JUNE 17 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY JUNE 17, 2011
FATHERS
DEFINITION:
A male parent; God; a fatherly protector or provider; a title of respect.
SCRIPTURE:
Honor you father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:2
Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding. Proverbs 4:1
We exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children. I Thessalonians 2:11
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
In two days here in America we will celebrate Fathers day. This is a special day set apart to honor our fathers. It is interesting to know that communication is at the highest level among family members at Mothers day in May and Fathers day in June. There are more long distant calls made on Mothers day than any other day of the year. But on Father’s day, there are more collect calls made than at any other time of the year.
Fathers are needed and wanted for much more than financial help today. A big concern today is that over 50% of our homes do not have a father today. The verse above from I Thessalonians is primarily directed to church leaders but Paul talks about how their role is similar to a father’s role in the family. He says, “You know how we exhorted and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children.
It is not enough for fathers to think that all they need to do is to bring home a pay check. Children and spouses need their love and encouragement. The word comforted in this verse is to console. Nothing is more important to a child then to have a father to listen and talk with them and to console them when they are hurting.
The word charged in this verse means to affirm. Fathers need to challenge their children by affirming the truth of God’s Word as they live it out day by day. Good fathers reflect their heavenly Father. What we need today is for more fathers who know Jesus to be spiritual leaders in their homes and to be there for their children to support, comfort and encourage them.
In Ephesians 6:2 Paul quotes the fifth commandment of the Ten Commandments which reads, “Honor your Father and your Mother.” In Matthew 15:4 Jesus also quoted this commandment. This is not a commandment to be ignored, although it often is. What does God mean by “honor?” To honor our parents is more than just obeying our parents. It means to respect them, to love them, and to care for them.
Far too often we hear about children who are dishonoring their parents by talking back to them and showing continual disrespect for them. The nursing homes are filled with fathers and mothers who are never visited by their children. Fathers and mothers have the responsibility, first of all, to be the kind of parents children can respect, and then they must teach their children to honor and obey them.
But let us remind you that God never gave a condition as to when we should honor our father and mother. He stated it simply and clearly, “Honor your Father and Mother.” If they abused you, you must still honor them. If they were unkind, you still must honor them. God never gave us any “ifs.”
Yes, we know that there are bad, even evil, parents in this world. A child may have to stand up against a parent who is leading them to do what is wrong. Even though a child’s parents may not have earned the love or respect of their child, their mother and father are still the child’s parents and the child should still honor them with politeness and show they care about them.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Help us as families today to honor our fathers on this special day. May we at the same time honor our Father in heaven.
June 19, 2011
Covetousness: June 16, 2011
JUNE 16 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY JUNE 16, 2011.
COVETOUSNESS
DEFINITION:
Long for; desire enviously; wrongfully desire what belongs to another; a desire for a unjust gain.
SCRIPTURE:
And Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Luke 12: 15.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
On many occasions we have watched our children and other children playing. Children always seem to want the toy another child is playing with. It doesn’t seem to matter that there may be a dozen other toys or that they could have chosen that toy long before the toy was taken by the other child. The child wants that one and wants it now, so in most cases they just take it.
As parents we know that it is not right so we have to intervene. Unfortunately one of the problems with families today is that a parent does not intervene at times like this and children develop bad traits that stay with them for a lifetime. Adults are covetous just like children. We never think of wanting something, in many cases, until we see someone else has it. When we covet what someone else has we are breaking God’s Tenth Commandment.
On the internet there is a web page called, “The Law of Attraction.” Evidently this is a popular idea floating around about how to get whatever you want. One must just think and feel what you want to attract.
This positive thinking philosophy teaches that the energy of your dominant thoughts “attracts” your circumstances. The theory is the more desire you have for a thing, the greater will be the attractive force exerted toward its attainment, both within yourself and outside of yourself. To us this sounds like coveting. It seems that this so called law basically offers one the “things” in life that you “want” but do not have. This is certainly not what we learn from the Bible. The Bible has nothing to say about such a law.
