DOING GOOD TO ALL

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it." Exodus 23:4-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever experienced a time when someone helped you in some special way?

Maybe this person was familiar to you, a family member or friend who came through at a time that they knew you needed help. This assistance is usually expected because family members typically look out for one another.

But then there are times when a complete stranger to us, seeing our need and extending help despite the fact they know nothing about us. Their care comes simply from a heart that desires to aid anyone when they see that it’s needed.

In regard to the latter, we sadly ever get to know these strangers who do acts of kindness for us. And while we may never know their name, we seem to always remember what they did for us and maybe that’s just the way that God wants it to be. For I believe He wants the focus to be on the act of compassion and caring more than on the one who performed the act.

I have had the opportunity to be the stranger helping another and when those situations arise, I always want to make sure that the glory is given to God, first and foremost. After all, He is the one who ordains these opportunities, placing you in the path of someone who needs help. So in essence, you are getting to carry out His concern for a person He wants to help. You are an extension of Him.

How amazing is that?

This is why I think we all have what is often described as a “warm and fuzzy feeling” within after doing something good for another person. I have always felt that this is God letting us know that He is well pleased with us, signaling it through the Holy Spirit from the inside out. And it’s this incredible feeling of satisfaction that spurs us on to do others afterwards.

Well, as we turn to today’s verses found in Exodus, chapter 23, we find God giving the people of Israel instruction on how to respond when they come upon opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others but note that there is a twist involved.

For we see that God isn’t talking about doing acts of kindness to strangers or family or friends but rather to an enemy, someone filled with hatred toward the one who is faced with the chance to help them. And so we see how God challenges His followers as He so often does, asking them to move beyond the realm of the world and conventional thinking, a world who would encourage someone to hate those who hate them and be an enemy to those who are their enemies.

If we’re honest, this is hard, right?

For if we’re left to our devices, we’re not doing anything good for someone who despises us, someone who wouldn’t lift a finger to do anything except hurt us. The easy thing to do is treat them as they treat us but that isn’t what the Lord requires. For here are some other scripture passages to reinforce the ones in Exodus 23:

1. "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." Proverbs 25:21-22

The point here is that an enemy doesn’t expect that their adversary will do anything good for them. And so when you do treat them well despite the way they treat you, the Lord will convict them for their actions against you and their consciences will be seared by the "burning coals" heaped on it. This act of conviction brought by the Holy Spirit can help move an enemy toward realizing their wrongs, repenting, and considering reconciliation.

2. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” 1 Peter 3:13-17

Have you ever thought about the truth that deciding to not love or care for an enemy makes us just as bad as they are?

For ask yourself this:

What really separates us from them and the world if we don’t respond with the same forgiving, compassionate words of Jesus as He hung dying on the cross and said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do"?

Indeed, if we want to show Jesus is in our hearts, we are to love others, even our enemies, so that we will have a clear conscience while our enemies are left "ashamed of their slander".

3. "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:21-25

So what gets in the way of us loving our enemies?

It comes down to our ultimate enemy, Satan.

You see, the devil doesn’t want reconciliation and restoration of peace. Rather, he is happiest when there is chaos in relationships where everyone is at odds with one another and immersed in hatred, resentment, and conflict. This behavior is the polar opposite of what God and Jesus command us to do, particularly when it comes to the matter of loving others, even those who wrong us.

Interestingly enough, Jesus mentions love in seventy-five verses within the four gospels while hate only gets mentioned twenty-two times. It’s clear where He wants the greater emphasis to be.

Need an additional support for this?

Here’s just one of the things Jesus said about loving our enemies:

“...to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.”

“And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”

“And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.”

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:27-36

Friends, when it comes to Christ, it’s about love and as Christians, we are to be Christ-like and adopt His principles and way of living. For when we do, when we dedicate ourselves to live as Jesus did, then our lives will overflow with His love, mercy, and grace, the same love, mercy and grace that has us here this very moment while I am writing and you are soon to be reading.

