January 8th One Year Bible Readings

You are invited to join us on the One Year Bible journey in 2008!  We currently have over 5,400 people in 54 countries around the world signed up for our free weekly email filled with commentary, encouragement, and questions for reflection.  To join us on the journey in 2008 click on this link for more details and to sign up!

~ Click on this link for today's January 8th readings ~
Genesis 18:16-19:38 ~ Matthew 6:25-7:14
Psalm 8:1-9 ~ Proverbs 2:6-15

Old Testament - Today in Genesis chapter's 18 & 19 we get a great look at how God responds to intercessory prayer and also clearly see God's judgment in chapter 19.  Ch. 18 Verse 17 is a powerful start to our readings: "Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked."  I think what we see here and in the following verses is that God obviously really cares for Abraham - as a friend - and as one who has been credited as righteous because of his faith.  And I do think this is an important point before we read about Abraham's intercessory prayer to God - that for intercessory prayer really to have any standing before God, we need to be in right relationship with God.  If we are being disobedient to God or being unrepentant of sins or bad habits that God wants us to give up, then I think our intercessory prayer for others can lose its effectiveness.   Check out James 5:16 for this point: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."   Abraham was credited as righteous because of his faith (Genesis 15:6).  Hence, his intercessory prayer was powerful and effective.  Below is a portrait of Abraham by Guy Rowe - I imagine Abraham praying to God in Genesis chapter 18 in this portrait:

In verse 25 we begin to see Abraham's several requests, or intercessions, to God to spare the city of Sodom for the sake of the righteous living in the city: "Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?""  And from here we see Abraham bringing down the number of righteous that would need to be in the city for it to be spared.  I don't necessarily see what Abraham was doing here as haggling with God - but, I think he was acting out of compassion for the righteous few in the city - and surely Lot and his family were on his mind during these intercessions...

In Genesis chapter 19 there is a lot going on.  And I'm sure a few things that jump out at you when you read them, and create a lot of questions in your mind.  (Lot offering his two virgin daughters (v. 8) & what happened in the cave (v. 30-36), for examples)   Let me recommend you take 10 minutes and read through Bob Deffinbaugh's "From City Councilman to Caveman: “What a Difference a Day Makes” (Genesis 19:1-38)" at this link at Bible.org.  I think this will answer a lot of your questions on why certain things happened in this chapter, from Bob's perspective.  One great quote from Bob at this link above is this: "Lot attempted to live his life in a city and then in a cave. We cannot become one with the world, but neither are we to flee from it. The proper balance between the city of Sodom and the cave is the tent of Abraham. We are to live in the world, but without becoming attached to it or conformed to it. We are to be strangers and pilgrims."  I like that! How are you doing with the idea of being in the world, but not of it?   Are you living in the city or in a cave?  Will you seek to live in the tent of Abraham?  Below is a map of the approximate area of where Sodom & Gomorrah and the Cities of the Plain (including Zoar) were thought to have been located, on the south side of the Dead Sea and now possibly under water:

One verse that immediately stood out to me in chapter 19 is verse 16: "When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful."  What struck me in this verse is that Lot hesitated.  In the previous verse, the angels say very clearly and strongly - "get out of the city!  hurry!  God is going to destroy it!"  And yet... Lot hesitated.  This jumped out at me because in our couple of previous day's readings we have seen how promptly obedient Abraham was to God's commands.  When God said to get circumcised and circumcise everyone in the house - it happened that same day!  And yet, here we see Lot hesitating on a very clear command from angels...   And I guess I do have to ask myself, and maybe you can ask yourself too - are we more often like Abraham or Lot?  Are we promptly obedient to God's will and commands for our lives?  Or do we hesitate?  A great thing about verse 16 above is we read that even though Lot hesitated, God was merciful.  God will still show us mercy when we hesitate...  the grace of God is still clearly there for we who hesitate.  But, even though there is amazing grace, maybe the question still is - what are we hesitating for?  What are we waiting for?  Below is an image by the artist Raffaello (Italian painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance), circa 1500, of Lot and his daughters finally fleeing Sodom, while his wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt:

And below is an image of verse 24: "Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah."

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Genesis titled "If I was God..." is at this link, and "Sin and the City" is at this link.

New Testament - Today in Matthew we continue the Sermon on the Mount!  Chapter 6 verse 27 is solid science from Jesus: "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not." Wouldn't you agree that scientific studies show that severe worrying (anxiety) can actually decrease the longevity of your life?  Jesus knew his science!  :)  Truly...  I do think you'll continue to be amazed by the scientific validity and Truth that is exhibited in the Bible over and over and over again as we read it this year!

