Judaism devalued women.  God raised up Deborah, Jael, Esther, Rahab, Naomi, Ruth and others to turn their misogyny upside down.  Biblical Judaism fell into the tedious minutiae of traditions set up by the ruling Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes that had supplanted God's law.  Jesus turns this upside down.  As the Lord of the Sabbath, He lifts the additional burdens these "religious" leaders have put on the people and places it directly on Himself, bearing it to Calvary for them, for us.  He sends out His disciples with His Holy Spirit, and "these turn the world upside down" (Luke 17:6).  He reminds us that our life as His disciples will require some very hard times and decisions.  We will share in His sufferings (Matt 20:22), we will forsake all but Him (Luke 14:33.) We are called to break out of the pattern, the mold of the world.  Our perspectives, our lives, our calling are to point to the better Way.

"The Christian life is stamped by "moral, spontaneous originality", consequently the disciple is open to the same charge that Jesus Christ was, viz., that of inconsistency.  But Jesus Christ was always consistent to God, and the Christian must be consistent to the life of the Son of God in him, not consistent to hard and fast creeds.  Men pour themselves into creeds, and God has to blast them out of their prejudices before they can become devoted to Jesus Christ." 

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Our Irresistible Future With Our Risen Savior - Day 91 Through the Bible

  

Remembering..."encouraging one another all the more as you see the Day approaching." Heb. 10:25

Remember...You Shall Not Forget ( Deuteronomy 25 and 26) God is reminding the Israelites that He has not forgotten and neither should they.  It has been a long time...it will be longer still before God strikes back at the Amalekites for attacking Israel during the Exodus...from the rear...when they were weary and tired..not fearing God (ref Ex. 17:8)  God's vengeance against these enemies at a later time is recorded in 1 Sam 15:2.  He is encouraging His people.

But for Now... First Things First (Deuteronomy 25 and 26)  First, the Israelites must possess the Promised Land and wait...until God has given them rest from their enemies all around.  The past is left in God's Hands, in His timing, in His Way.  The Israelites have God's commands... now...for dealing with family, with animals, with business practices, with executing righteous judgment, with tithing from their increase and worshipping God, caring for the Levite, the fatherless, the stranger, the widow...to walk in, keep, and obey God's commandments that they may prosper and be blessed in the Promised Land.

My Lesson/ Reflection/Application:  Oswald Chambers said it best, I think: "Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ. Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him."  God has promised... about those things in the past over which I have no control.  I must prayerfully commit those to Him to handle in His Way, in His timing and move forward into His new directives for my life.

God and My Sin / The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 39:7-11 and Proverbs 13:4-6.  First, with my sin...my only hope is in God...to deliver me from my transgressions...to not make me a reproach...to remove the plague from me - to acknowledge that God has allowed the consequences of my sin to come upon me...to repent.  And with understanding the natural laws...the usual way of the world and man:  laziness = lack; diligence = reward.  "A righteous man hates lying; the wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.  Righteousness guards a man; wickedness overthrows a man."

My Lesson/Application: Our world is so convoluted that these proverbs do not often seem true from a worldly perspective, certainly not from a moment-in-time consideration.  Over a lifetime or years, in looking back, we can often see this.  I once heard a sermon series on the Proverbs, and that was the gist of the series.  These are the usual consequences of righteous and wicked living..observations...not commands, but we live in a fallen world and because of that, they are not blanket truisms.

Pharisaic Rage / Jesus' Healing Touch - The Lord of the Sabbath is more interested in doing good than evil, in saving life than in destroying it.  The religious leaders are not.  They plot the end of the Lord of the Sabbath in order to maintain their control over the Sabbath.  They plot and consummate the murder of the Lamb of God at Passover, while observing the minutiae of preparing the ritual sacrificial lamb of the Passover.  And they do this with rage - uncontrolled, unreasonable anger - conspiring together as the Jewish priests and leaders of Chosen Israel against God's Chosen Son - the gentle Savior who submits to their evil plots out of obedience to God - for the salvation of our souls. "And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all."

Holiness is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness. - Adrian Rogers

The Greatest Love Story the World Has Ever Known - Day 42 Through the Bible

The chapel at Quiet Reflections Retreat near Mt. Celo Church. 

Two of the Most Poignant Moments Between God and Mere Mortals

The man, Moses, finds grace in the sight of God for His obedience and love of God and His glory.  The woman, Mary Magdalene, pours very costly oil over Jesus' head in preparation for His burial -a work of love that Jesus blesses as a memorial to her wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world.

