Holy Trinity - Sunday

Holy Trinity  - Tuesday

Ruth 1:19-2:13,       Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz
1 Timothy 1:18-2:8 (9-15),     Instructions for Worship
Luke 13:10-17       Healing on the Sabbath
 
Naomi, a Jewish widow, returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law, Ruth, a Moabite. The barley harvest was beginning when they arrived, and a wealthy relative of Naomi’s husband, named Boaz, had a barley field. Ruth asked her mother-in-law’s permission to glean the barley left by the reapers, hoping to find favor among those overseeing the harvest, and Naomi allowed Ruth to do so. Ruth happened to glean the fields of Boaz. Boaz came out from Bethlehem to the field, and noticing Ruth, he asked his servants who she was. They told him that she was the Moabite maiden who returned with Naomi from Moab. They said she had asked permission to glean, and that she had been a hard worker.
 
Boaz spoke to Ruth, telling her to stay close to his servants and glean only from his fields, telling her that she would be safe from molestation with them, because he had ordered them not to molest her. He also told her to help herself, when she was thirsty, to the water drawn by his servants. Ruth bowed to Boaz, thanking him for his favor toward her, a foreigner. But Boaz replied that he had heard all that Ruth had done for Naomi since Naomi’s husband had died, and that she had left her country and her family and had come to a strange land and to people she didn’t know. Boaz prayed that the Lord would bless and reward Ruth for her goodness and faithfulness, since she had sought refuge in the God of Israel. Ruth thanked Boaz for his kind and comforting words to a maidservant who was not in his responsibility.
 
Paul had entrusted the responsibility for the Church at Ephesus to Timothy and had given him instructions for Church administration. Paul exhorted Timothy first to faithfully and accurately preserve the apostolic Gospel and to guard against false teachers and false doctrines. Timothy was exhorted to “wage the good warfare” of holding to the apostolic faith and good conscience.

Paul warned Timothy to beware of people who were not guided by a good conscience, and used as examples Hymenaeus, who had falsely taught that the resurrection of the dead was already past, and Alexander, a Jewish coppersmith who had opposed Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:33). Paul had excommunicated such people in the hope that under Satan’s power they might be induced to repent.
 
Paul instructed Timothy that the Church was to pray with supplication, intersession and thanksgiving for all people, and for all secular rulers, so that Christians might lead quiet, peaceable, godly and respectable lives. It is good and in God’s will, because the Lord desires that all might be saved and come to knowledge of the (gospel) truth. God is the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator between God and mankind. Jesus gave his life on the cross to pay the ransom of all people (see God's Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right), and this is the message Paul was appointed a preacher and apostle to proclaim and to instruct the Gentiles in faith and truth.
 
Paul urged that members in every congregation would pray with holy hands (with a clean conscience, unstained by disobedience) uplifted (the customary posture), without anger or quarreling. People should clothe themselves with modesty, and avoid ostentation. Instead of outward adornment, we should seek to adorn ourselves spiritually through good deeds befitting people who profess Jesus as their Lord. Our behavior should be governed by faith, love, holiness and modesty.
 
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue one Sabbath, and there was a woman who for eighteen years had a “spirit” of disability of her back, making her walk “hunched-over” and unable to stand up straight. Jesus saw her and called to her, declaring that she was freed from her disability. Jesus laid his hands on the woman and immediately her back was straightened, and she praised God.  But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, and told the crowd that they should not come to Jesus for healing on the Sabbath.

Jesus replied calling those who agree with the ruler of the synagogue hypocrites because they feed and water their livestock on the Sabbath. Jesus pointed out that the woman was a descendant of Abraham (and one of God’s chosen children) whom Satan had oppressed for eighteen years, and that it was appropriate to free her from bondage to Satan on the Sabbath. Jesus’ adversaries were put to shame and the people rejoiced in the glorious things Jesus was doing. 
 
Ruth had joined her mother-in-law’s community and religion. She wanted to participate in the support of the household, and she asked her mother-in-law for permission and guidance to glean in the fields. She wanted to find favor with the master of the harvest. Her behavior in the field impressed the servants and the master, and the news of her love and faithfulness, and the fact that she had sought refuge in the God of Israel also impressed the master. The master told Ruth to work only in his fields and to stay close to his servants so that she wouldn’t come to harm.
 
This is a “picture” of discipleship. Naomi brought Ruth to “church.”  The Master of the harvest is Jesus Christ. Christians are not just to hang around the “house” and visit with fellow members of the household. But they have to be discipled first by sticking close to “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) Christian servants, who can teach them how to harvest correctly while preserving the scriptural apostolic gospel.