Chapter 6 verse 34 (in image above) has always been one of my favorites to remember: "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Great great truth here.  I'm not sure if anyone has ever read a Dale Carnegie book about worrying?  It's called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living."  It's been probably 10 years ago since I read this book. But, I remember Dale writing about how he lived his life in what he called "day-tight compartments".  He used a cargo ship analogy, which I won't be able to explain here well.  But, basically, Dale got to the point where he mentally segmented his time off into morning prep time, time with family over breakfast, morning work time, lunch time, afternoon work time, dinner time, family time, time to read, sleeping time.   And while he was in the present time of each of these "compartments" of his day he would not worry at all about the other compartments even in that very same day!  It's pretty interesting to think about... when you are at work, you focus on work and you don't daydream or worry about your personal life - but, once you are off work, you then don't worry about work at all.   I don't know...  maybe this Dale Carnegie "day-tight compartments" is only helpful to me...   I recommend you listen to Jesus' advice on worrying before you listen to Dale or mine!  :)  But, if you do worry a lot, this Dale Carnegie book may very helpful for you as well.

Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 through 6 are interesting.  Jesus clearly says to not judge others - but then in verse 6 he says: "Don't give what is holy to unholy people." So, my thought is that we are not to "condemn" people judgmentally - but that we are to be aware of and perceptive of other people's character traits.  I don't think Jesus is calling for us to walk around blissfully thinking everyone is perfect... but he is saying don't "condemn" others for their actions.  God is the only true judge of anyone's actions.  I think it is still okay for us to take note of how people act or behave.  Remember that 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to: "Test everything."  So, I do think it is okay (and even wise) to evaluate a person's character. Let me know your thoughts on this one in the Comments section below.

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Matthew titled "Materialism" is at this link, and "Misdirected Effort" is at this link.

Psalms - Today we read Psalm 8!  Verses 3 & 4 I love: "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-- the moon and the stars you have set in place-- what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us?" What I love about this verse is that before I had faith in Jesus, and even God, I used to always look toward the night sky and just be amazed by the stars!  I would always think to myself - there is no way that this all just happened by chance.  There's gotta be something bigger going on making all of this happen.  The night sky was evangelizing me!!  :)  What a beautiful thing. Have you ever had the experience of nature, God’s creation, evangelizing you? When you are out in nature, do you offer up praise and thanks to God for His amazingly beautiful creation?

Proverbs - Proverbs chapter 2 verse 10 is amazing: "For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy."  I like that thought that wisdom will enter your heart and then knowledge will fill you with joy!  What a great proverb!  Do you believe that knowledge can fill you with joy?  What type of knowledge?  What type of wisdom should enter your heart?  Today - are you filled with joy?

Worship God: Todays readings in the Psalms and Matthew reminded me of the fantastic worship song by Delirious called "Majesty (Here I Am)."  Here's a great live version of this song:

Do you know your Majesty?  Click here to meet Him!

Please join me in memorizing 2 verses of Scripture today:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 NIV

Comments from You and Questions of the Day:  Back to Matthew chapter 7 verse 6: "Don't give what is holy to unholy people. Don't give pearls to swine! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you."  I understand what is being said here - and I can think of specific instances in my life where this type of thing has happened.  My question though for each of us is this - how do we show our friends, family, neighbors the love of God?  Honestly, I have an evangelistic heart - but I don't think I really openly evangelize much.   I love God so much - and it tears me up when I see my friends struggling with addictions - particularly when it seems like they are seeking God but settle for an addiction.  So - I don't think this verse 6 is referring to these types of situations - people seeking God in all the wrong places.  I think we are called to share the love of God with our hurting friends - with a hurting world.  How do you do this?  Do you pray for others?  Do you give others books or Bibles?  Do you send them spiritual emails?  Do you invite them to church?  Do you "preach the gospel at all times, and use words when only necessary?"  Please let me know in the "Comments" below what you do to share the love of God with others?  Thanks.   Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings?  Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!

God bless,
Mike

Comments

[Caryn]

Hi all. Lovin' your comments, so thought I'd join in!

Two things I want to share:
1. I liked Bob Deffinbaugh's comparison of Lot and Jesus: "While both our Lord and Lot lived in close proximity to sinners without participating in their sins, the difference between the two was that our Lord spoke clearly of sin and of salvation while Lot remained silent." Mike, I was encouraged to that you also struggle with sharing God's love/ evangelising, because I wish I had the boldness to do way more than I do! When I was able to, I used to put a Bible verse as my screen saver at work, and change it regularly as a subtle witness, so that I didn't actually have to publicly proclaim anything!