We know that Jesus Christ - the Son of God - always pleased the Father (This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased: Matthew 3:17; Matthew 12:18; Matthew 17:5; Mark 1:11; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; Luke 9:35; 2 Peter 1:17; Mark 12:6; Luke 20:13.)  The deeply intimate love of Holy God - His desire and love of fellowship with us  - is dramatically portrayed in both the Exodus and Matthew readings today - with a mortal man and a mortal woman.

A Great Love Story - In our Exodus reading, God speaks with Moses "face-to-face as a man speaks to His friend". (Ex. 33:11)  God says that no one can see His face and live, but He talks heart-to-heart with Moses, telling Moses that he has found grace in His sight.  Moses' response:  "If I have found grace in Your sight...show me now Your way...that I may know You..and that I may find grace in Your sight...and consider this nation is Your people." (Ex. 33:13)
My Lesson and Application - Does God's grace and mercy to me - in His salvation through Jesus Christ - elicit this response from me - to ask Him to show me His way, that I may know Him, that I may find grace in His sight, that I might intercede for others - particularly the church?  It is all about Him - and extending that knowledge of Him out into the world.  It is selfless love - love for God and for others.

God's response to Moses...My presence will go with you... and give you rest... because you have found grace in My sight and because I know you by name. (v 14, 17)  Moses' response to God...If you don't go with us, do not bring us up from here...this is how it will be known that we have found grace in Your sight - because You go with us...we will be separate - holy to You...please show me Your glory.  I hope you will re-read Exodus 33:18 - 34: 7 and sense again this deep love between God and Moses - the miracle that Holy God would deign to be so gracious to mortal man.
My Lesson and Application - Have I also found grace in God's sight through my obedience and trust in Him?  Do I ask God to show me His glory?  Do I say to God that I do not want to go anywhere without His presence?  Do I ask this for others - for all believers - not just myself?

The Greatest Love Story the World Has Ever Known...For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).  This great act of love - to sacrifice His only Son on the cross for our sins - was that we might be made holy in order to fellowship eternally with Holy God.  And, in our Matthew account, the woman pours a very costly oil over this Son's head - as a preparation for His burial.  What the world  - even His own disciples - call a waste (Matt. 26:8) - the Bible calls the deepest kind of love - sacrificial love - agape love.  it is the love of the Cross of Jesus - for you - for me.
My Lesson and Application - My life is my gift back to God for His great sacrificial love for me.  Here is my life, Lord.  Use it for Your glory.

The centre of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much. The Cross is the point where God and sinful man merge with a crash and the way to life is opened – but the crash is on the heart of God.  Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest.

Song:  "Broken and Spilled Out" - Steve Green

From the Mountaintop into the Valley - Day 41 Through the Bible

Into the Fog - Hiking on top of Mt. Mitchell - near Mt. Celo Church

What do we do with revelation from God?  From the mountaintop down into the valley...

1) God's Written Word - the 10 Commandments (Exodus 31:18) "...written with the finger of God."  God still speaks to us through His written Word (2 Timothy 3:16,17) "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
My Lesson and Application - Dr. Stanley reminds us that from our study of the Bible we know that God has spoken directly with people through dreams, direct revelation, prophets and others.  Now, it is primarily through His written Word.  I must know what the Bible says but, more importantly, I must do what the Word says - apply it to my life.  I must also learn to hear and follow God's Holy Spirit within me - to discern the Spirit's leading in my life.

2) Out of God's Presence - Into Sinful Idolatry - The people had sworn to listen and follow God as His covenant people (Exodus 19:8). Yet within a few days of Moses being alone on the mountaintop with GOD for God's directions, the people demand another god, an idol.  And...God's appointed priest enables them in this idolatry in making the golden calf and then lying to Moses about doing it!
My Lesson and Application - This is why I must stay in the Lord's presence - daily in His Word, in constant prayer with Him.  Keep my eyes upon Jesus, not my gaze on the world.  Trust in God, not in the world.

3) Intercessory Work of the Godly/ Forgiveness and Consequences  In this Exodus reading we see Moses standing in the gap for sinful man - a type of Christ.  He pleads for God to remember His covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants, to not give the enemy a reason to speak against God.  God relents from destroying the people - but not from punishing them for their idolatry (Ex. 32: 33-34)
My Lesson and Application - My prayer life is essential as a Christian - for my sake as well as for that of the world.  2 Chronicles 7:14 is one of numerous promises about God's reward of our faithful prayers: ..."if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  Unfortunately and disastrously, we see the consequences of our sins, as individuals and as nations.

