November 5, 2017
Scripture:
Read Isaiah 6: 1 - 4. Isaiah had a vision of the glory of the Lord. It is amazing to think that this One that Isaiah saw in glory was also written about in ch. 53: He was smitten of God and afflicted. But now, He is there above in the glory. One day we will be there and will gaze upon the glory of the Lord. Such is our portion!
Hymn 358 - Tell me the story of Jesus
Prayer
As we follow Jesus, there are bad things that we need to stop doing, and good things that we need to replace them with. If we stop being mean, we must replace it with treating people kindly. Galatians 5 tells us that the first three parts of the fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, and peace. This is in contrast with the works of the flesh: hatred, wrath, and strife. We are born doing the works of the flesh, but we want to develop the fruit of the Spirit.
Proverbs 26:17 This verse warns us not to get involved in fights that aren’t ours. If you do, it’s like grabbing a dog by the ears: you might get bitten! Don’t take sides in strife that isn’t yours. It’s different if others ask you to help settle something, or if you are trying to make peace between people.
II Chronicles 35:20-24. Here King Necho told King Josiah, “Don’t fight with me, God is on my side.” Josiah went out to try and fight him anyway, and ended up dying. He grabbed the dog by the ears, and he got bitten. He shouldn’t have been in that battle. It’s better to be a peacemaker than get involved in fights.
Proverbs 26:18-19. These verses tell us that a violent man, who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is like someone who tricks and possibly hurts someone and then says, “I was just kidding.” Proverbs 10:23. The fool likes to hurt others. Maybe he teases them, or calls them names, but he makes them feel unloved. The Lord, however, wants us to love others and build them up.
Proverbs 26: 20-22. The tale bearer is a whisperer. He gossips about others, and maybe tells things about them that they don’t want others to know. These things may be unkind, and they might be untrue. This feeds strife just like wood feeds a fire. If you don’t have wood, you’ll run out of fire. If you stop tale bearing, you’ll stop strife. It’s very easy to spread stories today with all the social media that we have, but Jesus doesn’t want us to tell stories that embarrass or hurt others. He wants us to love them instead, and develop the fruit of the Spirit.
Proverbs 26:27. This person digs a pit for someone else, and then falls into it himself. He rolls a stone to drop on an enemy, and it falls on him. It’s like the story of Haman. He built gallows to hang Mordecai on, but the king ended up hanging him on them. If we try to harm others, God often lets us hurt ourselves.
May we not use our relationships to fight with, tease, or hurt others. Instead, may we be peacemakers, and share the love of the Lord.
James 1:5-15
Darby translates “perfect” from verse four as “perfect and complete”. If that is the result, we might find that the difficulty was beneficial. It takes off some of the rough edges making us a better person. But to have that result we must accept it in the right manner. We need wisdom. The wisdom that comes from God to help in these situations. That wisdom is there for the asking. We have a giving God Who gives wisdom to meet trials, and He gives liberally; He’s not stingy. We read more of temptation in verse thirteen, and more about givingness in verse seventeen. “it shall be given” is certainty. It’s a promise; a divine promise.
Kay Hayward knew a man who was a husband and a father. He was very concerned for his family’s salvation. He would pray with his Bible open and his finger on Acts 16:31. He would pray it back to God. In fact, there was a hole in the page where he would place his finger. God is not offended when we point out that He wrote it.
1 John 5:13-15
What was written was written for our confidence. We’re reading God’s will. We are to ask if we lack wisdom. It is a comfort to know God hears, but we also want an answer. That’s found in verse fifteen, though, I can’t say I get everything I ask for.
For verse five Darby puts “that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not” as “who gives to all freely and reproaches not”. God doesn’t rebuke us for asking.
It’s straight forward and encouraging. In Proverbs eight wisdom is personified. God is wisdom and the source of it. It’s up to us to ask for it. But verse six overrides that a little bit. Faith is a big part of this. Ms. Sclater prayed forty years for her brother to be saved. It’s the trying of our faith. It doesn’t say how or when the answer is coming.
Waves have power. They are the things that buffet us. We need to trust. Sometimes we’re surprised by the answer, and that it actually happened. That’s not asking in faith. We have in Matthew that we can ask for anything believing. We can put our finger on it and ask God, and make it a reality by faith. Sometimes though we make the mistake of asking for things not according to God’s will.
Verse seven is very serious. How do you know if you’re asking in faith? One can know what they really believe - it’s an exercise. Do I really trust the Lord for this? Is it for His glory? Are we the type of people who say God may or may not? Do you have a second plan? Are we unsure of an answer? Then we’re not asking in faith. Where is our focus? Part of seeking God’s wisdom is giving up our own will.
Hymn 180 Whom have we, Lord, but Thee?
Prayer