FISH - Scripture reflections
Two days reading here - didn’t get to blog yesterday:
Leviticus 8-10: A great model of leader training. God tells Moses what to do about sacrifices. Moses models it for Aaron. Then Aaron does it.
Aaron’s sons, however, do not conform to the teaching. It is dangerous to ignore God’s clear instruction. They pay the price of life, which may seem harsh to us, but reminds us that we need to take God seriously. Moses then gives Aaron additional instructions. Aaron omits one step as a way to express his grief - which Moses understands.
Instruct, model, coach, correct - a model of leadership training.
Leviticus 11-13 - at first glance, you may wonder why God gives such minute instructions. Here’s the reason - God wants His people to think about Him and standards of right and wrong every moment, and in every aspect of life. There is no compartmentalization when it comes to following God.
Psalm 40 - Verse 8 is a great daily prayer: I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Psalm 41 - When you are sick - try this prayer for comfort.
Matthew 18 - This entire chapter is about relationships:
Vv. 1-4 - be humble, not worrying about your place;
vv. 5-6 - don’t cause other people to sin and fail;
vv. 7-9 - right now I am listening to a sermon by John Piper which uses these verses. Piper argues that we must make a violent war with ourselves, attacking sin. I don’t really like the sermon very much, which I think is a clue from the Holy Spirit that I really need to listen to it. Attack sin in your life, so you have a good relationship with yourself.
vv. 10-14 - Value people who are far from God, not just the people you are comfortable with.
Vv. 15-17 - Confront the tension in your relationships - ask What is wrong.
Vv. 18-20 - These three verses are often quoted out of context to enhance the authority of the church or to falsely claim a power in prayer. Look at what brackets them - Jesus is talking about confronting your brother and then forgiving your brother. Therefore understand v. 18 as a call to have the standards of heaven when comes to seeking health in relationships and vv. 19-20 as a call to pray about relationships with the knowledge that Jesus is listening in.
vv. 21-34 - Take this warning from Jesus seriously - If you aren’t forgiving, you won’t be forgiven. Forgiveness needs to be on the top of our to do list. Let me push this a bit further - As a Christ Follower, you are never meant to be a mere receiver of grace, but also a giver of grace.
Acts 25 - Paul is given the chance to speak for Jesus to governor, the king, and eventually to the Emperor, because he has been falsely accused! No wonder he could write, “All things work together for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).” He had lived it!
