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“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls ” (1 Peter 2:25).
In writing to Christians who have been subject to the great Dispersion from Jerusalem, Peter has not hesitated to jump immediately into the subject of the wonderful opportunity Jesus has made possible because of His sacrifice. Both Jews and Gentiles are included in this group. The persecutions these people have endured is no indication that God does not care. In fact, Peter wants them to realize just how much God cares about all of His children, and He desires that all be saved—that was God’s purpose in sending Jesus as the Savior. All of these Christians, at one point, were a part of wandering, lost humanity before they obeyed Jesus; however, they found Jesus and accepted Him as their “Shepherd” and their “Overseer”; that is, He became their Protector and Guide, watching over them as a shepherd over the flock. Peter uses this figure of speech to depict the relationship between Jesus and all who follow Him in every generation. Jesus guides, protects, and watches over His subjects, desiring that they follow His teaching and remain faithful until the end. Love, Joe “when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).
As Paul writes to encourage this young preacher, he expresses his desire to see him in person as he recalls the faithful family from which he has come: a grandmother and a mother who instilled their great faith into Timothy. One can never overestimate the value of the influence of those with whom we associate. Especially on this day set aside by the world to recognize mothers, it seems appropriate that we pause to acknowledge the lasting influence that mothers of faith have had over us. A good mother may be described by many complimentary words: a pearl of great price, the foundation of a happy home, a master of multi-tasking, a skilled negotiator, the glue that holds a family together, and the list could go on. Our gratitude goes out to all who have exerted influence to direct us to be the kind of Christian God wants us to be. Love, Joe “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:15).
One of the strongest motivations for living a holy life is that the God Himself is holy, meaning He sets Himself apart from the degradation of sin and corruption found on this earth. For Christians to be called “holy,” they must first be devoted to God and, then, conduct themselves in a way that shows they are dedicated to living the kind of life God wants them to live. Specifically, it means to “sanctify themselves, …to cleanse themselves from all defilement, to forsake sin, to live a holy manner of life.” Living a holy life is a sure way to develop a solid Christian character that is crucial to pleasing God. It includes both a positive attitude toward God and actions that demonstrate our reliance on God’s will as our guide. Love, Joe “But now, O Lord,
You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). The Israelites do not have a good relationship with God at this time because most of them have ignored His instructions and have gone their own way. The remanent that is left need God now, but He is not happy with them. Through the prophet Isaiah, they try to present a self-serving picture so that God will help them. It appears they are attempting to repent—either sincerely or perhaps just giving lip service about their unworthiness and lack of devotion. They appear to be saying “Regardless of the past, we belong to you, and we now recognize you as the One who shapes us,” using the imagery of God as their potter. Wallowing in self-pity is never a pretty picture, but that is really what the Israelites appear to be doing. They want Him to get over His disgust with them and solve the bad situation they have created—after all, they are “the work of (His) hand.” Even today, God does not work that way. We can’t make decisions, religiously or morally, based on our own desires—get ourselves into a bad situation—and then run to God for resolution, claiming “We are the clay, and You our potter.” God wants to be our Potter all the time—not just when we are in trouble. Love, Joe “But now, O Lord,
You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). The Israelites do not have a good relationship with God at this time because most of them have ignored His instructions and have gone their own way. The remanent that is left need God now, but He is not happy with them. Through the prophet Isaiah, they try to present a self-serving picture so that God will help them. It appears they are attempting to repent—either sincerely or perhaps just giving lip service about their unworthiness and lack of devotion. They appear to be saying “Regardless of the past, we belong to you, and we now recognize you as the One who shapes us,” using the imagery of God as their potter. Wallowing in self-pity is never a pretty picture, but that is really what the Israelites appear to be doing. They want Him to get over His disgust with them and solve the bad situation they have created—after all, they are “the work of (His) hand.” Even today, God does not work that way. We can’t make decisions, religiously or morally, based on our own desires—get ourselves into a bad situation—and then run to God for resolution, claiming “We are the clay, and You our potter.” God wants to be our Potter all the time—not just when we are in trouble. Joe “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion,
