Heard It from a Freind
Proverbs 15:4
The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Two ladies in the community gossiped about one of their friends. They found out later that they were wrong, but her reputation had been greatly scarred. They went to their pastor and asked what they should do--how they could correct the problem and seek forgiveness.
He said, “Go take the feathers out of a pillow, go a mile away from your house, then walk back, scattering the feathers.”
They came back, after doing that, and said, “We did what you said, but we don't understand.”
He said, “Now I want you to go back and pick up all the feathers.” They said, “Well, there's no way we can do that. Those feathers have gone everywhere.” He said, “What you said about the lady and the words that you spoke against her are like those feathers. Whatever you say or do, you can never bring them all back together. As those feathers went to the wind, so your idle words have gone to the winds and have hurt her reputation.”
What is it about gossip that thrills our hearts? The grocery stores are filled with tabloid magazines filled with gossip. Want to write a bestselling book? Write a tell-all book about a famous person and watch it soar to the top of the bestseller list?
The worst form of gossip is “spiritual gossip.” It often begins like this: “We need to keep this confidential, but we really need to pray for…” We then proceed to spend considerable time talking about this person and very little (if any) time prayer for this individual.
Remember, it is not a compliment that people feel free to share their gossip with you. (Read that sentence again.) Moreover, those who gossip with you will just as surely gossip about you.
Application:
- In what ways have you been fooling yourself regarding purity?
- Ask God to examine your heart. What has He revealed to you?
1 Chron. 28:9 Ps. 7:9 Prov. 17:3; 28:26 Jer. 17:5 Matt. 5:27-30
Holy Spirit, search my heart and examine my mind; reveal to me impurities in my life so that I might bear fruit for God’s Kingdom.
The Trouble with Lying
Psalms 12:1-2
“Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.”
A church, like Grace Church, was studying the Ten Commandments. As the pastor wrapped up his sermon on the Eighth Commandment, he told the congregation, “next week I intend to preach on the sin of lying. In preparation, please go home and read Mark 17.”
The following Sunday as he began to preach his sermon, the pastor asked for a show of hands: “How many of you read Mark 17 this week?” More than half of the congregation raised their hands. “Good,” the pastor said, “Mark only has 16 chapters. Now, let’s begin our sermon on lying.”
For most Americans–both believers and nonbelievers–the truth is no longer absolute. As long as there is an element of truth in what we are saying, then the entire statement is true. In the example above, most of us would be comfortable raising our hands, and if confronted with the fact that Mark only has 16 chapters, we would counter that we had read a portion of Mark during the previous week; therefore, raising our hands was completely defensible.
Indeed, most of us would agree with one little boy who confused a couple of verses of Scripture when he said, "a lie is an abomination to the Lord and a very present help in time of trouble."
As we study the Ninth Commandment this week we will be confronted with some basic questions: have we, as the body of Christ, bought into the world’s new belief that all truth is relative? Does God still expect his people to be people of integrity and honesty? Is it ever OK to tell a lie? Is gossip sin?
Application:
- What is truth to you? Is it absolute or is it relative?
- Ask God to reveal to you this week if your character is built on integrity and honesty?
Father, as I examine my character this week, reveal to me areas where I have allowed the false standard of truth found in the world today to become my standard of truth.
America: 24-7
Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)
We continue our look at the Fourth Commandment by focusing today on the priority of rest. An interesting phrase entered into American culture in the 1990s that summarizes our life: 24-7. From grocery stores to local television stations, they all boast of their 24-7 service—open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Given that culture is the driving force for most Americans, it’s no surprise that many of us live life 24-7.
Regarding the necessity of rest, T. Dewitt Talmadge said, "Our bodies are seven-day clocks and they need to be wound up, and if they are not wound up they run down into the grave. No man can continuously break the Sabbath and keep his physical and mental health."
Stephen Covey rightly observed that we Americans spend more money on medical expenses during the last three days of our life than we spend during our entire lifetime! Simply put, we fail to take care of one of God’s greatest gifts: our health.
We are blessed in this country with a five-day work week, but few Americans return to work Monday morning feeling rested and refreshed. Again, culture is driving us to a frenzied pace. Even our “leisure” activities leave us weary.
How can we discipline ourselves to enjoy the benefits of a day of rest? Simple: Just Say No! Refuse to allow your Sundays to become filled with events that will rob you of your day of rest. Rest is something that must be practiced. There is no vitamin or herb supplement you can take that will replenish your batteries in place of rest.
Even in church this can be a delicate balance. A church like Grace offers a multitude of opportunities on Sundays. If you participate in all that is offered, your day of rest will become a day of stress. Make it a priority to participate in a worship service and small group or Bible fellowship, but then weigh your time commitments carefully.
Your goal should be to finish the day Sunday feeling rested and refreshed. If those two words do not describe your body on Sunday night, examine where you can make changes to bring balance back to your life.
Lord, thank you for the life you have given me and the health to enjoy it to the fullest.
I pray today that you will create in me a desire to make rest a priority.
Holy Sabbath Becomes Son Day!
Yesterday we learned of the Jewish roots to the Sabbath. Ask three believers what the Sabbath means to them today, however, and you will likely get three different answers.
Pastor and author Stewart Briscoe describes in his book The Ten Commandments his childhood memories of the Sabbath: "We went to Sunday morning church, Sunday afternoon church, and Sunday evening church. In between those services, we played no games and could not play outside; instead we prayed or read or took part in quiet family conversations. Once my parents got a radio, they never switched it on on the Lord’s day. Neither would they dream of going to a restaurant on a Sunday; that would require someone else to work."
While Briscoe’s experience may seem extreme to many, it illustrates one side of a struggle between those who believe Sunday is an extension of the Jewish Sabbath and those who believe Sunday is just another day of the week.
As Christians we do not observe the Sabbath (which is Saturday for Jews), but we do celebrate Sunday as the day our Lord Jesus rose from the dead. In our only glimpse of an early church worship service in the New Testament, the church met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The New Testament, however, never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath.
How then should we live on Sundays? The key word is balance. At Grace Church we believe Sunday should be set aside as a day we gather together as a church family to focus on God and worship Him in spirit and truth. We do not believer, however, that one is sinning if he goes out to eat on Sunday or watches television or goes to the grocery store.
With that said, however, it is important that Sunday is a day we focus on God. This does not mean that we squeeze in a morning worship service and then plow into the day as if it were Saturday or Monday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. We are not commanded to observe the Sabbath, but we do desire to honor God with our time and show the world that for believers, Sunday is different.
The Sabbath: It’s Jewish!
Mention the word “Sabbath” in most churches today and those who know their Bible well will often reply, “Oh, that’s not for us…It’s Jewish!” And so it is.
The word Sabbath literally means cessation from Labor. Israel had served the pharaohs of Egypt as slaves for more than 400 years. Day after day they made bricks and built the great cities of ancient Egypt. As slaves, the Israelites did not receive sick days or vacations or holidays from their work. They labored until they died.
When the Lord freed the nation from the bondage of slavery, it was important to the Lord that they remember the pattern of work established at the time of creation: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.” (Exodus 20:11)
There are two important principals found in this verse: rest and consecration. Clearly, the Lord intended for His creation to physically rest, and went so far as to model this for us. The first purpose of the Sabbath was to give the nation of Israel something it had never had—a day off! The Lord knew that physically, men and women need rest in order to live an abundant life.
But the Sabbath was more than just a day off. Its primary purpose was to set aside--or consecrate--one day a week to focus on God and to worship him. What was God’s commandment to the Israelites regarding the Sabbath? Simple: keep it holy.
Yes, the Sabbath day is a commandment for the Jews, but are there principals for us to learn? Do we need rest? Do we need to be reminded to set aside one day a week to keep our focus on God? The answer to both of these questions is yes! Does this make it easy? No. Setting aside one day a week to rest and focus on God may require a lot more self discipline than we are willing to admit. But the Lord’s desire for us is simple: Remember to take a day off. Keep it holy.
Lord, I desire to follow your lead and consecrate one day a week to focus on you and to worship you individually and collectively within a fellowship of believers. Lord, help me to discipline myself in this area.