WARNING: Do not get caught up in “Laws” like this because they will distract you, at the least, from your Christian walk with the Lord. Look to the Bible for all the theories you need.
We are to use our God-given abilities and work to provide for ourselves. As believers, we have good reason to be positive in our thinking, but it is because our heavenly Father understands our needs and meets them. Because He cares for us, we do not have to be anxious (Luke 12: 29-30). In the verse we have written above we are reminded that life does not consist “in the abundance of things that we possess, so we make it our aim instead to be rich in God" (verse 21).
In this verse above Jesus tells us to “Take heed and beware of covetousness” because one day, like the rich fool in the parable, in Luke 12:16-21, we will leave it all behind. When that day comes for us to go to our Heavenly Father we will have more than we ever dreamed. In the meantime, God promises to care of all our needs. We do not need to follow foolish ideas like “the law of attraction” when we are a child of God. He has promised to supply all our needs, not all of our wants. Our desire should be to be “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the assurance that we have that You will provide all of our needs. Help us not to covet the things of this world but to see the riches of God. Help my family to continue to seek You daily and communicate to You daily so that You can protect and bless us.
COVETOUSNESS
DEFINITION:
Long for; desire enviously; wrongfully desire what belongs to another; a desire for a unjust gain.
SCRIPTURE:
And Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Luke 12: 15.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
On many occasions we have watched our children and other children playing. Children always seem to want the toy another child is playing with. It doesn’t seem to matter that there may be a dozen other toys or that they could have chosen that toy long before the toy was taken by the other child. The child wants that one and wants it now, so in most cases they just take it.
As parents we know that it is not right so we have to intervene. Unfortunately one of the problems with families today is that a parent does not intervene at times like this and children develop bad traits that stay with them for a lifetime. Adults are covetous just like children. We never think of wanting something, in many cases, until we see someone else has it. When we covet what someone else has we are breaking God’s Tenth Commandment.
On the internet there is a web page called, “The Law of Attraction.” Evidently this is a popular idea floating around about how to get whatever you want. One must just think and feel what you want to attract.
This positive thinking philosophy teaches that the energy of your dominant thoughts “attracts” your circumstances. The theory is the more desire you have for a thing, the greater will be the attractive force exerted toward its attainment, both within yourself and outside of yourself. To us this sounds like coveting. It seems that this so called law basically offers one the “things” in life that you “want” but do not have. This is certainly not what we learn from the Bible. The Bible has nothing to say about such a law.
WARNING: Do not get caught up in “Laws” like this because they will distract you, at the least, from your Christian walk with the Lord. Look to the Bible for all the theories you need.
We are to use our God-given abilities and work to provide for ourselves. As believers, we have good reason to be positive in our thinking, but it is because our heavenly Father understands our needs and meets them. Because He cares for us, we do not have to be anxious (Luke 12: 29-30). In the verse we have written above we are reminded that life does not consist “in the abundance of things that we possess, so we make it our aim instead to be rich in God" (verse 21).
In this verse above Jesus tells us to “Take heed and beware of covetousness” because one day, like the rich fool in the parable, in Luke 12:16-21, we will leave it all behind. When that day comes for us to go to our Heavenly Father we will have more than we ever dreamed. In the meantime, God promises to care of all our needs. We do not need to follow foolish ideas like “the law of attraction” when we are a child of God. He has promised to supply all our needs, not all of our wants. Our desire should be to be “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21).
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Thank You for the assurance that we have that You will provide all of our needs. Help us not to covet the things of this world but to see the riches of God. Help my family to continue to seek You daily and communicate to You daily so that You can protect and bless us.
Intercession: June 15, 2011
JUNE 15 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE15, 2011
INTERCESSION
DEFINITION:
Prayer offered in behalf of others.
