Posts tagged worldview

40 Days of Preparation Day 39

Apr03
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Tuesday April 3, 2012, is the thirty-ninth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” retaliation (getting even) and “put on” returning good for evil.

The Old testament law provided a principle for retaliation. This principle as it came to be passed down to us through our legal system is referred to by the Latin phrase lex talionis. The principle is that a punishment inflicted should correspond in degree and kind to the offense which the wrongdoer has committed. The Mosaic law states:

17 “ ‘If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution—life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. 21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. 22 You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.’ ” Leviticus 24:17–22 (NIV)

Yet even though this was the Jewish law, the writers of the Old Testament still struggled to square the concept for retaliation with the concept of forgiveness.

29 Do not say, “I’ll do to him as he has done to me; I’ll pay that man back for what he did.” Proverbs 24:29 (NIV)

Jesus’ taught us that in reality the desire to retaliate is human, and of the flesh, but that the willingness to forgive is from God.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43–48 (NIV)

Whenever you and I are harmed we have the right to retaliate up to the point where we inflict an equal amount of pain upon the person or persons who have harmed us. This is right, just and equitable. As Jesus says, however, even tax collectors and pagans can live by this form of justice. The kingdom ethic is different and higher than this form of retaliation. Those who will follow Jesus are called to be perfect as God is perfect.

If God is the standard by which we are to measure our desire to retaliate or to forgive those who harm us, then each of us who have ever been guilty of harming another have only one legitimate course of action in this regard. As a recipient of God’s forgiveness, and as one who has received forgiveness from others whom I have harmed, it is only just and right for me to forgo my right to retaliate and to instead choose to forgive.

How is it possible to forgive rather than to retaliate? Jesus answers this question when He tells us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” If I am practicing this love and prayer for my enemies then it will be much easier for me to extend grace and mercy to them whenever they harm me. The desire to retaliate or to forgive is a choice. You and I need to choose to “put off” retaliation (getting even) and “put on” returning good for evil.

Followers of Jesus Christ are to be known for extending grace and mercy more than for retaliating against those who have harmed them. Paul explains this concept practically to the church at Rome.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Romans 12:17 – 20 (NIV)

I am not to repay evil for evil. When I forgo my right of taking my own revenge I am leaving room for God’s wrath. Whenever I forgo my rights and instead act as Christ would have me behave I am subjecting my rights to God and trusting Him to avenge.

Paul does recognize, however, that everyone will not be able to meet this very high standard. Paul gives us a qualifying statement, “if it is possible, as much as lies with in you” then live at peace with all men. This is one of those biblical principles whose application is left up to each individual person. Some will be able to bear much, others will be able to bear less, but the goal of each is to live at peace with all people. Today you and I need to “put off” retaliation (getting even) and “put on” returning good for evil for to do so makes us more like Christ.

Posted in Daily Devotions - Tagged , , , , ,

40 Days of Preparation Day 36

Mar31
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Saturday March 31, 2012, is the thirty-sixth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” showing favoritism and “put on” loving others as yourself. It feels good to be the favorite.  Secretly we may desire to be the favorite, but favoritism can wreck relationships in a family.

The most famous example in the Bible of how destructive showing favoritism can be in a family is the relationship of Esau and Jacob.  Esau was his father Isaac’s favorite and Jacob was the favorite of his mother Rebekah (Genesis 24;25:19-34;27:1-46). Some of the ramifications of the favoritism shown in this family still exist in the ancient enmities of the Middle East region today. Instead of showing favoritism you and I need to “put off” favoritism and “put on” loving others as ourselves.

Loving others as ourselves is the Christian ethic taught throughout the New Testament. Philosophers have discussed the wisdom and elegance of Jesus’ statement which has come to be known as the “Golden Rule.”

31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31 (NIV)

No one wants to be the one who is left out while our sibling, relative, friend, or co-worker is doted over by whomever is showing favoritism. Since none of us want to be left out, we should not play favorites with others.

James explains it this way.

