Are there doubters in the house?

Image - Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 27-28; Psalm 94

TO CHEW ON: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17

I often wish I’d been with Jesus and had seen Him with my own eyes. Then, I imagine, it would be easy to believe no matter what.

Or, maybe not. Here we have disciples who had been with Jesus for the better part of three years. Yet we read “some doubted.”

I wonder what they doubted. That the man who appeared to them as Jesus after the resurrection was actually Jesus? That He had really died and come back to life? That His time on earth had accomplished what He said?

These were not their first moments of doubt. Jesus had often addressed the doubts of those around Him.

• He talked about trusting God to meet needs of daily living - Matthew 6:30.

• Doubt caused Peter to sink under the waves after he started out walking on the water - Matthew 14:31.

• Doubt was at the root of their inability to understand Jesus’ teaching in metaphors and symbols - Matthew 16:8-12.

• Doubt made the disciples powerless to heal - Matthew 17:17.

• Doubt had the disciples panicking in a storm - Mark 4:40.

• Doubt kept the disciples from understanding Jesus’ explanation of how He had fulfilled prophecy - Luke 24:25.

• Doubt caused Martha to demur when Jesus told them to take away the stone from Lazarus’ grave - John 11:39.

• Doubt caused Thomas to ask for proof that Jesus was who He said He was - John 20:25.

Jesus’ reaction to the doubt in our passage was to ignore it. Instead of scolding the doubters or launching into an apologetic explanation of how He had fulfilled Scripture, He carried on by giving them their assignment, promising His presence every step of the way - Matthew 8:18-20.

Maybe that’s the antidote to our doubts too—to get busy, exercise some faith, and we’ll find that He does have authority, He continues to attract disciples. He is with us every day.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus it seems to be in my human DNA to doubt. Please help me step out in faith wherever You lead and so prove Your reality. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 94

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Change your mind, change your mouth

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 15-16; Psalm 88

TO CHEW ON: “‘But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies’”  Matthew 15:18,19

Have you ever surprised yourself by what came out of your mind or mouth? You spill a jug of juice and it’s “Oh ____!” Someone cuts you off in traffic and, mentally at least, you flip them the bird. Or you find yourself harboring, toward public figures like politicians and journalists, all manner of critical thoughts, clever put-downs, even rants at the TV.

So, we recognize within ourselves the defilements which Jesus pointed out. Can we do anything more about them than pray for a supernatural heart transplant?  I think we can.

Paul’s advice to the Ephesians is full of action, suggesting that a change of heart on our part is a joint effort of God and us. That we even have the desire to change is God’s work. But there’s something we can do too. Here is the Ephesians passage from The Living Bible (relevant words in bold—my emphasis):

Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves.  If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil. If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can give to others in need. Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing” - Ephesians 5:25-29 TLB.

And one more bit of to-do from James 1:19:

Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry” - James 1:19 TLB

As Joyce Meyer says in the introduction to her book Battlefield of the Mind:

“So many people’s problems are rooted in thinking patterns that actually produce the problems they experience in their lives. Satan offers wrong thinking to everyone, but we do not have to accept his offer. Learn what types of thinking are acceptable to the Holy Spirit and what types are not acceptable.

“Second Corinthians 10:4,5 clearly indicates that we must know the Word of God well enough to be able to compare what is in our mind with what is in the mind of God…

“The mind is the battlefield. It is a vital necessity that we line up our thoughts with God’s thoughts. This is a process that will take time and study” - Joyce Meyer, Battlefield of the Mind p. 4 (emphasis mind).

PRAYER: Help me to be aware of faulty (according to Your word) thoughts and thought patterns within me and not just bemoan them, but act to change them. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 88

The Bible Project VIDEO: Matthew Part 2 - ch.14-28 (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked The Living Bible (or TLB) copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

Double-mindedness

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:113-128

TO CHEW ON: “I hate the double-minded
But I love Your law.” Psalm 119:113

Double-mindedness is mentioned in various places in the Bible.

