Some Thoughts About God's Word
Opportunities for Insight and Introspection
by
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Week Nineteen – Tuesday
WHO KNOWS?
READING: EPHESIANS 4:17-24
Verse 17: “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,”
Our human tendency is to try to figure things out. It comforts us when we understand that conditions are working profitably. However when circumstances feel threatening or out of control, the desire to understand escalates. This can feel greater than just a desire and more like a need. If the pressure continues to increase, the need can become more imperative. It becomes a demand! That may then be followed by desperation.
Although the natural urge for this type of understanding is very strong, the Apostle Paul warns us to resist it. He teaches that it is futility to trust the human mind. In verse 18 he gives the reason to not trust natural understanding. We are told that alienation from the life of God has darkened human understanding.
However, darkened understanding does not necessarily generate a “woe is me - all is lost” situation. There is a godly alternative! Instead, according to this passage of scripture, we should learn Christ and be renewed in the spirits of our minds. Then through this newness of mind, all of the understanding we need can flow from the divine, ever-present provision and power of His Lordship. It becomes His understanding that gets imparted to our lives for every good thing. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.
RESPONSE
1. What does darkened human understanding have on a person?
2. What is the right response when a person begins to feel the pressure to understand in the natural?
Week Twenty – Monday
SQUARE ONE
READING: ACTS 26:19-23
Verse 20: “but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”
In this verse Paul disclosed what he preached. His message was simple as it presented a mandatory order in three steps. The first step was repent, the next to turn to God, then finally to do works.
Sometimes people try to tamper with the order. They attempt to use works in order to turn to God. Here is an illustration. It begins with a derelict person. He is lying in a gutter in his own filth. His thoughts are only of how to get more drugs or alcohol. In that very state of being he is offered the love of God. He wants desperately to accept this offer, but considers himself totally unworthy. He therefore begins to work to make himself worthy. That is too much for him to accomplish and he ends up back where he started.
If only this man had begun by accepting what had been offered. In that manner God's love would have been his means to receive the worthiness he desired. Anyone like the derelict who seeks "works befitting repentance" must follow the established order. Before anything else, that person must repent and turn to God. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.
RESPONSE
1. How common is the problem of pursuing the wrong order?
2. Is there anyone you can help to get into the right order?
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Book Details
About the Book
The history of this book began when the author was asked to broadcast daily devotionals on local radio. Response to those broadcasts has ultimately resulted in the publication of this book. The thoughts expressed in the readings capitalize on the reality of the Bible in life and life in the Bible. Readers will be given opportunity to notice ways the scriptures relate to common attitudes, responses and interactions. Questions are provided at the conclusion each reading to promote personal reflection and introspection. Each devotional reading provides example, encouragement and motivation for biblical responses and godly living.
About the Author
The author brings to these devotional readings a wealth of varied experiences that link to applications of biblical truth. He is a retired U.S. Army Officer and Viet Nam veteran. He is also a former psychiatric social worker and then a social work administrator. He founded a private agency for the practice of Christ centered counseling. That practice later transitioned to pastoral counseling at a local church. He now serves as the Pastor of Prayer at his home church. Observations resulting from those venues have fully confirmed to him that the scriptures are the source and essence of successful living. He and his wife Rosia have been blessed with a marriage of more than 50 years. They happily reside in southern Arizona delighting in their adult children and their grandchildren.