It’s Not Fair!
Today’s Passage – Matthew 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 56 – 60; Proverbs 12)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – James 4:10
Read another post from this passage – “The Ministry – Not What I Expected“
“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” (Matthew 20:15)
In the passage referenced above we have the story of the man that hired a number of laborers to work in his vineyard. He started hiring first thing in the morning and promised those early workers a penny for their toil. Throughout the day he would find more people who were idle, and he offered them “what is right” in exchange for their labor. When the day was finished and it was time to pay the workers, each man, regardless of the length of time they labored, received a penny. The men who were hired early in the morning worked longer hours yet received the same wage. They complain that the man who hired them was unfair, but he reminded them that they received exactly what they agreed to work for; and that he had the right to pay anybody else whatever he chose to pay them.
The primary interpretation of this verse, I guess, would involve Israel. They are probably a little envious of the church who is a late arrival to the service of God. After all the Jews have had a long relationship with him, and who did these Gentiles think they were coming in and claiming that they have a claim to Heaven. I believe we could also see this attitude among those in the church. Let’s say for example that a man grows up in a Christian home and is saved at an early age. He goes to the same Heaven that another man would go to who trusted Christ on his deathbed.
The thought that grabbed my attention this morning, however, as I read was that we often think God to be unfair because He deals with us uniquely, and it seems sometimes that he treats others better than He treats us. There are two things that we can learn from this passage. The first is that God will always do what He says He will do; and secondly He will always do that which is right. So for us to become envious about how God blesses others, or uses others is to say that God is making mistakes, or is acting like men.
Sometimes as a pastor, I see the way God is blessing other ministries. It seems that some churches and pastors just have victory after victory. Sometimes I want to cry, “unfair!” But I need to remind myself of a couple of things that I am sure of:
1 God loves me just as much as He loves anybody else.
2 God will fulfill every promise and principle in my life, family, and ministry just as He will with anybody else.
3 God has a unique plan and purpose for my life and ministry, which is different from His plan for others.
4 I may not have had the same upbringing, training, and equipping that others have had. I just need to be faithful to do the best I can with the training that I have received; and I need to learn and grow as much as I can so that I can be more effective in ministry.
5 My vantage point of others in the ministry is limited. I can only see a small part of the picture. Even though it may seem that there are no burdens or problems at the other ministry, I know that there are. That pastor in the large ministry is probably paying a much larger price than I am paying.
In John’s gospel there is an interesting story that took place after the resurrection where Jesus is restoring a very discouraged Peter. Peter had denied the Lord prior to the crucifixion. Here Jesus tells peter to “feed His lambs”. Peter, however, was not satisfied with just being restored to the ministry: he wanted the top post. He asked the Lord (referring to John), “and what shall this man do”. Jesus replied, “what is that to thee?”. The Lord basically told Peter to mind his own business. God had a purpose and plan for Peter, and He also had one for John. He has a plan for me and you too. I don’t need to worry about what God is doing with you, and you don’t need to worry about what God is doing with me. We both just need to be faithful.
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
The Saturday Morning Post – But Whom Say Ye That I Am?
Today’s Passage – Matthew 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 51 – 55; Proverbs 11)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32
Read another post from this passage – “The Coin is in the Fishes’ Mouth”
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)
Good morning. The World knows who Jesus Christ is. Exodus chapter 20 contains God’s Ten Commandments. In verse 7 we find the third commandment…
“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)
I have never heard someone say Buddah darnit. Or somebody stub there toe and start chanting: harri-krishner, harri-lama, while holding his foot and dancing around on one leg. Jehovah False Witnesses know Him as Michael the archangel. The Mormons know Him as the product of physical intercourse between God the Father, and the virgin Mary. Hulk Hogan calls Him the Man Upstairs. The Beatles thought they were more popular than Him. Islam recognizes Him as a great prophet, but not as God in the flesh. He is Ian Anderson’s buddy (Jethro Tull): who says they will both put on their cordaroy pants, go down to the mall, and overturn the tables of bluegenes. But whom say ye that I am?
He is the Creator – John 1:3.
He is the Living Word of God – John 1:1-2, 14.
He is the image of the invisible God – Colossians 1:15.
He is the Alpha and Omega: the Beginning and the End: the First and the Last – Revelation 22:13.
