PT-1 The Speech of Prayer (Col. 4:2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2017 6:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 The Speech of Prayer

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:2

            Message of the verses:  “2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”

            John MacArthur begins this section with some wonderful words about prayer:  “It is fitting that Paul begins with prayer, because it is the most important speech the new man can utter.  Prayer is the strength of the believer’s fellowship with the Lord and the source of his power against Satan and his angels (cf. Eph. 6:18).  Through prayer, believers confess their sin, offer praise to God, call on their sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 4:15-16), and intercede for each other.  Prayer from a pure heart (Ps. 66:18) is to be directed to God (Matt. 6:9), consistent with the mind and will of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18), in the name of Christ, and for the glory of the Father (John 14:13).”

            When we look at the first two words of this verse I can say that it is much stronger when one looks at the Greek language. “Devote yourselves” is from proskartereo, and this is a compound word which is made up of kartereo, and this means to be steadfast or it can mean to endure.  There is an added preposition which intensifies the meaning of this word.  MacArthur states “The verb means ‘to be courageously persistent,’ ‘to hold fast and not let go.’  Paul is calling strongly on believers to persist in prayer.  They are to ‘pray at all times (Eph. 6:18; cf. Luke 18:1), ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17), and be devoted to prayer (Rom. 12:12).  By so doing, they follow the example of Cornelius (Acts 10:2) and the apostles (Acts 6:4).”

            We looked at what praying without ceasing means in a former SD, and we quoted Dr. Warren Wiersbe who said that praying without ceasing is keeping the phone to heaven off the hook so you can use it when you need to use it.

            We will close this SD by looking at two parables that our Lord spoke illustrating the importance of persistent prayer:

“1 ¶ Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2  saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ’Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4  "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ’Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’" 6  And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7  now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly (Luke 18:1-8a).”

“5  Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ’Friend, lend me three loaves; 6  for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7  and from inside he answers and says, ’Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8  "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9  "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10  "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Luke 11:5-10).”

5/31/2017 6:23 PM

PT-2 Christ's Appearance to Ten of the Disciples (John 20:19-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2017 8:48 AM

My Worship Time                              Focus:  PT-2 Christ’s Appearance to Ten of the Disciples

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  John 20:19-23

            Message of the verses:  “19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."”

            I have to say something about our last SD, and that is that I truly have enjoyed learning about the disciples of Jesus from the devotionals that I have been reading in MacArthur’s Devotional Bible.  Today was the last day, and it was kind of a recap of all the disciples.  He told a story of a man who played the violin very well and said that he was going to play a 20 thousand dollar violin and many people came out to listen to him play.  After his first part of the program was finished he through the violin onto the floor breaking it to bits and then he left.  A while later someone came out and said that the violin he broke was only worth twenty dollars and he would return to play the more expensive one to finish the program.  The disciples were “$20”) disciples until they meet Jesus and listened to Him for three years and then they became (“$ 20,000”) disciples.  The moral of this story is that believers can be worth much more spiritually by spending time with the Word of God, getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ better, and allowing Him to use them as He changes them for His glory.

            In verse 21 we see a bit of a preview of what is called “The Great Commission,” as Jesus says to them “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  MacArthur writes “Having formally commissioned the disciples, Christ ceremonially empowered them as a pledge of the power they were actually to receive on Pentecost forty days later (Acts. 2:1-4). Signifying that coming reality, ‘He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’  This was a purely symbolic and prophetic act, reminiscent of the vivid object lessons frequently employed by Old Testament prophets to illustrate their messages (cf. Jer. 13:1-9; 19:1-11; Ezek. 4:1-4).  In other words, Christ did not through this puff of breath actually and literally impart the Spirit in His fullness to them; rather He declared in a visible figure what would happen to them at Pentecost.” I for one, a happy to finally understand this passage as it has been somewhat of a mystery to me.

