All Things Are Lawful
1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, "The two shall become one flesh."17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
My wife and I were just discussing these verses a few days ago. I find it interesting that we are told "all things are lawful for me", yet this is followed by warnings against immorality. I think this is probably confusing to many. Earlier this year God was really dealing with me on this, and then I heard some teaching from Andrew Wommack that helped me to further understand what God had been teaching me. We aren't held to the law. In God's eyes our sin isn't counted against us if we are saved. Jesus's sacrifice was enough to cover all our sins. That doesn't mean that we should lead immoral lives though. We are indeed the body of Christ, and that being the case, would you picture the body of Christ laying with a prostitute? No way! We should strongly consider our actions and whether those actions are becoming of a saved person or not. Our actions should be to glorify God, not take away from His glory.
Daniel 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.
Sometimes I think we forget that the Biblical greats were just humans too. As I read this I had to smile when I realized Daniel had to write his dream and visions down. How many times have you had a dream, but you couldn't remember it even a few minutes later. For me that is all too often. In fact, I had a dream last night, but I couldn't tell you much of it now, even though little pieces keep coming back to me. I think if we feel our dreams are inspired by God, we should be keeping a journal beside our bed to document those dreams as soon as we awake.
Acts 10:40 "God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
I don't believe I have noticed before that God granted Jesus become visible, but not to all the people. I had thought He was visible to everyone after His resurrection.
As I close this post, I have some mixed emotions. I started journaling my Bible reading last year because I thought it would help me to focus more, and it has. Unfortunately, I am finding myself now looking for things to write, rather than being inspired, which tells me that this has probably run its course, at least for now. The regular, daily Bible reading will continue, and there may be posts here from time to time, but I wouldn't expect anything regular any time in the near future.
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Associating with the Immoral
John 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
This is puzzling to me. We don't have the ability to forgive sins, do we? I wonder what this is referring to.
Deuteronomy 24:10 "When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.11 "You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.12 "If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.13 "When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
I was curious as I read verses 10-12, but verse 13 is the part that really intrigued me. Once again, God tells us to be concerned about our fellow man. He doesn't prohibit us from using the man's cloak as the pledge, but we aren't supposed to prohibit the poor man from having the cloak as covering and protection at night.
1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
Every time I read this verse, I think about our modern church. We choose to not associate with the immoral people of the world, yet we are surrounded by the immoral people of the church. That is exactly opposite of how we are supposed to be. If you think about this, it makes perfect sense. Those within the church are supposed to know better, and those outside of the church are the ones who need to be shown the way.
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Sharpening the Saw
Deuteronomy 23:18 "You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
There was a man I used to work with that told me that you shouldn't ever sell a dog because of this verse. I don't believe that is at all what this is saying. In fact, I bet if you did a word study on "dog" here, it is referring to a person who is not living an upright life. I can't attest to that, but it seems to suggest that.
Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.
This is such great advice. If we are constantly seeking the pleasures of life, riches will flee us. This reminds me of the book "The Millionaire Next Door", which is a great read for those who are interested in topics of this nature.
Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
I just finished a training on Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, one of those habits being "sharpen the saw". This verse from Ecclesiastes supports that philosophy - that we should spend some time preparing to do our work in order to make the work easier.
John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
The second part of this sentence caught my eye today. The one who delivered has the greater sin. I thought sin was sin. This plainly says something otherwise. Hmmm.
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Taking Care of Others
While I have posts showing up on here daily, I actually am about a week ahead of this in my reading. As a result, what you read here is usually posts I did about a week ago. I say that because today is actually my first day back from a weekend vacation (it is really the 27th). It was a great, relaxing time. We stayed in a hotel on the edge of a spring fed river, which was a great backdrop for my morning Bible reading. We also got some news from our church on Sunday, even though we were still out of town. We voted in a new pastor this past Sunday. I have high hopes that he is what our church needs right now.
Now on to the thoughts of the day:
Deuteronomy 22:1 "You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman.2 "If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him.3 "Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them.4 "You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.
It hit me as I read this how important it is in God's eyes for us to take care of our fellow man. God expects us to not ignore the problems our fellow man encounters, but to instead help them through it.
Deuteronomy 22:9 "You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.
Being a gardener, this caught my eye. God was against hybrids. How interesting.
Acts 7:47 "But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.48 "However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord, ‘Or what place is there for My repose?50 ‘Was it not My hand which made all these things?’
This has always been of interest to me. We often call our churches God's house, but in reality they are not. We cannot make a house for God. Our churches are merely a designated place of gathering and worship.
1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
I have always thought that as long as we are doing what we are called to do, our reward will be the same. That is not what this says. This says we are rewarded by our labor.
I have to admit, I feel a bit of guilt here. I know God is calling me for something more than I am doing. Am I not acting out of a lack of faith? Or is it something else? I wish I knew.
