November 20, 2016
Scripture:
Scripture:
Hymn 215 - Happy they who trust in Jesus
Prayer
Last time we spoke about truthfulness, and I was thinking that a similar character trait to truthfulness is honesty. However the word honest is never mentioned in the Old Testament. There is another word used, though: upright. It means honest, just, and right before the Lord. The Lord says in Job 1:1 that Job was an upright man.
There are two Hebrew words that are translated upright. The first word is “yashar.” It means “straight”, like if you told someone to walk straight. It also means honest. The second word, “tam” means “perfect.” That’s what Job was. If you did perfect on a test, that means you got all the questions right. We can’t be perfect by ourselves; we need the Lord’s help. The Lord Himself is described as upright.
Proverbs 11:25. The Lord delights in those that are upright, and that’s why it’s important to be upright. Later in the Bible the prophet Micah wrote that, “The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men.” There was nobody good, no one walking in honour to the Lord. We want to!
How does being upright apply to our lives? The story is told of three boys: Charles, Henry, and Joe. They all used to be friends, but Henry and Joe were lazy and didn’t study their school lessons. They then asked Charles, who did study, to help them cheat on their tests, but Charles was an honest, upright boy, so he refused and the friendship ended. That summer the drug store in town was hiring a boy. Joe went to try for the job. The druggist took him to a back room and showed him a big box of screws and nails. He said, “Sort all these screws and nails, and call me when you’re done.” Joe started to work, but quickly grew tired of the work, and told the druggist he didn’t want the job. Henry tried, too, but he also got fed up. Charles then tried. He sorted all the screws and nails, separating them into different smaller boxes. He even found a five dollar coin in the box, which he honestly gave to the druggist. At the end of the week, he found the five dollars as a bonus with his regular pay. Charles continued to work at the drug store, and the druggist continued to test him. He would leave coins around, and Charles always brought them to him. Eventually, the druggist completely trusted Charles. People want other people that they can trust!
Proverbs 10:9. “Surely” here means, “safely.” There is safety in being upright. It said that Job stayed away from evil; things that the Lord hated. He had spiritual safety.
Proverbs 10:29. Here the upright are promised strength. As we seek to follow the Lord’s way, we will be blessed with strength.
Proverbs 11:3. The Lord also says that He will guide the upright. As we get close to the Lord, and seek Him, we will get guidance for our pathway. We certainly need it!
Proverbs 11:6. Fourthly, the Lord will watch over and deliver the upright. Even day to day, we need the Lord to preserve us.
Proverbs 15:8-9. Finally, the prayer of the upright is the Lord’s delight. He is glad to hear our dependence on Him. Last week we saw how prayer helped get Peter out of jail. The believers prayed, and God delivered him. He loves to hear and answer prayer!
May we live uprightly, and gain it’s blessings!
Colossians 3:15-25
Darby puts verse fifteen as, “And let the peace of Christ preside in your hearts”. What is the difference between the peace of God, and the peace of Christ? Jesus said in John fourteen, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you”. Jesus didn’t need peace with God, which is in regard to sin, because Jesus never sinned. It was already His enjoyment. Hole said, “Rest of heart and mind results from confidence in God’s love, and submission to God’s will”. The peace with God was acquired at the cross. The peace of God is in relation to our circumstances.
Something interesting is that it is peace, not love. We have peace because of love at the cross. It’s a packaged deal. We are brought into oneness with Him. It’s part of the mystery we discussed earlier. Here it is added , “and be ye thankful”. When we think about what our Saviour has done for us, we should be thankful! This should be every day, and it helps with the peace. Unthankfulness is a characteristic of someone who is not a Christian.
Verse sixteen tells us to have the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. There is as much in the Word for us today as there was for those of Bible times. And if we apply it with wisdom it will teach and admonish us. It is a bit of a struggle to put off the old man. But here it seems like joy with singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. God’s Word is a blessing to us, and it should strike a chord in our hearts. Spiritual songs are on a lower level. The words of Christ are found in hymns, but they’re not the inspired word of God even though God gave the hymns to write. Hymns unite us in meetings. Someone may lead the worship or prayer, but we all express our feelings together in the hymns. Many hymns give expression of worship and praise. But we’re not singing to each other or an audience; we’re singing to God. It is really easy to become familiar with the lyrics of a hymn, so we are no longer conscious of what we are expressing.
Verse 14, 15, and 16 tell us about love, peace, and joy. All three should be characterizing us.
Verse seventeen is very similar to 1.Corinthians 10:31. Whatsoever ye do means everything, which is the word Darby uses.
In the next three verses there are three relationships. In each one takes the lead and one is subject. It is important to realize the order and it should be respected. No one is inferior to the other. Each is given a role and responsibility.
Hymn 350 - I will make you fishers of men
Prayer