Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
COMFORT
Peace fills my heart as I rest in the comforting presence of God.
My idea of comfort may have changed over the years. As a child, I may have found comfort in a special blanket or a hug from a parent or loved one. As a young adult, I may have found comfort in the lyrics of a favorite song or time spent with friends who shared my interests and values.
While all of these things may still bring comfort, my awareness of God's presence fills me with a comfort that knows no bounds. In quiet moments, I experience "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding," a peace that assures me I am never alone. This peace, this comfort, gives me hope and strength and the assurance that God is with me, now and always.
This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life. --Psalm 119:50
Mark 9:2-50 "And after six days Jesus taketh..." KJV - Online Bible Study
Mark 9:2-50 "And after six days Jesus taketh..." KJV - Online Bible StudyAnd after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up intoan high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3 And his raimentbecame shining , exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4 And thereappeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answeredand said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one forthee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 6 For he wist not what to say ; for they were soreafraid. 7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud,saying , This is my beloved Son: hear him. 8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about , they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. 9 And as they came down from themountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen , till the Son ofman were risen from the dead. 10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one withanother what the rising from the dead should mean . 11 And they asked him, saying , Why say thescribes that Elias must first come ? 12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first,and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things,and be set at nought . 13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come , and they have done untohim whatsoever they listed , as it is written of him. 14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw agreat multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. 15 And straightway all thepeople, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed , and running to him saluted him. 16 And heasked the scribes, What question ye with them ? 17 And one of the multitude answered and said ,Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he takethhim, he teareth him: and he foameth , and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away : and I spaketo thy disciples that they should cast him out ; and they could not. 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him untome. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; andhe fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming . 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago sincethis came unto him? And he said , Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and intothe waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe , all things are possible to him that believeth . 24 Andstraightway the father of the child cried out , and said with tears, Lord, I believe ; help thou mineunbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together , he rebuked the foul spirit,saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no moreinto him. 26 And the spirit cried , and rent him sore, and came out of him : and he was as onedead; insomuch that many said , He is dead . 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose . 28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately , Whycould not we cast him out ? 29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but byprayer and fasting. 30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would notthat any man should know it. 31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them , The Son of manis delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed , he shall risethe third day. 32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. 33 And hecame to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed amongyourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace : for by the way they had disputed amongthemselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down , and called the twelve, and saithunto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And hetook a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms , he saidunto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: andwhosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. 38 And John answered him,saying , Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbadhim, because he followeth not us. 39 But Jesus said , Forbid him not: for there is no man whichshall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us ison our part. 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because yebelong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. 42 And whosoever shall offendone of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged abouthis neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off : it is better forthee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched . 45 And if thy footoffend thee, cut it off : it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast intohell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is notquenched . 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out : it is better for thee to enter into thekingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their wormdieth not, and the fire is not quenched . 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and everysacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewithwill ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Keys to Your Blessing
[1.] It will redound to our profit; for our reward shall be great, Luke 6:35. What is given, or laid out, or lent and lost on earth, from a true principle of charity, will be made up to us in the other world, unspeakably to our advantage. "You shall not only be repaid, but rewarded, greatly rewarded; it will be said to you, Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom."
[2.] It will redound to our honour; for herein we shall resemble God in his goodness, which is the greatest glory: "Ye shall be the children of the Highest, shall be owned by him as his children, being like him." It is the glory of God that he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil, bestows the gifts of common providence even upon the worst of men, who are every day provoking him, and rebelling against him, and using those very gifts to his dishonour. Hence he infers (Luke 6:36), Be merciful, as your Father is merciful; this explains Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, as our Father is perfect. Imitate your Father in those things that are his brightest perfections." Those that are merciful as God is merciful, even to the evil and the unthankful, are perfect as God is perfect; so he is pleased graciously to accept it, though infinitely falling short. Charity is called the bond of perfectness, Colossians 3:14. This should strongly engage us to be merciful to our brethren, even such as have been injurious to us, not only that God is so to others, but that he is so to us, though we have been, and are, evil and unthankful; it is of his mercies that we are not consumed.