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace – Isaiah 9:6.
He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords – 1Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16.
He is Christ the Lord – Luke 2:11
Peace.
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 1 comment.
Pardon Me
Today’s Passage –Matthew 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 51 – 55; Proverbs 11)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Ephesians 4:32
Read another post from this passage – “The Coin is in the Fishes’ Mouth”
“Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” (Matthew 18:27)
Many years ago, I was caught and convicted by a man that I owed a staggering debt to as well. He had the power to have me locked away forever with no possibility of any kind of parole. What can I say, I was (and am) guilty. I had broken just about every law that this man established and I deserved whatever punishment He decided to give me. I was worthy of the eternal death penalty. Then a strange thing happened: I asked Him for mercy, and He granted it. He not only forgave me; He paid the debt for me and adopted me into His family, and I became both His child, and His brother. At first, I was overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving. I learned that there were many others that had sinned against Him, and that He was willing to pardon them as well. I wanted to tell everybody about Him and His forgiveness. Thinking back on those days, I can’t recall one person on the planet that I was upset with; that I had a beef with, because I was too consumed with the forgiveness that I had received. But as time went by I began to forget about the mercy and grace that I had received and slowly developed a mindset where I subconsciously thought that I somehow deserved the pardon that I received. I began to think that my debt wasn’t as bad as others; that somehow the One that pardoned me needed me to help Him run His kingdom. I started thinking about others that, to me, were less worthy of forgiveness than myself. After all. I deserved it; they did not. This was all a slow and subtle development in my mind. I then began to pick and choose who I would allow myself to forgive. Some did not deserve my forgiveness as I deserved the forgiveness that I received. I began to put people away in my own “debtor’s prison”.
Eventually I began to move farther and farther away from the One who had given me the pardon in the first place. I began to think, say, and do things that had already condemned me. Something inside of me bothered me, and I began to be grieved about my life, but at the same time I gave some second thoughts to the ones that I had locked away. I reasoned, “what right do I have to hold people in my prison, when I have been given a complete pardon for the same things.” If He was willing to forgive all of my past, present, and future debt, ought not I be willing to pardon some people myself.
I have been saved a long time, and through those years I have been hurt countless times by many different people. Unfortunately, however, I have also hurt just as many people as have injured me. I have given up the mind game of trying to somehow justify that my sins weren’t as bad as their’s were. I didn’t (and don’t) deserve God’s forgiveness; and I don’t deserve the forgiveness of the people that I have wronged. They don’t deserve it from me either; none of us do. However, I accept it. I have received forgiveness, therefore I must give forgiveness. If you have wronged me, I forgive you. If I have wronged you, please forgive me. Once both of us are released from prison we will be free to serve the One who pardoned us in the first place.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Luke 11:4)
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Keeping Your Focus in the Storm
Today’s Passage – Matthew 14 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 46 – 50; Proverbs 10)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1
Read the “1010 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30)
Just a quick thought this morning from today’s passage. The disciples were traveling by ship in the Sea of Galilee without the Lord. The Lord had stayed behind to get alone and pray. The Lord saw them through His omniscient eyes, and saw that they were struggling and frightened in a severe storm on the sea. He went to them, walking on the water. Peter sees the Lord walking on the water and he decides that he would like to try it as well. He asks the Lord’s permission to venture out on top of the waves. The Lord bids him to come, and Peter does well for a short time until he loses his focus. While his eyes were on the Lord, he stayed afloat, but when he took his eyes off of the Lord and focused on the storm and the waves, he began to sink. Finally, he cries out to the Lord for help.
In the Christian life, there will be many storms. Some of these storms will be in the form of physical problems, some financial, and some will be relational, but we will all go through the difficult days as we serve the Lord. Some of these storms will be self-inflicted, while others will be caused by others, and still others are beyond explanation. It really matters not where the blame lies as to the source of the storm. The key to staying afloat in the storm, however, will be keeping our focus on the Lord Jesus. He allowed the storm in our lives for a purpose. It may be for our good; it may be for His glory; it may be for both. We need to trust the Lord and allow Him to see us through the storm.