However, I had one little insight recently. I have recently started work at a new office, and so have been trying to suss out which of my collegues will be good targets for Jesus :)! One Friday I was casually invited to join 3 colleagues in their plans for a night out, which clearly included alcohol as a central point. My gut response was "No thanks", but a Little Voice whispered "Relationship" to me. I realised if I was going to earn the right to speak to any of these colleagues, I would really have to work on having meaningful friendships with them. So I joined them for the first half of the evening when they went out for supper. And lo and behold, in answer to the unexpected question "Well what did Jesus ever do for anyone? Look at the mess we're in now!", I could answer "No, you've got it all wrong! Jesus is the RESTORER of the mess. That's the whole point of Christmas!" I really thanked God for the comeback, because I'm usually really slow with that! There, wasn't much response besides a good-natured chuckle, but I hope it got them thinking. I also found out a bit about some of their dismal church histories. We'll see what other things happen...I do believe forming relationships has a lot to do with sharing God's love.

2. About Matt 7:3-4. One way I have learned to curb my critical self is through an exercise suggested by Trevor Hudson in "Signposts to Spirituality". Write down all the things that people do that you find irritating or don't like. Then look at how many of those attributes you see in yourself. SO OFTEN I am helped to shut my mouth before I criticise when I realise that what I'm about to criticize is actually something I see in myself!

Yours in Him
Caryn

[Lisa]

How are you doing with the idea of being in the world, but not of it?

This is one area that I really struggle with, especially as I have become a parent in the last year. For many years I rode the proverbial fence - one foot firmly in the world; the other foot - no so fimrmly, I must confess - with Jesus. I reasoned that in order to be a witness for Christ, I had to be culturally relevant, which ofen entailed some not-so-Godly behaviors and lifestyles. Some witness, huh?

I have given up on my faulty and selfish reasoning, gotten off the fence and planted myself firmly with God and His plan for my life. And yet...I still struggle with what it looks like to be wholly committed to Jesus and still find that common ground to build friendships and relationships that may one day lead to bringing someone to Christ.

Does anyone have any thoughts or insight into this? Is this something that each of us must determine through prayer, study and conviction of our own hearts?

Many thanks to Mike for this study and to all the folks sharing their insights and Godly wisdom.

[Trevor]

My thoughts on being a witness:

I would agree with most of the comments that living a Christlike life is a great way to be a witness, but I believe one of the best things we can do for a person is to help them understand where they stand with God.

I have been hanging around guys that are very purposeful with the gospel and it has been a huge blessing having the opportunity to share the gospel with others. Taking them through a simple tract that goes through the 4 spirtual laws helps them understand where they stand with God and if they don't have a relationship with Him what they need to do to have one. Most of the time they don't pray right there to receive Christ, but they now understand where they stand and many times it is different from where they would have said before going through the tract.

My goal is to be a sign post. Also, use any means possible to win others as long as you don't sin. I know men who have poker and cigar evangelistic meetings. Many in society would say these are unhelalthy things to do but they are not condemned in scripture so these men use them to win others.

[Mae]

Todays readings touched me deeply! Well, they always do, but now it was actually what I'm in the middle of! Especially your comments at the end touched me.

- how do we show our friends, family, neighbors the love of God? Honestly, I have an evangelistic heart - but I don't think I really openly evangelize much
- I love God so much - and it tears me up when I see my friends struggling with addictions - particularly when it seems like they are seeking God but settle for an addiction
- people seeking God in all the wrong places

I do tell people about God, I send them spiritual emails, christian e-cards etc. I love the responses I get from my sisters & brothers! I never hear something back from my unsaved-family and friends. Which is okay, from some of them I know they have something to think about when they receive things like that. I've come to learn that as long as you keep it with emails & ecards it's fine. You know, the spiritual things you send to whole your addressbook. BUT, as soon as I actually preach the gospel and let them know how I experience my relationship with God ... and tell them about my rebirth and my baptism, they get defensive! I'm new at this, I'm saved for 5 months now, so I know I'm in a learning-process myself. But I DO now what God's word is teaching me! But I guess I need to learn HOW to preach the gospel. Because the things that have been said to me are pretty hard. I'm glad that I have my sisters & brothers, who told me that it's not a personal rejection toward me, but towards the truth. And that's what I keep in mind! I just don't get it, you know; they want to find God, but as soon as I tell them how it all works and worked for me, I get misunderstood! I'm being carefull, because I don't want to lecture them, or make it sound like I lecture them. Some of them have such weird vision ... when I tell them that I join a Biblestudy from my Pastor and this Biblestudy, they go like "Shees, I never knew you had to do that!". I try to explain that I don't HAVE to do it, but that I WANT to do this. It seems all so easy for them to put it in a bad sight. I really need to count to 10 (mississippily) otherwise I know I will be saying things that might sound not so Christian-like. Oh no, I won't curse, but I know my sarcasm can sometimes be not so nice. I won't let the enemy win and have me saying things that I don't want to say. I'm Gods child and I'll handle all things the best I can. I know He knows ... but it's not easy. Oh well, nobody said it would be easy ... Sometimes His chosen path for me isn't easy. I know he gives me struggles like this, because it will give me wisdom. I just know it does!!! So really, I'm thankfull that He gives me situations like this!