Exhortations to Justice and Sincerity.
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37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
All these sayings of Christ we had before in Matthew; some of them in Matthew 7:1-29, others in other places. They were sayings that Christ often used; they needed only to be mentioned, it was easy to apply them. Grotius thinks that we need not be critical here in seeking for the coherence: they are golden sentences, like Solomon's proverbs or parables. Let us observe here,
I. We ought to be very candid in our censures of others, because we need grains of allowance ourselves: "Therefore judge not others, because then you yourselves shall not be judged; therefore condemn not others, because then you yourselves shall not be condemned, Luke 6:37. Exercise towards others that charity which thinks no evil, which bears all things, believes and hopes all things; and then others will exercise that charity towards you. God will not judge and condemn you, men will not." They that are merciful to other people's names shall find others merciful to theirs.
II. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit of it: Forgive and you shall be forgiven. If we forgive the injuries done to us by others, others will forgive our inadvertencies. If we forgive others' trespasses against us, God will forgive our trespasses against him. And he will be no less mindful of the liberal that devise liberal things (Luke 6:38): Give, and it shall be given to you. God, in his providence, will recompense it to you; it is lent to him, and he is not unrighteous to forget it (Hebrews 6:10), but he will pay it again. Men shall return it into your bosom; for God often makes use of men as instruments, not only of his avenging, but of his rewarding justice. If we in a right manner give to others when they need, God will incline the hearts of others to give to us when we need, and to give liberally, good measure pressed down and shaken together. They that sow plentifully shall reap plentifully. Whom God recompenses he recompenses abundantly.
[2.] It will redound to our honour; for herein we shall resemble God in his goodness, which is the greatest glory: "Ye shall be the children of the Highest, shall be owned by him as his children, being like him." It is the glory of God that he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil, bestows the gifts of common providence even upon the worst of men, who are every day provoking him, and rebelling against him, and using those very gifts to his dishonour. Hence he infers (Luke 6:36), Be merciful, as your Father is merciful; this explains Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, as our Father is perfect. Imitate your Father in those things that are his brightest perfections." Those that are merciful as God is merciful, even to the evil and the unthankful, are perfect as God is perfect; so he is pleased graciously to accept it, though infinitely falling short. Charity is called the bond of perfectness, Colossians 3:14. This should strongly engage us to be merciful to our brethren, even such as have been injurious to us, not only that God is so to others, but that he is so to us, though we have been, and are, evil and unthankful; it is of his mercies that we are not consumed.
Exhortations to Justice and Sincerity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
All these sayings of Christ we had before in Matthew; some of them in Matthew 7:1-29, others in other places. They were sayings that Christ often used; they needed only to be mentioned, it was easy to apply them. Grotius thinks that we need not be critical here in seeking for the coherence: they are golden sentences, like Solomon's proverbs or parables. Let us observe here,
I. We ought to be very candid in our censures of others, because we need grains of allowance ourselves: "Therefore judge not others, because then you yourselves shall not be judged; therefore condemn not others, because then you yourselves shall not be condemned, Luke 6:37. Exercise towards others that charity which thinks no evil, which bears all things, believes and hopes all things; and then others will exercise that charity towards you. God will not judge and condemn you, men will not." They that are merciful to other people's names shall find others merciful to theirs.
II. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit of it: Forgive and you shall be forgiven. If we forgive the injuries done to us by others, others will forgive our inadvertencies. If we forgive others' trespasses against us, God will forgive our trespasses against him. And he will be no less mindful of the liberal that devise liberal things (Luke 6:38): Give, and it shall be given to you. God, in his providence, will recompense it to you; it is lent to him, and he is not unrighteous to forget it (Hebrews 6:10), but he will pay it again. Men shall return it into your bosom; for God often makes use of men as instruments, not only of his avenging, but of his rewarding justice. If we in a right manner give to others when they need, God will incline the hearts of others to give to us when we need, and to give liberally, good measure pressed down and shaken together. They that sow plentifully shall reap plentifully. Whom God recompenses he recompenses abundantly.
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