We see it lived out in Old Testament times in Samaria which was resettled with foreigners when Israel came under Assyrian domination. These settlers from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim brought their religious practices and idols. When wild lions killed some of them, the solution was to re-introduce the “rituals of the God of the land.” This meant that priests of God joined idol-worshiping priests in sacrificing. The society became double-minded, serving God and idols - 2 Kings 17:32,33,41.

Jesus talks pointedly about double-mindedness:

“‘No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon’” - Luke16:13. [Mammon means  wealth, treasure, riches.]

Paul mentions double-mindedness in relation to celebrating the Lord’s Supper and making sacrifices to idols. He ssays, in effect, choose one or the other. Doing both provokes God’s jealousy - 1 Corinthians 10:18-22.

James speaks of double-mindedness too. A double-minded man, he says, is unstable - James 1:8. Further, double-mindedness makes our hearts and hands impure and is a barrier to intimacy with God - James 4:8.

Are we in danger of being double-minded? We’re probably not tempted to worship physical idols like the Isrealites and early Christians coming from paganism were. But Jesus’ warning that we cannot serve God and money certainly hits a chord. And in our culture, where we’re encouraged to depend on and serve anything and everything but God (money, of course, and our own wits, science, social connections, society’s moral standards in the areas of marriage and sexuality, etc.) , double-mindedness is a real danger.

The psalmist sets double-mindedness against loving God’s law. Perhaps that’s the answer for us too. As we soak ourselves in Scripture, we begin to see where we are serving two masters and where we need to choose faith and loyalty to Jesus above all other options.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to recognize and eliminate the double-mindedness within me. I want You as my only master. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Are you a quitter?

Barnabas & Paul disagree - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 13:13-26

TO CHEW ON: "Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John departing from them, returned to Jerusalem." Acts 13:13

Have you ever been a quitter? I have. It's not a good feeling when you're in the middle of it, and the fact that you've quit can come back to bite you.

Here Luke slips into his story, almost like an aside, the fact that John (John Mark - Acts 15:37) leaves their ministry party at this time—no reason given. Later, how significant a fact it becomes when, on the next missionary jaunt Barnabas wants to take John Mark with them again but Paul refuses (Acts 15:37-38).

Both dig in their heels, a rift develops, and one missionary team becomes two as Barnabas takes Mark and they sail to Cypress while Paul finds Silas to accompany him through Syria and Cilicia.

The Bible isn't kind to quitters. Some things it says to those with such an attitude:

• Jesus says the person "…having put his hand to the plow, and looking back…") is not fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

• In another place He talks about how impossible it is to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

• Paul describes those driven by doubt as "tossed to and fro and carried about…" (Ephesians 4:14).

• James uses the same sea metaphor and calls doubters "double-minded" (James 1:6,8).

So what if we've quit. Have we blown our whole lives?

Not necessarily. There was another chance for John Mark. In the end, the fallout between Paul and Barnabas resulted in two missionary parties going out. And this was the Mark who later wrote Gospel of Mark.

We may not be able to undo our giving up but we can learn from it:

- The importance of perseverance.

- The importance of relying on God and not ourselves when we're tempted to give up (James 4:8).

- The fact that with God in the equation, nothing is too hard: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).

PRAYER: Dear God, please alert me to attitudes that precede quitting, like self-pity, comparing myself to others, laziness… Help me to remember that with You I can do anything You ask. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Double-minded Solomon

T

Solomon with one of his wives - Artist unknown

ODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statues of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places. 1 Kings 3:3

The snippet of Solomon's life in today's reading is a study in contradictions.

• Solomon loved the Lord yet sacrificed at the high places.

(High places were "...hilltop open air shrines for Israelite worship prior to the temple. Their hilltop location followed Canaanite practice, and many probably stood on existing centers of Baal worship" - NIV Study Bible notes - Kindle Location 78,262.)

• The law forbade worshiping at these sites - Numbers 33:52; Deuteronomy 7:5.)

• The law also limited altar building to locations of God's choice - Deuteronomy 12:2-5, 13,14.

• Still, God spoke to Solomon in a dream after he had sacrificed at Gibeon "the great high place." In his dream, Solomon's answer to God's question: "What shall I give you?" pleased God and He promised to answer Solomon's request for wisdom in governing the people.