[Gina]

Well, I had read in Genesis the part about Lot giving his daughters and then what happened in the cave a long time ago...but I guess I had totally forgotten it so when I read it today, I have to admit I was a bit shocked! More like "Ewwwww!"....anyway...(sorry). :)
God was so merciful to Lot...it makes me thankful that God will not give us what we deserve the second we do something wrong...he is a patient God and willing to "warn" us several times first!

Matt 6:33-34 - "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness...." has become one of my favorite verses lately! And the whole worry thing...well, I'm the queen of worry and anxiety! But even as I read this morning, I realized that God has been helping me through that. I'm learning to stop and breathe, live for today and try not to think about what may happen tomorrow...and remember who is in control!

Your question about judging others...sharing the love of God and "casting your pearls among swines" (NIV) - I believe that we should pray for God to give us discernment with this...there is a difference between judging someone and speaking Truth to them in love. When faced with a situation where someone has fallen into sin, we are actually told to go to them and restore them gently...I'm sure you all have heard the phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin" - I will pray first for wisdom, love and the right words to say...then tell them the truth in the most loving way I can. Now if they are not saved, it is sometimes more difficult because they won't want to hear anything about God! They usually do not understand what you are trying to say to them. It's still important to tell them the truth...even at the risk of losing them as a friend! We have to take a stand...not conform to the world....but still love! WOW - that is so hard to do sometimes. I'm pretty evangelistic...and very invitational... but I'm also pretty rough around the edges...God is taming my "turn or burn" heart into a more softer, loving one (although I doubt I'll ever lose my edge completely)! I always try to turn conversations toward the things of God...whether it be talking about church or ministry or mentioning something that God has recently done in my life - this usually get the ball rolling around my unsaved friends...then I get a chance to share Jesus with them. It's all seeds....just the mention of His Name...Jesus....I believe, is a seed planted. Someday we'll get to see the harvest!

Psalm 8 reminds me of the song "Friend of God" by Phillips, Craig and Dean - some of the words in the psalm are in the song so now I have that song stuck in my head! Good thing to have! What an honor to be a Friend of God!

Proverbs...the wisdom thing again...I love to read about wisdom! I don't think I pray for it enough...so this is a great reminder that God is willing to give in abundance if we just ask!

[Kelly]

I think we are called to share the love of God with our hurting friends - with a hurting world. How do you do this? Do you pray for others? Do you give others books or Bibles? Do you send them spiritual emails? Do you invite them to church? Do you "preach the gospel at all times, and use words when only necessary?" Please let me know in the "Comments" below what you do to share the love of God with others? Thanks.

Hey everyone!
Well, I grew up in a non-Christian home; my sister and I went to church by ourselves from the time we were 7 years old. People from church would give us rides, pay for us to go to church camp, everything. They were such a blessing!
Because of the environment I grew up in I've always (at least with my family) had a hard time verbally expressing my faith. They just did not want to hear it. But I prayed for them all the time (still do) and I just live my life as Christ called me to, so I can be an example to them. It is my prayer that some day they will wonder why we are so stinkin' happy all the time! :-) One thing that always brought me peace because I was so afraid that my family would never come to Christ, is that all I can do is be an example in faith, word, and deed. GOD is the only one who can change their hearts. Sure, He uses me, but only to accomplish His will. I know that God loves them and that I am my parents' child for a reason!
What stood out to me today was Matthew 6:25-34.."Do Not Worry." My husband and I actually used this verse at our wedding 4 months ago. Oh, I loved our wedding! It was such a great way to witness to our families. For some of them, that was the only time they will be in a church all year! I made sure that my Pastor spoke about the Gospel, specifically for them..hopefully a little seed has been planted!
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Kelly

[R]

Matthew 6:25-7:14

Because of a message, I heard at church this verse is most interesting and came alive to me:

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26 AMP)

Do we know our worth, our value to God? Do we really know what it is? Do we walk around thinking we are the dregs of the earth because we have messed up, blown it? If we have intrinsic value to God outside of our behavior then when we walk down the path of sin and get dirty our true value, which is hidden under the muck and mire we picked up making our rebellious choices, we are still valuable to God. As a gold goblet that might be taken off the shelf and used to scoop up sand down at the sea shore still retains it’s value, so too are we valuable to God. The encrusted sand, mixed with salt water only hides obscures the value it does not change it.