4) Faithfulness - Standing for God in the Midst of Evil - "Whoever is on the LORD's side - come to me!"  The people in this Exodus account may have numbered about 3 million.  God destroys 3,000 of them that were evidently involved in this idolatry (v 28).  (Aish.com)  The tribe of Levi - all of them - according to v. 26 - crossed over to stand with Moses for the Lord.  God punished the wicked, and he blessed the faithful. The Levitical tribe will be made the priestly tribe because of this steadfastness. (v 29).  This faithfulness is carried over into our Matthew reading and the great separation of people at the coming of Christ - the sheep from the goats - the faithful from the unfaithful (Matt. 25: 31-46.)  And... note that Christ bases this separation on our actions - as with the Levites.  Here it is also doing something for the Lord - doing service for "My brethren" - giving food, drink and clothing for the needy, visiting the sick and those in prison.  Note also that the kingdom was prepared for these servants before the foundation of the world.  Matthew 7:16.."and ye will know them by their fruit."
My Lesson and Application - Is my stance for the Lord obvious to all - especially to Him?  Am I more concerned with what people think, or with God's glory?

“After every time of exaltation we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountain top is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley; but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mount, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the sphere of humiliation that we find our true worth to God, that is where our faithfulness is revealed. Most of us can do things if we are always at the heroic pitch because of the natural selfishness of our hearts, but God wants us at the drab commonplace pitch, where we live in the valley according to our personal relationship to Him. Peter thought it would be a fine thing for them to remain on the mount, but Jesus Christ took the disciples down from the mount into the valley, the place where the meaning of the vision is explained” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

Professing vs. Possessing Faith - Day 27 Through the Bible

Town Square in our historic hometown - Burnsville, NC - the site of  our community prayer gatherings

My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings

1) Burning Bush Experiences - Moses deliberately turned aside to contemplate this phenomenon (Gen. 3:3)  This is where the Angel of the Lord (most NT scholars believe this to be the pre-incarnate Christ) appeared and spoke to Moses.  This was evidently a normal day, doing his everyday job of shepherding the flock.  God calls him to a different flock to shepherd - His people, Israel.  Am I watching and listening for God in the routine of daily life?  Am I doing "my utmost for His highest" where I am, understanding that this may be a preparation time for another calling?  Lesson:  "Work as unto the Lord", but never let work take precedence over my relationship and time with the Lord.  Look for Him everywhere in all things.

2) Humility or Obstinacy - Ex. 3-4 Here I am, Lord.  Send Aaron! Both the Genesis and Matthew readings today give great lessons in humility.  Moses was called the most humble/meek man on earth (Numbers 12:3).  But even he roused the Lord's anger with his hesitancy/self-debasement - "Who am I?...(It's not who you are, Moses, but Who I AM) but suppose they will not believe me, suppose they say...(What's that in your hand - OK, Moses, here's a miracle and 2 others for you to convince them)...but I'm not eloquent...slow of speech and tongue...(I made you, "I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say"(v. 11)..oh, Lord, please - send somebody else (v. 13)...the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses (v 14).  Why will I not take God at His Word?  Why do I continue to want more signs and more proof that this is a calling from Him? (Matthew 12:39 - a wicked and adulterous generation wants more signs.)  Jesus says we must be converted to be as humble as a young child to be the greatest in heaven - this doesn't come naturally - we must change - learn to trust Him. (Matthew 18: 2-5)

3) Warnings - Both the Proverbs and Matthew readings have warnings regarding certain human relationships.  In Proverbs 5:1-6 a father warns his son of the danger and destruction of an immoral woman and the essence of hearing, obeying, preserving, keeping wisdom, discretion, understanding and knowledge to avoid this pitfall.  Jesus warns against the eternal damnation of anyone causing "any of these little ones who believe in Me to sin...Take heed, that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  (Matt. 18:6,10)  

Am I maintaining this perspective of avoiding the pitfalls of immorality and making sure that my actions and words do not cause children or others to sin?

4) Evangelism - "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." (Matt 3:11)  Are we reaching out to our families, our community, our nation, our world - not to condemn - but to bring the gospel to all people (adults and children) - of every nation, tribe, language and people? (Rev 5:9)

5) Restoring Relationships in the Church - (Matt 18:15) Jesus says the first step is to go and tell the brother that sinned against you - "between you and him alone."  If he will not hear, then take 1 or 2 witnesses; if that fails, then take it to the church.  If that fails, the relationship is to become as with a heathen.  This is severe in its final stage and is Romans 1:24-32 in God's dealing with unrepentant sin. Charles Spurgeon pinpointed a stark distinction in Christendom - professing vs. possessing Christianity.    Do my words, my actions, my life show my possession (not merely the profession) of the gospel of Christ?  Am I willing to restore relationships when possible (in and through Christ) and let them go when not?  Do I follow this mandate of Christ?

