October - Reading 9

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptures for today's schedule are:

John 3:16-21

James 4:11-17

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

Jeremiah 19-22

May God continue to bless you as you read from His Word.

 

Good morning -

Today in a relatively long reading of Jeremiah we read the lesson of the broken jar and the repercussions of this act. One bit of extra resource I cna give you on this account is that Passhur the priest's name change to Magor-Missabib is the quivalent of changing his name to "terror on every side." It should also be noted that this not the same Pushhur that appears in 21:1 nor 38:1. This Pusshur was the priest in charge of punishing trouble makers and was answerable only to the cheif priest himself.
Also in chapter 20:7-18 we see the sixth, fianl and longest of Jeremiah's "confessions." This passage gives some insight into how tortuous this man's gift of prophecy was to him. Even when he didn't want to speak, the words of the Lord burned "in [his] heart like a fire." As a result he was shunned by his fellow Jews. Jeremiah relents in verse 11 of this passage and acknowledges how God protected him, but it is evident, at least to this reader, that Jeremiah viewed his gift almost as a curse. His message was so much more doom than glad tidings. However, we in the modern Christian world revere the words that God gave him in 31:31-35. The prophecy of the New Covenant releases us from the burden of the Law of the Sinaitic Covenant.

This leads well into our rewading of James today. In 4:11-12 the law that James speaks of is that of the NewCovenant. It is the law that is burned onto our hearts when he accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

Finally in John we see the extremely well known 3:16 and the follow up passage to this well known verse. Universalists will often use this passage as an argument for universal salvation. They are mistaken. The teachings about hell are all too clear in the Bible. When God sent His Son to save the "world" he did indeed send Him to save His creation. The whole purpose and plan of God, as described in the Bible, is to bring mankind back to that direct communion we had with Him in the Garden of Eden. If you compare Genesis 3:22 and Revelation 22:2 you will see that at the end of it all we will once again have access to the Tree of Life. All that has happened between the Fall and that end are to achieve that purpose. That is how the Sending of Christ saved the world. The all important clause is "whosoever believeth in Him."

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Sunday School lecture 8/24/03 - conclusion

James 4:11-17

Speaking evil

(James4:11-12) James returns once again to his warnings against improper speech, as he does in each chapter of this Book. In this particular case he is addressing the bad speech within the Christian community. The motive of the speaker is to erode the character and esteem of the subject. James is not concerned about whether the accusations are true or not. His focus lies on the backbiting nature of the speech. This was a concern for Paul as well as he addressed the Corinthian church in 2Corinthians 12:20 and Christ Himself warns us not to judge in Matthew 7:1.

The sin of presumption

(James 4:13-17)The final five verses of this chapter are speaking of the sin of not recognizing the overall control God has on the life of a man. It is imperative that the believer recognizes the necessity of God when planning his future. Perhaps the best commentary on this section is the words of Christ in Luke 12:16-21.

James is not objecting to planning out an itinerary or even to the desire for profit, but is instead concerned about a perceived lack of acknowledgment of God in making these plans. Our recognition of God’s Will is not confined to religious matters. Instead, we are to bring recognition of God to every area of our lives. The arrogance of a believer who does not recognize this omnipotence is in itself, a sin.

[ October 04, 2004, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Hi Mark -

Yes, the readings apply to all years. The program is set up in such a way that there are 25 readings per month. You can read more about it at this link, which you can find at the bottom of any page of the Baptist Board under the name "Bible Reading Plan".

This forum is set for the long term and we will continue adding to it as times goes by.

Hope this helps.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Our Scriptures for 10/10 are:

John 3:22-36

James 5:1-6

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Jeremiah 23-25

 

Our Scriptures for 10/10 are:

John 3:22-36

James 5:1-6

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Jeremiah 23-25

 

Our Scriptures for 10/10 are:

John 3:22-36

James 5:1-6

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Jeremiah 23-25

 

Our Scriptures for 10/10 are:

John 3:22-36

James 5:1-6

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Jeremiah 23-25

 

Our Scriptures for 10/10 are:

John 3:22-36

James 5:1-6

Ecclesiastes 7:15-29

Jeremiah 23-25