The bottom line is that if God can love and forgive us despite our sinfulness, a sinfulness that brings us into enmity with Him if not confessed, then we can love and forgive one another, even our enemies. And if we do this, if we will allow the words of these scriptures to penetrate our hearts, we can realize that we are truly "God's workmanship” who are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works”, good works which “God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

For when we surrender our will to His and allow Him to guide us through any and all situations in life, including relationships with friend and foe, we can hopefully echo the words and feelings of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes when he wrote this:

"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live." Ecclesiastes 3:12

Through Jesus, all Christians can do just that, live in happiness while doing good to others all the days of their lives. Join me in giving thanks for this truth today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ARE WE REPEATING THE PAST?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd." Exodus 23:1-2

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After an extensive look at the 22nd chapter of Exodus, we turn the page today to the opening two verses of chapter 23 where we find God continuing to provide guidance to the people of Israel. In our passage, we find the Lord offering words that reinforce the ninth of His Ten Commandments, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). Look again at today’s verses here:

"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd." Exodus 23:1-2

Taken in sum, we can see where God obviously despises false witnessing, lying, slander, gossiping, or any other sinful behavior that might propagate wrong against another. We read where this included not standing up for what is right when in the midst of others who are doing wrong. In regard to the latter, our Lord demands that believers dare to be different, to be the voice that wouldn’t shy away from crying out against injustice or boldly reminding others of the wrongs of their ways.

As you see in a lot of my messages, I feel an important application point of God’s Word comes in self reflection, asking ourselves tough questions in response to what our Lord commands us to do. There are several that come to mind regarding these two verses:

1. Have I ever spread a false report about anybody?

This would include either starting or spreading a rumor about another person, participating in an exchange of gossip about someone, or flat out lying about someone, especially falsely claiming they did or said something they didn’t.

If you’re like me, you’re guilty before you even reach the second thought provoking question.

2. Have I ever lied to cover up a wrong that someone else committed?

I remember my mother teaching me a long time ago that two wrongs don’t make a right. And as I grew older and read the Bible, I soon realized that her teaching was really coming straight from the Word of God. For as we see in the scriptures, anyone who lies to cover up the wrong of another become just as guilty as the one who committed the offense. In legal circles, this is often referred to as an obstruction of justice; spiritually, it’s a sin. .

3. Have I ever gone along with the crowd, even though I knew they were doing or saying things that were not consistent with God’s commandments and expectations? Have I ever failed to speak up for what was right, for the truth in the midst of others who were doing wrong, choosing instead to stay silent?

If we’re totally honest with ourselves, I think we can see where we have all failed in one or more of these areas and so there should be little wonder why God addresses it. He knew it was going to be an issue within the ancient Israelite culture and we know it still remains a problem today. Such is the depth of His wisdom and foresight.

There’s no question that there’s a serious destructive nature within bearing false witness, slandering another, or going along with the crowd instead of doing what is right.

Need an example?

Let’s rewind back to the days of Jesus where we find the Pharisees, chief priests, and elders feeling so threatened by Jesus and His ministry that they felt the only way to stop Him was through murder, even though the God that these men supposedly served had commanded against such an act. Despite this, we find Jesus being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane after being betrayed by His own disciple, Judas, before being led away to appear before the Sanhedrin, the governing Jewish religious council. And before I proceed, we should note that Jesus was never told why He was being arrested or what He was being charged with.

Once Jesus was before the Sanhedrin, the scriptures tell us this:

"…the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’" Matthew 26:59-61

Here we see that the Jewish religious leaders had so much hatred in their hearts for Jesus that they were willing to use anything against Him to justify killing Him, even false testimony which we know was in direct violation of the commands we’re studying today. Through their actions, we see that the very ones who were to be the righteous keepers of God’s directives were very willing to break the Law if it would suit their purpose.

And for us today, this sends a special, stern warning for we should never repeat the sins of those who were responsible for sending our Savior Jesus to His death.