SCRIPTURE:
This is the way you should bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6: 23-26
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of the faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. James 5: 14-15.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When people hear that we have six children they often ask, “How did you do it?” The answer is PRAYER. We prayed every day not only for them but with them. God can do what we cannot do in the hearts of our children. We prayed daily and followed His leading and taught them His Words and let Him do the rest.
The scriptures give us several purposes of prayer (intercession) that we should adhere to when we pray on behalf of others. We are to seek intercession for healing, to avert judgment, for deliverance, to give blessings, to obtain restoration and to encourage repentance.
Moses often had to intercede for his people on the long hard journey to their Promised Land. The people did not make it easy for Moses to lead them. They complained about food, they complained about the water, they complained about the leadership of Moses and they even complained about God. (Does this sound a little like responses you receive from your children today?)
In Numbers 21, God brought punishment in the form of fiery serpents. When the serpent bit them the person died. “Therefore the people came to Moses and said, ‘we have sinned, for we have spoken against God and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us’” So Moses prayed for them. God did spare the people from the serpents because of the intercession of Moses for them.
The verses above from Numbers are the blessing we read about when the Lord spoke to Moses which Moses and the priests were to pray to bless the Children of Israel. God will not bless sinful men but He blesses all those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Christ is the source of all blessings through the intercession He has given us, with the cross being the means.
In the verses above from James we are instructed to go to the pastors/elders in the church so that they might be an intercessor for our specific needs such as an illness. God then gives us a wonderful promise that our faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise us up.
When we offer intercession for others and pray for others we must, according to the scriptures, plead on behalf of who we are praying for, be specific as to the needs that we are praying for, and then we are to pray earnestly in faith believing we will have victory.
As parents who are believers, we have a responsibility to make intercession for our children. We must pray not only that the Lord will bring them to repentance and salvation, but that the Lord will protect them from evil and guide their steps and that God would bless them.
The uniqueness of our relationship with Jesus is that as believers we have Jesus as our intercessor between us and God. This is why we pray in Jesus name when we pray. Do you have the confidence that we have that when you pray to God you have Jesus as your intercessor between you and God?
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Thank You that You are my intercessor so I can talk to God. As I read the Bible and pray daily through You help help me to understand Your Word so that I may know how to be that intercessor that others may need in their time of need.
INTERCESSION
DEFINITION:
Prayer offered in behalf of others.
SCRIPTURE:
This is the way you should bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6: 23-26
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of the faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. James 5: 14-15.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
When people hear that we have six children they often ask, “How did you do it?” The answer is PRAYER. We prayed every day not only for them but with them. God can do what we cannot do in the hearts of our children. We prayed daily and followed His leading and taught them His Words and let Him do the rest.
The scriptures give us several purposes of prayer (intercession) that we should adhere to when we pray on behalf of others. We are to seek intercession for healing, to avert judgment, for deliverance, to give blessings, to obtain restoration and to encourage repentance.
Moses often had to intercede for his people on the long hard journey to their Promised Land. The people did not make it easy for Moses to lead them. They complained about food, they complained about the water, they complained about the leadership of Moses and they even complained about God. (Does this sound a little like responses you receive from your children today?)
In Numbers 21, God brought punishment in the form of fiery serpents. When the serpent bit them the person died. “Therefore the people came to Moses and said, ‘we have sinned, for we have spoken against God and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us’” So Moses prayed for them. God did spare the people from the serpents because of the intercession of Moses for them.
The verses above from Numbers are the blessing we read about when the Lord spoke to Moses which Moses and the priests were to pray to bless the Children of Israel. God will not bless sinful men but He blesses all those who have accepted Christ as their Savior. Christ is the source of all blessings through the intercession He has given us, with the cross being the means.
In the verses above from James we are instructed to go to the pastors/elders in the church so that they might be an intercessor for our specific needs such as an illness. God then gives us a wonderful promise that our faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise us up.
When we offer intercession for others and pray for others we must, according to the scriptures, plead on behalf of who we are praying for, be specific as to the needs that we are praying for, and then we are to pray earnestly in faith believing we will have victory.
