Study from various sections of Deut. 5, Exod. 22, Deut. 16, Lev. 19, Deut. 12 – 13, and Deut. 17; Passage for Reflection: Leviticus 19: 28 … NIV Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourself. I am the Lord.
My Journal for Today: Today my trek through God’s word, under the shepherding of F. LaGard Smith, in The Daily Bible In Chronological Order, took me through several sections reviewing how God imparted his laws to His people through Moses, as the called and anointed “Law Giver.” And though Moses was the agent of the law being imparted to God’s people, God, and God alone, was “THE Law Giver.” And we see just how detailed the laws could be for the Israelites; but they all were designed to set God’s chosen people aside from the world of that day, to protect them from evil (which, of course, included themselves), and, above all, to honor and glorify the One True God.
And today, in his devotional, Dr. Smith singles out one of these laws which was given to the Israelites, dealing with the avoidance of a pagan practice of the day, which was marking the body, including tattooing. And right before this one law, we read in Lev. 19: 27, [to the men of Israel] “Do not cut the hair at the sides of sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Even today in the obvious personal practices of the Hasidic Jews, we see these laws lived out in the way the Hasidic men display their very orthodox observance of God’s Mosaic laws; and we ought to be able to see how it sets them apart from the world in their very close observance of the ancient bodily practice laws which God laid down for His people through Moses.
But why then don’t we see orthodox Evangelical Christians observing these personal practice laws the same way as the Hasidic Jews do? Well, we could get into a long discussion here about the fact that our day – the age of grace and of the New Covenant – follows the example of Jesus, The Christ, in what we think, say, and do. And God’s Law (and all those laws which set apart God’s people from the pagan cultures which surrounded them in that age/culture) is not part of our day as we follow Christ as our Law Giver.
But when we can see from those past laws and their observance how they might apply to our lives, we can learn from them and let them teach us how to honor God through what we do or don’t do for Him and in His Name. And you don’t have to have a Ph.D. in Theology to see that tattooing or cutting one’s body to set the self apart for the observance of worldly or selfish pleasure dishonors God and would therefore be considered a sinful practice. Tattooing marks the body permanently; and we who are Christians need to recognize that we are already permanently marked in the Temple (i.e., the body) God has given us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, Who will display in and through us the marks of Christ, which are the fruit of His Spirit (see Gal. 5: 22-23). We don’t need any bodily marking to set ourselves apart in the world and display Christlikeness for all to see. So, there is Spiritual validity for all the ages in the command given by Moses to God’s people to avoid being like the pagans with the marking/tattooing of the body as a way for showing that the flesh is on display to honor pagan gods and/or worldly idols.
In application here, we need to ask ourselves if the markings of God’s Spirit are on us for all the world to see to Whom we belong. Does the world see God’s markings of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control in the way we live our lives? Or do we find ourselves tattooing our lives with the marks of the world and the trappings of selfish pursuit? Can the world see the permanent tattoo of Christ emblazoned on our very being; or do we have idolatry tattooed on our soul which dishonors God by the way we live our lives?
Choices are the tattoos of our Christian living.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I so desire that others see Your permanent eternal marking on my soul from the way I choose to live. Amen
Showing posts with label fruitful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruitful. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
2009 – Day 55.Feb.25 – Spiritual Ends
2009 – Day 55.Feb.25 – Spiritual Ends
Passage of the Day: Exodus 2: 15 – 25 … Linked to passage for study …
My Journal for Today: Again, we meditate upon what got Moses from his plush worldly control in Egypt to the ignominious desert place with the Midianites. And to highlight his devotional point for the day, Swindoll makes a stark statement of truth, illustrated by Moses’ decisions and actions. He writes, “Spiritual ends are never achieved by carnal means.” And a bit later in his piece for the day, Swindoll puts this truth into a word picture, by writing, “You cannot sow a fleshly seed and reap a spiritual plant.”
Do I sense an “Amen!” from any readers here? Perhaps you have memories of sowing carnal seeds and the resultant outcomes which followed. I sure do. And Swindoll, illustrates these points by such cases as one hedging on the income taxes and then trying to thank God for the resultant tax refund which comes from those choices. He rightfully says, God will never bless us with worldly results when we manipulate, scheme, and plan in the flesh. God’s empowering and enabling grace will only pour out on those who are obedient to His will and His way, through His word. I think of His promises in this regard from both the Old and New Testament … in Scriptures like Joshua 1: 8 and from Jesus Himself in John 14: 21.
