The Bible Standard - Re-Discover the Truth.

“ WHAT …DEFILES A PERSON”   Jan. 13

The world today is very conscious of cleanliness.  When you go to the Doctors, he or she will thoroughly wash their hands before they examine you, but they only learnt to do this 150 years ago.  They also learnt this was the reason why some of those they operated on had died.  The value of the cleanliness laws in the commands God gave to Moses was then acknowledged. These laws stressed the great importance of washing the body and clothes especially when exposed to anything unclean, see for e.g. Lev. 14 v.8,9; 15 v.13 etc.

Today soaps and other cleansing agents are strongly marketed: this is good, except for the fancy high priced varieties produced, we suspect, with a profit motive. Jewish Priests in the days of Jesus had turned cleanliness into a ritual that made them feel more righteous (see Luke 11 v.37-41). And they criticised Jesus for letting his disciples eat with unwashed hands (Mark 7 v.2-5)

In our reading of Matthew 15 today Jesus calls them hypocrites and said, “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” [Matthew 15 v.7-9].   He then called people to him and said, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth”[v.11]

His disciples query him as to what he means by this; he tells them, “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person” [v.18-20]

The thought comes first, then the deed follows.  Our world is full of this kind of defilement. Before every wrong doing comes wrong thinking.  TV, DVD’s and many magazines feed human minds, defiling them, making them inclined to think and imagine fleshly godless actions.  More people, especially the young, are turning thoughts into actions emulating what they feed their minds on – the extreme examples are the senseless shooting rampages.

Sources of defilement are everywhere today making it more essential than ever to feed our minds with the word of God every day – and it must be a balanced meal, not just reading the bits we like and which may not challenge our consciences.  Jesus condemns those whose distorted application of the divine revelation “have made void the word of God.” [Matt. 15 v.6].   Let us be fully awake to what can defile us and read God’s word with a sincere heart..

"TAKE HEART, IT IS I"    Jan 12

Our chapter in Matthew (14) has that fascinating story of the 12 disciples caught in a storm in a boat on Galilee.  Jesus had sent them off alone, after the dramatic feeding of 5,000+ “in a desolate place” [v.13] - an event which must have astonished them.

Jesus had heard of the killing of John the Baptist – a heart searching omen for him – and finally he had the chance to be alone “up on the mountain by himself to pray” [v.23] The disciples were in the boat, “but the boat by this time was a long way from land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.” [v.24]

We can see a kind of parallel here – with ourselves alone in the world – and everything is buffeting us and our faith is struggling. Suddenly they see Jesus but “they were terrified” [v.26]

What are we expecting to see as we live in these last days when the world is in increasing turmoil?  Different things are buffeting us – maybe fires that are out of control – maybe a financial mess; things we had relied upon are suddenly uncertain.   We have no clear picture of the final climax, the many passages of Scripture that describe the final climax of the kingdoms of men do not easily fit together.

Those alive then – and that could be all, or at least most who are reading this, must look and listen for his voice. “Take heart, It is I.  Do not be afraid” [v.27]   When Jesus is in the boat all will become calm and what wonder then will follow. Make sure you are in the boat NOW.

What is praise- how should we, can we - praise the creator?

Mark Twain said, “When in doubt, tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astound your friends.”

Obviously Mark Twain’s irreverence highlights the gap between what we do and what we should do. Scripture plainly tells us, “Lie not to one another” and “speak every man truth to his neighbor.” Clearly we are to tell the truth when in doubt and even when we are not in doubt. We simply should always tell the truth. Unfortunately, lying has become a way of life for many, and some even lie when the truth would be more to their benefit.

We like the story of a young Christadelphian who was working for a small company. The owner of the company had been lying to a particular customer each time he called asking why his order had not been shipped. One day when the boss was out, the young Christadelphian took the call from the irate customer and told him the truth. Immediately the customer realized the boss had been lying, so he called the boss. The boss summoned the young man into his office and snarled at him, saying, “Why do you always have to tell the truth?” The young man replied, “Sir, if you teach me to lie, you will never know when I am telling you the truth.”

Do we want to be lied to? Do we want our associates to lie to us whenever they think it is for our own good? If we do, then we will never know when they are telling us the truth.