I have seen this principle in action many times in my life. Each time a storm would appear in my life, I would spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how the storm started and who was to blame for. Surely, it couldn’t be my fault, could it? God has shown me, however, that most of the storms that I have experienced were at least partially of my own doing. He also has shown me that the purpose of the storms was to teach me and grow me. I must confess, I always wanted to sink; I wanted to just throw in the towel, blame everybody else for my troubles, and move on in bitterness. Instead, I have learned to cry out to the Lord for help. He has always lifted me up, and helped me to make my way back into the ship. I thank the Lord for his mercy, grace, and patience with me.
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Good Ground
Today’s Passage – Matthew 12 – 13 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 41 – 45; Proverbs 9)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3
Read the “1009 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” – (Matthew 13:8)
I have always enjoyed studying these parables in Matthew 13. The Parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3 – 9; 18 – 23) in particular has helped me to understand many things about the nature of people. I have been a Christian now for a long time, and I have observed many people come and go through the years. It grieves me when people fizzle out spiritually; some even turning their backs completely on the Lord. This parable sheds a lot of light as to why that happens.
In this passage, Jesus uses soil to illustrate the four different kinds of life situations that the seed of the gospel comes in contact with. My goal in this short devotional thought is not to discuss in detail each of these different types of lives that is impacted by the gospel seed; but I would like to make some observations about the “good ground”. After all it is the good ground that produces the most fruit, isn’t it? So what are the characteristics of good ground?
1 Good ground is well watered and fertilized. It contains all of the nutrition that it needs in order to be healthy. I have never been a gardener, but I have heard many say that when they fortify the soil with plant food (like Miracle Gro), the plants will produce much more fruit, and the overall appearance of the plant will be that of health. Christians need to be nourished and watered daily by spending time with God in His Word. The spiritual nutrition that we receive from the Word of God will yield much fruit in our lives. We will starve to death spiritually without it.
2 Good ground does not contain a lot of rocks and debrit that will hinder the root system. Rocks will also hinder the retention of water. Jesus says that this illustrates the person who never allows the Word of God to take root in his life. Many Christians make professions of faith, but never get grounded in the Word through a a discipeship program in a good local church. As a result, they never develop a strong root system that will help them get established. They do well for a while, but they cannot survive any stress that may come their way.
3 Good ground is weeded regularly. Now, I do know a little something about weeds. There have been times when all of the flower beds at the church were overrun with weeds. It became a huge project to dig them all up. Weeds will steal all of the nutrition and water that the plant needs to survive. This scenario pictures the Christian who allows a lot of the world’s distractions to get into his life. He becomes too busy, and often too carnal to produce fruit anymore in his life.
As you can see from this passage, there is not a lot that we can do to change the fact that some people will continue to grow and produce fruit throughout their lives, and some simply will fizzle out or fall away completely. However, we can do something about the soil of our own hearts. We can make sure that we are maintaining the “good ground” by keeping well-watered and fertilized with the Word of God; by removing any rocks or impediments that will hinder our root system; and by removing any weeds (distractions, weights) that may steal away the nutrition that is necessary for a healthy and fruitful life.
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Rest
Today’s Passage –Matthew 10 – 11 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 36 – 40; Proverbs 8)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33
Read the “1008 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – (Matthew 11:28-30)
Ah, rest! Rest is a wonderful thing. The older I get the more I cherish a Sunday afternoon nap, or perhaps an early evening where I can climb into bed and fall asleep reading a good book. Rest is one of those wonderful necessities of life. We do not function well without enough of it. God commanded that His people take one day out of seven in order to rest and refresh their tired bodies:
“Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.” – (Deuteronomy 5:13-14)
I think America was a much better place when we used to all take the day off on Sundays so that we could go to church, eat an afternoon meal with the family, and rest.
However, physical rest is not what Jesus was talking about when he promised to give rest in Matthew 11:22. The rest spoken of there is not Sabbath rest, nor was Jesus speaking here of the eternal rest that awaits the child of God in Heaven. The rest referred to in this verse is the rest that we receive when we stop trying to work our way into Heaven, and simply receive the free gift of eternal life that Christ wants to us to have. But it goes beyond just salvation itself. Christ continues to give us rest as we yield our lives, our wills to Him and His will. We do not have to figure it all out for ourselves. We can simply let Him guide and direct our lives. It is certainly a lot easier to know that God has an awesome plan for our lives, and we simply need to follow Him, instead of trying to work out the way for ourselves.