• On waking, Solomon traveled to Jerusalem and worshiped there (1 Kings 3:15), so we see that he knew where offerings were to be made.

We can see some interesting trends here early in Solomon's life—tendencies that, in the end, took him down.

Here at the beginning of his reign he married his first unbelieving wife, Pharaoh's daughter - 1 Kings 3:1. He kept up this practice throughout his life and these hundreds of idol-worshiping wives were the one big cause of his eventual downfall - 1 Kings 11:1-13.

His mixing high places into Yahweh worship produced apostasy and syncretism which persisted and displeased God - 2 Kings 17:17-18; 21:2-9.

Solomon's double-mindedness in his youth and middle age led to an old age that was characterized by cynicism, aimlessness and depression. Read Ecclesiastes, e.g. Ecclesiastes 1:2.

There's much to learn here for us: 

• Early sinful tendencies will only grow stronger if we don't nip them in the bud. 

• Though God often blesses us despite sin in our lives, our tolerance of it will inevitably angle the trajectory of our entire life.  

• Double-mindedness can indeed lead to instability and a bad end, as James warns us - James 1:8; 4:8-10.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to love You and demonstrate that love by my obedience. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

False hope

"Jesus Cleansing the Temple" - Artist unknown

(Jesus quotes Jeremiah 7:11 when He cleanses the temple - Matthew  21:13)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 7:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "Behold you trust in lying words that cannot profit." Jeremiah 7:8

In today's reading God tells Jeremiah to deliver an unpleasant message to the citizens of Jerusalem as they enter church ("the gate of the Lord's house" - Jeremiah 7:2). They apparently believed that they could live any way they liked and still be secure in Jerusalem because the temple was there. This belief, based on a 100-year-old prophecy of Isaiah, predicted that the Assyrian king Sennacherib would not take the city (Isaiah 37:6,7,29).*

Here God tells Jeremiah to set them straight. Unless they amend their ways, Jerusalem will fall like Shiloh—the original home of the ark and center of worship.

Amending their ways includes:

• Dealing justly with the fatherless and widows.

• Refraining from shedding innocent blood.

• Ending their flirtations with idols.

I wonder how much double-think, like the Israelites indulged in here, has crept into our worship and practice.

• Are we trusting in some religious routine, practice, or establishment to save us like these people were trusting in the presence of the temple (Jeremiah 7:4)?

• Are we habitually offending God's will and standards by ignoring those things close to His heart (here providing justice for the poor and unfortunate) while bowing down to idols (Jeremiah 7:5,6)?

• Do we separate our Sunday worship from our weekly lifestyle, doing things during the week that we'd be loath to acknowledge when we go to church on Sunday (Jeremiah 7:9,10)?

Perhaps we too need to seek out the "lying words" in which we've put our confidence and "amend (y)our ways and (y)our doings."

PRAYER: Dear God, I know the tendency of my heart to believe and live by the way of least resistance. Sometimes that means living by the 'truth' of the culture instead of the truth of Your Word. Help me to see areas of my life where I have put my trust in lying words and have false hope. Amen.

* Background information is from the commentary on Jeremiah by Roy Edmund Hayden, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 970.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Are you a backslider?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Hosea 11:1-11

TO CHEW ON: "My people are bent on backsliding from Me.

Though they call to the Most high,

None at all exalt Him." Hosea 11:7

We so easily turn from God's highest and best for us. The Bible has a word for that: backsliding - "to return to wrong or sinful ways." Hosea characterized his audience as "bent on backsliding." Oh, they were religious all right, but their religion was heartless--a lifeless sham that didn't please God at all.

We can learn a lot about backsliding by looking at the Bible passages that talk about it. Let's think of the conditions they describe as spiritual symptoms and ask ourselves, do I exhibit any of these?

Symptoms of backsliding include:

• Self-absorption (Proverbs 14:14).

• Religious lawlessness and independence (Matthew 24:12).

• Bondage to ritual (Galatians 4:9).

• Loss of spiritual love and enthusiasm (Revelation 2:4).

Just like a physical illness puts us out of commission, the chronic backslider may find him or herself, spiritually laid up.

Some of the results of backsliding are:

• It makes the victim unfit for kingdom work (Luke 9:62).