            There is a difference in the ministry of Holy Spirit in the Old Testament than what it is in the New Testament as the Holy Spirit could come on people and then leave them.  David prayed in Psalm 51, a Psalm he wrote after his sin with Bathsheba, “Take not You Holy Spirit from me,” as David knew that that could have happened.  The disciples did not receive the Holy Spirit in His fullness until Pentecost, and after that all believers would receive the Holy Spirit as a down payment, as Paul writes to when believers would be taken to glory. 

            We will close this SD with another quote from John MacArthur as he further explains what Jesus did to the disciples.  But before that a thought just came to me and that is that when Jesus speaks to Thomas a little while later He did not breath on him to receive the Holy Spirit. 

“When Jesus ‘breathed on them’ at this point, however, it was a powerful illustration, rich with meaning—because the Holy Spirit is pictured in Ezekiel 37:9-14 as God’s breath.  So the gesture was affirmation of Christ’s deity, making His own breath emblematic of the breath of God.  It was also reminiscent of the way God first ‘breathed into [Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life’ (Gen. 2:7)—thus picturing the impartation of new life through regeneration (the second birth), which under the new covenant is always accompanied of the Spirit (Ezek. 36:26-27). [‘26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.’]  The simple act of breathing on the disciples was thus a meaningful emblem on multiple levels.  Since then, every Christian has received the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: I once read in a book by Warren Wiersbe that he did not believe that having the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers in this day and age meant a great deal because of how believers were living their lives.  I believe that the Holy Spirit leads me an guides me, and also teaches me from the Word of God, and when I get to heaven it will be good for me to better understand all that the Spirit of God has done in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Holy Spirit will give me the wisdom to prepare me to teach Sunday school this Sunday, and that He will give me calmness of heart to present what He teaches me.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Daniel” (Daniel 6:22).

Today’s Bible question:  “What city was referred to as the city of David?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/31/2017 9:28 AM

             

Intro to Col. 4:2-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2017 8:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Col. 4:2-6

Bible Reading & Meditation                                           Reference:  Colossians 4:2-6

            Message of the verses:  2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3  praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.  5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary “The Speech of the New Man.”

            He writes in his introductory commentary “Speech will reflect the kind of person one is.  Because the tongue can speak so easily and is difficult to control, a person’s speech becomes the truest indicator of his spiritual state (cf. Matt. 12:37),” “"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."”

            One might suspect that the Bible is full of things that speak about speech, both the redeemed and the unredeemed, and one may also suspect that the book of Proverbs would be a good place to find a lot of things that the Bible has to say about speech, along with the book of Psalms.

            Unredeemed speech speaks of things like sexual immorality, deceit, curses, oppression, lies, destruction, vanity, flattery, foolishness, madness, carelessness, false doctrine, evil plots, hatred, too many words, and gossip.

            Redeemed speech would be characterized by confession of sin, confession of Christ, edifying speech, talk of God’s law, praise to God, blessing of enemies, talk about God, wisdom and kindness, and gentleness.  The model of all of this kind of speech would of course come from our Lord Jesus Christ. 

            MacArthur writes “In Colossians 4:2-6 Paul continues the discussion of the enew man in Christ that he began in 3:5.  In 3:5-17 he discussed the personal characteristics of the new man.  In 3:18-41, he discussed the home life of the new man.  In this passage he broadens the scope of his discussion to include unbelievers (cf. 4:5).  He focuses especially on the speech of the new man, because that is something the watching world will look at carefully when it evaluates Christianity.  Next to the thoughts, attitudes, and motives, it is all the most difficult area for believers to control.

            In his discussion of the speech of the new man, Paul puts the emphasis on four areas:  the speech of prayer, the speech of proclamation, the speech of performance, and the speech of perfection.”

            MacArthur also has the following short story in his introductory comments followed by a quote from James 3:1-12, we will look at both:  “in an ancient story, it is said that Bios, a wise man of ancient Greece, was sent an animal to sacrifice.  He was instructed to send back to the donor the best and worst parts of the animal.  He sent the donor the tongue.  The tongue is indeed the best and worst of man.  James agrees with that evaluation.