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The Mind of Christ
Deuteronomy 21:15 "If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn.17 "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
I was intrigued when I saw that the firstborn son was to get an inheritance of a double portion. Is there a spiritual significance to the firstborn? Or, is this somehow relating to Jesus? I don't think that is the case, but He is the firstborn of God the Father.
Deuteronomy 21:18 "If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them,19 then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown.20 "They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’21 "Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
This is incredible to me! How many children would be stoned to death today?
Deuteronomy 21:22 "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.
I am sure this is relates to Jesus's death on a cross (tree) and the fact that he was placed in the tomb on the same day, although I would interpret "hang" to mean like one hanging from a rope (noose).
Daniel 3:15 "Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.18 "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Imagine the faith or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego! In verse 18 we see an incredible statement that they will go into the furnace and die if that God chooses not to deliver them, but they will not worship another God. How many of us could say we have that kind of faith?
Daniel 3:27 The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
I think I have probably made the statement before that these men must have smelled of fire as they left the furnace, but that isn't what we are told here. They were totally protected from the flames in every way.
1 Corinthians 2:14 (Amp) But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.15 But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].16 For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
There is much wisdom here. First off, did you notice that the spiritual man tries (tests) all things? Is that something you would have put in the spiritual column? There is nothing wrong with us validating the legitimacy of something. Also, notice that we have the mind of Christ. It says we hold the thoughts of His heart. How amazing is that?
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Tidbits of Wisdom
As I wrote just a few days ago, I am cautious to take the verses in Ecclesiastes as wisdom because of the place at which Solomon was when he wrote it; nevertheless, you cannot discount that the book was written by the wisest man ever. Hidden within the bad attitude are numerous nuggets, a few of which are in chapter seven.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
This is just great advice. One may ask, how many people are eager to be angry? I think the number is higher than we might think. I can say for myself that there have been times I have made up my mind to be in a bad mood. As crazy as that sounds, it is true.
Ecclesiastes 7:10 Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
This is interesting to me. Why is this not from wisdom? It is that we shouldn't be comparing today to the past? I am puzzled on this one.
Ecclesiastes 7:21 Also, do not take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant cursing you.22 For you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.
This is a great piece of advice. If you are in a position of leadership, some of your followers will bad mouth you. That is a fact. In fact, it could be some of your better followers, as strange as that sounds. It is best if we can take this like water off of a duck's back and just move on.
Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.28 "However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed.29 "As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.30 "But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
As I read this in Daniel today it occurred to me how incredible Daniel's response to the king was. He didn't take credit himself for interpreting the dream, but instead he gave God all the glory.
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Incredible Foreshadowing
1 Chronicles 21:2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, "Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number."
1 Chronicles 21:7 God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:15 And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now relax your hand." And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
One might think it is odd for God to have struck Israel for David's census, but if you think about it, God wanted David to trust in Him, not the number of people.
The greater thing about this story to me is in verse 15. I am always amazed when God changes His mind. That is beyond my level of comprehension. How can the perfect have a change of mind? I am not suggesting it shouldn't be this way, I am only stating that I am not wise enough to understand it.
Psalms 22:1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
Psalms 22:11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion.14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death.16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
I was amazed as I read this at how familiar it sounded. Verse one, of course, being the words spoken by Jesus on the cross. And while I didn't quote it here, the last verse of this chapter could be interpreted as "It is finished", which were the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross. Even in the middle of the chapter we see incredible foreshadowing that is easy to correlate with the New Testament in place, but at that time, I am sure many wondered what this was to mean.
John 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.14 "You are My friends if you do what I command you.15 "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.17 "This I command you, that you love one another.
It has amazed me how much I have seen the command of love lately. I really do think that all commandments can be summed up in just this one. If we love God and love others, we will do the rest.
Also not that we are no longer slaves of Christ/God, but instead we are friends/brothers. Also notice the statement that whatever we ask of the father in the name of Jesus will be given to us. This is hard to believe for us, because we don't see it evidenced in our lives, but I think that is largely because we aren't in tune with God, but are instead greedy.
Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
Interesting! Avoid those who cause trouble, those who by their flattering speech mislead the unsuspecting. Why? They aren't serving the Lord, but are instead slaves of their own appetites. I need to remember this.
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Bearing the Weaknesses of Others
1 Chronicles 20:4 Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued.5 And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.6 Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.8 These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
This is pretty interesting! David and his men killed giants other than Goliath.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.13 "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
The statements made by the disciples amaze me sometimes. I guess I shouldn't be amazed - I do my share of bone-headed things too.
We are told in verse 12 that we will do greater things than Christ. How is this? It is through the Holy Spirit who indwells within us. This couldn't happen if Jesus hadn't gone to the Father though.
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
This explains it perfectly. The Holy Spirit, who is sent to us in Jesus's name, will teach us all things. Isn't that cool? The Spirit will also bring remembrance to us. This is also pretty neat. If we rely on the Spirit, we should have supernatural recollection when witnessing.