As parents who are believers, we have a responsibility to make intercession for our children. We must pray not only that the Lord will bring them to repentance and salvation, but that the Lord will protect them from evil and guide their steps and that God would bless them.
The uniqueness of our relationship with Jesus is that as believers we have Jesus as our intercessor between us and God. This is why we pray in Jesus name when we pray. Do you have the confidence that we have that when you pray to God you have Jesus as your intercessor between you and God?
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Thank You that You are my intercessor so I can talk to God. As I read the Bible and pray daily through You help help me to understand Your Word so that I may know how to be that intercessor that others may need in their time of need.
Hospitality: June 14, 2011
JUNE 14 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY JUNE 14, 2011
HOSPITALITY
DEFINITION:
The friendly reception and entertainment of guests, friends or strangers in a generous and kindly way; generous and cordial treatment of others.
SCRIPTURE:
Share with God’s people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Each one of us has been in a position when we needed to provide hospitality to someone, a friend or an acquaintance. Our response is usually tempered by both the timing and the people involved.
In I Timothy 3:2 Paul says that hospitality is one of the requirements for a church overseer --- bishops and pastors. They are the representatives of Christ and must be kind and welcoming to others. In this verse we are told that in addition to being hospitable they are to be blameless, temperate, sober-minded and able to teach. These are qualities that church overseers have a responsibility to maintain in their lives. They must live blameless lives that are above reproach.
These qualities that Timothy lists are qualities that all believers, not just bishops and pastors, should develop in their lives. We may not be church leaders but we are representatives of Christ. One of the ways we can show Christ to others is by our hospitality. We show our hospitality by our warm and kind treatment of others we meet daily and by helping those in need.
In Matthew 25: 35-36, Jesus describes acts of hospitality that we all can do that will demonstrate to others our love for the Lord. Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” In verse 40 Jesus says whatever we have done for others it is as if we did it for Him.
In Luke 11:5-8 we read about a parable about hospitality that Jesus used in teaching His disciples how to pray. He uses a parable about a friend coming to another friends house at midnight because he had no bread to feed the friend that came to his house needing shelter and food. The neighbor did not want to be disturbed because of the lateness of the hour.
Jesus went on to say because of the persistence of the neighbor in need the other one finally responded. We as believers must not be like the neighbor who was reluctant to help. We must be willing to give hospitality to those who need help and are looking for a friend.
Hospitality does not only mean to invite one into your house. It means to help a person in their time of need. It could be for a ride in your car in order to get to a store or a meeting: It could be a few dollars for food, or just a kind word to one who is lonely and hurting. There are many simple acts of kindness that anyone can do.
There are many examples of hospitality shown in the scriptures like Abraham to angels; Lot to an angel; Laban to Abraham’s servant; Joseph to his brothers; Pharaoh to Jacob and Rahab to the spies. God gives all of us opportunities to show others His love through our acts of hospitality.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
PRAYER:
Help me to be hospitable to those that I meet today. May I realize that my talk and actions at times show whether I am hospitable or not. May my family join me in having a welcome attitude to those who need some sort of hospitality.
HOSPITALITY
DEFINITION:
The friendly reception and entertainment of guests, friends or strangers in a generous and kindly way; generous and cordial treatment of others.
SCRIPTURE:
Share with God’s people who are in need; practice hospitality. Romans 12:13.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
Each one of us has been in a position when we needed to provide hospitality to someone, a friend or an acquaintance. Our response is usually tempered by both the timing and the people involved.
In I Timothy 3:2 Paul says that hospitality is one of the requirements for a church overseer --- bishops and pastors. They are the representatives of Christ and must be kind and welcoming to others. In this verse we are told that in addition to being hospitable they are to be blameless, temperate, sober-minded and able to teach. These are qualities that church overseers have a responsibility to maintain in their lives. They must live blameless lives that are above reproach.