• It results in God's displeasure and discipline (Hebrews 10:38-39).

What brings about this condition? The Bible shows us that there is a variety of spiritual germs and viruses that cause backsliding to begin and continue.

Causes of backsliding include:

• An absence of spiritual leadership. When Moses was on Mount Sinai with God, wishy-washy Aaron, who Moses had put in charge of the people, easily gave in to the peoples' demands to make a calf idol for them to worship (Exodus 32:1-4).

• Evil associates - Solomon turned from following God by letting his idolatrous wives influence him (1 Kings 11:4).

• Worldly success - Amaziah returned from successful battle only to set up images for worship (2 Chronicles 25:1-2,14).

• Shallowness - according to Jesus' warning in the parable of the sower and the seed (Luke 8:13).

• An empty life - according to Jesus' story, the person who was freed from demonic oppression, but neglected to fill the void with Godly things was soon under the same influences as before (Luke 11:24-26).

• Lack of spiritual insight, brought about by lack of faith (John 6:63-66).

• Being in love with the world - as Demas, who left Paul, was (2 Timothy 4:10).

Do you see any symptoms of backsliding in yourself? I know I do in me. Let's follow Hosea's advice:

 Come, and let us return to the LORD;
      For He has torn, but He will heal us;
      He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

After two days He will revive us;
      On the third day He will raise us up,
      That we may live in His sight.
 

 Let us know,
      Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
      His going forth is established as the morning;
      He will come to us like the rain,
      Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
   
    Hosea 6:1-3

PRAYER: Dear God, I so easily get distracted from Your highest and best for me. Please show my my points of vulnerability toward backsliding. Help me to fall in love with You again. Amen.

MORE: "Holy Spirit Rain Down" sung by Hillsong

What's with Balaam?

Balaam's Donkey - Numbers 22:22-35

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 24:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "So Balaam said to Balak, 'Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak."?'" Numbers 24:12,13

 Our reading today is the end of a longer story that begins in Numbers 22. Balak, the king of Moab, is afraid because the Israelites are camping near him. He finds a prophet, Balaam, and sends his messengers to ask the prophet to curse the Israelites for him.

The first time his messengers approach Balaam he consults God and God tells him no, don't go because it isn't God's intention to curse Israel (Numbers 22:12).

Balak sends another delegation and this time when Balaam consults God, God gives a seemingly reluctant, well, go if you want to, but say only the words I give you (Numbers 22:20).

On his way to Balak, Balaam's donkey has a word with him and he realizes how serious God is about blessing His people (Numbers 22:22-35).

Balaam reaches Balak and two times the king takes the prophet to high lookouts but on both occasions only words of blessing come out of Balaam's mouth. Our reading tells the story of Balak's third try, where  Balaam again blesses Israel.

When king Balak in anger threatens him, "Now therefore flee to your place. I said I would greatly honour you but in fact the Lord has kept you back from honour," Balaam replies in the words of our focus passage, quoting what he had first said to Balak's messengers (Numbers 22:18; 24:13).

This story has always intrigued me in the way Balaam seems to be of two minds. He knows he will say only what God tells him to say, and that God wants to bless Israel. But still he goes with Balak's men. Why?

• Is he wanting favour with Balak as well as favour with God?

• Is he hoping God will change His mind?

• Is he, in some way, a wishy-washy people pleaser who wants to keep everybody happy?

This story is a cautionary tale to us. For we too may be tempted to curry favour with the world's elite and powerful, to change our message, to care more about what others think than what God thinks, to be double-minded.

Of course Balaam could have avoided the whole scenario if he had taken God at His word the first time and refused to move even one step toward enemy territory.


PRAYER: Dear God, I recognize Balaam tendencies within myself. Help me to resist compromise by not taking even that first step toward sin's camp. Amen.

MORE: Double-mindedness

Whenever I think of double-mindedness, I think of James 4:8 

 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:8 NKJV

Here it is in the Message:

"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet." - James 4:7-10

Here are a few other Bible passages that speak of being double-minded:

2 Kings 17:33; Luke 16:13; 1 Corinthians 10:21; James 1:5-8