For Biblical Discussion

Be Careful Following the Crowds!


Am I now trying to get people to think well of me?
Or do I want God to think well of me? Am I trying to
please people? If I were, I would not be serving Christ.
(Gal. 1:10 NIRV)

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Jesus knew crowds! He had a perfect understanding of what is modernly called “Crowd Psychology” (John 2:23-25). Crowds seemingly know everything or know nothing. The crowds of Jesus’ day lauded Him as a great prophet who had come from God. Others claimed Him as the Son of David. Still others just figured He was John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. (Then, we can’t forget others were there just for a good meal (St. John 6:24-26 )).

Jesus knew that He was rightfully due praise (Luke 19:37-42), but He was not influenced by crowds. As He entered Jerusalem, they exalted Him with shouts of ‘Hosanna’! So, they praised Him, but near the end of His life, crowds were influenced to send Jesus to His death by crucifixion (Mark 15:9-14)!

Jesus had His ministry among crowds, but on many occasions He would retire from the people to be alone with God. Many today are caught up in the opinions of what people say and what they think (Mark 11:29-33). But, there is a secret place — a place where God wants His servants to be — which is far from the opinions and crowds of people.  We must also learn not to go to extremes to get people to think well of us by trying to impress them (Ga. 1:10). This is a distortion of what is true. The more we commune with God the less we are influenced by people’s censures of us (I Cor. 4:3-4).

It’s true that we need all kinds of people to interact with. It is also true that we need to find times to distance ourselves from people to know the mind and will of God. Crowds and groups of people will always be there; they are not going away, but how we view and interact with them is important. Let’s get away from trying to impress people and get on with the business of pleasing God!

 

 

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The Ravens are Coming!


“You will drink water from the brook.
I have ordered some ravens to feed you there.”

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Most people will agree that ravens are ugly mysterious birds that we often associate with evil or the dark side! We don’t seem to know much about them, but researchers tells us that they are highly intelligent creatures. We understand that they can reason on the level of dolphins and chimps.

God’s prophet Elijah had an unexpected relationship with ravens. He came to evil king Ahab and told him God was punishing him, along with Israel, for their evil deeds! Elijah told Ahab that, according to his word, there would be no rain and all Israel would suffer as a result. Elijah walked away from that meeting and, as promised, Israel suffered for years while looking everywhere for water! We see Elijah was not exempt from the draught! How would he survive and where would he get water and food? God knew exactly where he was and his dire need, and commanded ravens to feed him and had a brook to supply him water! God sustains His people! God, in His mercy, is even sustaining the whole world (Ps. 145:16)! There’s coming a time when He will withhold His sustenance from the masses of people because of their rejection of Him (Rev. 18:8).

We have to understand that the people in the Bible are no different than us. God simply supplies the needs of those who trust in Him. He fed 5,000 people who had no means. He even clothed Adam and Eve when their eyes were opened concerning their nakedness. We who live by faith, believe that the ravens are near, and somehow God will keep us alive. Many generations have experienced diseases and famines. We just have to know our biblical history. Egypt experienced great famine, and God’s people, as well as the world, were delivered from it under Joseph’s leadership. The Lord sent pestilence in Israel during the reign of king David and 70,000 died in a short time (II Sam. 24:15). There was pestilence in the time of the prophet Amos. The new testament church at Jerusalem suffered famine. We also read that the psalmist had experience enough to write to us from his day: Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. (Ps. 33:8-9). What a mighty God we serve!

If you have God’s Spirit abiding in you, and you believe in God, let the words in this article comfort you. (Suddenly, inspired biblical words you read should have more impact.) Let’s believe the words of king David, that great leader:  “I have been young, and now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his offspring begging bread.”

 

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An Imitation of Love!


Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words
and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth. 
(1 John 3:18)

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There is a movie titled: “The Imitation of Life”, that could have easily been named the Imitation of Love. The two main actors are a single black mother and her fair-skinned daughter, who conveniently passed as white. The daughter had struggles loving her mother because she wanted to “fit in” with white America during the 1950’s. The mother pursued the daughter with unconditional love. The daughter (suffering her own struggles with her skin color) rejected her mother’s love. She finally realized the depths of her love for her mother at the time of her mother’s death — which was too late. (This was a tragic story!) The movie should be seen by all people who have issues loving anyone because of internal and external pressures.

