Of Power, Love and Sound mind

Dear brethren,
Today's readings:

Ecclesiastes 1-3; Psalm 45; 2 Timothy 1

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The original Greek word for "fear" is "Delia" which is always used in a bad sense, alluding to timidity, cowardice. This is contrasted to the more neutral "phobos" which can be bad (e.g. Mat 8:26) or good (e.g. Heb 4:1) or "eulebeia" which specifically "Godly fear" (e.g. Heb 12:28)
Thus as Christians, we need to avoid feeling that sense of doom and hopelessness, as if we have no hope of promise in our lives, but instead lean upon the triangle of power, love and sound mindedness.
Power is the doing. The action. Obedience is not lip service! Obedience is about taking action but not as we please but according to what God has commanded.
Love is the emotive aspect. The underlying motivation of it all. Without which, all action is but clanging brass! (1Co 13:1)
Sound mindedness is the logical cognitive aspect. Blind faith is an oxymoron! Faith is always evidence based. (Heb 11:1) God wants a thinking, reasoning, people,not programmed automatons! (Isa 1:18)
So study God's word! Think about it logically, apply it with love to God, to others, to self, put it to action and we can overcome all our anxieties and live this life in joyous preparation for the glory to come.

Doctrines of devils

Dear brethren,
Today's readings :

2Chronicles 5-7; Psalm 121; 1 Timothy 4

1Ti 4:1 — 1Ti 4:3 (KJV)
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

Again, doesn't this sound familiar? (c.f. the previous devotion on 2Th 2:3,4)
Paul certainly pulled no punches in condemning and giving warning to such false teachers and doctrine.
Notice that he was not warning about some pagan religion but of those who were once in the faith but have departed. This statement both shows that it is possible to come to the true faith and at the same time to fall from it.
We further observe the scathing remarks about these back-sliders -
"giving heed to seducing spirits" From the very beginning, in the garden of Eden, Satan is the master of subterfuge and lies (c.f. Jhn 8:44). What is so despicable is that he throws temptation in our way and seduces and entices us, often using half-truths, to make a wrong move. Yet, it also points to the fact that we can make the decision to give heed or reject.

"doctrines of devils" wow... Do we realise just how serious the matter is? Again, we are not talking about some way off pagan religion but still within the "Christian" faith. And yet, there is no difference - any departure, however small and minor (we are "merely" talking about food and family!), is as bad as the teaching of the devil! There are so many, even today, who will happily wave the flag of Christ, claiming everything to be fine and dandy as long as we all "believe in the same God" and yet whose end is as of the devil and his minions. Don't forget, the devils believe in God too and tremble even! (Jam 2:19)

"speaking lies in hypocrisy" ouch... This means that these individuals are not ignorant. Unlike Paul in his pre-conversion, their conscience is not clean. In fact it is just "seared with a hot iron" - meaning to say, it doesn't even bother them! These are the people who know the truth and yet choose to teach otherwise.

Let us not be complacent. Let us indeed continue to be vigilant of such false teachers and doctrine, because they are still very much active and in large majority today, and will continue to entice with the half-truths and smooth speech. Again and again, we are urged to study the Word and make oursleves impervious to the attacks of the devil and adopt a non-comprimising attitude where doctrine is concerned, lest we too be found as the minions of the devil...

Perfect hearts

Dear brethren,
Today's readings:

1Kings 8; Psalm 30; 1Timothy 3

1 Kings 8:61 (KJV)
Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word here for  "perfect" here is actually "Salem" or whole, complete and also the idea of at peace, where relationships are concerned. It is used to describe the well fashioned stones for the temple as we have read previously in 1Ki 6:7, also in reference to the completion of the temple (2Chr 8:16), fair weights (whole and not tweaked) in Pro 11:1 and wages paid in full (Ruth 2:12).
So again we see this idea of being complete. Complete of what? Of the single mindedness in seeking after God, no matter what. It does not mean we can do what we want as long as our hearts are "sincere". It does not mean we will be sinless in our lives. What it does mean is that we will continue to bench mark against God standards and be humble enough to make changes to make right with God, if and when we stray.
Using the analogy of fair weights or say the modern day weighing machine. In order to get a consistent and reliable reading, the scale needs to be calibrated and accurate. At times we may get an incorrect reading but it could be due to the scale not being placed on a stable surface or that the object is not placed properly on the scale. That can be easily discovered by visual inspection and  multiple readings and discarding the anamolies. But if the scale itself is faulty, then there is absolutely no way to be confident of its reading.
Such is the hearts of man. If our hearts are perfect, even though at times we may misuse it, we could still be corrected back on track. But the incomplete, wavering heart will never produce a consistent action (c.f. Jam 1:6-8; Eph 4:14).
And how do we obtain and maintain such a heart? It begins and ends with continual study and obedience to God's Word. Just as the scale must be calibrated to the standard measure, our hearts can only be perfect if it is attuned to the perfect standard of God's Word.

Let us all strive after a perfect heart, as what was described of David, as a people "after his (God's) own heart" (1Sa 13:14), and continue to abide in His Word, that we may be found pleasing before Him and finally be received up in glory!

