The Compassion of the Lord

Today's Reading:

• Luke 7:11 - 7:35

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Luke 7:11 - 7:35
Today's passages started out with a bang.  It's funny how often that happens when we are reading about the amazing life of Jesus!  We are told that Jesus was walking along when he intercepted a funeral procession for the only son of a widow.  This widow was very distraught, for her livelihood was now at stake. 

Verses 7:13 - 15 says that the heart of Jesus overflowed with compassion for the woman and so he raised the son from the dead.  That act alone is an amazing miracle, but it's not what I want to focus on.  The words that caught my attention were "overflowing compassion."

How wonderful is it that our Lord -- the creator of billions of people -- can have compassion in His heart for all of us?  That is especially awe inspiring when you think of how often we refuse to have compassion for others, even those that we love.  Yet the Lord has compassion for all of us,even though we don't deserve it.

The reading goes on to talk about how the Pharisees had rejected Jesus because he didn't act in the manner they thought he should.  They apparently thought that in order to be the Messiah, that Jesus had to act like a king -- wear fancy clothes, dine with the best of the society and religious leaders, live in a palace -- mainly, they wanted Jesus to direct all of his attention on them -- and they wanted him to do so in splendor. 

I am so thankful that our Lord does not act like society.  Our Lord is forgiving, yet our society is condemning.  Our Lord is gracious, yet society is selfish.  Our Lord is filled with compassion, yet society has a cold heart.  Our Lord is filled with love for all, yet as a society we tear each other apart. 

Thank you Lord for being a friend of sinners.  For loving us even when we fall short.  For forgiving us of all the horrid things we do.  For sending Jesus Christ to bridge the gap between your holiness and our sinfulness.  Thank you, Lord for being forever gracious to us.











 

How Does One Become Righteous?

Today's Reading:

• Deuteronomy 5:1 - 6:25
• Proverbs 11:29 - 31

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Deuteronomy 5:1 - 6:25
I loved these two chapters in Deuteronomy.  These chapters both sum up the commandments and tell us why we should obey them.  These chapters also sum up the events surrounding the issuance of the commandments.  I have a feeling I'm going to really like Deuteronomy for the way it summarizes Israel's journey in a more conversational tone.

There were two sets of verses that most caught my attention today.  The first is 6:5 - 7:

5  You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength

6  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

7  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  

 I was thrilled when I read verse 6:5 -- to love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength -- because it is such a famous verse, and one I love dearly.  And unlike some of my other favorite verses (like John 3:16), I didn't know where this verse was in the bible.  Such a lovely verse to live by!

Verses 6 and 7 struck me differently.  Here we are told to wholeheartedly give ourselves to the commands, as well as teach them to our children every chance we get.  When I read this it made me wonder how often do I wholeheartedly give in to the Lord's commands?  It seems that I give away to failure too easily.  And don't get me wrong, I'm not talking just about the Big Ten -- but I'm talking about all the ways that we are supposed to live according to Jesus Christ. 

The verse about teaching the children made me pause.  I take my children to church each Sunday and they enjoy going and learning.  I ask them about the things they learned, and I offer them children's bible study packages to complete for "bible bucks".  But what I don't do very often is discuss with them the way that the Lord wants us to live.  I realize now that I need to make an effort to teach this to my children so that they are equipped to handle all of life's situations with grace.

The second set of verses that caught my attention are verses 6:24 - 25:

24  And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day.

25  For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.

 We aren't being told that we need to obey arbitrary commands because the Lord wants us to lead lives that are less fun.  No, we're being told that these commands preserve our lives and that the Lord blesses those who follow his commands. 

I especially like verse 25, because I have seen many references to the righteous and the godly vs. the wicked and those who don't obey.  But this is the first place (that I recall) where we are told how to be righteous.  And it is summed up very nicely, isn't it?  To be righteous, to carry all the blessings and protection of the righteous, one must simply follow the Lord's commands.  That's it.

Proverbs 11:29 - 31

29  Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind.  The fool will be a servant to the wise.

30  The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.

31  If the righteous are rewarded here on earth, what will happen to wicked sinners?

I love how the word "righteous" is used in these verses, after I just wrote about the meaning of the word.  I suppose that if the righteous (those who follow the Lord's commands, as noted above) are rewarded on the earth, so must the wicked be punished on earth.  I know that is not always the case, or that might not seem to be the case from what we see, but I'm really not concerned about the punishment of the wicked.  It will come sooner or later.  But I love that the Lord protects and provides for us who trust in Him.

Father to the Fatherless, Defender of Widows

Today's Reading:

• Psalm 68:1 - 18
• Psalm 68:19 - 35

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Psalm 68
This Psalm seems slightly different than most of the other Psalms.  I don't know quite how to explain it -- there are the normal calls for the Lord to vindicate His people, and much praising of the Lord, but it is all combined with storytelling.  Verses 5 and 6 are my favorite from this psalm:

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows -- this is God, whose dwelling is holy.  God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

For some reason I just find those verses really comforting.  I am not the fatherless, I am not lonely, and I am not a widow -- but nonetheless, I know these verses are for me as well as everyone else.  Our Father in Heaven is all things we need and desire.

This Psalm also talked about Mount Zion and Mount Sinai.  This lead me on an internet search -- how many biblical sites are there to see in and around Israel?  The answer is a phenomenal amount.

Israel has never been on my desired places to visit list.  Probably because of the constant turmoil there, I had no desire to be in the danger zone.  But after doing this research, I see there is so much more to Israel than violence and terrorism.