I think the crux of our dilemma of sin is that we fail to understand our worth to God. If God says we are valuable to Him no amount of encrusted dirt, cement or concrete can change that value. However, if we submit our lives to others for review be it our friends, family and even those who sit next to us in church and they don’t know our value then we may wind up being used for other purposes that God never intended. Just as the Seal of England was used as a nutcracker in Charles Dickens’s The Prince and the Pauper, it’s ability to affirm the edict of the Sovereign Head of the Nation never changed; however, it was used wrongly out of ignorance to crack nuts.

Let us not allow “sin” cause us to be used other than what God has intended. Let us not become smashed nuts being misused and abused.

[Becky]

Genesis 19:26 "Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt." It struck me that I'm not supposed to look back and hang on to old sins, old mistakes, old hurts (which I am very wont to do). Was reminded of the saying, "Don't stumble on the rock behind you." Another prediliction of mine:) And then the NT reading today says "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." It's so amazing how the readings supernaturally tie in.

[Kelly]

Oh! I just heard this on my local Christian radio station, and thought it would be good to add here. Remember yesterday when we were asked how we pray, or what methods we use to remember specific things? Well, I know that sometimes there is something on my heart, but I just don't have the words. Check out this verse:
Romans 8:26 (NLT)
"The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words."
How cool is that!
This verse might have been posted already, but just thought I would share.
Blessings,
Kelly

[R]

About prayer.

Prayer is communication between God and the one offering up the prayer is it not? God is always communicating with us even when that person is a non-believer.

For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
(Amos 4:13 KJVR)

I don’t believe prayer is a laundry list of things we give to God, I believe prayer is a conversation between God and man. I have been thinking that maybe only those who are His, Believers, have the right to pray but I think that premise is wrong. I think God interacts, communicates with people whose heart desires truth, no matter where that may lead. Truth, all truth is confrontational and we don’t like to be confronted especially when that confrontation is dealing with our own stuff.

For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth."
(John 4:24 NLT)

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don't believe Me!
(John 8:44-45 NLT)

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6 NLT)

He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn't looking for Him and doesn't recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.
(John 14:17 NLT)

"But I will send you the Advocatethe Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about Me. (John 15:26 NLT)

When we get real with God and desire to hear the Truth no matter the cost, then our prayer life will take off. Our conversations on this board are both good and bad. They are good because we will find others who are struggling to get a powerful and consistent prayer life and know that we are not alone. It can be bad because we can forget that God has made us individually and given us different personalities with different gifts talents and abilities. Everyone communicated differently; everyone focuses and sees things from different perspectives because that is how God has made us. Focusing on what someone else is doing and then trying to emulate that is wrong. In fact emulation is a work of the flesh (Gal 5:20—KJV). I have different friends and each of them is different and I communicate with words with them but the manner which I communicate with each of them is different because they are different.

I have known trained dancers whose prayer life consists of dancing before the Lord and pouring out what is in their heart through movement. I know musicians who play their request by way of the strings on their violin and the keys on their keyboard and God answers them, engages with them in their conversations with Him. God invites us to come and reason with Him (Isaiah 1:18; 41:21; 43:26); so let us do it with a heart looking for truth then we are certain to not only engage in a conversation with a dear friend but to also have one with the One who is closer than a brother, (Proverbs 18:24) and with a Father who loves us deeply.

[Anka]

In the world yet not of it:Working in a disorganised,haotic,noisy place where everyone wants attention,you have a lot of "do at once"tasks along with disatisfied co-workers...I often found myself frustrated knowing that by giving into my "self"I wasn't being a good example.I prayed and still pray to be nice,calm,helpful,smile,be patient when I feel like doing the opposite.Being a living testimony often times means practicing what you preach....Coming to prayer,often times praying without ceasing in the haotic scenes keeps me going...Remembering what Jesus would do in my situation,praying to the Father to help me keep my cool when I'm under stress,to be nice when others are nasty...basically crucifying my flesh.
Ramona,"I don’t believe prayer is a laundry list of things we give to God, I believe prayer is a conversation between God and man."I totally agree....I know it would warm any parents heart to get a phone call from their kids not because they want something....just because they want to know what your day is like,to share a joke,a story....
I heard something that goes something like this"always preach the gospel;when necessary,use words...
God bless you all

[Andrew]

The rendering in 'The Message' of the last verse of the passage from Matthew stuck with me today. Mainline translations have something like "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Mt 7:14 NIV). Whereas 'The Message' has a rather extreme rendering:

"The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention."

God is life. The way to life is the way to God. The way to God is the way to life - real life, full life, life fully alive!

The way is vigorous. That seems a bit strange. I guess it is intended to mean challenging, demanding and difficult. But 'vigorous' seems more positive than that. 'Vigorous' is energetic, enlivening - life giving.

The way requires total attention. Well that's clear. "Jesus, all for Jesus, all I have and am, and ever hope to be." as the song says. In every aspect of our life we need to be focussing on Jesus and His Way.