Romans 15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
I touched on this yesterday, but these two verses say it quite plainly. The strong should consider the weakness of others, not just run over them. I think our churches need so much learning in this area.
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Thinking of Others
Psalms 20:7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.
There is a song out there that uses this psalm as its chorus - I love it. Even today, we shouldn't boast in our jets, tanks, and military might, but instead, we are strongest when we can boast in the name of our God. Unfortunately, that isn't the case in the United States today.
Proverbs 15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible.
As I read this I wasn't thinking about fathers and sons, but I was thinking about anyone who rejects discipline. It seems this happens daily, and in fact, I am dealing with this with someone I know right now. We are most wise when we realize the discipline or reproof is actually to make us better, not to punish us.
Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.
This also made me think of everyday situations. Those who bottle up their knowledge and refuse to share it are not really wise. Honestly, I have struggled with this a bit in my life. It is best if we share what we know with those who are close to us (not just family and friends, but anyone we count on and who counts on us).
John 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter."8 Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."9 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head."10 Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you."11 For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, "Not all of you are clean."
I feel as if I am missing a plain truth in these verses - in particular verse ten. I think this has spiritual implications that I am not sure I am fully understanding. As a saved person, we have "bathed". It states that a bathed person only needs to wash his feet though. Does that mean we only need to deal with the sins we have partaken of that day?
John 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.14 "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.15 "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.16 "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.
What a great call to servanthood leadership!
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
I never cease to be amazed at the number of times Jesus focuses on love. This was truly His message - that we love one another.
Acts 2:15 "For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams;18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy.19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
The Old Testament prophesied that our sons and daughters would prophesy in the end days. Visions will occur, as will dreams. God's Spirit will be poured out upon his people. Wonders will occur in the skies and on the earth. We are really an unbelieving people if we doubt these things can occur to day.
Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39 "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"
This goes right along with the last passage. Being saved means we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yet this is called a "gift", and in His last days Jesus tells us that One greater than Him is coming -- that would be the Holy Spirit. If we understand that the Spirit was meant to empower us and provide us what we needed to do God's will on this earth, then we would quit trying so hard to do this ourselves.
Romans 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. 3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
These verses contain a lot of great instruction. I find it interesting that we are called to consider the weakness of those around us when choosing our actions. One of my sons has made the statement before, as have I, that "it isn't my problem if someone else isn't mature enough to handle this!" How wrong the both of us were when this statement were made. We should always be considering the weakness of others in choosing our actions.
Romans 14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
This one puzzles me a bit. Nothing is unclean? I have wondered about these words for some time - I need to just study it out sometime.
Romans 14:20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
This builds on the last two quoted sections. All things are clean, but if partaking of the clean thing causes someone else to stumble, then we should avoid it. I really need to study this out.
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Testing the Spirits
John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people? "
There are a couple of interesting things in these verses. First, think about the servant hood attitude of Mary demonstrated here. Has there ever been a person whose feet you would wash? I know that was a custom in those times, so there is a difference, but what about the next step? She wiped her feet with her hair!
Next I realized Mary was a woman of means. It is said that three hundred denarii was equivalent to about 11 months to a year's wages. If you take the average annual wages in the United States, this would be equivalent to roughly $37,500. WOW!
John 12:47 "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.48 "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
This caught my eye today because just a few chapters ago, in John 5, we saw that all judgment was given to the Son. Now we are told that the Son does not judge those who do not keep His sayings. At first this confused me, but then I realized Jesus said it was His words that will judge us on the last day. In other words, He won't make judgment based upon His opinion, He will make judgment based upon the Word of God.
Romans 13:7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.9 For this, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Verse seven was what originally intrigued me here. We are basically told to honor our societal customs (giving what is due). Does this mean that this takes priority over the Word? No! Not at all. But if it isn't in conflict with the Word, we aren't supposed to be causing trouble with it. We are to be good members of society.
The next item here is really summed up in verse eight and ten. If we love others, we are fulfilling the law. It really is that simple. We should love God and love our neighbor. If you do that, all the rest will fall into place.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
This is a pretty simple way to test spirits. As I read this I thought about how this can be used. If a person doesn't confess that Jesus is the one and only Son of God sent to this earth as a sacrifice for our sins, then this person is not from God. That is pretty simple, isn't it? As a Christian, it is something I have known my whole life, but thinking of it as a simple test was kind of refreshing. Now, the next question is can we safely say that all who confess Jesus as the one and only Son of God sent to the earth as a sacrifice for our sins is from God? Nope. Unfortunately, some people lie. The difference here is that these verses are speaking of spirits. I think, although I am not sure, that a spirit could not confess Jesus as the Savior if it was not a spirit from God.
1 John 4:20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
There is nothing to add here, it is just a powerful piece of scripture to remember.
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