“2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”

5/30/2017 8:28 PM

           

Learning from Judas (Matt. 10:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2017 10:34 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Learning from Judas

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 10:4

            Message of the verses:  “The twelve apostles included ‘Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.”

            This SD will be a bit different in that I want to go away for a day from our study of John’s Gospel and give a quote from my John MacArthur “Drawing Near Devotional Bible,” a Bible that I read every morning, that is I read the devotionals in it and then listen to the Scripture that is given to look at each day.  This month the devotions have been focusing in on the twelve disciples of Jesus and the last few days have focused in on Judas and what we can learn from Judas.

God can use even an apostate like Judas to teach us some important lessons.

Judas is history’s greatest human tragedy.  He had opportunities and privileges known only to the other disciples, but he turned from them to pursue a course of destruction.  Yet even from his foolishness we can learn some important lessons.

Judas, for example, is the world’s greatest example of lost opportunity.  He ministered for three years with Jesus himself but was content merely to associate with Him, never submitting to Him in saving faith.  Millions of others have followed his example by hearing the gospel and associating with Christians, yet rejecting Christ.  Tragically, like Judas, once death comes, they too are damned for all eternity.

Judas is also the world’s greatest example of wasted privileges.  He could have had the riches of an eternal inheritance but instead chose thirty pieces of silver.  In that respect he is also the greatest illustration of the destructiveness and damnation greed can bring.  He did an unthinkable thing, and yet he has many contemporary counterparts in those who place wealth and pleasure above godliness.

On the positive side, Judas is the world’s greatest illustration of the forbearing, patient love of God.  Knowing what Judas would do, Jesus tolerated him for three years.  Beyond that, He constantly reached out to him and even called him ‘friend’ after his kiss of betrayal (Matt. 26:50).

If you’ve ever been betrayed by a friend, you know the pain it can bring.  But the Lord’s pain was compounded many times over because He knew ahead of time that he would be betrayed and because the consequences were so serious.  Yet he endured the pain, because he loved Judas and knew that His own betrayal was a necessary part of the redemptive plan.

The sins that destroyed Judas are common sins that you must avoid at all costs!  Use every opportunity and privilege God gives you, and never take advantage of His patience.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYER:  Thank Jesus for the pain He endured at the hands of Judas. – Pray that you will never cause Him such pain.

FOR FURTHER STUDY:  Read 1 Timothy 6:6-19. – What perils await those who desire wealth? – Rather than pursuing wealth, what should you pursue? – What attitude should wealthy people have toward money?

6 ¶  But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. 7  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11  But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12  Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

    13 ¶  I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14  that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15  which He will bring about at the proper time-He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16  who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. 17  Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18  Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19  storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Elias or Elijah” (Luke 9:19).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘My God that send His angel, and has shut the lions’ mouth’?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/30/2017 10:54 AM

A Word for Masters (Colossians 4:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2017 7:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  “A Word for Masters”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:1

            Message of the verse:  1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”

            In this section in John MacArthur’s commentary he only has two short paragraphs and so this SD will not be very long.

            I can say that when I looked up the Greek words for “master” that both times they are used in this verse they are the same Greek word:  “2962 κύριος kurios koo’-ree-os

AV-Lord 667, lord 54, master 11, sir 6, Sir 6, misc 4; 748

1) he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord

1a) the possessor and disposer of a thing

1a1) the owner; one who has control of the person, the master

1a2) in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor

1b) is a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master

1c) this title is given to: God, the Messiah”

            Masters are to treat the slaves that they have with fairness because they realize that they have a Master in heaven who is watching over them.  Those masters of slaves who do not treat their slaves with justice and fairness will one day have to answer to the Lord for their actions.

            When we looked at Colossians 3:11 earlier we learned that slaves and masters are spiritually equal in the Lord:  “a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”

            We can take this example into our time period and understand that the masters spoken of in 4:1 speaks of the employer who has the employee working for them and that employer should treat his employee the way he would want Christ to treat Him, for after all Christ is the Head over both the employer and the employee alike.