[Bill]

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

1. ...how do we show our friends, family, neighbors the love of God?

The title of today's reading in ' Our Daily Bread,' a devotional published by RBC Ministries, was the " Silent Witness." The article stressed the importance of witnessing for Christ with the way we live our lives as well as speaking of Him with our lips. The silent witness can be seen in the little things we do and in quiet everyday actions which we may think go unnoticed by others but are not. The reading included this poem:

" Yielding your all to the Savior
And letting his love flow through you
Makes even your silent witness
A witness of what God can do." - Bosch

2. I think we are called to share the love of God with our hurting friends - with a hurting world. How do you do this? Do you pray for others? Do you give others books or Bibles? Do you send them spiritual emails? Do you invite them to church? Do you "preach the gospel at all times, and use words when only necessary?" Please let me know in the "Comments" below what you do to share the love of God with others?

I certainly pray for lost loved ones and friends because I think that is essential. I have given books and Bibles as gifts and have invited them to church. Unfortunately most of the time the books and Bibles have gone unread and the invitations have been declined. I think they need to get saved first before they can even begin to appreciate God's Word and Christian fellowship themselves. However, we can preach the Word of God to them one-on-one and as the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God ( Romans 10:17 ). By showing acts of love and kindness we may be able to soften their hearts and their resistance to the gospel but I don't believe that you can simply "love them into the kingdom" as I have heard some say. Eventually you will have to find a way to speak to them about their need of Jesus Christ and where they are in relation to Him. I probably don't do this as much as I should. However, they know I am a Christian and often they will bring it up themselves which gives me opportunities to witness. Most unsaved people I know, including family, are not the kind of people who you can get in their faces with and tell them to repent unless you are prepared to take the heat for it. With some people though you have to do exactly that.

GENESIS 18:16-19:38

God paid a compliment to Abraham, in the presence of the angels, for being a godly father and taking on the responsibility of being the spiritual head of his household ( v. 19 ). Perhaps that is why God chose Abraham to begin with to be the " father of many nations "
( 17:4-5 ) and the progenitor of the Hebrew race which would bring forth the promised messiah.

Let's be frank here. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of sexual perversion in "...giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" - Jude 7 (KJV). It is obvious that the men of Sodom were homosexuals in that they wanted to gang rape the angels in Lot's house and in refusing Lot's daughters ( 19:8 ) they revealed that they had a sexual preference for other men. No doubt other sexual perversions such as beastiality and pedophilia were practiced there too. Incest was probably common as well which is why Lot's daughters apparently had no inhibitions about committing this sin with their father (19:30-38 ).

Jesus compared the story of Lot to what conditions would again be like at the end of the age:

"Likewise also AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF LOT; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. EVEN THUS SHALL IT BE IN THE DAY WHEN THE SON OF MAN IS REVEALED."
- Luke 17:28-30 (KJV)

MATTHEW 6:25-7:14

" Judge not, that ye be not judged " ( 7:1 ) in my view is probably one of the most understood verses in the Bible and also the one most often quoted by unbelievers. It's probably the Scripture the sodomites in Lot's day would have quoted to him. It is often applied today to intimidate into silence those Christians who would speak out against sin and who would expose false doctrine. They forget that the Bible also says:

" But he that is spiritual JUDGETH all things, yet he himself is JUDGED of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

- 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 (KJV)

In other words, there is nothing wrong with calling sin for what it is and for exercising our God-given discernment in putting a difference between right and wrong. The only way we can be said to be guilty of the sin of judging others is if we are hypocritically ( 7:5 ) condemning others for the same sins we are committing ourselves.

PSALM 8:1-9

Verse 4 is the biblical answer to counter the philosophy of Deism which teaches that God created the earth and its inhabitants but no longer has anything to do with it, that is, He is an impersonal god who dwells in some far off corner of the universe and whom we cannot therefore know.

PROVERBS 2:6-15

The Wisdom of God and spiritual discernment is crucial for us to have in these last days lest we be led astray by apostates ( v.13 ) in the Church and the deceivers who are found in the both the Church and in the world.

[Brandie]

True it is hard to let go of the familiar, but God understands that letting go is hard, but he has called us to move on to a new life without looking back. God will give me Grace to do whatever he asks me to do. So I am moving on from my cousins death and God will Grace me. :)

Matt 6:25-7:14 Worrying-I worry therefore I am a nail biter eww i know.
Judging others: Now I think we all do this but we don't mean too.

So if I knock the door will be opend and if I ASK it will be given to me. So if I ASK a question instead of sitting there and not asking I will get an answer.