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:1 – 9 (ESV)

James reveals the bottom line problem with showing favoritism. It is not that it disrupts family harmony but that playing favorites is sin. As we prepare to celebrate Easter as the highest of all holy days we need to “put off” all of the sin we find in our life.  That includes the sin of showing partiality (i.e. playing favorites).  So as you and I prepare for Easter lets “put off” showing favoritism and “put on” loving others as ourselves.

 

Posted in Daily Devotions - Tagged , , , , , , , ,

40 Days of Preparation Day 34

Mar29
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Thursday March 29, 2012, is the thirty-fourth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” having a critical spirit and “put on” kindness.

2 That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. Matthew 7:2 (The Message)

Satan will use this critical spirit to present many temptations in my life.  He wants me to exaggerate today’s problems and thereby diminish my resolve to keep my eye on the ultimate goal of finishing my life strong. Evidences of this critical spirit at work in my life include the four emotional cancers of;

  • Complaint
  • Comparison
  • Criticism
  • Competition

It is because these emotional cancers are so common and so ever present in our lives that you and I need to “put off” having a critical spirit and “put on” kindness. As I have struggled with fighting these all too common temptations in my own life I have learned from Charles Swindoll that my eyes will be focused at all times on one of four places:

  1. If my eyes are focused on my circumstances, I will experience instability, because my emotional life will go up and down with whatever current circumstance I face.
  2. If my eyes are focused on others you I will experience disappointment because inevitably I will be hurt and disappointed by those around me.
  3. If my eyes are focused on myself I will experience emptiness because there is nothing more unfulfilling than one’s life wrapped up in itself.
  4. If my eyes are focused on Jesus, however, I will experience wholeness because only Jesus can pardon my past, empower my present, and provide for my future.

According to Paul the whole law is fulfilled in loving my neighbor as myself.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13–15 (ESV)

This sounds like our needing to “put on” kindness, because neither you nor I need devour one another lest we be consumed. This process of “putting on” kindness requires our spiritual growth.  A great mistake which Christians make is to assume their spiritual growth will be automatic. Listen to the writer of Hebrews.

11 I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. 12 By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! 13 Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; 14 solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. 1 So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; 2 baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. 3 God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it! Hebrews 5:11–6:3 (The Message)

Jim Wilson of the California SBC says that here the writer of Hebrews is urging his readers to grow spiritually; mastering the basics and enjoy solid food. Each of us need to sharpen our ears and prepare for growth.

When you hear someone teach you have the same responsibility to learn that the teacher has to be prepared to teach. Jim suggests 4 things each of us should do to prepare ourselves to learn:

  1. Pray. Pray for the speaker and pray for ourselves and the other participants.
  2. Check our critical spirit. We cannot learn from someone who we are constantly evaluating and criticizing.
  3. Be prepared to teach others what we’ve learned.
  4. Be prepared to make immediate application of what we’ve learned. After all, we really haven’t learned it, if we don’t do it.

When I have “put off” my critical spirit and “put on” kindness I prepare myself to grow spiritually and learn from those who can teach me more so that I can grow even more.  To fail in this regard will cause me to become consumed by these emotional cancers and result in my remaining immature and unable to be fully and effectively used by God.

Posted in Daily Devotions - Tagged , , , ,

40 Days of Preparation Day 33

Mar28
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Wednesday March 28, 2012, is the thirty-third day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality. I know it may be hard for some to believe, but one of the most hospitable places on earth is the middle east. Those who travel there speak of the wonderful hospitality which they experienced while traveling and meeting those people who inhabit these sometime inhospitable lands. In America those of us who live in th south have taken pride in “southern hospitality.”

The biblical culture valued hospitality and severely punished those who were inhospitable. In the Old Testament the Ammonites and the Moabites, were cursed to the tenth generation for having been inhospitable to the nation of Israel when they came to the promised land, although they were distant relations.

3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever. Deuteronomy 23:3–6 (ESV)

It is important for the authentic practice of our Christianity that you and I “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality. It is with the seriousness of this cultural value for practicing hospitality that Peter’s admonishes Christians to practice hospitality to one another.

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 1 Peter 4:8–10 (ESV)

We are not to grumble as we are hospitable but are to genuinely care for the comfort and support of each other. It is about this attitude of being exuberant as we practice hospitality that Paul speaks to the Romans.