The principle is simple and straight forward if one desires Spirit-blessed results in life; and that is … we must know and be obedient to God’s word, His principles, and His commands. When we are and act according to God’s will and in His way, He will bless the outcomes. But when we choose to do it our way, as the old song, My Way, by Frank Sinatra proclaims, we must reap the whirlwinds which follow, … the consequences of our own flesh-driven choices. And we must not try, if some worldly blessing of riches or sensational rewards results, to thank God for what comes down. When I do it MY WAY, it is MY RESULTS which are gleaned; but when I do it GOD’S WAY, it will be HIS RESULTS which pour forth.
I know this truth; and I just pray that I can learn the results from doing life God’s way. Moses had to learn this lesson with 40 years in the desert. And he learned the lesson big time! But I hope I can take the advantage of scriptural truths like the ones quoted above; and do it the right way – God’s way! – on the front end so that I’m not taken into the dessert because of living life out in my way.
And that’s my prayer for you as well. Living in the Spirit yields Spirit-blessed fruit (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Living in the flesh yields the fruit of the flesh (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21).
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help us to ALWAYS go to You for the righteous way first as You command in Matt. 6: 33; and then to follow You ALWAYS in what we choose to do. Amen
Passage of the Day: Exodus 2: 15 – 25 … Linked to passage for study …
My Journal for Today: Again, we meditate upon what got Moses from his plush worldly control in Egypt to the ignominious desert place with the Midianites. And to highlight his devotional point for the day, Swindoll makes a stark statement of truth, illustrated by Moses’ decisions and actions. He writes, “Spiritual ends are never achieved by carnal means.” And a bit later in his piece for the day, Swindoll puts this truth into a word picture, by writing, “You cannot sow a fleshly seed and reap a spiritual plant.”
Do I sense an “Amen!” from any readers here? Perhaps you have memories of sowing carnal seeds and the resultant outcomes which followed. I sure do. And Swindoll, illustrates these points by such cases as one hedging on the income taxes and then trying to thank God for the resultant tax refund which comes from those choices. He rightfully says, God will never bless us with worldly results when we manipulate, scheme, and plan in the flesh. God’s empowering and enabling grace will only pour out on those who are obedient to His will and His way, through His word. I think of His promises in this regard from both the Old and New Testament … in Scriptures like Joshua 1: 8 and from Jesus Himself in John 14: 21.
The principle is simple and straight forward if one desires Spirit-blessed results in life; and that is … we must know and be obedient to God’s word, His principles, and His commands. When we are and act according to God’s will and in His way, He will bless the outcomes. But when we choose to do it our way, as the old song, My Way, by Frank Sinatra proclaims, we must reap the whirlwinds which follow, … the consequences of our own flesh-driven choices. And we must not try, if some worldly blessing of riches or sensational rewards results, to thank God for what comes down. When I do it MY WAY, it is MY RESULTS which are gleaned; but when I do it GOD’S WAY, it will be HIS RESULTS which pour forth.
I know this truth; and I just pray that I can learn the results from doing life God’s way. Moses had to learn this lesson with 40 years in the desert. And he learned the lesson big time! But I hope I can take the advantage of scriptural truths like the ones quoted above; and do it the right way – God’s way! – on the front end so that I’m not taken into the dessert because of living life out in my way.
And that’s my prayer for you as well. Living in the Spirit yields Spirit-blessed fruit (see Gal. 5: 22 – 23). Living in the flesh yields the fruit of the flesh (see Gal. 5: 19 – 21).
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help us to ALWAYS go to You for the righteous way first as You command in Matt. 6: 33; and then to follow You ALWAYS in what we choose to do. Amen
Saturday, January 17, 2009
2009 - Day 17 - Forgive And Forget
January 17, 2009 … Swindoll’s Topic for Today: Forgive and Forgen
Passage of the Day: Genesis 41: 46 - 52 ... 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. 50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
My Journal for Today: As Swindoll in his devotional book points out for today, this is an interesting passage written by the author of Genesis under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In it we read several very mundane and personal details about Joseph’s post-prison life, after he had been blessed by God and Pharaoh to become Prime Minister of Egypt as that country approached and prepared for a famine in the land.
As Swindoll helps me see, the first thing we see is that Joseph honored God by being monogamous, as was the Hebrew teaching – certainly not the Egyptian tradition for kings … nor even the Middle Eastern tradition of those days. Joseph, in his position as Prime Minister, could have taken as many wives or concubines as he desired, especially in his position of privilege and power. However, he resisted those temptations and remained monogamous, having two sons by one wife. This small detail reveals how Joseph ignored the world and concentrated on his faith in the One, True God.
Next there is the matter of why God, through the Author of Genesis, relates the details of the naming of the two sons. Actually Swindoll’s devotional doesn’t discuss one feature about the naming that God allowed me to see this morning. It is the fact that both of the names were Hebrew names and not Egyptian. I think that this is significant, showing us that Joseph desired to openly declare his Jewish heritage even with his position of influence in the Egyptian government. And names in the Middle Eastern culture were a big deal. By using Hebrew names, Joseph, openly declares that he and his sons were from the Family of God.