Now this would have been bad enough but the Sanhedrin decided to double down on their transgressions, accusing Jesus of blasphemy after this exchange:

The high priest said to Him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of Heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered. Matthew 26:62b-66

Of course, we know that Jesus was telling the truth but it was a truth the Sanhedrin weren’t able to handle. And of further interest, no one on the council ever once took this matter before God to either confirm or deny that Jesus was telling the truth. They were so desperate to find something to use against Jesus that they sold their souls to the devil to get what they wanted.

Well, in those times, the death penalty was unauthorized in Jewish law and so the Sanhedrin needed someone else to carry out their dirty work to execute Jesus.

Enter the Romans who controlled Israel at the time. They didn’t shy away from killing anyone who would come against Caesar and the empire and the most extreme of their practices was crucifixion, nailing a living human being to a cross before lifting them up to hang and die. This is what the Sanhedrin was shooting for and all they needed to do was convince the Romans that Jesus was a threat.

And so they hauled Jesus before the Roman governor of their region, Pontius Pilate, who examined the accused. Pilate came out of that encounter proclaiming Jesus was innocent:

“You brought me this Man as One who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against Him. Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; as you can see, He has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish Him and then release Him.” Luke 23:14-16

Here we see where Pilate wanted to set Jesus free but then this happened:

...the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

"Barabbas,” they answered.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

“Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this Man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. Matthew 27:20-26

In John’s Gospel, we learn that it was a tradition for the Romans to release one prisoner at the time of the Jewish Passover. Hoping that this would provide an opportunity to get Jesus released, he asks the gathered Jewish assembly who should be released and when he does, the scriptures tell us that the members of the Sanhedrin persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas, who had been incarcerated for “an insurrection in the city, and for murder” (Luke 23:19).

And so the Sanhedrin got their way, pressuring Pilate to do what they wanted. He may have washed his hands of the matter but he still was guilty of not standing up for what was right and perverted justice by siding with the crowd.

We only need to look at the last day of Jesus’ life to see first-hand how damaging false accusations, slander, and going along with the crowd to do wrong can be. Friends, we need to learn from this and take a stand for what’s right and righteous in the sight of the Lord, no matter the cost. We need to remember that all we do is in the sight of our risen Savior who sits in full authority over all things in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and with that in mind ask ourselves:

How does Jesus feel when He sees us falsely accuse or slander another?

Does He go back and have to remember the events that led to His execution when we decide to go along with the crowd, no matter how wrong their actions might be?

Does Jesus, the One who endured all the pain, suffering and persecution to save us relive His betrayal and suffering every time we decide to do something that put Him on the cross in the first place?

My hope and prayer today is that we will allow this message to take root in our hearts so to serve as a deterrent the we need to make a choice about what think, say, or do. No matter what, let us resolve to do as Jesus would do, to the glory of His precious and holy Name.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

SEEKING HOLINESS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"You are to be My holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs." Exodus 22:31

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

For the last eight messages, we have been taking a rather micro-look at the 22nd chapter of Exodus as we find God issuing additional commands to the Israelite people. We finish that exposition today as we come to the final verse in this chapter, a verse which contains two key points, one supporting the other. Look again at the words of God here:

"You are to be My holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs." v.31

Here, within these, the key words are the first seven:

"You are to be My holy people.”

Here, God makes it crystal clear regarding the way He expected the Israelites to live. They were to be holy and set apart from the ways of the worlds, exchanging those for His ways that were perfectly right and righteous.

What’s totally cool about this demand from God is that it hasn’t changed today, more than 2,000 years later. God is still God, the Almighty Maker and Master of all creation and we are His created people, still expected to be holy.

So what does it take for us to attain what God is commanding? What does it take to become holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16)?

Well, simply put, Christian believers are to entirely devote ourselves to God and His purposes. For when we do this, fully dedicating ourselves to His will, then and only then will we begin to resemble and model the One who we are to serve, the One who is holy. In other words, we become holy like He is and what helps us get to that place is to be Christ-like, our primary goal as Christians.