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” – (Hebrews 4:9-11)
One more thought. Be careful that as a Christian you don’t get so absorbed in the work of God, that you don’t take the necessary time that you need to rest. There are a lot of Christian workaholics out there who feel the church will die unless they are personally giving every minute of their time serving. We need to remember to get enough physical rest, as well as spiritual refreshment, which comes through time spent with God in meditation, study, and prayer. Don’t get too busy with the work of God that you forget to spend time with the God of the work. Don’t forget about your family, either. Your spouse and children need some of your free time as well.
“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” – (Luke 10:41-42 )
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
What Do You See?
Today’s Passage – Matthew 7 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 31 – 35; Proverbs 7)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2
Read the “1007 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this morning’s passage – “What Is Your House Built Upon?“
“And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11)
In our reading today we learned about the conversion and calling of Matthew. Matthew was at his work of collecting taxes when the Lord approached him and called him to follow. The Bible tells us that Matthew immediately left his job to follow the Lord. He didn’t even give two weeks notice! Shortly after this, Matthew invites the Lord to his house to dine with him and his friends. Now this was not the crowd that hung out down at the synagogue. These were a rough bunch of “publicans and sinners.” The kind you would tell your kids to stay away from. Jesus saw this as a tremendous opportunity to minister, and to shew mercy to these folks. The Pharisees, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to criticize. They found fault with Jesus, wondering aloud as to why he would associate with such a group of “rabble rousers.”
Our church was running a “Kid’s Club service on a Wednesday Night and I occasional have to drive the bus to pick up the kids. I remember one particular night there was an extraordinary number of kids that got on the church bus to come to the service. As we were driving through the complexes, we were amazed! The kids just kept getting on the bus. Some of them I had never seen before. I was excited because I knew that this was a tremendous opportunity to reach some of them with the gospel of Christ. Jesus loves these kids and gives stern warnings to those who would try to hinder them from coming to Him.
As the kids service came to a close that night and we were getting back on the busses to bring the children home, many of our church families were arriving for the adult Bible study and prayer meeting. I could not help but wonder what some of them were thinking. Were they as excited as the Kid’s Club workers were? I don’t know. I am sure that some were happy to see what God was doing, but I am also concerned that some may have not looked at it the same way. Some may not have been happy to see all of the “snotty nosed bus kids” on property. After all, they don’t act right, and most of them do not dress right. I had to tell one teenager to pull up his “droopy drawers” a couple of times. Take it easy on him though. He was brand new, just started coming. it will take some time for him to “get it.”
It is amazing that two people, both Christians, can look at the very same thing and yet see something totally different. But what do you see? Do you see the multitudes out there in the world as your enemy, or an opportunity for you to demonstrate and distribute the love of Jesus Christ? And, while I’m at it, why aren’t you helping us reach and serve these kids? They need somebody to mentor and love them.
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Quit Worrying!
Today’s Passage – Matthew 5 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 26 – 30; Proverbs 6)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1
Read the “1006 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34)
Beginning in Matthew five and continuing through chapter seven, the Lord’s famous Sermon on the Mount is recorded. These verses teach us the rules for the Kingdom, the one-thousand year reign of King Jesus Christ on earth. These are not verses that deal specifically with the church, nor are they principles that teach salvation. These passages do show us how a Spirit-filled people will live during the Millennial Kingdom. Having said that, I think these verses should also describe how Spirit-filled Christians should live today. These principles go way beyond the bare minimum of Christian living and they surpass the minimum requirements of the Old Testament Law. God’s people should be second milers. They should be a people who are willing to go beyond just the what the law mandated in their relationships with God and men.
The last section in chapter 6 deals with worrying. Many of us struggle with anxiety and worry over things that we have little control over. We stress over what might or might not happen tomorrow. God says that we should be able to trust him with tomorrow and content ourselves with serving Him today. God gave us provision and protection today and He is well able to do the same tomorrow. I am not a doctor, but I am confident that worry and stress are contributing factors in many health problems. We do not have to live that way. Worry is often nothing more than a lack of faith. If our faith is strong, we know that our God will take care of us and guide our path, so we do not have to stress over life. The reason we worry and stress is because we have taken our lives into our own hands and we realize that we are not able to control all of the situations that will come our way. We know that we will not always make the right decisions. However if we put our lives and our families in the hand of God, we can be assured that God will always do right by us and He will take care of us.
