“And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17, NLT)
After Peter proclaimed the gospel of Jesus in Caesarea to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer, Peter had to explain his actions to the apostolic leadership and believers back in Jerusalem.
As Peter recounted the sequence of events, he explained it was only by God’s initiative that he took the gospel to the Gentiles.
“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7-11, NLT)
In Psalm 19 David declared the eminence and significance of God’s law.
In general, God’s instructions refer to all His laws or commands but can specifically refer to Genesis through Deuteronomy, the written code given through Moses.
We should consider God’s instructions to be His complete revealed Word in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, Genesis through Revelation.
According to the psalmist, God’s instructions are relevant to your life because they are perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, true, fair, desirable, and sweet (vs. 7-10).
And, if you read God’s instruction manual, the psalmist says that these are some of the benefits you will receive from following its instructions:
We should value the Bible as God’s instruction manual for knowing and understanding Him and how He wants us to live and what He wants us to do with our lives.
Because if we want to obey God, it is necessary that we know what His instructions are and then follow them by applying them to our lives.
And, if you desire to live for God each day, then you need to consult God’s instruction manual, the Bible, each day.
“God rescues the afflicted by their affliction; He instructs them by their torment” (Job 36:15, HCSB).
In the story of Job, Elihu was the fourth and last to speak from among Job’s friends. Elihu was younger than the others and waited to speak, giving deference to the older men.
Though younger, Elihu believed he was speaking God’s truth in confronting Job, but he claimed neither human superiority nor inferiority to Job.
Elihu had listened carefully to Job’s claims of being pure and innocent and being unjustly oppressed by God.
And Elihu reminded Job that as a human being, he was not in a position to bring accusations against God, his Creator.
Elihu declared to Job that instead of being a sign of God’s unconcern as Job had supposed, affliction was a mark of God’s mercy, keeping one from the path of iniquity.
In other words, the very thing that afflicts you may also be what saves you.
God can use your affliction to rescue and restore you to Him and His will. Your affliction can spiritually develop you into a human being that is prepared for spending eternity with God!
Admittedly, affliction is not my first choice for spiritual growth. In fact, I like to avoid affliction as much as possible. So, I often recite from the Lord’s prayer the supplication that Jesus teaches us to pray for protection from affliction: “And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13, HCSB).
Indeed, our affliction may sometimes be one way that God deals with issues in our lives that could potentially cause us to be unfaithful. But this verse does not say that God afflicts us, but that He rescues and restores us through our affliction. (Remember, it was Satan that afflicted Job; it was Satan that tested Job, not God.)
Because affliction causes us to throw ourselves on God’s mercy!
That which causes my pain and suffering is also that which can restore me to intimacy with God.
That which causes me to give up and quit is also that which empowers me to endure and persevere.
So what we perceive to be our problem is actually the solution to our problem!
In fact, our affliction may even prevent evil or temptation from overtaking or overcoming us: “Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity, for that is why you have been tested by affliction” (vs. 21).
When I was a boy, I joined the boy scouts. In scouting you earn merit badges for demonstrating a useful skill or a good behavior. By earning merit badges, a scout may advance in rank. Advancement in rank acknowledges the scout’s growing ability to serve others better.
Our afflictions are God’s merit badges. They are designed to empower us to become more obedient and productive as Jesus’s disciples.
“But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19, HCSB).
Greatness is a status to which all of us aspire in some form or fashion:
a great leader,
a great teacher,
a great parent,
a great athlete,
or even a great human being!
We want to climb mountains, ride the river rapids, fly high in the sky, or race fast on the ground!
We aspire for greatness; we endeavor to achieve great things!
What’s more, God wants us to be great, but He wants us to be great in His Kingdom!
But greatness in God’s Kingdom is not measured by how many souls we’ve won, how many good deeds we’ve performed, how many times we’ve read the Bible, how many scripture verses we can quote, or even how many church services we’ve attended.
One’s stature in God’s Kingdom is determined by simply practicing and teaching the commands that God gave and were fulfilled in Jesus.
In other words, God’s great ones walk what they talk and practice what they preach! God’s great ones are obedient to the commands of God’s Word and the leading of His Spirit.
And what’s great about greatness in God’s Kingdom is that all God’s people can be great!