            John MacArthur concludes this section:  “If all Christians displayed the characteristics of relationships as embodied in the principles of this text, the results would be dramatic.  Believers would indeed become lights shining in the darkness.”  In speaking of the “relationships as embodied in the principles of this text” Macarthur is talking about husbands and wives along with parents and children, and masters and slaves.

5/29/2017 8:17 PM

PT-1 Christ Appearance to Ten of the Disciples (John 20:19-23)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2017 11:21 AM

My Worship Time                                Focus:  PT-1 “Christ Appearance to Ten of the Disciples”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 20:19-23

            Message of the verses:  “19  So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."”

            As we look at this section we see that John makes sure to tell his readers which day it was as he says, “that day,” meaning the same day that Mary spoke to the resurrected Jesus, and then even goes on to say “the first day of the week.”  I have to say that this reminds me of what John wrote in the first chapter of Revelation:  “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day Rev. 1:10a).”  We know from our study of the book of Revelation that John was speaking of Sunday.

            We also see in this section that the disciples had the doors locked or closed for fear of the Jews, and so this means that the only way Jesus could have gotten into the building was to go through it which is how He got there. 

            Jesus says to them “Peace be with you.”  Let us look at John 14:27 which Jesus actually spoke just three days earlier to them, but I am sure it seemed like much longer than that:  “"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  The word “peace” here and in our verse for today is the same Greek word.

“1) a state of national tranquillity

1a) exemption from the rage and havoc of war

2) peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord

3) security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)

4) of the Messiah’s peace

4a) the way that leads to peace (salvation)

5) of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is

6) the blessed state of devout and upright men after death (From the Greek/English dictionary).”

How did the disciples receive this peace, and how did we, if we are believers receive this peace that Jesus speaks of here? “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).”  “14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17  AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:14-18).”  In speaking about this section of Ephesians I learned that there was so much hostility between Jews and Gentiles that the only way peace could be made for them was through what Jesus did on the cross.

            Jesus identifies Himself by showing His disciples His hands and sides, similar to what we read in Luke 24:39 “"See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."”  Now once the disciples found out it was truly Jesus we read “the disciples then rejoiced when they say the Lord,” but as MacArthur writes “not before He offered a conclusive proof that He was not a spirit by eating a piece of broiled fish (Luke 24:41-43).”  “41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them.”

            If you are an unbeliever you can have a similar experience, not by seeing the Lord Jesus Christ as the disciples did, but by understanding that you are a sinner as the Bible tells us “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and then agree with God that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, and then invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart to be your savior.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “All men are equal before God” (Romans 2:11).

Today’s Bible question:  “What OT prophet did some people say Jesus was?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/29/2017 12:14 PM

 

PT-3 "A Word to Servants" (Col. 3:22-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2017 6:30 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-3 “A Word To Servants”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            We now want to look at Paul’s parallel passage in Ephesians 6:5-9 “5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

            I think that the main point that we can get from these passages that talk about servants, or in our day workers who work for others is that in reality we are not working for them in as much as we are working for the Lord, and I actually believe that when we get to the judgment seat of Christ we will be held accountable as to how we did our jobs as we worked for others.  I realize that in our day and age that it is difficult to get our arms wrapped around being slaves, as this surely is a new concept for me, but the thing that has helped me out the most is that when I look at the life of Jesus Christ while He was here on earth, that according to Paul’s writing in Philippians chapter two that He too was a slave to God.

            John MacArthur finishes up this section by writing “Paul gives two reasons for slaves (or employees) to obey their masters.  Positively, the Lord will repay them for their faithfulness.  They can endure inequity not, ‘knowing that from the Lord’ they ‘will receive the reward of the inheritance.’  The earthly master or boss may not give the servant what he deserves, but the Lord will.  He is the One who will assure the eternal compensation is what it should be (cf. Rev. 20:12-13). [‘12  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.’] Christian slaves are also heirs of eternal reward.  As an employee on the job, or a servant in the home, ‘it is the Lord Christ whom’ believers ‘serve.’  He will pay them back with grace and generosity.