These qualities that Timothy lists are qualities that all believers, not just bishops and pastors, should develop in their lives. We may not be church leaders but we are representatives of Christ. One of the ways we can show Christ to others is by our hospitality. We show our hospitality by our warm and kind treatment of others we meet daily and by helping those in need.
In Matthew 25: 35-36, Jesus describes acts of hospitality that we all can do that will demonstrate to others our love for the Lord. Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” In verse 40 Jesus says whatever we have done for others it is as if we did it for Him.
In Luke 11:5-8 we read about a parable about hospitality that Jesus used in teaching His disciples how to pray. He uses a parable about a friend coming to another friends house at midnight because he had no bread to feed the friend that came to his house needing shelter and food. The neighbor did not want to be disturbed because of the lateness of the hour.
Jesus went on to say because of the persistence of the neighbor in need the other one finally responded. We as believers must not be like the neighbor who was reluctant to help. We must be willing to give hospitality to those who need help and are looking for a friend.
Hospitality does not only mean to invite one into your house. It means to help a person in their time of need. It could be for a ride in your car in order to get to a store or a meeting: It could be a few dollars for food, or just a kind word to one who is lonely and hurting. There are many simple acts of kindness that anyone can do.
There are many examples of hospitality shown in the scriptures like Abraham to angels; Lot to an angel; Laban to Abraham’s servant; Joseph to his brothers; Pharaoh to Jacob and Rahab to the spies. God gives all of us opportunities to show others His love through our acts of hospitality.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
PRAYER:
Help me to be hospitable to those that I meet today. May I realize that my talk and actions at times show whether I am hospitable or not. May my family join me in having a welcome attitude to those who need some sort of hospitality.
Greed: June 13, 2011
JUNE 13 2011. TODAYS WORD FOR MONDAY JUNE 13, 2011
GREED
DEFINITION:
Excessive or extreme desire for things; covetousness.
SCRIPTURE:
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. I Samuel 8:1, 3
His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, and they are all dumb dogs. Yes they are greedy dogs which never have enough. Isaiah 56: 10-11.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray. II Peter 2:14.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
It is interesting to watch children when a plate of cookies is being served. They will look the plate over carefully and select the largest cookie. If they think no one is looking they will take two or possibly a handful. We can say that that is just what kids do, but unfortunately it is not just children that are greedy.
All around us we see greed today. Many people have family members that are driven by greed. They always want more “things” and are never happy with what they have.
We see the same greed in politicians, our government leaders and in the work place among owners, supervisors and workers. Unfortunately, we sometimes listen to people in church that are professing believers and comments of greed come from their mouths. Greed prevails not just in our “worldly society” but also in our churches.
The three verses that we have written above give us three illustrations about how greed affected people in Biblical times. The first verse listed deals with Samuel and his two sons. The second verse deals with Israel and how they lost their way acting like greedy dogs. The third verse above deals with false prophets in the early church.
Samuel was about 60 years old when he appointed his sons as Judges. There is no hint of any kind in the scriptures that Samuel asked the Lord for guidance. As we read in the verse above from I Samuel, his sons allowed greed to corrupt them. We learn that Samuel, although he was a godly man, was human just like us and he put his sons in positions where they were to have spiritual authority.
As so often happens, when people have power they use their position of authority for personal gain. Greed is the motivating factor in most cases. Greed caused Samuel’s sons to “accept bribes and pervert justice” to satisfy their excessive desire for riches. Thus Israel no longer had the spiritual leadership that Samuel had given Israel in the past. As a result of the greed of Samuel’s sons, the elders of Israel rebelled against the evil sons and demanded that Samuel give them a king.
Isaiah in the verse we have written above describes the watchmen of Israel as blind and dumb dogs who were greedy and never had enough. These blind watchmen were the preachers of the day and once again the spiritual leadership was corrupted by greed. Isaiah called them dumb dogs because under their leadership Israel turned from God and forfeited all God’s blessings. They were like dumb dogs that could not bark, which means they did not preach the truth or warn the Children of Israel about the false doctrine.