Yet Count Him Not As An Enemy

Dear brethren,
Today's readings:

1Kings 5; 2Chronicles 2; 2 Thessalonians 3

2Th 3:14 — 2Th 3:15 (KJV)
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

This is one of those passages that doesn't get applied enough! And what is even more regrettable is the frequent failure to apply, in conjuction, v. 15.

The word "ashamed" is really better rendered in the original sense of to "turn about", in other words to bring about change. Thus this method of "isolation" is for the purpose to encourage repentance of the individual. The message sent is that we cannot be as before, while the transgressing party has not turned back. It cannot be "business as usual".
But this isolation does not mean cutting of contact! On the contrary, we are to "admonish" and not as to anyone but as a brother.

The key to it all in fact, is this contact. How well do we know our fellow brethren? How frequent is our interaction with one another? How much do we mean to one another? Because if we do not put in the effort, when we are together, how will it work in our effort to isolate? The isolation is probably welcome! And this responsibility lies on EACH AND EVERYONE of us! It is not just the responsibility of the elders, teachers and other mature members, but everyone has to make the effort to connect with brethren. We all know it takes effort for relationships to work, and it can be as simple as a causal text message. But it has to start somewhere and continue to grow. And I cannot begin to describe how powerful it is especially when it comes from the young in faith.

So let us continue to be pro-active, to build our bonds one with another, to develop the strong safety net for one another, that if we should fall, none of us should fall through the cracks but bounce back into the fold.

Does God desire not sacrifice?

Psalms 51:16 (KJV)

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.

Ah yes, God only sees the heart. Our service to God doesn't matter. Attendence and participation don't matter. God only sees the heart.
Samuel even said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." 1Sam 15:22

Really?

In the first place, the whole point of this Psalm is a humbled and contrite David, fully realising his folly in the incident of Bathsheba, pouring out his heart to God. It simply highlights the fact that, repentance has to come out of godly sorrow (c.f. 2Co 7:10).
Secondly, if we just read all the way to the end, we find in the concluding verse 19
"Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering:
then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."

As in the case of Samuel rebuking Saul, the problem is not with the sacrifice but with the motivation behind it. The issue is not that sacrifice is not important but that they must come out of a pure heart and in obedience to God's Word.

Yes, God sees the heart and it is precisely so that we need to render our perfect obedience AND offer our sacrifice and service that it may be acceptable to Him. And yes, far be it for us to put the cart before the horse by thinking we can make oursleves right by working on our own terms.

Convenient Season

Dear brethren,

Today's readings :

1Chronicles 14-15; Acts 24

Acts 24:25
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Again we see how that even the Apostles used "reason". And it is clear from other passages we've come across that it was reasoning out of Scriptures. Everything is clearly laid out for all to see! There's no hiding, no "secret" interpretation privy only to the privilege view. It is God's open invitation to an open book, to all to study, to reason, to scrutinize and above all, with that come to the knowledge of the truth.
Unfortunately, as shown here in Felix, it is often the human prejudice and pride that get's in the way. Notice Felix "trembled". He understood exactly what Paul was saying. He knew exactly what he must do. He just refused to render obedience. The following verse reveal part of it being greed. And then comes the "classic" and perhaps one of the saddest response - "when I have a convenient season".
You and I know very well this is really an excuse to brush off people one has no intention to pay attention to.
Brethren, there is no "convenient season" to obey the gospel, to do God's will! Because NOW is the day of salvation(2Co 6:2). Because for the Christian we are to be ready in season and out of season! (2Ti 4:2)

God help us all to not procrastinate, whether be it to obey the gospel or to do God's work, but to act NOW because who knows if our next convenient moment will even come...

Wisdom from a Town Clerk

Dear brethren,

Today's readings :
1Samuel 28,29; 1Chronicles 9; Acts 19

Acts 19:37 (KJV)
For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

In this rather eventful account, we learn of quite a few important concepts.
Firstly, as mentioned from time to time, our beliefs are often affected by 3 things - pride, prejudice and profit. And it is no doubt profit first that motivated Demetrius to stir up the pride in the followers of Diana. Certainly, we have a multitude of exmaples of profit getting in the way of beliefs, even today.

Secondly, as we read in this particular verse, we see that the apostles and disciples exemplified speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:15). They did not preach for "filthy lucre" or "prestige" (c.f. 1Pe 5:2; Phi 1:16) and they went about focusing on the truth rather than putting down others. And this is the pattern that God had shown us. Just simply focus on the Word. There is no need, no cause to thump our chests and hurl insults at the beliefs of others. Doing so will only serve to drive people away and in some cases, bring the hand of the law upon ourselves.

Lastly, it is interesting that a town clerk had the wisdom and level-headedness when he went about resolving the issue. Again, he did not try to take sides but presented facts without any prejudice and intent to stir up further emotions. Even as he appeased the crowd, it was not with vain effusive words but with facts that struck a chord with the people (v.35, 36). And that is how we should resolve conflict. Focus on the matter and hand and layout the facts. As far as possible, get emotions out of the way.
And again, similar to the second point, this is the same attitude that we should adopt when we are sharing the gospel.

Brethren, we need to remind ourselves that ultimately we are ALL human, ALL of whom God desires to be saved (1Ti 2:4; 2Pe 3:9). And far be it for pride, prejudice and profit to get in our way to preach the truth to the lost, and yet again always in love, in the manner that is most be beneficial to the lost soul.