Listen And Discern

Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. (Prov 19:20-21 KJV)

There was a time when the advice of elders was actually listened to. It was not always followed; but, it was at least listened to. The hearer would then decide for themselves whether the advice was good or bad advice for their particular situation. 

Some of us learned some hard lessons by not taking good advice. Sometimes we learned hard lessons by acting on bad advice. We can and should respectfully listen to advice of those who have much more experience than we do; but, then we must also decide whether that advice is good or bad. Just because something appeals to us does not mean that it is going to be good for us. Does the advice fall in line with what the Lord would have us do? Or, does it fall more in line with someone's personal agenda and ego?

Search the word of the Lord. Listen to the counsel of the Lord. "For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." (Prov 2:6-7) "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Jealousy Kills

  "And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

                                                                                 (Gen 4:4-8 KJV)

It appears that the Lord favored Abel's offering over Cain's because his offering was raised up through hard work. The Lord told Cain that if he had worked well to present this offering it would have been accepted. Cain was not happy. He was so jealous that his brother had found favor and he had not that he killed his brother.

Jealousy destroys. It kills and there are consequences for the sin. If the jealousy over how much accomplishment or honor others receive with their hard work continues it will build up within you until the consequences of the sin become very tough. Cain was exiled to become a fugitive and a vagabond. He would indeed have to work very hard just to survive. 

It is not any different today than it was in Cain and Abel's day. Jealousy will prevail if it is not put in check quickly. It will destroy your future and the future of those around you. God has given you many gifts so that you might be fruitful. There are  consequences for not even attempting to use those gifts as well as you can. The outcome and possible consequences have nothing to do with what your neighbor does. It has everything to do with what you do or do not do with the gifts of God. In the general confession we pray that God will forgive us for sins known and unknown; for things we have done and for things that we have left undone. For the sake of love for the one who lived and died and yet lives for us, it would behoove us to leave a whole lot less undone.

May we always use the gifts that God has given us so that He might be glorified.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Col 3:23)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sin Is Sin

1 John 1:8

One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

                       (Prov 17:15 NRSV)

What is a sin is a sin. There is no getting around that. It may be fully legal in this world so do something; but, that does not justify a Christian purposefully committing a sin. We can be justified by only one means and that is by faith alone in Christ alone, who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

We are also not justified by condemning the righteous simply because they believe in Jesus and desire to follow in The Way that he would have us go. But, of course, many who believe are accused of being narrow minded and condemned because we do believe that Jesus is the only way and we will strive to follow him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that we are to: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7:13-14) 

Jesus also said: “...I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) This the Christian truly believes. This the Christian will proclaim. It is not to say that the Christian will force others to believe this. Everyone in this world has a right to believe as you choose; to do what you desire in accordance with the laws of the land. The government, at least in the United States, grants us these rights. But, the Christian does not belong to this world and answers to a Higher Power. That Higher Power, for us, calls us to follow in a path that is not self-serving; but, is lived in service to God and to others. 

Therefore; to pretend that the wicked, who in service to themselves, trample on the rights of others is not a sin is a sin in itself and must be recognized as such. We do no one any favors by ignoring sin. To condemn those who follow in The Way that Jesus calls them is also sin. 

Whether the secular world chooses to believe it or not; we can call a sin out for what it is and still love the one who sins. We after all are all sinners, justified only by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. In fact, if we truly love others, as Christ loves them and us, we will not pretend that all is well; but, point them to "the way, and the truth, and the life," who is Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Nothing Is Too Hard; Ask!

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?  (Jeremiah 32:26-27 NIV)

In the midst of reminding Jeremiah that He alone is God, the Lord reveals to him that He is going to send His people into captivity at the hands of the Babylonians for turning their backs on Him. But, God also promises to save His people from their captivity, once again. He will gather them and return them to their land and let them live in safety. They would be His people and He will be their God. He will give them singleness of heart and action. (Jer 32:36-41)

God is still God of all mankind today. He will be the one true God tomorrow. Nothing is too hard for Him. Let us pray earnestly that He would give the whole church on earth singleness of heart and action that it may go well for us and our children after us.

With one heart and mind let us pray and give thanks for in His mercy the One for whom nothing is too hard hears our prayers and answers.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Leave Your Neighbor's Inheritance Alone

The Ninth Commandment.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance or house, and obtain it by a show of [justice and] right, etc., but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

The ninth commandment goes hand in hand with the seventh: "You shall not steal." Leave your neighbor's property alone. Don't even think about it; unless you are thinking about ways to help him keep his property. Desiring what belongs to someone else can lead to all kinds of evil against him or her as our desires becomes obsessive thoughts and our obsessive thoughts turn to evils action to get what does not belong to us.

 

Hard work, perseverance, and education or other training will aid you in pursuit of what you might desire. Craftily attempting to obtain something from another who has worked for what they have will only bring trouble. What they have earned is theirs. What you have worked for and earned is yours.

 

The second table of the law is summed up like this: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt 22:39; Mark 12:31) May God grant that our neighbors would love us enough to not craftily seek to obtain our inheritance or home even as we would not pursue obtaining theirs; but help them to keep it and be of service to them. 

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

In God We Trust

"Even my close friend, someone whom I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me." (Psalm 41:9)

I use to be one of the most trusting people around.  Some would say naïve. I trusted everyone. I set myself up to be hurt. Sadly, the experiences hardened me a bit. OK, maybe, more than a bit. Eventually, I came to trust no one.  But, life's "hard knocks" turned out to be a good thing and after enough "hard knocks" I finally turned to the only one who can be trusted completely.  I finally got to a point where I realized that the only place I could place my trust was in God.  By trusting in Him, it is much easier to trust others because I know that no matter what happens, God is with me. Nothing else really matters. 

The good news is that once you recognize and accept God as the One in whom you can place your trust, then you will be free to love and serve others no matter who they are. When it is God whom we trust then peace will flow like a river and we can reach out, once again, without fear, to our neighbors.

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Amen and Amen. (Psalm 41:13)

God's Peace - Pr. J