Most false teaching is based in greed and appeals to our sinful nature’s desire for the riches and pleasures of this world. In II Peter (above) Peter was warning the believers about false teachers that were living among them. These false teachers were not only greedy but they were trained in greed. They took their eyes off the message of the Cross and preached a modern word of faith that contradicted all that Jesus is and all that Jesus taught.
Those that followed these false teachers, Peter said, would be unable to cease from sin. These false teachers were very deceptive and spoke appealing and seductive thoughts, just as false teachers do today. Peter warns us to stay true to the message of the cross and not to let greed entice us to follow the teaching of false teachers.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Help my family today to keep our eyes open to the message of the cross. Help us not to fall to the temptations of the world we live in and to the false teachers that want to lead us away from God. Help us to see and react negatively to greed. May our hope and trust be completely in You this day.
GREED
DEFINITION:
Excessive or extreme desire for things; covetousness.
SCRIPTURE:
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes and perverted justice. I Samuel 8:1, 3
His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant, and they are all dumb dogs. Yes they are greedy dogs which never have enough. Isaiah 56: 10-11.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray. II Peter 2:14.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
It is interesting to watch children when a plate of cookies is being served. They will look the plate over carefully and select the largest cookie. If they think no one is looking they will take two or possibly a handful. We can say that that is just what kids do, but unfortunately it is not just children that are greedy.
All around us we see greed today. Many people have family members that are driven by greed. They always want more “things” and are never happy with what they have.
We see the same greed in politicians, our government leaders and in the work place among owners, supervisors and workers. Unfortunately, we sometimes listen to people in church that are professing believers and comments of greed come from their mouths. Greed prevails not just in our “worldly society” but also in our churches.
The three verses that we have written above give us three illustrations about how greed affected people in Biblical times. The first verse listed deals with Samuel and his two sons. The second verse deals with Israel and how they lost their way acting like greedy dogs. The third verse above deals with false prophets in the early church.
Samuel was about 60 years old when he appointed his sons as Judges. There is no hint of any kind in the scriptures that Samuel asked the Lord for guidance. As we read in the verse above from I Samuel, his sons allowed greed to corrupt them. We learn that Samuel, although he was a godly man, was human just like us and he put his sons in positions where they were to have spiritual authority.
As so often happens, when people have power they use their position of authority for personal gain. Greed is the motivating factor in most cases. Greed caused Samuel’s sons to “accept bribes and pervert justice” to satisfy their excessive desire for riches. Thus Israel no longer had the spiritual leadership that Samuel had given Israel in the past. As a result of the greed of Samuel’s sons, the elders of Israel rebelled against the evil sons and demanded that Samuel give them a king.
Isaiah in the verse we have written above describes the watchmen of Israel as blind and dumb dogs who were greedy and never had enough. These blind watchmen were the preachers of the day and once again the spiritual leadership was corrupted by greed. Isaiah called them dumb dogs because under their leadership Israel turned from God and forfeited all God’s blessings. They were like dumb dogs that could not bark, which means they did not preach the truth or warn the Children of Israel about the false doctrine.
Most false teaching is based in greed and appeals to our sinful nature’s desire for the riches and pleasures of this world. In II Peter (above) Peter was warning the believers about false teachers that were living among them. These false teachers were not only greedy but they were trained in greed. They took their eyes off the message of the Cross and preached a modern word of faith that contradicted all that Jesus is and all that Jesus taught.
Those that followed these false teachers, Peter said, would be unable to cease from sin. These false teachers were very deceptive and spoke appealing and seductive thoughts, just as false teachers do today. Peter warns us to stay true to the message of the cross and not to let greed entice us to follow the teaching of false teachers.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:2.
Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
PRAYER:
Help my family today to keep our eyes open to the message of the cross. Help us not to fall to the temptations of the world we live in and to the false teachers that want to lead us away from God. Help us to see and react negatively to greed. May our hope and trust be completely in You this day.
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