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Romans 12:9–13 (ESV)

At the risk of alienating you I want to share my observation that in America today we are becoming more and more inhospitable.  In the biblical world being hospitable related to two distinct classes of people: the traveler and the resident alien.

In the original biblical languages these words are sometimes used interchangeably. A stranger, foreigner, alien, sojourner, wayfarer, or gentile are those who do not belong to a particular community or group. In Israel, the law protected the resident alien, a foreigner who had settled permanently in the land. While he could not own land, he could participate in communal activities. The traveler, however, was extremely vulnerable and depended solely upon the hospitality of strangers.

We need to consider Peter and Paul’s admonitions toward our practicing hospitality and our attitudes toward the transients and illegal aliens who live in or pass through our communities today. We may not have invited them but our genuine acts of hospitality could be used by the Holy Spirit to lead them to faith in Jesus.

One thing is certain our being inhospitable to them, or making disingenuous attempts at being hospitable will not positively impact them for Christ.  You and I need to “put off” being inhospitable and “put on” hospitality toward one another, and the transients and illegals in our society.

Posted in Daily Devotions - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

40 Days of Preparation Day 32

Mar27
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Tuesday March 27, 2012, is the thirty-second day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” busyness and “put on” Sabbath rest. You and I live in a time when people go, go, go and seldom rest.  As a culture we have become too busy. God has a remedy to our increasing levels of stress.  His remedy is largely ignored by us, however. We are supposed to take one day of every seven and REST!

There are two passages of Scripture which present God’s reasons for instituting the Sabbath day of rest.

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:11 (ESV)

15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Deuteronomy 5:15 (ESV)

God’s reasons for the Sabbath rest are:

  1. Because God finished creation in six days, and then rested on the seventh He, teaches us to rest after six days of labor.
  2. They were to rest in order to reflect on God’s ability to work beyond the labors they had already completed. Israel did not deliver itself from Egypt. It could not. When they came to the Red Sea they panicked. They did not know how they were going to get through the waters. But God opened the waters before them.

So these are the two aspects of the Sabbath – creation and redemption. There are two forms of rest.

There is a rest of cessation; a ceasing from our own works; and there is the rest of rejoicing in the mighty delivering power of God. That is a rest of faith in the mighty hand of God.

Jesus spoke of both of these in Matthew 11:28-29.

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)

Just come, Jesus says, “Come to me.” Trust me. Rest upon what I have already done, and I will give you a rest. This is the rest of cessation. Then he said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” [this is a process] “. . . and you will find rest for your souls.” In this passage Jesus teaches us that there is a rest that is given and a rest that is found, as we walk with Him. Both of these are components of the Sabbath rest.

Today we need to rely on God’s provision, strength, and grace to carry us through life. Ray C. Stedman (was pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, CA) taught that Sabbath rest was God’s stress management program.

Burnout occurs from being overstressed. We all need to stop and rest, and learn what God can do beyond what we have done. One of the most successful fast food restaurant chains, Chick-fil-a does not open on Sunday. Although many believe such business models are out of date this chain continues to prosper and expand.

I have learned in my own life to detect certain signs of stress, and that rest is important. Stephen Covey teaches businessmen in his popular 7 Habits of Highly Effective People the importance of what he calls “sharpening the saw.”

Stedman trained himself to take “mini-Sabbaths.” He taught that whenever you feel pressured at any time, try to get a half hour alone. Then:

  • Start by taking ten deep breaths to relax your physical body.
  • Ask God to speak to you during this time.
  • Review your life for the past few weeks: How much you have been driven? What are your pressures and problems, etc. Then ask God to help you put order and priority into your life.
  • Take time to evaluate where you are spiritually.
  • Make some new commitments. Write down those items that you feel are really important.
  • Ask yourself, “If I only had a month to live, how would I spend my time?”
  • Put your focus on God at work in your life.

This is God’s stress management program as taught by Ray Stedman. Today you and I need to “put off” busyness and “put on” Sabbath rest.

 

Posted in Daily Devotions - Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
← Older Entries Newer Entries →