            “Paul then gives a negative reason for obedience.  The one ‘who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.’  The warning is that the Lord will discipline without partiality in cases of disobedience (cf. Gal. 6:7).  Paul acknowledged that the Christian slave Onesimus was responsible to repay Philemon (Philem. 18).  The Christian servant is not to presume on his Christianity to justify disobedience.  Even if we are God’s children, we will reap what we sow, because God is impartial (cf. Acts10:34). [‘Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality.]’”

5/28/2017 6:53 PM   

PT-3 "Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene" (John 20:11-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2017 7:05 AM

My Worship Time                                   Focus: PT-3 “Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene”  

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 20:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “  11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12  and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). 17  Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ’I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’" 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.”

            I wanted to focus in on what Jesus said to Mary from verse 17 where He told her to stop clinging to her.  I suppose that there is somewhat of a mystery as to why Jesus said this to her and one of the reasons that I have heard a long time ago and so I will quote from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary:  “Some students feel that Jesus did return to the Father on that morning, and that was the ascension.  He was referring to; but no other New Testament passage corroborates this interpretation.  To say that He was fulfilling the symbolism of the Day of Atonement and presenting the blood to the Father is, I think, stretching a type too far (Lev. 16).  For that matter, He had no blood to present; He had presented that on the cross when He was made sin for us.  In His resurrection glory Jesus was ‘flesh and bones’ (Luke 24-39), not proof that the word of redemption had been completed (‘raised because of our justification’ – Rom. 4:24-25 NASB).  What more could He do?

            What Dr. Wiersbe points out here is what I heard many years ago, and I suppose that what he feels about this is true.  Jesus wanted Mary to go and tell His disciples that He had risen from the dead and He would see her later.

            Mary, the first person to see the resurrected Lord, went and told the disciples of Jesus that He had risen from the dead, and I suppose that the excitement in her voice was enough to show them that she really had just seen Jesus.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He married Pharaoh’s daughter” (1 Kings 3:1, 7-8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Does God treat all men alike?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/28/2017 7:27 AM

PT-2 A Word to Servants (Col. 3:22-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2017 9:40 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 A Word to Servants

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            I want to continue to get some help from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary for today’s Spiritual Diary.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “A Christian servant owed complete obedience to his master as a ministry to the Lord.  If a Christian servant had a believing master, that servant was not to take advantage of his master because they were brothers in the Lord.  If anything, the servant strived to do a better job because he was a Christian.  He showed singleness of heart and gave his full devotion to his master.  His work was done heartily, not grudgingly, and as to the Lord and not to men.  ‘He serve the Lord Christ.’”

            In the society that we live in we do not have slaves so then who would Paul be talking about in this section for our society today?  I believe that he would be talking about those who work for employers and so the same thing applies to them today as slaves did during Paul’s day. 

            When I was a supervisor in a very large foundry I had people who worked for me who were believers and one of the problems we faces was that they had a very strong union, so I have to say that from time to time I did have trouble with some of those who were believers who worked for me.  I let them know about it from time to time too.

             Even thought we are not talking about the other things we discussed in recent SD’s about Parents, husbands, and wives I want to include a quote from Dr. Wiersbe as he reviews these things.  “As we review this very practical section of Colossians, we see once again the preeminence of Jesus Christ in our lives as believers.  Christ must be the Head of the home.  This series of admonitions is actually a practical application of Colossians 3:17:  ‘And whatsoever ye do in word of deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.’  It is by His power and authority that we should live in our daily relationships.  If He is the preeminent One in our lives, then we will love each other, submit to each other, obey, and teat one another fairly in the Lord.

5/27/2017 9:59 PM

PT-2 "Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene" (John 20:11-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2017 10:40 AM

My Worship Time                                      Focus:  PT-2 Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 20:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ’I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’" 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.”

            I can’t imagine the joy that Mary must have felt as she was the very first person to see the Lord Jesus Christ in His risen body.  She surely went from weeping to be so very full of joy.  Joy surely did come in the morning for her.

            We really don’t know how it was that Mary became aware of Jesus being there, perhaps that angels pointed to Him, or maybe she just sensed His being there.  At any rate she did not recognize Him at first, which is similar to the men that Jesus encountered in Luke chapter 24 on His way to Emmaus.  What did Jesus look like at this point? Well certainly different from the battered bruised body she last saw.  His body had to be more glorious than what it was like before the crucifixion when Jesus was walking with His disciples.  John MacArthur writes “There have been several suggestions for her failure to recognize the Lord.  She was sure that He was dead, so the last thing she expected was to see Him alive.  Further, her eyes may have been blurred from tears.  Moreover she, like the others, was prevented from recognizing Him until He chose to reveal Himself to her (cf. 21:4; Luke 24:16).”

            Jesus then asks Mary the same questions that the angels asked her and she gave similar answers.  Mary was totally devoted to make sure that Jesus had a proper burial as this was first and foremost on her mind.

            I want to look now at John 10:3-4, and 27 “3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.” “27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”  With one word, Mary, she recognized Him, with just one word.  It could be that way with you as you search the Word of God perhaps for something that you did not even know you were looking for and one word, or perhaps one verse just kind of jumped off the page for you.  I think all believers have had that happen to them.  Or it could be that you don’t know Christ and then all of a sudden the Spirit of God opens your eyes to understand that you are a sinner in need of salvation and that one word, or sentence you read or someone says to you and it all becomes clear to you, you see Jesus in a spiritual way that Mary say Him in a physical way and your heart is all of a sudden filled with that same joy she had, all believers have once they come to Christ knowing that their sins are forgiven and they are now a true child of God with all the privileges that go along with that.  

            We will look at the rest of this wonderful passage in our next SD as there is something in it that has kind of been confusing to me and I hope it will be cleared up.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Seeing Jesus in His Word is something I desire to do each time I open up His Word. Perhaps the following song lyrics will help us understand Mary’s feelings:

 

I JUST SAW JESUS

We knew he was dead
It is finished, he said
We had watched as his life ebbed away
Then we all stood around
Till the guards took him down
Joseph begged for his body that day

It was late afternoon
When we got to the tomb
Wrapped his body and sealed up the grave
So I know how you feel
His death was so real
But please listen and hear what I say

I've just seen Jesus
I tell you he's alive
I've just seen Jesus
Our precious Lord alive
And I knew, he really saw me too
As if till now, I'd never lived
All that I'd done before
Won't matter anymore
I've just seen Jesus
And I'll never be the same again

It was his voice she first heard
Those kind gentle words
Asking what was her reason for tears
And I sobbed in despair
My Lord is not there
He said, child! it is I, I am here!

I've…

I've just seen Jesus
I tell you he's alive
I've just seen Jesus
Our precious lord alive
And I knew, he really saw me too
As if till now, I'd never lived
All that I'd done before
Won't matter anymore
I've just seen Jesus
I've just seen Jesus
I've just seen Jesus
All that I'd done before
Won't matter anymore
I've just seen Jesus
And I'll never be the same again
I've just seen Jesus!

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am praying that God will give me health so that I can teach my Sunday School lesson tomorrow.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What did Solomon do to make an alliance with Egypt?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/27/2017 11:33 AM

PT-1 "A Word to Servants" (Col. 3:22-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2017 8:59 PM

Bible Reading & Meditation                                          Focus:  PT-1 A Word to Servants

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            I thought that it would be a good idea to look at what Dr. Warren Wiersbe had to say about this section and then look at what John MacArthur has to say about it later on.

            Dr. Wiersbe begins with something that we have talked about earlier and that is that slavery was very common in Paul’s day as there were probably some 60 million slaves at that time and many of them were very educated, people who took care of their master’s children and some of them were even doctors, so the connotation of slavery was completely different then than it is today, although there were some harsh slave masters during Paul’s day as there were in the early part of our history in the United States.  We have also mentioned that Jesus was a slave to God while on earth as Paul points out in his letter to the Philippians as we are now slaves to God now, but again remember that our Master is perfect.

            Now in the early days of the church it was a minority and could not afford to go up against the owners of slaves in order to stop slavery, but their mission as is ours today is to preach the gospel.  Now that does not mean that as believers we are not to be involved in matters that are near and dear to the God we serve.

            Paul wrote a letter to Philemon about his runaway slave Onesimus, and in that letter did not tell Philemon to let Onesimus to be freed from being a slave.  The letter that we are studying now was taken by Onesimus to Philemon and the church of Colossians as seen in Colossians 4:9 “9  and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.”

            I write this to make a point that it is all about the slave owner as to whether or not the slave is treated well, and because our God is the One we serve as His slaves then we are surely in good hands and the more we get to know the Lord the more we will want to serve Him.

5/26/2017 9:17 PM

PT-1 "Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene" (John 10:11-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2017 12:34 PM

My Worship Time                                       Focus: PT-1 Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  John 20:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). 17  Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ’I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’" 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.”

            Mary was from the town of Magdala which was on the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee which was near Tiberias.  The love that Jesus had for this woman symbolizes the love and faithfulness that He has for all believers, no matter how seemingly insignificant they might be.  Mary was the name of different women who traveled with Jesus and His disciples and yet the Lord chose to appear to her first.  We learned from John 4:28-29 that Jesus declared His messiahship to a woman, the woman at the well.

            We learned when we looked at the first eleven verses of John chapter 20 that the disciples left and when back to their homes, and yet Mary stayed and was standing outside the tomb.  We also talked about Mary coming to prepare the body of Jesus for burial, not knowing that Joseph and Nicodemus had already done that, and so she waited by the tomb. 

            As she waited she was crying, not knowing where the body of Jesus was, knowing she desired to prepare it for burial.  Her cries were uncountable, as He love for the Lord was great.  Mary looked into the tomb and “she saw tow angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.”  When Mary looked at these angels she did not realize that they were angels as according to Mark 16:5 and Luke 24:4 they had human appearances.  The angels asked Mary, “Why are you weeping?”  MacArthur adds “The time for mourning was over; the sorrow of death was forever shattered by the joyous reality of the resurrection.”   To that I say (“Amen!”)

            Since Mary did not know who they were she thought that they had taken the body of Jesus away “and I do not know where they have laid Him.”  Mary was crying because she did not know where the body of Jesus was. 

            We will continue to look at the rest of this story in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jonah” (Johan 1:17).

Today’s Bible question:  Who are the four major prophets?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/26/2017 12:55 PM

           

PT-3 A Word to Parents (Col. 3:21)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2017 10:58 PM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  PT-3 A Word to Parents

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 3:21

            Message of the verses:  “21 Fathers [Parents], do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”

            I mentioned a couple of days ago, as I have been under the weather for a couple of days, that I would quote a poem by Dorothy Law Nolte for our last look at this section.

If a child lives with criticism,

He learns to condemn.

 

If a child lives with hostility,

He learns to fight.

 

If a child lives with ridicule,

He learns to be shy.

 

If a child lives with shame,

He learns to be guilty.

 

If a child lives with tolerance,

He learns to be patient.

 

If a child lives with encouragement,

He learns confidence.

 

If a child lives with praise,

He learns to appreciate.

 

If a child lives with fairness,

He learns justice.

 

If a child lives with approval,

He learns to like himself.

 

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,

He learns to find love in the world.

            John MacArthur concludes “Not exasperating their children is essential if parents are to ‘bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’ (Eph. 6:4).”

5/25/2017 11:07 PM