The history there is absolutely amazing.  All the sites linked to the bible and to Jesus and his ministry.  The more I have read the bible, the more I have become interested in finding biblical sites in today's world. 

To make a long story short, Israel is now on my radar.  I definitely want to visit -- I don't think any other vacation can offer me the fulfillment that this one would.  I will make it a reality one of these years -- as long as the Lord doesn't come back before then!

The Words of Life -- Lovely Little Tidbits to Ponder Straight from the Mouth of Jesus

Today's Reading:

• Luke 6:39 - 7:10

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Luke 6:39 - 7:10

Jesus gives us quite a bit to ponder in these few verses of Luke.  It's a hodgepodge of great verses to evaluate our lives against, so I'm just going to address these lovely little tidbits separately. 

39  Can one blind person lead another?  Won't they both fall into a ditch?

It is a great thing when a person manages to find faith and salvation with another new Christian.  But it is also important that we find a seasoned teacher to guide us along on our journey.

40  Students are not greater than their teacher.  But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

Even though we need a teacher at first, we can study so that we can be trained to help others.  I started this blog with the intention of becoming trained so that I didn't feel so clueless about my faith.  Along the way I am learning so much that I feel confident enough to help others in some situations.  I still have so much more learning to go, and no one can ever know everything there is to know about the bible because new things are revealed each time you read it -- even in verses you've previously read over and over.  Regardless, I love that I am able to apply the bible to my everyday life, and at least point others to sections of the bible that are pertinent to their questions and/or struggles.  If my faith has opened up to me so much in such a short time, I can't imagine what it will be like when I've studied the entire bible through for the first time!

41  How can you think of saying, 'Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.

 What is interesting to me about this verse is that Jesus doesn't say that we can't help others remove sins in their lives.  But he is saying that we will be unable to do so if we can't deal with our own problems first.  This reminds me of the post I wrote a few days ago about the dangerous "holier than thou" mentality.

45  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.  What you say flows from what is in your heart.

I've seen a lot of references to how your words can bring life or death.  I believe that a big part of this is because the words that come out of your mouth reflect what is in your heart.  If your heart is filled with hatred, anger, despair, lies, revenge, faithlessness, etc -- then the words you speak simply reflect what is already there.  You have death in your heart, and therefore it is death that comes out of your mouth.  If you speak hope, love, faith, fellowship, friendship, compassion, understanding, etc -- then you have life in your heart, and the words of life will come out of your mouth. 

But what if we have a good heart, yet still say some bad things?  We all say things we don't mean at some point or another, but when something we think we don't mean comes out of our mouth, we need to truly our heart to see why that thought lingered there in the first place, and why it was so easily released from our mouth.  I don't think we are judged for any thought that comes through our head, but instead judged on those thoughts we act upon.  We are told in more than one place that it is better to cut off a sinful part of the body than for us to let that part sin.  That includes our tongue.  I believe sin is in our actions and in the things we say.  So just because we stifle a thought we know shouldn't be there doesn't mean we are evil.  It just means that we are human in nature, and there is always room for us to improve ourselves to become more Christlike.  

What if a person has an evil heart, but manages to fool the people with his words?  The words that come out of our mouths reveal the person's nature to man.  Man can be fooled with words.  But the Lord knows our heart, so in the end these people will be judged for what is in their heart, not for what they have done or said on this earth.  It's hard for our human nature to sit back and see the unfairness.  But in the end the righteous will be celebrated, and all who fail to judge themselves before the Lord in this life will be judged.

49  Anyone who hears and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation.  When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.

 I certainly don't want to collapse into a heap of ruins at the first storm that passes by.  That is why I am finally making a very detailed study of the bible, so that I can learn how to build my foundation.  Everything the Lord has to say to us is in this book, yet how many (including myself) have never read it through, let alone studied it thoroughly?  I thank the Lord for calling me to do this!

Seek the Lord with All Your Heart and you will Find Him

Today's Reading:

• Deuteronomy 4:1 - 49
• Proverbs 11:28

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Deuteronomy 4:1 - 49
Moses continued give his monologue to he people of Israel.   In chapter four he stresses greatly on being faithful to the Lord.  He reminded them that there was a covenant, there were laws, and there were things that anger the Lord (such as idol worship).  But if the people were to only obey these things, if they would only stay faithful to the Lord, then they would be blessed with long lives in the land that the Lord had provided to them.

Moses also tells us that those who break this covenant will be scattered among the nations.  They will eventually start worshiping other gods and forget about the Lord. 

Even though we might be scattered, one glorious promise still remains: (4:29)

But from there you will search again for the Lord your God.  And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

We might be reading the Old Testament here, but that promise is still true to today.  The Lord is merciful and forgiving, and He is waiting for us who have scattered to turn back and seek Him.  And when we do, if we search with our hearts and souls, He will be there for us to find.  Isn't that wonderful?


Proverbs 11:28

Trust in your money and down you go!  But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

It is so hard to have money and not to trust in it, isn't it?  Even those of us who have been blessed financially by the Lord and who realize it can still fall into this trap.  The Lord loves the poor, for they rely upon Him for everything that comes their way.  They are eternally thankful for every day that they manage to make an end meet. 

No matter how little or how much money we have, we must still remember that we can't trust in it.  It can be gone tomorrow.  But the Lord is there for us always, so we should constantly be thankful that he meets (and often exceeds) our needs.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing me and my family.