So how can we give of ourselves more so to walk closer with God and Jesus?

Here are a few ways:

1. Read the Word of God.

In my view, if there is one thing lacking more than anything amongst believers today, it’s that they don’t really have a good working knowledge of God’s Word, the Holy Bible. Yes, almost all Christians have bibles at home but too often, they remain on the bookshelf or on the coffee table except for Sundays when they are picked up and carried to and from church. During the week, a multitude of believers allow the things of life and the world to take on a greater priority than reading and studying the scriptures. This not only negatively impacts them but the world they abide in, a world where the Gospel is expected to be shared.

Since its inception, there has been no other book like the Bible and it’s of little wonder why it has been and continues to be the best-selling book of all time. This is because it is a living Word, breathed into life by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16). Because of this, it contains the essence of wisdom and the very Holy Spirit of God Himself. It’s a book that never fails to reveal new truths, no matter how many times you read it, and it serves as our divine instruction manual for life and holy living.

With this, why wouldn’t a Christian fail to read the scriptures each and every day?

Sadly, when this doesn’t happen, when a believer fails to read from the Word of God, they end up suffering from spiritual starvation. After all, Jesus did say this after Satan attacks Him with the first of three temptations:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

What’s Jesus up to here?

He’s weaponizing the Word of God against the enemy, and in doing so, showing us how to use the sword of the Spirit found within the full armor of God ensemble:

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17

When people fail to read the scriptures, not only do they starve themselves spiritually but they walk onto the battlefield of life every day to fight against Satan without a weapon. And then we wonder why so many are lost and confused today, besieged by the enemy and awash in their sins.

Friends, we can’t afford to mess up this way to holiness. We need to make Bible reading an important and essential part of our daily routine. Remember that God gives you the gift of time. Make sure you give a healthy portion of that time back to Him.

2. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

This is another way critical part of our life as Christians, one we need to dedicate time to daily. Here are some additional excerpts from the scriptures that command us to do so:

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." James 5:13

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer" 1 Peter 3:12

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

"Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer." 1 Corinthians 7:5

How important is the matter of prayer to the Lord?

If you counted, there would be a whopping 155 verses dedicated to the subject of prayer with another 365 dealing with praying.

Indeed, God places a premium on prayer and this should serve as a major blessing and encouragement to us.

Think about it for a minute. The God of all creation, the Almighty and omnipotent Master of all, wants to have consistent communication and conversation with sinners like us. And this isn’t some superficial chit-chat that we’re talking about. Rather, He wants to have a personal, intimate relationship with each and every believer. Everyone is special in His sight.

This will never cease to completely blow me away but it’s a truth that reveals who God is and if we want to know Him more and more, understanding how to be holy as He is, then we need to talk with Him regularly and without ceasing. When we do this, He will reveal His Will and Way for us in return so we can best carry on the work of His Son Jesus, the One through which we gain our identity as Christians.

3. Put His Word and Will into action.

We can read the Bible and pray daily but we won’t completely fulfill what the Lord desires until we put what we learn and gain into practice.

Go back to our verse for today and look at the words after God’s call to be His holy people. He further commands this:

“...do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs."

To add some context to this, we need to know that this meat, meat that was “torn by wild beasts” was considered to be unclean, unsuitable for human consumption in the sight of God and so the Israelites were expected to comply so to remain holy. After all, there was plenty of other meat that was acceptable to eat.  

For us today, we have the entirety of the scriptures and we know that God and Jesus have given us plenty of commands to obey. Further, we gain conviction and guidance toward right and righteous living when we engage with them in prayer every day. Through both mediums, the Word and prayer, we’re expected to respond in obedience and our actions will reflect that as we carry out these words from James, the half-brother of our Savior Jesus:

"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22

My brothers and sisters, living a life grounded in holiness isn’t as hard as it may sound but it does require our whole commitment and obedience. My prayer today is that you will examine your daily practices and if Bible study and prayer aren’t elements, then you will make space for them.

The main take away from today’s message is that our God expects us to be His holy people just as He expected Israel to be. My hope is that He speaks to you as he does to me through these daily messages, words He provides me to share with others, to help them come to know Him and His will and way. I further pray that you will put the Word into action while ensuring you don’t allow a day to go by when you don’t have a conversation with the Lord through prayer.

Love and blessings to you always in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE BEST FOR THE BEST

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.”

"You must give Me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to Me on the eighth day." Exodus 22:29-30

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we continue our study of Exodus, chapter 22, where we find a series of directives issues by God, we move from the matter of blasphemy to His expectations in regard to the quality of offerings brought before Him. Of interest, we see where there is a linkage between yesterday’s message and today’s, especially in regard to the principle of reverence.

Before we get to the main point of today’s passage, let’s go back to the time when the Israelites were suffering through their Egyptian captivity. You will remember that the Pharaoh, Egypt’s supreme leader, refused to allow God’s people to go free despite the Lord’s demands. And so God sent a series of ten plagues on Egypt, each increasingly worse in nature with the hope of Pharaoh changing his attitude and releasing the Israelite people. But Pharaoh refused to submit and, instead, watched his people suffer through calamities ranging from rivers and waters turning into blood to frogs, gnats, flies and locusts to fatal disease striking their cattle and livestock to boils, hail, darkness, and finally the worst of them all, the death of their firstborn.

In regard to this final curse, you’ll remember that the Lord “struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well" (Exodus 12:29). All were impacted except the firstborn of Israel who were spared after following the Lord’s instructions to "slaughter the Passover lamb” before taking “a bunch of hyssop”, dipping it into the blood and putting it “on the top and on both sides of the doorframe" (Exodus 12:21-22). This act saved the Israelites, leading the angel of death to pass over their homes when he came to Egypt to execute the curse. It was this event that is still celebrated today through the Jewish observance of Passover, an observance prescribed by God Himself.

After this, you may remember these words of God given to Moses, the man chosen to lead the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan:

"Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, whether man or animal." Exodus 13:2

This was followed by this message to be delivered to the Israelite people:

"After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He promised on oath to you and your forefathers, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.”

"In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand." Exodus 13:11-16

Here we find God demanding that His people show Him the reverence He deserved for what He had done in delivering Israel from the hands of Pharaoh. His commands ordered offerings that would symbolize the day He took away the firstborn of Egypt and preserved the firstborn of Israel. We read where the Israelites were expected to give God their first of everything; in other words, their best. They were to give their best grain, their best livestock and other animals, and their best children. In regard to the latter, we need to keep in mind that human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by God but the same protection didn’t apply to the firstborn animals who were offered up as an atonement for the sins of the people, an expiation from the blood which was shed from the sacrificing of the unblemished animals. In regard to the firstborn children, they were to be dedicated to God on the eighth day after birth, the day of their circumcision and formal naming.

All this leads to a couple of questions that serve to challenge us as believers today.

Do we give God our best in everything we do and all that we have?

Does He truly get our personal first fruits or do we only give Him our leftovers?

Really convicting, right?

For when it comes right down to it, why would we ever withhold our best from a God who is continuously give us His.

If you doubt this, look to the cross. For every single person in all mankind was destined for destruction and Hell because of their sins, sins that kept them as captive and oppressed as Israel was during their Egyptian captivity. And, just as shed blood from an unblemished lamb spread on the doorposts was required to ensure the Israelites were passed over and spared death, so too did the Father send His own unblemished Lamb Jesus, the precious Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He, Jesus, was God’s first fruit, His one and only Son, and yet He willingly gave Him up as an atoning sacrifice so we wouldn’t perish but rather gain eternal life (John 3:16). It was His shed blood at Calvary that would wash and cleanse any sinner who would place their belief in Him, making them whiter than snow, and His subsequent victory over death at His resurrection would become our ticket to liberation from the hopelessness of this present day. Indeed, through Jesus, and through Him alone, all Christian believers have the guarantee of an everlasting life in the glory of Heaven, all because God surrendered His best in order to save us.

Friends, if we’re honest, I think we all can stand guilty of not giving God our absolute best in life but that can change today through our understanding of the scriptures. We can repent of our past mistakes, asking for God’s forgiveness and mercy, before committing ourselves to never allow another day to pass without sacrificing for Him as He has sacrificed for us, giving Him the first fruits of all we have and all we are.

Let’s all vow to do just that...and then make good on our promise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE MATTER OF BLASPHEMY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people." Exodus 22:28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In today’s highlight verse from our continued study of the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Exodus, we come upon the word "blaspheme". It’s not a word we use a whole lot today but it was common in biblical times. When we look up its meaning in the dictionary, here’s what we find:

"To speak of or address with irreverence."

Taking this a step further, looking at an extension of "blaspheme", the word “blasphemy", we learn these meanings:

"The act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God"

or

"The act of claiming the attributes of deity"

or

"Irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable".

With this, we need to seriously consider whether or not we have ever behaved in a way that showed irreverence before God?

To know for sure, we go back to the dictionary and find this definition for "irreverence":

"An act or utterance lacking proper respect or seriousness"

Taking all these word descriptions as a sum, we learn that a person commits blasphemy or blasphemes God, when they commit any act or speak any utterance that fails to show Him proper respect. Put another way, anytime someone insults God through a deed, word or thought.

If you’re like me, you’ve been convicted of this sin already.

This is why it’s important to go through these word exposition drills when we study the scriptures. For you see Christians have a bad habit of acting self righteous, easily calling out the sin of others when the truth is that they are actually no better when it comes right down to it. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and so instead of being judgmental, believers need to be repenting of their own transgressions, throwing themselves before the mercy seat of God each and every day.

When this happens, when Jesus followers are willing to humble themselves and realize their own fallen state before the presence of the Lord Almighty, then they would refrain from acting like they are at some higher spiritual plain than others and see themselves as they truly are, sinners without hope minus the cleansing, saving blood of Jesus Christ.

There’s no questioning that the Word of God is critical to our daily spiritual growth and Christian walk each and every day because it will always reveal and expose just how sinful we are, completely dependent and reliant on the only One who was able to save us through sacrificing His Son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what reverence toward God looks like in its purest sense and it’s incumbent on us to put it into full practice.

Now, this isn’t the only place in the scriptures where the matter of blasphemy is addressed. Consider these passages:

"Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. Then the Lord said to Moses: "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.”

Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses. Leviticus 24:10-23

"But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord's Word and broken His commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him." Numbers 15:30-31

You can also read Isaiah, chapter 37, or Second Kings, chapter 19, to see what happened to the Assyrian forces when their king Sennacherib decided to heap insults on God. Additionally, Ezekiel, chapter 20 gives us a full appreciation for how much God despises disrespect and irreverence. He leaves little doubt about how it displeases Him.

Finally, you may remember that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law loved to falsely accuse Jesus of blasphemy because He claimed to be God. In fact, this was the trumped up charge that the Sanhedrin used to bring Him to Pontius Pilate while seeking His crucifixion. What has always amazed me is that these Jewish religious leaders, supposedly men of the Most High God, couldn’t even see past their arrogance to recognize that the man before them, Jesus, was their God in human form. It goes to show us how the self righteous can actually be spiritually blind.

Okay, so you get the point…or at least I hope you do.

We can’t decide to just be obedient to God on a part time status for any act that fails to bring Him honor and glory is irreverent, blasphemous, and sinful, placing the offender in a place of enmity with a God who despises any disrespect shown toward Him.

Friends, the Lord is speaking to us powerfully in this message and we all would be well advised to step back, reflect on His Word, and take account of the we’re living. We should do a stringent inventory of everything we do, say, and think, measuring each against the living standards God has firmly established, standards we find written in His Word and lived out to perfection by His Son and our Savior Jesus.

If we make a conscientious effort to do this each and every day, I am convinced that we will find ourselves moving ever closer to being like our Maker, the One who created us in His own image, and His Son Jesus, becoming like Him with our feet firmly walking the path of righteousness while carrying out our Great Commission mission to help the find their way to salvation.

In the end translation, there could be no greater act of reverence toward God, no better act of gratitude, praise and thanksgiving, and no more powerful act of love for others than doing this.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

FORGIVEN DEBTS AND DEBTORS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." Exodus 22:25-27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After addressing matters of unacceptable worship and their accompanying rituals, God gives Israel guidance on how to care for the disadvantaged in their society. It’s obvious that God and His Son Jesus had a special love and empathy for the needy. It’s also just as obvious that the Lord expects us to act likewise whether it is toward the alien, the widow, the orphan, or anyone else who is struggling and in want.

In today’s scripture, God addresses the matter of money lending, a practice that was prevalent in Old Testament times as it is now. We read where money or other items were often lent out from one Israelite to another, much like we might spot someone a few dollars or allow someone to borrow something to help them out today. In our passage, we find God providing direction so to build in protections for those in need. Look again at His words here:

"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." Exodus 22:25-27

We need to note here that this wasn’t just some suggestion from God in regard to whether or not interest should be collected on money lent. Rather, He commands that no interest was to be charged. Essentially, this constituted a biblical, God-sponsored, interest-free loan as He looked out for the less fortunate, a welcome relief for anyone who was struggling to make ends meet.

Just as we saw in yesterday’s message and God’s guidance on helping widows and orphans, there are multiple scripture passages on this matter of not burdening the poor. They include the following:

"If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit." Leviticus 25:35-37

"Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess." Deuteronomy 23:19-20

"He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man." Ezekiel 18:8

I think we all may have loaned something to someone at one time or another. Through His Word, the Lord leads us to consider whether or not we expected to be repaid or for the item we lent to be returned. Further, if we did expect payback, did we expect more to be returned than what was borrowed?

From a world view, the expectation would almost always be that what was lent must be returned, at base value at a minimum. But the Lord’s ways are not like the world’s and Jesus reminds us of this in a parable He tells in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.”

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'”

“The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.”

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.”

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'”

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.”

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'”

“In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.”

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." 18:23-35

Here, we see Jesus taking the matter of debt repayment to a different plain.

Live life long enough and you will probably find yourself down and out at some time or another. When we’re in that place, we are usually looking for someone to show us compassion and caring as we pray to the Lord to bring us relief from our neediness and restore us in accordance with His perfect will.

Often times, this happens in the way of a brother or sister who is able to pitch in and help us get out of the red and into the black in a financial time of need. These people who seek situations where they can help others understand where their provision comes from. They know that it is God and Him alone who provides the opportunity to assist others, providing what’s needed to do it. Indeed, all we have, whether in plenty or in want, is a result of God’s abundant blessing on our lives. Our money is really His money and He expects us to be good stewards of it. And so if you see a person in need, pray over the situation to discern whether or not God is calling you to help out in some way. If He is, it’s incumbent on us to respond in obedience, knowing He holds a special place in His heart for the needy.

These acts of goodwill toward others reflect the love and goodness of our Lord who is merciful and caring at His core. Just by merit of me writing this and you soon to read it, we know God has shown us awesome grace through His Son Jesus. We’re alive, actively breathing with beating hearts, signs that we’re richly blessed with the gift of life. Further, through our faith in Jesus as Savior, our eternal future is guaranteed as death has lost all power over us.  

So all Christian believers are secure in Christ and this liberates us to divert our attention from ourselves and toward others, extending the blessings we have received from our Lord to anyone who is lacking. We have the privilege to show them the abundant goodness and kindness of the Lord through allowing Him to aid others through us.

In other words, when we give freely to help those in need, not expecting anything in return, we allow the receiver to experience the same Jesus who God sent to cover our sin debt on the cross at Calvary. It was a debt that we could never repay and it came with no interest due. Instead, we ended up receiving even more than we deserved, the blessed salvation and certainty of Heaven.

Through belief in Christ, God forgives our debt and then gives us the opportunity to do the same to others, anyone who might be indebted to us. This is the point God was making in Old Testament times, echoes by Jesus in the New Testament, and a principle He wants us to live by today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

CARE FOR THE VULNERABLE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless." Exodus 22:22-24

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been alone?

Of course, we all have had a time when we were by ourselves for a brief period but that’s not what I am talking about here. The kind of loneliness I’m referring to is one of total isolation, a feeling of forsakenness where there’s no one to bring comfort, no one to talk to, no one to hold you, no one to love you.

It’s a terrible place to be, for sure, and unfortunately, there are countless people in our world today who find themselves there.

It’s important to discuss this problem because I thing we tend to lose sight of the lonely while enjoying the blessing of our own relationships. There’s a real tendency to assume that everyone enjoys the same social interactions that we do. The statistics tell us otherwise for one in every four households today has only one resident. Whether by way of choosing to remain single vice married, or by way of the death of or divorce from a partner, the numbers are troubling when we couple them with the potentially adverse psychological damage caused by loneliness.

Well, as we see in today’s verses from our continued study of Exodus, chapter 22, this problem was also a serious matter back in the days of the Old Testament, Specifically targeting widows and orphans, women and children left abandoned and often ignored by society, we read where the Lord commands that they be cared for and not taken advantage of. Any violation of His order would come with the following harsh consequences:

“If you do (take advantage of a widow or orphan) and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."

This isn’t the only place we find the Lord emphasizing His expectation to care for widows and orphans in society. Consider these other passages:

"Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in Me." Jeremiah 49:11

"At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands." Deuteronomy 14:28-29

"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:1-2

"Sing to God, sing praise to His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds—His name is the Lord—and rejoice before Him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling." Psalm 68:4-5

"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear Me," says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 3:5

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Given all this, and knowing that we still have widows and orphans in our world today, the scriptures cause us to reflect on how well we are responding to His call to care for those who are alone.

Do you know someone who is widowed? If so, have you taken any time to visit them, to check in to see how they are doing? To provide help if they need it?

My wife and I take an older man with us to church every Sunday. About five years ago, we got connected to him and his wife who joined our church and attended a class I taught. A few years later, she developed an aggressive cancer that took her life and left him widowed. He doesn’t drive and so we stepped in and made sure he could still come and enjoy fellowship and worship. It means the world to him and it’s just one way that we can step in and do something to make a difference in the life of someone who has been left alone.

In regard to orphans, I visited one when I was stationed in Djibouti, Africa during my service in the Navy. I still have a picture of a little baby I held and bottle fed, a baby without their birth parents. She was just one of around twenty children who had been left alone, now in the care of the orphanage staff. The good news was that all of the children were in the process of being adopted with a future ahead that would find them loved and properly cared for.

Here in the United States, there is a Christian organization founded by contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth. The ministry is called Show Hope and they help assist families who wish to adopt an orphan child. They are quickly approaching a milestone of helping connect 10,000 children with loving families.

If you have it in your heart to adopt, then the Lord has a child in mind for you to care for. If you aren’t in a place to adopt, you can provide monetary assistance to organizations like Show Hope to support their ministry mission. My wife and I have done this for years now, our response to the calling of God.

The bottom line here is that there are many opportunities available for us to "look after orphans and widows in distress." For just as Jesus did everything He could to love others, so too should we, extending and reflecting His tender care to those in need, especially the vulnerable. My prayer is that we all will commit ourselves to seek out the lonely, providing encouragement and support. For it costs nothing to bless someone with the gift of your time, fellowship, and love. And through your actions, anyone isolated will be able to see that through Jesus, they never need to ever be alone again.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.