MORE THAN WE CAN THINK

READINGS: ROMANS 2:1-11, 2 CORINTHIANS 7:5-12

Romans 2:4 –“...the goodness of God leads you to repentance...”
2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation...”

Our God can never righty be called one-dimensional. In fact He is infinitely multi-dimensional, probably even more than that. I believe He reaches supernatural existences that greatly exceed the furtherest reaches of human conception and imagination. However, let’s consider an example of His multidimensional nature that we can see, by comparing the two verses above. In the Romans passage the apostle Paul informs us that the goodness of God gets a person to repentance. Then, in the other scripture, he says it is godly sorrow that does it. These two statements involve opposing conditions. If the Lord were one-dimensional and limited, probably only one of those methods would work. Either goodness or sorrow would produce repentance. The good news is that God can use either or both to bless people with this precious gift! Even better news is the reality that there are still more ways, more than any person knows, that the Father can accomplish His will. As He cares for us, the supernatural dimensions of God are without limit. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What conclusion can you reach about the limitless nature of the Lord?

2. Why do people serve limited gods?

STOP, WATCH AND LEARN

READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13

Verse 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.”

An old saying states that experience is the best teacher. The saying has a great deal of merit since we usually do learn better from personal involvement than from another person’s activities. However,  this saying goes out the window when the experience involved is a destructive one. A person may  learn very well during a harmful experience, but then it can become a problem of the consequences overshadowing the learning. The Bible sharply illustrates this in 1 Corinthians 10. This passage  informs us that many met destruction who lusted after evil things, became idolaters, committed sexual immorality, who tested the Lord, and who murmured. Those, for our instruction, are examples of paths to destruction that we definitely want to be taught to avoid; and not to learn by experience. Our loving Father wants His people to learn in manners that save us from destruction, or even from harm. His admonition in verse 12 is to take heed to instruction so that we won’t fall. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What message do you receive from examples written for our admonition?

2. Upon whom have the ends of the ages come?

CLOSE BUT NO MEDAL

READING: NUMBERS 20:7-13

Verse 12: “Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. ‘Because you did not believe Me, to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’”

This passage describes the great sin of Moses. God told him to speak to a rock to have it produce water for the people. Instead, Moses struck the rock twice with his rod to produce the water. God’s response to this disobedience was to prohibit Moses from entering the Promised Land. By many of today’s standards, what Moses did would not be classified as a great sin. Some would conclude that Moses basically did what the Lord wanted. He pretty much got it right and that should be good enough. In other words, Moses was in the ballpark. The Lord God, however, did not view it that way, and neither should we accept that type of thinking and evaluating. If we are to be faithful in and for the Kingdom of the Lord, we can’t be “in the ballpark Christians.” Instead we can commit to precision and exactness in our responses to His will and to His way. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What does a person need, who thinks the Lord is too strict?

2. In what way have you been disappointed by a near miss?

OVER THE TOP

READING: JOHN 6:1-14

Verse 9: “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

The Lord, by His supernatural nature, is all powerful and entirely beyond human comprehension. For that reason, we tend to underestimate what He is able to do. A classic example of this tendency is illustrated in John 6:9. Faced with the need to feed more than 5,000 people with very little available, Andrew the disciple concluded it was an impossible situation. However, as many would, he  underestimated what Jesus could do. It is well known that the multitude was fed with enough left to fill 12 baskets. At one time or another, or even numerous times for most of us, we find our selves in Andrew’s predicament. It seems we have too little to accomplish what is before us. Even at those times the glorious  reality is that the Lord Jesus is our miraculous Provider, and He will always be our sufficiency. He will meet our need! His faithfulness endures to all generations. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What do you sense is the most important manner in which you feel inadequate and in need of Jesus?

2. What example can you give of the Lord being more than enough?

JUST PASSING THRU

READING: JOHN 4:1-14

Verse 4: “But He needed to go through Samaria.”

Chapter 4 of the Book of John describes the experience of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. When Jesus met her, He was passing through Samaria on the way to Galilee. As the result of the conversation between Jesus and the woman, she accepted Him as the Messiah. She testified to other Samaritans and they urged Jesus to stay so they could hear for themselves. His response was to  remain there two days. As they heard Him, many came to know Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of the world. These events which concluded with the salvation of many, happened as Jesus was enroute from one place to another. The lesson here is that the Lord was not primarily oriented to His physical destination. Instead, He was primarily oriented toward the gospel. Sometimes we too need to turn aside from our destinations. Sometimes, like Jesus was, we will be more effective when we stop, than we will be by continuing on. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is your primary orientation for your life?

2. What do you think when you consider the possibility of a “passing through” experience?

PASSIN’ THE FAITH ALONG

READING: DEUTERONOMY 6:1-9

Verse 7: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

Psalm 78, verse 3 tells about the godly teaching which, as it says, “...we have heard and known and our fathers have told us”. It says that these teachings should not be hidden from our children. This responsibility is described in verse 4 as “...telling to the generations to come, the praises of the Lord...” Well what about that? Are we telling the generation to come the praises of the Lord, or are they receiving a different message? The volume and intensity of worldly statements are tremendous. Silence on the part of Christians would concede to those messages of the world. If godly messages are to get through, they must be transmitted directly, consistently and with authority. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells how to pass them on. It is urgent that every coming generation be prepared in, through and by the word of the Lord. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What is a very pronounced way that the messages of the world get communicated to our children?

2. Who is primarily responsible to tell the coming generation the praises of the Lord?

WHO KNEW? GOD KNEW!

READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-11

Verse 9: “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him’”

It is amazing how God is always infinitely ahead of us. We reach resolutions to countless situations in our lifetimes. As those accomplishments are achieved, hindsight frequently reveals that the Lord had previously made arrangements for us. It was those prior arrangements that finally, just the right time, produced the results that were obtained. The Lord faithfully did that for Gideon. Judges 7 describes how Gideon had some fears about attacking the enemy. The Lord instructed him to spy on the enemy camp to find out what the opposing soldiers were saying about the battle. Gideon obeyed and heard them interpreting a dream that predicted the Israelites’ victory. That gave Gideon the confidence he needed to attack a vastly larger army. God had put words into the mouths of the soldiers, that were just what Gideon needed to hear. As quoted in verse 9 above, in other passages as well, and also in the lives of the saints down through the ages: the Lord’s message is consistent. The Holy Spirit continually affirms to us that divine preparations have always been, and always will be, in place to provide abundantly for our lives. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. How far is the Lord ahead of us?

2. What contribution is made to you by the knowledge that God is ahead of you?