These verses are not teaching, however, that we should not carefully prepare for our tomorrows. It is not wrong to make good decisions under His guidance regarding future planning. If you think about it, salvation itself is a decision that ensures a safe future. I realize that salvation entails much more than “fire insurance,” but many of us were saved because we were concerned about a future judgment. So it is not wrong to spend some time today considering tomorrow. However, when we get to the point where we are so anxious about tomorrow that we cannot serve Him effectively today, we have taken planning well beyond a healthy limit. It is certainly not wrong to put some money away for a rainy day or retirement, but if we get so consumed with hoarding our income today to the extent that we stop giving back to the Lord and we are stingy with others, we have gone beyond mere planning.
The bottom line is that if we can trust God with our eternal destiny, cannot we trust Him with all of the little details that comprise living for Him in this world today. God took care of us yesterday, He is feeding us today, and He will continue to do so tomorrow. We can trust Him. Stop worrying.
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 5 comments.
It Is Written
Today’s Passage –Matthew 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 21 – 25; Proverbs 5)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” – (Matthew 4:4)
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” – (Matthew 4:7)
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” – (Matthew 4:10)
In our reading passage today in chapter 4, we have the account of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. The devil made three attempts here to get Jesus to yield to his will, but Jesus stood strong through all that the devil threw at him. Jesus proved that He is Who He claimed to be by resisting the devil. Theologians have argued through the years about whether this was a genuine temptation. In other words, they say that since Jesus is God He cannot be tempted. I guess that is true, but it didn’t stop Satan from making the attempt. I once heard an analogy that illustrates this point pretty well: it is possible for a rowboat to attack a naval fleet; the attack would be real, but the probability of success is not very great. Satan’s attempt to seduce Jesus was real, but because Jesus is the omnipotent God, Satan could not possibly win. Consider what God said through the writer to the Hebrews:
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” – (Hebrews 4:15)
The thing that I find very interesting about this account is that Jesus quoted from the Word of God each time that He was tempted by the devil. Now I hasten to say that everything that came from the mouth of Jesus was the Word of God, because He is God. However, in our passage, Jesus quotes from something He previously said in the Old Testament: something that was already recorded in the Scripture. I believe the main reason that Jesus did this was because He was giving us the formula; the secret to resisting temptation, which is memorizing and quoting Scripture. Consider these verses:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also makea way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Notice the phrase, “a way to escape”. God’s way to escape is quoting Scripture. And you cannot quote Scripture unless you have it in your heart:
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” – (Psalm 119:11)
This is why it is absolutely critical for us to be in the Word of God all of the time. We need to saturate our minds with the Scripture through our daily reading, writing, studying, meditation, and memorization of the Bible. We are now even learning how to sing the Scripture (see Scripture Memory Songs), which also helps us to keep God’s Word in our heart and mind.
The sad truth, however, is that most believers do not know enough Scripture to resist the devil’s tempation. What a shame. There is no excuse for it. I believe that this is one of the greatest needs for the people of our church today. We need to strengthened and fortified by the Word of God so that when the flesh, the world, or the devil try to get us to yield, we can stay inside the perfect will of God.
One final thought. You will notice from this passage that Satan also said, “It is written”, but it is important to note that while Satan “quoted” the Scripture, he conveniently left out part of the O.T. verse. He is still using that same method today by re-writing the Word of God in all of these modern versions. He changes words, and leaves out words as it suits his purposes. Stick with the old King James!
Posted in Thoughts from Matthew by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
The Saturday Morning Post – Stubble
Today’s Passage – Malachi 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 16 – 20; Proverbs 4)
Read the “1004 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 4:1-3)
Good morning. Did you ever see stubble burn? Stubble burns very quickly and we use it to get a campfire going. And if you look at the definition of the word ‘stubble’, it means, “The short stalks left in a field after the crops have been harvested.”
The wicked are as stubble. Solomon warned his son to stay away from the wicked in Proverbs 4…
“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.” (Proverbs 4:14-17)
There is going to be a great harvest someday. All that is left on the earth will be stubble. But, did you know that a seed can be planted directly into the stubble, and it will bring forth a new plant?
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Corinthians 5:17)
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2Peter 3:9-13)
“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelations 7:13-17)
Peace.
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 1 comment.