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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 2 November 2023:
Hosea 7:3 – By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery.
Sin might please human leaders, but it will not be tolerated by God.
Hosea 7:8, 9 – Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not.
Sin ruins people without them realizing it.
Today also, the visible church has partnered with the world at the expense of its strength and power. Many Christians and churches have muddied the waters of the Gospel by mixing it with modern philosophy. Many churches have put their faith in business practices and marketing schemes rather than the power of the Gospel. Many Christians and churches have become too busy for the disciplines and relationships of discipleship. Many Christians and churches have turned to talented leaders rather than Spirit-filled leaders who visibly display all the fruits of the spirit. Many Christians and churches have drifted into materialism in pursuit of the American dream. For example, most Christians as well as most churches are in significant financial debt to ungodly worldly institutions yet don’t tithe; and churches don’t maintain storehouses to support the congregation and missionaries as they should. Christian families suffer from the same problems as ungodly families, and the Christian community doesn’t stand out as very bright or salty. Too many Christians have lost their peace, joy, courage, purity, and love. Within the church, we need a movement of repentance and revival.
Hosea 7:11-13 – Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria…. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
Some go to the Lord and trust in the Lord for their security and provision; most go to the world and its systems of government and economy. Those that go to the world will compromise their loyalty and fidelity to God.
Hosea 7:14 – They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.
There is a big difference between being sorry for having to face the consequences of sin (regretting sin because of the pain it causes you) and being truly repentant, regretting sin because of its offensiveness to God and because of its impact on your relationship with Him. The truly repentant reject sin regardless the earthly consequences because they love the Lord. There is also a big difference between seeking God for His blessings and seeking Him for Him alone. Do you want to know God, to be one with Him, or do you just want to have the things He could give you?
John 2:3-5 — When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Jesus was obedient to his mother, despite the inappropriateness of her request, her lack of understanding, His adulthood, and His position as the Son of God. What does this tell us about how God views obedience to His commands? Jesus modelled obedience for us all. Do you obey God’s commands even when it doesn’t seem to make any sense? Are there, in your mind, some ‘small’ or ‘outdated’ commands that you have decided God doesn’t really care that much about? Do you have habitual sins that you commit casually in the name of ‘grace’? “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1, 2)
- Philippians 2:8 — And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
John 2:15 — And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.
This is not the “gentle Jesus” often described in traditional storytelling. Jesus knew when and how to be forceful to defend the powerless for God’s glory.
- Luke 22:36, 38 — He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one…. And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”
John 2:23-25 — Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
The Bible says only God really knows the hearts and motives of people. (1 Corinthians 2:11; Proverbs 14:10; Jeremiah 17:10) We can only judge another person’s actions, and even then we don’t judge perfectly – “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.” (Proverbs 20:1) “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:20) “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24) People can disguise their motives from others, often even deceiving themselves in denial, but never from God, and God judges the heart. “Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.” (Psalm 44:21)
When Jesus warns us not to “judge” others, I don’t believe He is countering other places in the Bible which encourage us to warn and rebuke others concerning their behavior. (Matthew 18:15-17; Proverbs 1:23; Proverbs 27:5; Galatians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 2:15; James 5:20; Luke 17:3-4; Hebrews 4:12; etc.) I believe He is warning us against attempting to play the role of the Judge rather than merely a peer witness, warning us not to condemn others or rebuke others from a proud, self-righteous, self-centered, harsh, ungracious, unloving position. We can only compare the actions of others to the standard of God’s word, never assuming we understand only what God understands about them, and our confrontations with others must be out of love for sake of reconciling them to God; and as witnesses, we must also be ‘character witnesses’ before the Judge in intercessory prayer.
Today’s readings tell us that while Jesus was in Jerusalem, many “believed” in His name when they saw the miracles He was doing, but Jesus “did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He himself knew what was in man.” The word “entrust” is the same Greek word used for “believed.” So, in other words, the people ‘believed’ in Jesus, but Jesus didn’t believe in them because He knew their true hearts. Jesus knew these people only cared about His miracles, what He might do for them, and didn’t really have a heart for Him; they weren’t ready to follow Him, love Him, and obey Him. Saving faith results in a life fully committed to Jesus, though still imperfectly.
There is a difference between belief, profession, commitment, and faith. Many people believe something is true, but they aren’t willing to conform and commit to that truth; they may even profess to that believe, though many believe things they don’t profess and profess things they don’t believe. James says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19) Many who say they believe in Jesus don’t even have demon-level belief – they don’t even shudder in their sinfulness before the Holy Sovereign! Jesus knows their hearts. Faith acts as if something believed is really true, completely reliable and dependable. Unseen faith is revealed in seen faithfulness.
How you feel about sin says much about how you feel about Jesus. How you treat other sinners reveals much about how you really feel about the grace you have received through Christ. Repent, sin no more, and rejoice in God’s love and grace. If you are truly convicted about the sin in the lives of others for their sake and are eager to bring them closer to Jesus by gently speaking the truth to them, you are demonstrating love. True love speaks the truth in love.
- John 17:17 — Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
- Ephesians 4:25 — Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
- Zechariah 8:16 — These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace….
- Romans 6:1-2, 11-15 — What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
- Hebrews 10:26-29 — For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
- 1 John 1:8-9 — If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Galatians 6:1 — Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 2 November 2023: Walk in the joy of grace and in obedience today.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 