November 11

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR NOVEMBER 11, 2024: DEUTERONOMY 6, JAMES 5, PSALM 118:19-29              DEUTERONOMY 6 Among the many hats Moses wore, none was more important than teaching God’s word to the people. God said that teaching this word impacts the listener’s total lifestyle and then subsequent generations. We do not learn God’s word just for our benefit, although it totally benefits us. We also learn God’s word so that we can teach it to our children and grandchildren.  If we are parents, we are by default spiritual teachers.  Just as we help our children to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and go to the bathroom, we are charged to teach them about God. How are our children doing in their walk with the Lord today?

We might protest that we don’t have the proper training. According to Moses, the proper training is receiving God’s Word and obeying it. We can start doing that today. What is the essence of what we need to know? We must know that there is only one God, and we must love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. Those who support various pathways toward purpose in life or have a casual connection to God are living in disobedience. We either are totally committed to the God of the Bible or are not His followers. Moses said we must live this truth as the default mindset throughout our day and especially in our conversations with our children. Is that what our children and grandchildren most associate with us?

God said Israel is about to possess cities they did not establish, houses they did build, and vineyards they did not plant. It will especially be important in this case to understand it was God’s grace that achieved this, not their efforts. Many of us stand on the shoulders of previous generations who, through God’s grace, provided a prosperous life for us to enjoy today. This heritage extends to our church. The bible suggests it is human nature to take this for granted and forget the God from whom all blessings flow. Verse 15 warns us not to go down this path. The Lord will not allow us to continue as forgetful and ungrateful people. 

On the other hand, if we diligently obey his commands, God promises our lives will flourish. God’s commands should not be considered by us as restrictive and negative. These are God’s provisions for us to live in community with Him and each other in harmony and well-being.    God intends His commands to be frequently mentioned to provoke fruitful conversations with our children—opportunities to discuss God’s gracious work in history on behalf of His people. May these discussions be ongoing and never cease until the Lord returns or calls us home. 

JAMES 5 The first six verses of this chapter appear to be warnings directed against wealthy people who have either put too much trust in wealth or have not fairly obtained or wisely used their wealth. Those who have hoarded their wealth will find that it has no value in the end. Those have not paid their workers decently will learn that this exploitation has been noticed 

READING FOR NOVEMBER 11, 2024 CONTINUED: JAMES 5, PSALM 118:19-29                                              and will be Judged by God. Those who have live luxuriously through ill-gotten gain will be equated with those who killed good people. This last warning may mean that the money used to fund a lavish lifestyle could have supported the sustenance of righteous people who died due to basic needs. Do professional financial advisors factor James 5:1-6 into their financial plans? We should. 

So then, how should we live? James gives us several nuggets of wisdom by way of an answer:

  • Patiently wait for Jesus’s return and strengthen our hearts while we wait. Keep reading and obeying.
  • Don’t complain about others but instead take the great Hebrew prophets as examples to follow.
  • Reframe what it means to be blessed; consider enduring hardships as Job did as a blessing. 
  • Be totally honest and clear in all our communications, not only when we are legally required to do so. 
  • When we are sad, we should pray. When we are happy, we should sing. 
  • When we are sick, we should contact the church leadership to anoint us with oil and pray for us. 
  • We should confess our sins to each other and pray for each other. Prayer can trigger miracles. 
  • We are responsible for not letting our Christian friends stray from faith! That’s real love in action.

PSALM 118:19-29 These prophetic verses can only be fully understood in light of the new covenant. The gate of the Lord (verse 20) is not completely identified until Jesus explains it to the Pharisees: “Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture’” (John 10:7:9). It is not our righteousness that allows us to be saved. It is only through faith in Jesus that we can ever be seen as righteous or saved in the sight of a totally holy God.  Again, Jesus says, “I am the wayand the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6). JESUS IS THE GATE.

Jesus quotes verses 23-24 regarding the stone that the builders (Jewish leaders) rejected becoming the cornerstone as referring to Himself in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, and Luke 20:17. The apostles connect these verses to Jesus in Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:7.  JESUS IS THE CORNERSTONE.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion (John 12:13), the plea for salvation in Ps. 118:25 was repeated by the crowds as they shouted Hosanna (save us) at Him. Then they quoted verse 26 about His coming in the name of the Lord. Also, Jesus fulfills verse 27 by being the Light to mankind (John 1:4) and the ultimate sacrifice (Heb. 10:12).

The Psalm ends with verbatim repeat of verse 1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy is everlasting.” God’s mercy has a name: JESUS.