Not just anyone who wants to join in should be allowed to do so, unless they’re willing to bear the discipline of discipleship and are willing to obey the Master’s rules and guidance. They need to have a personal knowledge of and relationship with the Master, and to get his permission and guidance. They need to drink freely of the spiritual water the Master supplies (John 4:10-14; 7:37-39) through daily fellowship with the Lord and his Word. (I personally testify to this truth. This is how I came to this internet ministry.)
 
Timothy had been trained in discipleship by Paul. Paul made sure Timothy received the sound biblical apostolic gospel (the Gospel taught by the original apostles, including Paul, and recorded in the New Testament), and he urged Timothy, first of all to preserve and pass on that Gospel faithfully and accurately to his congregation, and to guard his congregation from false teachers and false doctrines. Paul warned Timothy to beware of people who were not guided by conscience to live according to the Gospel they professed.

Paul warned Timothy to teach his congregation obedience to Jesus’ teachings, so that their lives would be good testimony to the Lord, instead of allowing people to adopt the exterior appearance of “good Christians” while their deeds denied the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul advocated that false teachers and those who did not live according to the scriptural apostolic gospel should not be allowed to take refuge within the church; instead they should be excommunicated (or denied membership), in the hope that they might come to realize their spiritual condition and need and thus be induced to repent and be saved. How are we doing today, Church?
 
The ruler of the synagogue “looked good” on the outside, but he didn’t love and obey the Lord on the inside. He used his religion to make himself look righteous, but he didn’t love God or his “neighbor,” the basis and summation of all of God's Commandments. He cared more for his livestock that the physical and spiritual needs of others, even his own people.

Jesus healed the woman physically, but there was a deeper underlying spiritual condition that only Jesus can heal. We can adopt a “Christian” posture and wear the garments of God’s people and God’s spiritual leaders, but it is only by the personal touch and guidance by the indwelling Holy Spirit through obedient trust in Jesus that our spiritual disability can be healed.
 
Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Holy Trinity  - Wednesday

Ruth 2:14-23,      The Kindness of Boaz to Ruth
1 Timothy 3:1-16,     Qualifications of Church Leaders
Luke 13:18-30       Parables of the Kingdom

At lunchtime, Boaz invited Ruth to share in the bread and wine and gave her parched grain to eat. She had enough to satisfy her hunger and some left over. When she returned to gleaning, Boaz told his servants to leave a little extra of the harvest for Ruth to glean, and not rebuke her. Ruth continued her gleaning until evening, and then threshed what she gathered. She had harvested more than one-half bushel of threshed barley. Ruth returned to the city and showed her mother-in-law, Naomi, what she had gleaned, and also gave her the food left over from Ruth’s lunch. Naomi was impressed and asked Ruth whose field she had gleaned. When she learned it was Boaz’ field, Naomi invoked the Lord’s blessing on Boaz who had not forsaken the living or the dead. She told Ruth that Boaz was a close relative of hers.

Ruth told Naomi that Boaz had also protected Ruth from molestation by telling her to stay close to his servants, and Naomi was glad to hear of Boaz’ concern for Ruth’s safety. Ruth continued to glean in Boaz’ fields through the end of the barley and wheat harvests.

Paul gave Timothy instructions for selecting church leaders. Bishops (overseers) hold a noble position, but they also have a responsibility to be above reproach. A bishop should be faithful in marriage, moderate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, and a good teacher, not a drunkard, violent, quarrelsome or greedy. He should demonstrate his ability to manage God’s church by his ability to manage his own household well, with obedient and respectful children. He must not be a recent convert or he may be conceited and fail to resist temptation. If he doesn’t have a good reputation in the secular community, his lack of good character will lead to reproach and sin.

Deacons were appointed to serve the administrative, social and charitable activities of the church.  Both men and women may serve as deacons and are to be committed to their duties, honest and truthful, moderate and faithful, not drunkards or greedy. “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” [i.e. they must be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) believers who practice what they profess; 1 Timothy 3:9].

“Let them be tested first; then if they prove themselves blameless let them serve as deacons” (1 Timothy 3:10; i.e. they must be mature Christians, who have demonstrated their faith). They must demonstrate their ability to manage the church by good management of their families. Deacons are respected in their secular communities and their behavior influences the acceptance of the Gospel by the world.

The Church is and must be the pillar and bulwark of the truth in this world. Christ is the mystery of God “which has been manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16).  

Jesus used several parables to illustrate the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed which grows into a supernaturally large tree, becomming a nesting place for birds. The kingdom of God is also like a small amount of yeast placed in dough and allowed time to permeate and affect the whole loaf.  

