“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.” (Proverbs 1:10)
Proverbs is about wisdom. Wisdom Rule #1: No matter how enticing the message, if it requires you to do the wrong thing – do not consent.
You are in charge of yourself. No one can make you sin. You get to choose whether or not you give your consent.
Nancy Reagan had it right. “Just say no.”
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Genesis 1-12; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
“…the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided…” (Genesis 10:25)
Pangea, also known as the supercontinent that all current continents derive their existence from, is a widely-accepted theory within the scientific community. The idea that the Pangea was broken up into the continents which we are familiar with is credited by naturalists as an event that took millions of years of continental drift to occur.
The Bible offers a competing view. In the days of Peleg, the earth was divided because of the impact of a catastrophe – Noah’s flood. The assumption that everything happens slowly over time is based upon an idea called Uniformitarianism. Yet, we know that many things in the natural world happen quite quickly due to catastrophic events – storms, tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruptions, etc.
The problem isn’t with the science. It is with an interpretation of the data that assumes everything is as it always has been. Trust the science, but always be skeptical of the scientists.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Genesis 1-12; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
“…the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)
When Adam and Eve sinned, they fled the presence of God. He didn’t need to send them away from Him; they were afraid to be near Him.
When our robes are stained with sin and our lives are covered in shame, we do not want to be near Him – we flee His presence and fear the purity of His righteousness. The story of the Bible is the story of man’s sin propelling Him to flight from his Creator. We flee from God to hide our sin and shame while God dutifully pursues us at great personal cost. Even in the Garden, He was the shepherd seeking His lost sheep.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Genesis 1-12; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31)
One of the first things that Genesis introduces us to is the idea of goodness. Goodness is when things are as they ought to be. Before we are faced with bad, we are first given a picture of good. We cannot discuss evil without talking about righteousness anymore than we can discuss darkness without talking about light.
Goodness, righteousness, and light are positive creations. Badness, evil, and darkness are merely the absence of those things. When we are upset by the evil in the world or the wickedness in it, what we are really doing is mourning the absence of goodness. The existence of every human being is a search to return to that state in which God made everything “very good”.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Genesis 1-12; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1 This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
Every good book starts with a hook, a sentence or phrase that draws you in and makes you want more. The Good Book starts with “in the beginning”. Which begs the question: What beginning?
Not God’s beginning – He has none (see Psalm 90:2).
The Bible is about our beginning, our origins. It is also about the beginning of our fall away from God, and it also is about the beginning of His plan to redeem us. The Bible is about the beginning of our existence, the beginning of our brokenness, and the beginning of God’s graceful redemption of us.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
This Week’s Reading: Genesis 1-12; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1
This year, #Biblebites are looking at lessons from the history of the Old Testament. Each week reads a section of history with a Psalm to meditate on and a dash of Proverbs to dwell upon. If you would like a copy of the reading schedule, you can view it here: https://eastlandchristians.org/news-events/2024-vision
“At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them.” (2 Timothy 4:16)
Paul knew he would die soon. He was an old man who had faced many trials, been rescued from them all by God, and now was facing martyrdom for his faith in Jesus Christ as a final opportunity to glorify Him whom he loved more than life.
Lots of people deserted Paul along the way when he wished they had stayed. Many were timid when Paul needed them to be brave. Paul was left alone at times when it must have been very painful and isolating to face trials without companionship. So, what does Paul do toward those that let him down? He prays for them and forgives them. Don’t carry bitter burdens. It’s not worth it.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 4:13-22
Questions to ask:
How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
“…and the time of my departure has come.” (2 Timothy 4:6)
Paul’s departure is his death. He is talking about his imminent execution by beheading, but he describes it like we would talk about getting on an airplane. Planes arrive and depart all the time, and when they depart, they go on to new and exciting destinations. Paul talks about death as a leg in the journey.
It isn’t death; it’s just a departure.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-12
Questions to ask:
How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:4)
If we are to be sober in all things, it is best that we always consider the effects of any substance that is known to impair sobriety before consumption or usage.
We have work to fulfill, and as Christians, we are always on duty.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 4:1-5
Questions to ask:
How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
“What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!” (2 Timothy 3:11)
One reason that we need to read about the lives of men like Paul is because we lack imagination. I cannot imagine how God would save Paul from shipwrecks, corrupt governors, riotous mobs, and stonings… but God did! God is much cleverer than we are, and His rescue plans are more elegant than the ones we would plan.
We tend to like the most direct route out of trouble, but God’s rescue routes can be circuitous, long, and even make it seem like things are getting worse before they get better, but that’s a good thing because God’s rescue routes also increase our faith, use our trials to evangelize, and take us places we need to go to do things we never would have considered doing otherwise. God is good, and His rescue plans always work.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
Questions to ask:
How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy…” (2 Timothy 3:2)
Paul warned Timothy that one of the signs of the deterioration of a society is that people will become lovers of self. Interestingly enough, the modern mantra that you must “love yourself” has become so ubiquitous that it is generally acknowledged as a basic truth that we should, at all times, love ourselves. Scriptures instead say the opposite.
There are parts of myself I believe I should not love at all, and I suspect the same is true for you. Some aspects of my character and my desires are entirely reprehensible and not deserving of love – in fact, they ought to be expunged completely. To love myself as I am assumes that there is nothing about me that is anything less than perfect, and to say that is to call God a liar (see 1 John 1:8) and nullify the cross.
There are parts of all of us which are so miserably unlovable and wretched that we should weep over them (see James 4:9). To love myself is not the answer, nor is it the philosophy to live by. I need saving. I need Jesus (see Romans 7:24-25).
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 3:1-9
Questions to ask:
How is Paul feeling as he writes today’s passage? What is his mood?
What are the central themes in Paul’s preaching and teaching which are being emphasized, or how are the central themes in this epistle being emphasized in today’s reading?
How does our reading show Paul’s people skills, especially how he handles conflict?
What in this passage would change the lives of the believer(s) being addressed? How does it make me a better disciple?
How does this show the “good news” of the gospel? How can I share that with someone else?
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