The Bible is clear; we should always tell the truth, which is why Jesus tells us that we should not take oaths because we must tell the truth all the time, not just when under oath. His instructions for us are to let our yes be yes and our no, no. James adds, “Above all, my brothers, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your yes be yes, and your no, no, or you will be condemned.”

If anyone ever tells you that they have never told a lie in their whole life, well, you just heard one. The Psalmist tells us, “I said in my haste, all men are liars.” If it was true when he penned these words, it is certainly true today. We so often want to color our lies as “white lies,” but God has not changed His opinion on lying. It was the serpent’s lie that instigated Eve to begin the chain of events that led to man’s condemnation. We need to remember that Jesus in his Revelation said to John, “All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Fortunately we believe in forgiveness, for as the Psalmist said, “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

Since it is a sin to lie, let us be careful what we say. The tongue can be a fire, a world of iniquity, so the Psalms suggest we keep our mouth with a bridle and set a watch on the door of our lips. David declared, “I am resolved that my mouth will not sin.”

The warning of Christ that our words will justify or condemn us is confirmed by Solomon’s advice that he that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life. The blessing promised is, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” Paul told young Timothy, “I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not.” Let us then be followers of Paul even as he was of Christ.

Robert J. Lloyd

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Never try to make anyone like yourself. You know, and God knows, that one of you is enough.”

It is a marvellous thing to contemplate that there has never been another “you,” ever. Even identical twins are not really identical. It means that each of us is truly unique, which is reason enough for us not to try to make another person be exactly like us. In My Fair Lady, Professor Higgins laments by singing, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” Instead, he should have been singing, “There will never ever be another you,” because we are each one of a kind.

This being said, while we are all different, yet we are also so much alike. Human nature is human nature. Each is so unique and yet all so much alike — sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?

Snowflakes may look alike to us, yet we are told that each crystal is different. Each of us is obviously a human being, we have a great deal in common, yet scientists tell us that no two of us have the same DNA, fingerprints, stomach shape or a host of other characteristics that show our individuality.

Our Creator made us each a unique individual, and yet He has given all of us His commandments to follow. While we are all different, we are supposed to be like His Son, for He has told us, through Paul, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Certainly, there has never been another like our Lord Jesus Christ, and yet we are told that we should try to conform to his image and that he is the one we should follow.

Children are great mimics and they try to be like those they admire. As God’s children, we need to take care whom we admire and mimic, because as Paul tells us, “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”

We can always find others to compare ourselves to and think, “Well, compared to them I am not so bad.” When we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, we all fall woefully short, but he is the one we should imitate.

So as Emerson said, we should not try to make anyone like us. And from Paul, we learn that we should not compare ourselves to others, but we should strive to be conformed to the image of Christ.

In our mortal state, we will never measure up, but just think that very soon he is coming, and Paul tells us that when he comes, he will “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” Notice he did not say, change our “vile” minds.

We cannot do much about our body, but we do have control over what we think, and if we will change our thoughts now to think like Jesus, then when he comes he will change our vile bodies. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Rather than trying to make others be like us, let us concentrate on trying to make ourselves be more like Jesus. Again Paul tells us, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” By working at thinking like Jesus now, we will be like him in nature when he comes. We pray that the words we often sing will soon be true: “We shall be like him, O how rich the promise.”

Robert J. Lloyd

 Watch the video and see more here...https://bibletruthandprophecy.com/minute-meditation-one-of-you-is-enough-by-r-j-lloyd/

Why do we do what we do? It is important for us to do the right thing, and it can be helpful if we examine our motives as to why we do what we do when we do it.

For example, some people only work hard when the boss is watching. In school some children only behave properly if the teacher is in the room.

When it comes to our life in the truth we are aware of the fact that God knows everything. This completeness of God’s knowledge of every detail was hard for David to comprehend when he said, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” So one motivation for not running amok and sneaking sins is that we are being watched closely, constantly.

Since God knows all about us He knows not only what we do, but why we do what we do. Are we doing the right things? Are we doing them for the right reasons?