In many ways there are struggles we face with those who are considered different than who we have defined ourselves as. Many only want those type of people in their world. The church also struggles with loving certain members who are in the body. We all know that love can be expressed by words, but “I love you” means nothing if there are no actions that back up mere words. Take a moment and ask yourself how would you define love? What does it look like? Is it a nice feeling you have for someone and they, in-turn, have for you? How would you define it? Let’s go back to I Corinthians, chapter 13 and revisit the “love” chapter and see what love really is. Here is a good biblical definition of love, as well: For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE his only begotten son. The verse clearly suggests that love is a sacrifice. Forms of intense giving are expressions of love. Love means little to others if our flowery words are simply poured out on them. We must be careful because there is an imitation of love. It looks like love, and it often masquerades as love, but it can have its root in selfishness and indifference. True love cannot be imitated with just words of expressions.

God — help us to love — not just with words, but also in deeds! Amen!

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Stay Away from Murder!


 

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THE FASCINATION WITH MURDER

Murder is on the increase, not only with those who physically commit such crimes, but also those who are transfixed with their details. Many video games and apps, news reports, and television programs all have one thing in common — murder! Our world has a curiosity, fascination, and even a love affair with the “how’s” and “whys” of murder. We are being fed a steady diet of crime, served up in as many ways as possible to make the viewing and hearing about killing palatable. Murder is a heinous crime that can capture the attention of its listeners and viewers. For those taken in by the sensationalism…at some point murder goes beyond “news”. The news has the ability to feed on the psyche and can become as addictive as any powerful drug. This is a trick of an enemy!

THE EFFECTS OF MURDER ON A SOCIETY

Many know the account of Samson who was fascinated with Delilah’s ways. After Sampson’s hair was cut, he thought he had the strength he once had to fight. He found out at the critical time he didn’t have that strength at all. Likewise, one cannot be consistently curious about murder and think it doesn’t have any negative affect on them mentally and spiritually (Mt. 24:12). The Bible states: “We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.” – I John 5:19 – Berean Study Bible

Copycat killings usually start with one who is intrigued by another’s murder(s). The intrigued person eventually “acts out” what has been sown in their heart. We should stay away from anything that is wicked — and our hearts are desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). We should also know that we haven’t experienced the utter depths of where our hearts can lead us. (“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” – Prov. 4:23/GNT.) A person who is “saved” is not immune from being caught up in the spirit of murder — which is usually in some form of news or entertainment through means of broadcasting. People can be subject to this spirit, whether saved or unsaved (James 4:2; I John 3:14-15). Great spirits from history have a way of returning and affecting masses of people. We see these following accounts in the Bible. During Noah’s day the earth at that time was given over to violence (Gen. 6:13). The apostle Paul noticed that the city of Athens was given over to a similar spirit, which was idolatry (Acts. 17:16). The prophet Hosea took a wife from the land of Israel that was given over to idolatry and adultery. Habakkuk complained of the wide-spread violence of his day (Hab. 1:1-3). History has a way of coming back to repeat itself.

The first murder in the Bible was broadcast for the purpose of showing how dark sin really is, but we see the insatiable drawing power murder has to consume all who are given over to its spell — from those who commit actual crimes to those who are drawn in by the details.

Stay away from murder!

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Get Away from the People!


Am I now trying to get people to think well of me?
Or do I want God to think well of me? Am I trying to
please people? If I were, I would not be serving Christ.
(Gal. 1:10 NIRV)

social-media-3696894_1920

Jesus knew crowds! He had a perfect understanding of what is modernly called “Crowd Psychology” (John 2:23-25). Crowds seemingly know everything or know nothing. The crowds of Jesus’ day lauded Him as a great prophet who had come from God. Others claimed Him as the Son of David. Still others just figured He was John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. (Then, we can’t forget others were there just for a good meal (St. John 6:24-26 )).

Jesus knew that He was rightfully due praise (Luke 19:37-42), but He was not influenced by crowds. As He entered Jerusalem, they exalted Him with shouts of ‘Hosanna’! So, they praised Him, but near the end of His life, crowds were influenced to send Jesus to His death by crucifixion (Mark 15:9-14)!

Jesus had His ministry among crowds, but on many occasions He would retire from the people to be alone with God. Many today are caught up in the opinions of what people say and what they think (Mark 11:29-33). But, there is a secret place — a place where God wants His servants to be — which is far from the opinions and crowds of people.  We must also learn not to go to extremes to get people to think well of us by trying to impress them (Ga. 1:10). This is a distortion of what is true. The more we commune with God the less we are influenced by people’s censures of us (I Cor. 4:3-4).

It’s true that we need all kinds of people to interact with. It is also true that we need to find times to distance ourselves from people to know the mind and will of God. Crowds and groups of people will always be there; they are not going away, but how we view and interact with them is important. Let’s get away from trying to impress people and get on with the business of pleasing God!

 

 

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