“And trust in Mount Samaria, “Notable persons in the chief nation, “To whom the house of Israel comes!” (Amos 6:1). Prosperity has a tendency to boost a people’s pride and give them a confidence that can lead them away from God. That actually is what is happening in Israel at this time when Amos, a farmer-turned-prophet, comes along. It’s a time of prosperity, and business is booming; but the Israelites are allowing greed, selfishness, and injustice to infiltrate their ranks. This false sense of security is allowing hypocritical tendencies to replace true worship and devotion to God and His word. “Amos” means “burden”; thus, Amos is the “burden-bearer” for Israel. “Zion,” of course, is Jerusalem, considered the seat of all things religious. “Mount Samaria” is a neighboring peak and city—not a holy city, just an arrogant one that is the seat of much religious activity. Amos pronounces a “woe” against both places. The message is clear and profound, especially considering the prosperity we enjoy in our day: material blessings should never cloud our thinking and give us a false sense of security. Our time and devotion are to be directed toward God—we use our blessings to facilitate our responsibility to Him and not to draw us away from Him Love, Joe Second in a series of two about Daniel 3
“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who will deliver like this” (Daniel 3:28-29). “Amazed” is King Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction as he sees no harm come to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who have been placed in his “intensified” fiery furnace because they have refused to fall down and worship his golden image. “Impressed” is another descriptor for this king who has witnessed the great power of the God of Heaven in keeping these three from receiving any harm at all. To his credit, the king has done a complete “about face” from his position of extreme punishment for anyone who doesn’t follow his command. Not only does the king witness the power of God, but he passes another decree that elevates God over all idol gods that might be in the kingdom. The message is that we never know the level of influence we may have by standing staunch in our faith and by living our lives in such a way that we bring glory and recognition to God. Our influence will probably not reach the height that these three did, but we can still be a positive force for God by our unrelenting faithfulness. Love, Joe “Shadrack, Meshack, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up ” (Daniel 3:16-18). Having just been asked about which god would deliver them from the fiery furnace, these three responded with this forceful message of unrelenting faith in the God whom they served. The setting for this story is the Babylon Empire, a time after the three named in this passage, had gained favor with King Nebuchadnezzar—the king had built an image of himself and commanded the people to bow down before it. When these three refused, the king had them placed in the fiery furnace. In spite of extreme danger, these men refused to give in and turn against the God of heaven. Their faith, along with other outstanding people of God in scripture, stands front and center as an example for us. In spite of uncomfortable or even extreme circumstances, we must be determined never to turn against our God—we must Never Give Up our faith in Him. Love, Joe “But Naaman became furious and went away and said, “indeed, I said to myself, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy’ ” (2 Kings 5:11).
It is easy for humans to forget that God is different from us—He does not think the same way, He does not have the same attitude toward things or even life itself, and He does not act in the same way as we do. That was the problem Naaman, commander of the army of the King of Syria, had when he found himself with the dreaded disease of leprosy. Based on the recommendation of a serving girl, he sought out a prophet of God, Elisha, to cure his disease. When the prophet told him to dip himself seven times in the dirty Jordan River in Israel, Naaman reacted as is recorded in this verse. He expected that Elisha would demonstrate the power of his God by performing some public spectacle and pronounce him healed. When that did not happen, he was irate. People of every generation are not really that different. Many expect to find God in the spectacular—they think a powerful God will heal the ills of society, will make Himself known through emotionalism in mega-churches, or will give them some spine-tingling experience that will transport them into a world of their perception of spirituality. These actions do not describe the God of heaven. His main concern for mankind centers on the preparation of the soul for eternity. He cares about every aspect of our being, but his primary concern is that we follow His word in living our lives so that we can come to be with Him after this life is over. Love, Joe “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Having just discussed several points about those living under the Old Testament and teaching some important principles about living the kind of life God wants His people to live, Paul comes forth with this profound concept for those now living in Christ. Assurance and arrogance are opposing characteristics. Assurance means we have confidence that we have complied with the requirements for a situation, in this case God’s requirements for salvation. Arrogance is overconfidence about our situation. It displays the attitude of relying upon our own resources instead of depending on God. In this passage, the Apostle Paul warns against arrogance. God owes us nothing; and even when we comply with His requirements, we have no basis for arrogance—that is, feeling overconfident as if we deserve the grace that He is extending to us. Even though the Old Testament people whom Paul references here followed at least some of the rules, God was not pleased with them because they displayed a spirit of arrogance. He wants us, as His people, to learn from their mistakes and to submit humbly to His word, thus showing our dependence on Him and our trust in Him. Love, Joe |
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