August 15
Neh 9:22-10:39 | PS 34:1-10 | Prov 21:13 | 1 Cor 9:19-10:13
How do we honestly see ourselves: doers of good or recipients of God's mercy, worthy or unworthy, end products of our hard work or as a result of His grace, entitled and deserving or dependent upon Him. When you consider these choices, consider your answers not based upon what sounds right or even what you were thinking when you might have first entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Consider your response years after entering that relationship. Right now. When we see the problems in our times and in our society, do we spend all of our time pointing outward toward others or inward toward ourselves. As we read through Scripture, we must remind ourselves that these are not nice little stories for historical sake, but are meant for us, here and now, as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:11, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."
The people who repopulated the land of Jerusalem needed a history lesson as a reminder, as we read in Nehemiah 9:25-26, "And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness. “Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations." They clearly showed that God lovingly gave them that which they had not earned or deserved. Their story continues showing their continued rebellion and eventual outcome in 9:29-30, "Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear. Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands."
Five hundred years later, Paul was giving a similar history lesson to the people in Corinth, as he told them in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 of all that God lovingly gave the people, but warned the people in 10:6, "Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.", as he highlighted their propensity towards idolatry, sexual immorality, and complaining. We must take these lessons and apply them to us now as Paul warns them, and for that matter us in 10:12-13, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." The truth is we are not that unique, our struggles are not that unique, and the sins that tempt us are not that unique. It all comes down to a choice. Though our entering into a relationship with Jesus is a choice, that once entered results in our sins being paid for once and for all, as it is based on His perfect work on the cross, not our imperfect works on Earth. But how we live, and whether we choose to live for Him or not comes down to a day by day, moment by moment decision. May we all place our eyes on Jesus and off of ourselves to live the life of freedom that He offers for us.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: