Table Topics

For those of you who don’t live alone, what do you talk about over breakfast, or lunch, or supper?

If you grew up in a tradition where the sacredness of sharing a meal was stressed, it’s possible that your conversations might take on a more spiritual tone, or delve into spiritual subjects. But in today’s rushed world, it’s possible that the formality of everyone commencing the meal at the same moment, and staying until everyone leaves at the same time has been lost to a pattern of family members not being gathered for meals, or worse, perhaps just filling a plate and then heading back to their laptop or personal computer. Conversations might be short, or even non-existent, giving a new meaning to the term fast food.

And let’s not even talk about pausing to “say grace.” That’s a practice that seems to be tending toward extinction, even in committed Christian homes. We’ll save that for another day.

And we also won’t get into the whole intimacy of “breaking bread” together, both in a Hebraic historic context, or in the spirit of the intimacy still experienced therein among people in Eastern cultures.

Rather, I want to consider table topics.

I started thinking about this when the verse in my NIV Bible App — the very first thing I open when I power up my phone for the day — was this passage from Deuteronomy 6:

⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The overall theme of the chapter might be described as lawgiving. The previous chapter contains a reiteration of the Ten Commandments, originally introduced in Exodus.

[Rabbit Trail: For an interesting comparison look at the similarities and differences between the Exodus and Deuteronomy versions of the Ten Commandments, click this link to a Jewish commentary.]

In the NIV, the whole chapter has the added heading “Love the LORD your God.” This is contained in a verse preceding our text for today, verse 5: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  When asked which is the greatest commandment, Matthew 22, Mark 12, and Luke 10 tell us that Jesus skips the “big ten” in Deuteronomy 5, and goes directly to the two verses in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 which immediately precede the two we’re looking at.

Which brings us to our verses. They might be summed up this way:

• input God’s commands on your hearts
• impart them to your kids
• involve them in your family conversations; morning and evening; even on road trips
• inscribe them on your hands (your work?) and foreheads (your thoughts?)
• imprint them at key places in your home.

(Like that summary? I just made it up as I was typing?)

The first two involves making God, faith in God, the knowledge of God, intimacy with God, etc., something that’s a major part of your everyday lives as individuals and as a family.

The last two are interesting because they talk about having a physical representation or reprinting of the scripture something you carry on your physical body and have as part of the décor of your home. That last one is probably posted in the offices of many Christian giftware companies, but today continues to find more literal expression through the use of the mezuzahs mounted on the doorposts of Jewish homes. Orthodox Jews also continue to literally tie the commandments to their arms and foreheads in the form of phylacteries. (Do a search engine image search if these two terms are unfamiliar to you.)

Which brings us back to that middle one, and the subject of today’s devotional: What do you talk about over breakfast, or lunch, or supper?

If your family contains people who have a mixture of beliefs, perhaps you live by the adage, ‘There’s two things you don’t talk about over a meal — politics and religion.’ But if you have a Christian family, discussions of doctrine, theology, or simply revisiting one of the gospel narratives should be the center of lively, engaging conversation. (We do this ourselves; some might find our meals like sitting around the table with a bunch of theology nerds. You would be correct in that assumption!)

This is not the same as talking about church. It’s not about reviewing why the pastor’s sermon seemed so long, or what can be done about the youth group spending far more than their allotted budget. It means talking about belief, Jesus, ethics, practices, prayer, missionaries; and perhaps also talking about world events in a Christian context, which is embodied in the idea of praying or preaching with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in another.

It doesn’t mean you can’t talk about the hometown sports team, a planned vacation, or the latest report cards the kids brought home from school. But it means that the conversation is highly flavored with talk about God and the Kingdom of God.

Repeating that often overlooked middle part again:

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

It’s about first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and your commute to work, the latter of which, if you travel to work alone, is a great time to listen to Christian teaching on radio, or Christian podcasts you’ve downloaded, or an audio version of the Bible.

…My own heart in writing this is especially for those of you with kids still at home. BibleHub.com provides a related verse, Psalm 78:4.

We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. (NLT)

Tomorrow, we’ll look back at some writing which first appeared here in 2014, which begins with this quotation:

A spiritual community that does not transmit its sacred writings to its children is one generation away from extinction.

Parents, you’re in charge. What does your family talk about as you have opportunity to control the conversation?