Psalms 8:1-9 God made everything with his hands. So that makes me want to open the door and absorb it like a sponge. Have you ever noticed how blue the sky really was? I did after my poppa died its hard to explain its like a sky blue kind of like blue like when it rains. Go outside when it is not cloudy and look at the sky. I mean really look at it. Its awesome. It will make you feel like you never felt before. :)

Proverbs 2:6-15
Discretion will protect me and wisdom will save me from wicked men and their wicked ways.

[Jenny]

These chapters in Gen show the uglier side of fallen humanity. Lot seems like a great dad, haha, but in the end his daughters are worse in the end…eewww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But it shows how much God’s loves the upright, but when we fix are heart on the world, we set ourselves up for disaster, e.g. Lot’s wife who, not necessarily just turned around to see the city one more time, looked back on “the world” with longingness perhaps.
I love Matt 6:25, I read it often. How much more does the Lord love us then the animals…I think sometimes we forget His love. We cling to our worry, its almost a comfort of some sort. These verses just say, I love you and will provide for you…don’t worry. I have really applied these to my life and I don’t worry so much about the things I once did and God has more then provided. When I start to worry, I just focus on Jesus…hand it over to Him, let Him take care of the situation,…His timing is perfect, His ways are above n beyond mine and I should lean to own understanding, acknowledge Him in all my ways and He will direct my path.
Every non-believer knows the verse: do not judge. Well, in others hearts, we don’t know others’ motives, intentions, true. This doesn’t mean we aren’t to make judgments about situations, we are to! God gave us reasoning judgment and logic for a reason. One example is very recent…a couple weeks ago I met a man with his wife at my job and he liked me and offered me a job interview for upcoming positions, an unknown company. I was kinda interested so he called me a few days ago n said there was an orientation coming up…this tues night, tomorrow. So I said I was interested and he proceeded to say he could pick me up or meet me there (pick me up??? Red flag). He’s in his late 50s, early 60s I’d guess. So I told him I would drive and he gave me directions, not an address but directions and it sounded like it could be in a potentially bad part of Long Beach…he said the front of the building would be closed but meet him in the back parking lot. Ok, reddddd flag!! Meet a strange man in the back of a building at night in an unfamiliar environment. I kept thinking about it and got a real bad feeling. It could be legit, but the risk outweighs the reward. I am to make a judgment here…I don’t know this man, he could be genuine, but the situation is telling me, RUN! I’m about to call him back when I’m done with this and cancel. I keep thinking about rape and abduction and its not even worth it. So, I am not making a personal judgment about this man’s heart, but I am making a judgment that danger may be in store for me.

Matt 6:7 is great, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.” When we are sharing God’s word with others, there will be some who are open and there will be some who are just looking for a debate/argument. When sharing the Lord, we are to make these judgments…if this person is not genuinely interested in the truth but looking for a debate, I will end the convo and not give what is holy to what is unholy. The Lord's word is holy and if someone just wants to mock it, that’s it…I don’t cast my pearls.

Vs. 13-14, narrow is the way. People may accuse me of being narrow-minded when I tell them that Christ is the only way to salvation. Well, Christ Himself said the road is narrow, there is only one way and I will never agree that all roads lead to God, just gotta find what works for you…. no way!! I’m sticking with the straight and narrow!

Ps. “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”…that’s a song we sing in church…I’m singing it! Yes, God’s creation always speaks to me and attests to His almightiness and glory. its amazing! I love seeing stars, but unfortunately I live in a place where u don’t see stars much (southern Cali). But when I do see a star or two, I think of God, haha.

Wow..Proverbs is really speaking to me regarding the job/strange man situation:
“He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones”
“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.”
WOW…God is really speaking to me so heavily…ugh, I feel sick and disturbed. I think God is protecting me from this situation, and the potential risk makes me sick! Ugh…k, I’m calling this man now and saying thanks but no thanks.

[CC]

When I was a kid trying to read the Bible all the way through, the story of Lot and his daughters always bothered me. Why did he offer his own children to be raped by a throng of men? Why did they commit incest with him in the cave?
I've done a lot of studying on this story over the past couple of years, and a few strong conclusions have come out of it:
1. Hospitality was incredibly sacred in that time and place in history. If you did not offer proper hospitality, it was a major insult. Lot was so consumed by his wish to give the angel guests hospitality that he was obliged to do anything to protect them from the mob, even offering up his own daughters. This does not mean that what he did was right, but it gives some insight as to why he did it.
2. When Lot fled with his daughters to the cave, it appears that he had given up. He was not interested in providing any kind of a future for his daughters, and simply decided to withdraw completely from the world. His daughters were aware of this. Also, there is a strong possibility that his daughters were convinced that they were the only people left in the world...Sodom was a large city, so they may have been convinced that God had destroyed everyone in the world except for the three of them. Concern over continuing the human race, or simply concern with preserving their family line, drove Lot's daughters to sleep with their father.
3. Another likely reason for this story was that whoever wrote it was trying to insult the enemy peoples of Israel, the Moabites and Ammonites, by implying that both peoples were the result of incest. I'm not too convinced by this one, but it makes sense.