Greatness in God’s Kingdom is not reserved for just a select few with big accomplishments. Actually, greatness should be the identifying characteristic of every citizen in God’s Kingdom.
If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are destined for greatness in eternity by obedience to God’s commands in this present life!
“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him…Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him” (Matthew 4:20,22, HCSB).
When Jesus called His first disciples–Peter, Andrew, James, and John–Matthew says they actually left what they were doing at the very moment when Jesus issued the invitation to follow Him.
They did it expeditiously!
They acted with urgency!
They left and followed without hesitation!
They didn’t think about it, analyze it, make comparisons, or check references. They just seized the opportunity as if it were a once-in-a-lifetime offer (and it probably was).
Before the occasion of their calling, it’s possible they knew about Jesus or even personally knew Him. After all, Jesus had moved from the obscure village of Nazareth to the bustling fishing town of Capernaum to launch His ministry. (vs. 13,17).
These men may have heard Jesus preach and teach and seen Him heal the sick on several occasions.
So, when Jesus summoned them to become His disciples, they jumped at the chance.
They all immediately left what they were doing and joined Him.
When Jesus beckons, what great possibilities await!
But don’t suppose that His requests are subject to our internal review or personal schedule.
As His disciples let us respond with immediacy to His behests.
Let’s go, without hesitation!
“My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” Jesus makes these remarks near the well in the Samaritan village of Sychar. Jesus had just told a Samaritan woman who was drawing water from the well that she should drink from the living water that He gives. She went and told the people of the village that Jesus was the Messiah and many came to see him and believed in Him. While all this was occurring, some of Jesus’s disciples urged Him to eat. Just as Jesus told the woman at the well He was the source of life-giving water, He told His disciples He was the source of life-giving food: “I have a kind of food you know nothing about” (vs. 32). So Jesus can supply spiritual nourishment for the hungry souls of people. Furthermore, Jesus is our model for obtaining spiritual sustenance. He, Himself, was spiritually sustained by doing the will of God and finishing God’s work in His life. In the same way, our spiritual nourishment should be doing the will of God in our own lives to the extent that we complete the work that God intends each of us to do. When Jesus fed the five thousand men (plus women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fish, He commanded His disciples “You feed them” (Matthew 14:16). The disciples responded that they had only a small supply of of bread and fish. “Bring them here” (Matthew 14:18) Jesus told the disciples. Jesus was prepared to miraculously provide nourishment for the large crowd of people by blessing the obedient action of His disciples. When you continuously offer the little that you have to Jesus, then you are enabled and empowered to do God’s will and complete the work He plans to do through your life.
“And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.”
During his reign over Judah, King Hezekiah cleansed the temple, restored temple worship, and organized the priests.
In other words, he made serving God his personal and professional responsibility and he was successful at it.
Hezekiah’s formula for success in serving God was simple:
You can be successful for God if you will follow this simple formula for serving Him.
“And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” Moses told the people of Israel before they entered the promised land that in the future they may have a king who shall be chosen by the Lord. And the king over Israel “may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:20). King Josiah was an example of such a king. Josiah rebuilt the temple and re-established temple worship in Judah according to the Mosaic law. Josiah did not deviate from God’s law–he stayed on the straight path of obedience to God’s law and did not turn to the right or left, and he reigned peacefully over Israel for over three decades (vs. 1, 20). There is a path through life that leads straight to God and your life will be blessed if you choose the straight path and remain obedient to Him.
“For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Whether you believe that Christians who are once saved are always saved or if you believe that Christians can fall away, the sober warning in this passage should be taken seriously by Christians of both views. Being a Christian means you have resolved to be faithful to God no matter what happens in your life—it is a lifetime resolution. When a Christian experiences the ups and downs of life and remains faithful to God, it builds a confidence and assurance that one does, in fact, share in the eternal life of Christ. Because being a Christian doesn’t always come easy, this verse provides a grave warning to everyone who claims to be saved to examine yourself carefully to be sure that you have the fortitude and resolve to persevere in your faith in Christ. Never mind trying to figure out who is a true believer and who is not; build up your own endurance because you belong to Christ if you hold fast your confidence to the end (vs. 5, 14).
Steve's Bible Meditations 