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His Thoughts... His Ways

            “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ” (Isaiah 55:8-9) I wish this passage had shown up before I thought to meditate on Matthew 5:48 yesterday, because it points out one of the things I mentioned. God is far above us: greater, superior, and beyond us. There is no comparison. Even if we were the type of perfection that is without flaws (as discussed yesterday), the comparison would still not exist. Perfection, whether flawless or useful, would not bring us any closer to God, unless, perhaps, our perfection included perfect humility. I suspect that I – and maybe a few others – tend to think God sees us as nightcrawlers that disappoint Him because we can’t fly, or even step dance. But God knows we are people, so it would be unreasonable for Him to expect us to emulate...
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Be Perfect

                 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect . (Matthew 5:48) Has this command ever bothered you? Be perfect? Be as perfect as God? Jesus gave us an impossible task. Of course, some would claim that our heavenly Father isn’t perfect because He doesn’t do everything precisely as they think He should. That may be one thing we should keep in mind. Our being perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect doesn’t mean that we’ll be perfect from everyone’s point of view. In fact, we need to be careful, because our own ideas of perfection may not be perfect. According to one resource, the Greek word used is teleios , which “conveys a sense of maturity, completeness, or attaining a goal.” ( What does it mean to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)? | GotQuestions.org ) I’ve heard it described that a well-made screwdriver is a perfect screwdriver because it drives screws effectively,...
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My Flesh and Heart May Fail

                   Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26)                 There’s an old ad. I don’t remember what it’s about, but an animated figure throws a world class, melodramatic hissy fit about something. I wish I could remember it to share it because that’s what comes to mind here. Please don’t be offended. I’m quite sure Asaph was in circumstances that justified such a cry. And I’m sure I’ve whined or otherwise expressed sentiments to God or about God that probably sounded over the top. Chances are fair that you’ve done the same. Or perhaps you’ve expressed some sentiment about someone or something else that sounds equally overboard. And looking at it from the outside or back through time, it might seem a...
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Foolish and Stupid Arguments

                   Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.   And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.   Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,   and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (II Timothy 1:23-26) This is one of those passages that can easily be misquoted. People may go as far as “not resentful” and stop. This leads to a false impression of what the Lord’s servant is to be like. Don’t ever say anything that might be considered quarrelsome or unkind, and don’t ever be resentful, period. In other words, the Lord’s servant has to keep his/her big mouth shut at all times. Never mind that Jesus didn’t do this If ...
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Godless Chatter

                Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.   Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (II Timothy 2:16-19) Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes. (Proverbs 26:4-5)                 As we noted on Thursday, not quarreling about words doesn’t mean not discussing important or difficult ideas...
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One Step Up

                 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth . (II Timothy 2:15) This verse is daunting. Present myself as one approved? Approved ? The rest doesn’t get any better. I mean, the whole point in Genesis is that man tried to earn approval on his own merits. We tried to be “like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4) But then Jesus came, died, and rose again so we could live by faith. Paul taught that we were to live by faith. But in today’s passage, he seems to have gone back to the old ways, in which we had to struggle to live according to the impossible standard. One of the rules for correctly handling the word of truth is to keep the idea in context. This letter was written to Pastor Timothy. His job was teaching others. If you’re a carpenter, your job involves correctly handling wood. You have to know how to mani...
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Minding Your Ps and Qs

            Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.  (II Timothy 2:14) But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (I Peter 3:15) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (II Peter 3:15) This is amusing, because Peter was known for foot-in-mouth disease and for his emotional outbursts, and Paul, while capable of emotional outbursts, was known for his high-brow argumentation. Yet in today’s verse, Paul warned Timothy not to quarrel about words (which might be s...
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