God understands us and He does offer the carrot, for He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Jesus has told us “that it is his Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. The more real the kingdom is in our mind’s eye, the more we will be drawn toward it. We need to make the kingdom a vivid goal and think about it frequently.

As we grow in spirituality another strong motivation becomes our love for God. Appreciation for his goodness and thankfulness for his tender care and mercies towards us can create a love so great, such a consuming fire within our breasts, that we want to live right because we would not want to displease our Heavenly Father by sinning against Him. Joseph expressed this perspective when he told Potipher’s wife, “How can I do this thing and sin against God?“

Jesus certainly always did the right thing and always for the right reason. He said, “I do always those things that please him.” To sin against his Heavenly Father would have been so abhorrent to Jesus that the very thought of it must have been repugnant to him.

When David confessed his sin to God he said, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.“

God understands us. God knows why we do what we do. God wants us to love and obey Him because it is the right thing to do. But God also understands that He made us as goal-seeking creatures, and so He does offer us a reward for doing what is right. We may in our early development want to do right only to avoid punishment and to receive the reward, but as we grow spiritually we will be obedient to His will because we want to please Him because of our fervent love for Him.

Submitting to crucifixion was something our Lord dreaded. We are told how he was able to endure it. He did it by thinking not about the pain and suffering he was enduring but by looking forward to the Kingdom. Following his example we can also better overcome our trials and choose to do right because of our yearning for the kingdom. We are told that we should “Look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.“

Robert J. Lloyd

"MAY INTEGRITY AND UPRIGHTNESS ... "    Jan 11

David’s meditations in the Psalms, which are essentially prayers, continually engage our thoughts. Indeed, they are a model for us to follow in judging the quality of our relationship with God.  Are we able to meditate and pray in any way to the same degree? Psalm 25 has some verses that both challenge and inspire us.  “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths” [v.4]  We are asking God to ‘make’ us!!  What child asks a parent  to ‘make’ him or her be good?  And that not just once, but constantly, as a way of life!

The next verse has, “Leadme in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”  David is asking God to ‘lead him’  and ‘teach him.’  The Hebrew for “lead” is rather interesting – it occurs again in v.9 “He leads the humble in what is right.”  The A V has ‘guides’ – but the Hebrew also has the sense of bending the bow to ‘guide’ the arrow fitted to it.  David uses it first in Psalm 7 v.12, “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow”  In Psalm 11 v.2 David says, “behold, the wicked bend the bow … to shoot … at the upright in heart”.

The purpose in bending the bow, is to do it in a way that it will ‘guide’ the arrow fitted to it  - to its intended destination.  The aims of God and the aim of the ungodly are opposite extremes.

Also in v.5 we noted the words, “for you I wait all the day long.”  What is the ‘sense’ of wait? The word also occurs in v. 3, “”Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame.”  Verse 21 says, “May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for thee”  There has to be a quality of character in our waiting, and are we not waiting for the return of Christ!?

The Hebrew original word here for WAIT is most interesting, in Psalm 69 v.20 it is translated,  “I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.”  When you are waiting you are looking for something or someone!

How fascinating then, is the first time this word is used in Hebrew; we found it in Genesis 1 v.9! “And God said, let the waters under the heavens be gathered together and let the dry land appear.”  We are waiting for our Lord to be gathered togetherto be with him. Finally we can use Paul’s words, they are so parallel to David’s. In 2 Thess. 3 v.5 “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and into the patient waiting for Christ.” (AV)  The ESV has “to the steadfastness of Christ.”  Let us be steadfast in our patient waiting, aiming for “integrity and uprightness.”

There seems so much happening in the world at the moment and this is also to be considered a sign of the times. The movements of Russia, the UK the EU, Iran and the Levant, in general, are fascinating as we see them jockey for position on the world stage.  Watch this video and be astounded by just how much of what is happening on the world stage has been prophecied in the Bible. definitive Bible Prophecy Review of 2019.

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 https://youtu.be/dLKhXxRQIYE

Description: The development of the Papacy is clearly identified from Bible Prophecy. Surrounded by opulence and wealth the church’s popularity and influence continues to grow. The mother church is getting more involved with the political powers.

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From a recent Bible class held at Ruby UK 2020