6) Binding and Loosing...(Matt. 18:18) - "Assuredly, I say to you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose one earth, will be loosed in heaven." This was also Jesus's statement to Peter (Matt 16:19) I have read and heard different sermons on this that are not in agreement as to the meaning.  More prayer, meditation and study needed on this to know what the lesson and application might be...

7) Heavenly Impact of Communal Prayer/Gathering (Matt 18:19) "where two of you agree...where two or three or gathered together... Do I remember how sacred and holy worship time is?  Do I recognize that Jesus is there in the midst of us?  Do I remember and utilize the power of prayer - in my own "closet" or together with another believer?  

Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God.  A ready person never needs to get ready.  Think of the time we waste trying to get ready when God has called!  The burning bush is a symbol of everything that surrounds the ready soul; it is ablaze with the presence of God.  Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest.

Transforming Evil into Good - Day 23 of Through the Bible

Crabtree Falls off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Celo Church - a favorite hike

Lessons I learned from Today's Readings

1) The Sovereignty and Providence of God - Joseph told his brothers to not be angry with themselves for selling him into slavery because "God sent me before you to preserve life...to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, to bring about a great deliverance." Gen. 45:5,7). Joseph never blamed God through all his trials and oppression.  He obeyed God in all things and left the consequences to Him."So now it was not you who sent me here, but God, and He has made me father...ruler...lord over all Egypt." (Gen. 45: 8)

2) The Machinations and Manipulations of Man - When I get discouraged, I recall the length of time it was before God acted on behalf of two of his most blessed servants:  David's anointing to his crowning as king - 7 long years of horror; Joseph - 12 + years before the tables were turned on his brothers.  I now underline this length of time as I study the Bible-  the 400 years (Jews in Egypt), the 40 years (Moses in the desert), 20 years (Jacob serving Laban), etc - to keep my own patience in waiting for "the LORD's arising".  Of course, as Dr. Stanley points out in his "Answers to Life's Questions", this wait may be our own sin or waiting on God's own plan or purposes.  Either way, He has not forgotten.A warning - from today's Proverbs (4:4-1) Do not enter the path of the wicked..do not walk in...avoid it...do not travel on...turn away from...pass on...from the wicked...for they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.  For they eat the bread of wickedness,and drink the wine of violence.For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise, says the LORD.  I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.  Psalm 12:5 from our Readings today.

3) Transforming Evil into Good  - one of the first and great lessons in Genesis (which, of course, means "beginning") is that believers have to understand that this world has dimensions/meanings/purposes beyond the here the now.  What happens to God's people is part of His overall plan - with Joseph "to preserve a posterity."  This is the line of Christ (Judah) being saved as we will see again and again throughout our year of study.  (Recall the promises God made to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph - they are all being fulfilled.) BUT this is certainly no "easy believism" - not in these saints' lives or in ours. But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.  (Genesis 50:20)

4) But God...I heard a sermon on these two words once, and it changed the way I read and understood the Bible.  Man has one way of doing things, but God has another and has interceded throughout the malevolent history of man to bring man back into a relationship with Him - here using Joseph to preserve and restore his sinful brothers...to preserve and restore us as sinners later through Jesus Christ. For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 53: 8-9

5) Origin/Importance/Impact of Words - we saw the impact and difference of the words from Joseph's brothers at the time of the crime, their words in repentance now, and Joseph's words of braggadocio as a young favored son juxtaposed to his words now as a godly and tried soul before God.  Our Psalm, Proverb and Matthew Readings all deal with the impact and origin of words and why we should be careful before we speak.  Even more importantly, our minds and hearts have to be transformed, renewed by our study of God's Word (Romans 12:2) before our words and actions will be in obedience to God. They speak idly everyone...with flattering lips and a double heart they speak...speak proud things..who said with our tongue we will prevail our lips are our own...the words of the LORD are pure words..You shall keep them, O LORD, You shall preserve them from this generation forever. (Ps. 12:1-8);  These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.  (Jesus quoting Isaiah) Matt. 15: 8-9 Hear and understand, Jesus says, not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth - this defiles a man...but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.  Matt. 15: 10-16


Out of the heart proceed . . . — Matthew 15:18-20

We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity; and when we hear these rugged statements of Our Lord’s, we shrink and say – But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart. We resent what Jesus Christ reveals.  Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest