Today´s reading:
OT: Deuteronomy 4
NT: Luke 6:39-49, Luke 7:1-10
Ps: Psalm 68:1-18
Pr: Proverbs 11:28
Today´s notable verses:
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 4:29 (NIV)
In the midst of Moses’ warning to the Israelites about what would happen to them if they turn away from worshipping God – forced out of the land of promise, scattered amongst the nations, forced to bow down to inanimate gods – even then, if they would turn all their heart and soul to seeking God, they would find Him. How true this promise remains for us today: no matter our circumstances, no matter how far we have willingly chosen and intentionally turned away from God, we have but to turn and seek Him, and He will be there.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45 (NIV)
In the end, the truth will always out. We can put on a facade, but who we really are inside cannot help but expose itself. It is one thing to hold one’s tongue from saying something knowingly wrong or evil; but according to this principle, I would be as worried about the root of the word I didn’t speak as I am about the consequences of actually speaking that word – for if I have to hold back some evil overflow from my own heart, than I have much deeper concerns than mere offense of speaking that evil. If I am truly being transformed into the image of Christ, then I need to be consciously aware of identifying and rooting out all such iniquities in my heart, so that what overflows from my heart to my mouth is not the iniquity of fallen man, but the love of the risen Christ.
47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Luke 6:47-48 (NIV)
If nothing else, the truth of these two verses is my testimony these past several months. I can attest: the storms do come. The floods rise. The torrents will strike the house. But when that house is dug deep into, and built with a foundation upon, the Rock of Christ, it will not be shaken.
The One Year Bible Blog asks:
The passages on the faith of the centurion today are powerful – especially his words in verse 7 – “Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed.” Can we learn something from the faith of the centurion in our lives today?
I think the extraordinary thing about the Centurion – the quality that amazed Jesus – whas his understanding of Jesus’ authority. The Centurion superimposed his worldly, militaristic understanding of order and authority onto his understanding of Jesus’ identity and position. By his words, the Centurion demonstrated his belief that Jesus had both physical and spiritual authority – in other words, he demonstrated his belief that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah) and Emmanuel (God with us), for only God Himself has authority over the power of sickness and disease, and only God has the power to heal merely by will. Is not the story of the Centurion the very epitome of faith? Being sure of what you hope for, and certain of what you do not see (Hebrews 11:1).
Two thoughts to take away from the story: first, that Godly principles can be understood by and observed in even ungodly people. Think of the principle of sowing and reaping. Some of the most generous people on the planet are non-Christians. Even though they may not know why or recognize God as the reason, they will still benefit from this principle by sowing generosity. Two: Christ acted in His authority when He walked the earth, and before he ascended, he transferred to His followers the authority by which He carried out His ministry. What a great responsibility we now have, to use that authority for His purpose! (Caveat: this teaching can be taken too far. Clearly, we don’t have all of Jesus’ authority; for He still alone has the authority to forgive sins. We are not the High Priest, but Christ – and we are His priesthood.) The authority Jesus has given us is yet another stewardship: we pray directly to God, but only in the name of Jesus. We carry out the message and ministry of reconciliation, but only the Spirit has the power to draw the lost back into redemption. We cast out demons, but only because they are subject to the authority of Christ.
The flip side, though, is that because of that authority, we do not have to fear or subject ourselves to the spiritual forces of the evil one. We have the authority to rebuke Satan, and through the Spirit, the power to stand firm against his attacks.