[S]

I really get confused when I feel I am reading mixed messages, stay away from wicked people but don't judge anyone. This world is become so corrupt that no one stands up against it anymore, if we don't stand up against what goes on in our communities and our schools our children are just going to follow along with the wicked, this couldn't be what Jesus wants?

[Dee]

First I wanted to comment on the part of Judge not, lest you be judged. Mike, you were talking about us still keeping a check on peoples personalities and character and not being in the world blissful as if everyone is perfect. You have got that right! Our preacher said it right when he mentioned the thought of judging/vs. not judging or being skeptical. He said if God didn't want us to "judge" or be skeptical of people then we would just let child abusers/sex offenders keep/watch our kids. We have to be watchful and precarious at times but I indeed believe that we should pray for all and pray that each person seek repentance and be a changed being in Christ. Amen! Also, in reading the story of Lot and God's Amazing Grace! He is so merciful and thoughtful to each of us, sinners! Where would we be without God's love? I really think it is sad that there was even sexual sin back as far as Genesis, with Lot and his daughters. How could they ever face another being and get married, because especially back in Biblical days, a womans pureness was the ticket to being wed and getting married off! It was her trade mark of the innocence of a young woman. I remember later on when Tamar got raped by her relative, it was like a scar/bad mark to her family and as if no one would love her after that. I just believed the daughters should have held out and Believed that God would send them someone to love that wasn't so incestual(their Dad! Gross) and believe that they would have a seed to pass down for their generation. Another thing is: I agree with you Mike in the evangelism. I try to share the Word of Christ to every one I speak to and come in contact with but it is hard! I know that our "neighbor" is not just one living by us but everywhere we go, but I wish I could get out to visit my neighbors more. I have started keeping more of a prayer log since this new year has started, and hope to get better with that this year, and memorizing Bible verses this year, I pray to achieve and excel on that.

God Bless You!

Dee

[freddi]

First, I have to say that I love this forum and really appreciate all the work that you do. I find it so much more motivational to be reading through the Bible with others alongside and with commentary to help me. This Web site is awesome. It's an overwhelming task that I've attempted before, but it's so much less overwhelming in a forum such as this.
I do have another view to post however on the witnessing thing. I recently discovered that someone in my family has been driven away by the very things we all as Christians do - send those "spiritual" Christmas cards, etc. thinking that we're being clever or giving them something to think about. It's ironic - the very things we thought we were supposed to do to "witness" were driving him farther & farther away & producing more resentment. He summed it up brilliantly & I understood exactly what he was saying when he told me, "Why can't I just be your brother and not your project?" I think we need to be careful with preachiness & sometimes the best thing we can do is love people for who they are and trust God to speak to them through us. And be ourselves & be real with people. And remember that it's not our responsibility to save them. That's God's.

[jen]

Instead of worrying turn to Jesus and tell him whats troubling you

we can learn by watching others we can avoid people who are bad to us
but ultimately its up to God what happens to them in the long run

I have amazed at His creation many many times
how humbling it is that we dont deserve to live in a beautiful country/world yet He loved us so much He created us a earthly home in which to dwell until we go to be with Him one day
I love that song by Michael W. Smith How Majestic is Your Name

Praise Him

[Chew Si Hui]

Talking about the "Judge not, lest you be judged" problem, here's an article on Christian WorldviewNetwork: http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php/1762/Jeffrey_Ramey

I cannot remember everything the article mentioned about, but I remember one sentence: "It is okay to judge others, IF you judge yourself by the same standard." Isn't that very clear to understand?

Talking about preaching the Word, I've learnt a lot of helpful insights by reading everyone's comments. Thanks! I've also realised that "It's time for me to go out and give it a shot. I cannot keep mum forever."
I'm also trying to plant seeds now. I'll consider myself toiling the soil and preparing the land for planting. Hope the "weather" of my class would be favourable. =) But I believe God will keep out the dark clouds for me. =D

[jen]

read this on one of regular reads this morning

thought Id share it with you all

Hectic. Frantic. Stressed.
Don't fret - there's an antidote for those.
Yes, worship and prayer.
So it here it goes:

1. Lord Of God Speak
2. Heart Of Worship
3. Once Again
4. Enough
5. Voice Of Truth
6. Show Me Your Glory
7. Bring The Rain
8. You Never Let Go
9. Draw Me Close
10. I Simply Live For You
11. Mighty To Save
12. So Close
13. Everyday

these are praise and worship songs utube them and turn your worries over to God