And then, as the text explains it; expositors, like Swindoll, help me to see that the two names for his sons were also declarations of meaning about Joseph’s character; and the first of these, Manasseh, which in Hebrew means “to be made forgetful,” speaks of how Joseph was blessed to be able to forget all the past ills which had befallen this man of God. Joseph didn’t choose to relent to the temptation to visit revenge upon all those in his past, like Potiphar’s wife, who had wronged him. No, he humbly chose to set those memories aside and concentrate on the future, looking to God’s providence as he had done in those years of testing in prison.
And finally, there was the name, Ephraim, which in Hebrew means “to be doubly fruitful;” and this speaks forcefully, I believe, of how Joseph viewed his life … that as being incredibly blessed. And yes, this even means that he saw all that had happened to him as being a blessing. Think about it. When a man can see all those years of servitude, slavery, and imprisonment as blessing, we see that Joseph was prepared by God for blessing and to be a blessing to those whom God would bring into his life. And this we will see unfold in even more of Joseph’s life in the upcoming days of devotionals.
I’m taken by this passage to remember that I must forget the ills in my life, trusting, as it says in Rom. 8: 28, that all of life’s circumstances work together for my good since I, like Joseph, believe in and follow the One, True God. And secondly, I see, from the naming of the boys, that I must, as it says in 1st Thes. 5: 18, always give thanks for all the blessings that God brings into my life … yes, even the challenges and tribulations of life; … because God is in control; and He will always be working for my good and to complete me, as it says in Phil. 1: 6, into the image of my Savior.
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to become Manasseh and Ephraim in my life as expressions of Your character in me. Amen
Passage of the Day: Genesis 41: 46 - 52 ... 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. 50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
My Journal for Today: As Swindoll in his devotional book points out for today, this is an interesting passage written by the author of Genesis under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In it we read several very mundane and personal details about Joseph’s post-prison life, after he had been blessed by God and Pharaoh to become Prime Minister of Egypt as that country approached and prepared for a famine in the land.
As Swindoll helps me see, the first thing we see is that Joseph honored God by being monogamous, as was the Hebrew teaching – certainly not the Egyptian tradition for kings … nor even the Middle Eastern tradition of those days. Joseph, in his position as Prime Minister, could have taken as many wives or concubines as he desired, especially in his position of privilege and power. However, he resisted those temptations and remained monogamous, having two sons by one wife. This small detail reveals how Joseph ignored the world and concentrated on his faith in the One, True God.
Next there is the matter of why God, through the Author of Genesis, relates the details of the naming of the two sons. Actually Swindoll’s devotional doesn’t discuss one feature about the naming that God allowed me to see this morning. It is the fact that both of the names were Hebrew names and not Egyptian. I think that this is significant, showing us that Joseph desired to openly declare his Jewish heritage even with his position of influence in the Egyptian government. And names in the Middle Eastern culture were a big deal. By using Hebrew names, Joseph, openly declares that he and his sons were from the Family of God.
And then, as the text explains it; expositors, like Swindoll, help me to see that the two names for his sons were also declarations of meaning about Joseph’s character; and the first of these, Manasseh, which in Hebrew means “to be made forgetful,” speaks of how Joseph was blessed to be able to forget all the past ills which had befallen this man of God. Joseph didn’t choose to relent to the temptation to visit revenge upon all those in his past, like Potiphar’s wife, who had wronged him. No, he humbly chose to set those memories aside and concentrate on the future, looking to God’s providence as he had done in those years of testing in prison.
And finally, there was the name, Ephraim, which in Hebrew means “to be doubly fruitful;” and this speaks forcefully, I believe, of how Joseph viewed his life … that as being incredibly blessed. And yes, this even means that he saw all that had happened to him as being a blessing. Think about it. When a man can see all those years of servitude, slavery, and imprisonment as blessing, we see that Joseph was prepared by God for blessing and to be a blessing to those whom God would bring into his life. And this we will see unfold in even more of Joseph’s life in the upcoming days of devotionals.
I’m taken by this passage to remember that I must forget the ills in my life, trusting, as it says in Rom. 8: 28, that all of life’s circumstances work together for my good since I, like Joseph, believe in and follow the One, True God. And secondly, I see, from the naming of the boys, that I must, as it says in 1st Thes. 5: 18, always give thanks for all the blessings that God brings into my life … yes, even the challenges and tribulations of life; … because God is in control; and He will always be working for my good and to complete me, as it says in Phil. 1: 6, into the image of my Savior.
My Prayer Today: Lord, help me to become Manasseh and Ephraim in my life as expressions of Your character in me. Amen
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