 

 

 

 

Loving God’s Law

Today, something really different. We’re featuring a writer who is new to some of you, April Box, who writes at Redeemed in Grace, and who we featured briefly in October. 2020.

She is doing a series currently on Psalm 119; and it’s not a short Psalm, plus she’s working on one verse at a time. These are shorter blog posts so we’re sharing each of them with a link where you can read them on her page. The Psalmist is saying that having God’s words (commandments) make him wiser than his enemies, wiser than his teachers, and wiser than his enemies. (Verses 98, 99, and 100; all below.)

To read all of her commentary on this Psalm, again you’re encouraged to click the link to her site.

Blessings of wisdom

“Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.” -Psalm 119:98

To be wise. Even better is to be wiser than our enemies. This doesn’t imply higher academic marks or a more comprehensive head knowledge of the Bible. Atheists will read God’s Book for merely intellectual purposes, remaining untouched by the deeper truths the Lord has layered in Scripture. The way in which a believer is wiser than an unbeliever is through understanding the spiritual realities that exist. This only comes by faith.

Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We see the purpose of our lives through the living and active Word of God. It is not a dead history book. Believers not only take in what we read and hear from the Bible, but digest the truth in meditation, then act accordingly through obedience. Do you believe all of Scripture to be true and trustworthy? Our answer will determine how we approach studying God’s commands, how we live, and how we relate to God Himself. God’s words are spiritual food, nourishment for souls on earth. May God be gracious to bless you with wisdom in thought, speech and action. May our sin nature (our enemy) not rule over us. Let us seek and pray for wisdom like the psalmist.

Treasuring wisdom

“I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your statutes.” -Psalm 119:99

This verse nicely follows the previous one on wisdom. The psalmist here speaks of his insight now compared to his teachers. His teachers were first his parents, then the religious leaders. He has learned more than the dutiful Jewish student, diving deeper into God’s storehouse of treasure. Only those with  seeking hearts find what they seek. God gives them eyes of faith to mine the precious jewels found in Scripture. This kind of insight is worth more than all the riches in the world. Earthly wealth will lose its luster one day and eventually burn up in God’s Kingdom. Wisdom from God is eternal for all His students.

The value of Scripture

“I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey Your precepts.” -Psalm 119:100

This verse is similar to the last one except here the psalmist refers to his elders. The elderly were highly respected in this culture. Here he talks of understanding, a synonym to insight and wisdom. God’s commands make him wise, insightful, with understanding because he carries God’s words with him wherever he goes. He meditates on them and obeys what God’s precepts instruct.

It is wise to hide God’s Word in our hearts so we might not sin against Him. This is a way of remembering throughout the day and not forgetting God as we go about our earthly duties. We will gain insight and blessing the more time we spend meditating on what God’s commands mean, then obeying them. Believers who are doers of the Word will obey God’s way and thereby gain understanding in the value of Scripture through experience.

 

To Help You Remember

Today we’re back at the blog Brothers of the Book, written by Bill Hood. He’s currently doing a study on the book of Numbers. I read several of the articles in preparation for choosing this one. Click the header below to read at the source.

Tassels Of Remembrance

Numbers 15

God commanded the Israelites make “Tassels of Remembrance” so that they would forget about Him.

At the end of today’s reading God tells Moses to have the people of Israel make tassels on the corners of their garments. They are to look at these tassels and remember all the commandments of the Lord.

Numbers 15:37-40 ESV
“The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.”

Why were they to remember the commandments of the Lord? They needed to remember these commandments so they wouldn’t chase after their own self-centered desires which would lead them away from God. They were to separate themselves from the world and consecrate themselves to God; that is what it means to “be holy to your God”. Doing things our own way and in our own power was a problem then just as it is today. We forget who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do in the future.

This forgetfulness brought devastating consequences for the people of Israel. God brought them out of Egypt, led them safely through the wilderness, and brought them to the land He had promised them. The people sent spies into this Promised Land who came back and said “Be afraid! Be very afraid! Don’t go into the Promised Land for there be giants!” Staring at the obstacles we face in life can only do one thing, cause us to take our eyes off of God. If you are staring at your problems, you are not looking to God. We have extremely short memories. If we take our eyes off of God, we tend to forget about Him and all that He has done and can do.

In their own power, the Israelites could never have taken control of Canaan. Separate from God, they had every reason to be afraid, but they were not separate from God. God had led them here and had gone with them and would continue to go with them. How could they forget that? Only two of the spies said “Hey the land is great let’s go get it for God is with us”.

Numbers 14:6-9 ESV
“And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

What was the consequence of the Israelites refusing to take the Promised Land as God instructed?

Numbers 14:30 ESV
“not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.”

God killed all of the spies except for Caleb and Joshua – that’s how grievously they had sinned against Him. The rest of the Israelites age 20 and above were condemned to die in the wilderness, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua once again.

Later in today’s reading we see a man who ignored God’s prohibition against work on the Sabbath. He was found collecting sticks. The man was put to death because He forgot to observe God’s commandment. He forgot about God and it killed him. When we take our eyes off of God, when we forget about Him, we end up far from Him – the consequences of that are staggering. God loves us and He doesn’t want us to forget about Him for our own sake. He commanded the Israelites to put tassels on their garments as a way to keep Him constantly on their mind. When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment He said this:

Matthew 22:37 ESV
“…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

All your heart, all your soul and all your MIND. God is supposed to be first in your life. How can you forget about that which is the highest priority in your life? I don’t know, but we seem to do it every day. Or is it that we say God is number one when He really isn’t? Does what we say we believe match what we do? Brothers, it is easy for us to forget about God. The world around us is full of noisy distractions. We need to put constant reminders of God before our eyes. We need to have our own tassels of remembrance!

Vivere Victorem! (Live Victorious!)

Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

God’s Plan for My Life: What is It?

Today we pay a return visit to Scott McCown’s site, The Morning Drive. I looked over several items there; seeing some great themes that we could consider. But I had to choose, so I picked this one from late June. Click the title below to read it on his blog. (The graphic above was not part of the original article.)

How to Know God’s Plan

• If God leads me to it He will lead me through it.
• If this is God’s will, then I will endure.
• I guess this was in God’s plan for me.
• I don’t know why God planned for me to go through this.
• God must has more for you to do, that is why you survived.
• They finished what God planned for them to do, so He took them home.

I hear these and similar phrases more and more each day. “How can I know what God wants me to do in my life?”

I know these are people of faith, that are sincerely wanting to do God’s will. After all Paul tells us, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17). I do not want to be foolish in God’s eyes, so I need to know his plan for me!

What is God’s plan?

I want to share a few verses and some advice that will help you determine God’s plan for you. What I will share is what you can use to determine what you should be doing and what you should do in the future.

Jesus gives the answer, “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31).

Love God with all that you are.

Love your neighbor with the same intensity that you love yourself.

What does God have planned?

• He did not and does not plan the day of your death – He may know when that will be, but He did not set the date.
• God did not plan for you or your loved one to battle that disease or disaster. Those things simply are a part of a physical world. He is there to carry you through to healing, recovery, or on eternity.
• God does not have written down what job you should have to please Him, nor did he pre-plan your soul-mate you should marry.
• He did not make you straight or LGTB.

You and I choose our life’s direction based on both our heredity and environment and must discern our the choices we face and make the choice we find consistent with the Word of God and how we should live as God’s children.

What God wants is for us to do? “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

That is God’s plan!

96 Words

We spent much of Thursday driving, and at one point, we were able to pick up a Christian radio station that interrupted its music format for frequent two-minute teaching moments with various authors and preachers.   They all tended to blur together, so forgive me for not remembering which voice was which.

One of these brief moments focused on the Ten Commandments; particularly the fourth one, which talks about resting on the sabbath day.    He noted that other, better remembered commandments are dealt with in four or five words — we’re not sure what translation he used — while that sabbath commandment used 96 words.

From Exodus 20, he contrasted:

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

and

¹³ “You shall not murder.

with

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Yes, that is a lot of words.   It provides the historic background in which is contained the theological underpinnings of sabbath rest.   It covers all the bases, closing loopholes for getting for getting the kids, the employees, any non-Jews, or even your animals to do whatever job you feel needs doing.   The commandment isn’t just for you, but for anyone who falls under your authority.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard a message on rest.   One of our local pastors, having just finished Mark Buchanan’s book, The Rest of God, noted that we tend to rest from our work, whereas the Bible seems to promote working from our rest.   In other words resting, in order to work.

But 96 words?   I think God didn’t want us to think this one was less important than adultery or murder.   I think he really means business about this one.   Or, more correctly, shutting down business.

For more on this, visit Rick Apperson’s columns here and here.