Jesus was heading for Jerusalem, and on the way someone asked him if only a few people would be saved (i.e. enter God’s eternal kingdom). Jesus replied that one should earnestly endeavor to enter because the door to God’s kingdom is narrow, and many will try to enter and will not be able. Once the owner of the house has risen and closed the door, people will knock and ask to enter, but the owner will deny knowing them.

They will say, “we ate and drank in you presence and you taught in our streets” (Luke 13:26), but the owner will deny knowing them, condemn them as evildoers and command them to depart from him. Those who are denied entry will have great anguish and grief when they see the patriarchs and prophets in God’s kingdom while they are among the lost are rejected. People from the farthest places on earth will come to the heavenly banquet. But Jesus warned that “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30).

The Church needs leaders like Boaz, who will train and supervise the servants who are responsible for reaping the harvest of God’s field. Ruth is like a new believer in the church who is not yet ready to handle the main work of the harvest, but is fed and given water and is warned to stay close to the reapers for her wellbeing. Mature, “born-again” Christian disciples are to be reapers.

Reaping is not the sole or even the main job of the ordained clergy.  The main job of the clergy is to supervise the harvest, to see that both reapers and gleaners are spiritually nurtured and that gleaners are discipled and receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit before they become reapers. Both reapers and gleaners can bring home and share with others the “bread” they have received from the “overseer.”  

Paul was the discipler of Timothy who had become the overseer of the Church at Ephesus. All pastors are to be “overseers” and managers of their congregation and the qualifications for “bishops” apply also to pastors. Paul himself was fulfilling the role of “bishop,” the pastor, overseer and manager of pastors.

Mature Christians are to fulfill the responsibilities of deacons, to help with the discipling of new members and to help with the reaping of the harvest. There may be specifically appointed and commissioned deacons who oversee the harvesting and discipling. Christians, like deacons, must keep their reputations in the secular community from reproach, and like deacons, remember that what they do in the secular community affects the reception of the Gospel by the world.

The Gospel is a tiny seed which grows into a large kingdom, provided that it is sown, fed and watered. Faith also begins as a tiny seed, with our “yes” to the seed of the Gospel, which when fed and watered grows to spiritual maturity. Christians are to be the “yeast” in our communities, which ultimately influences and changes the world. The Holy Spirit is the “yeast” within Christians that changes us so that we can be “yeast” in the world.

The Lord warns that we should diligently strive to enter the narrow door to eternal life in God’s kingdom. Jesus is that narrow door; Jesus is God’s only provision for salvation from eternal death (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’ Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). It is by obedient trust in Jesus Christ that we receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). It is by the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are “reborn,” and qualified, guided, and empowered to be servants in God’s “field.”

Jesus warns that it is not people who call themselves Christians, who call Jesus “Lord,” or who are active church members, or who receive “Communion” (the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper) or who do good deeds, who will be saved from eternal death (Matthew 7:21-24; Luke 6:46). It is those who have trusted and obeyed Jesus and who have received the promised rebirth and gift of the Holy Spirit who know with certainty that they are in Christ and have eternal life with him in God’s kingdom (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16). Worldly judgment will be overturned and reversed. It won’t be what we think of ourselves, or what the world thinks of us that will matter; it will be what the “Master of the house,” Jesus Christ, thinks of us that will matter for all eternity.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

 first posted 05/26/05

Ruth 4:1-22,      Boaz Marries Ruth
1 Timothy 5:17-22 (23-25),     Qualifications of Church Leaders
Luke 14:1-11     Healing on the Sabbath; Humility

Ruth had shown her love for Boaz, and Boaz was willing to marry her, but he was honorable and acknowledged that a closer relative had the right to choose first (Ruth 3:1-18). That day Boaz went to the city gate and waited for the kin who had first right to marry Ruth to pass by. When the man came past, Boaz asked him to turn aside and sit and talk, (as was the custom). Boaz also asked ten other men to observe as witnesses.

Boaz told the next of kin that a parcel of land belonging to Ruth’s deceased father-in-law was for sale, and the next of kin had first right to purchase it. The next of kin was interested in purchasing it, but Boaz told him that the next of kin couldn’t legally purchase it without taking Ruth, a widow, as wife. Under those terms the man was unwilling to buy the land because his family inheritance would be impaired (assuming that Ruth bore children). So the next of kin gave Boaz the right to the land and Ruth.

It was the custom to take off a sandal and hand it to the other party in a transaction to attest to the agreement, and the kin did so, and the ten witnesses were present to attest to the agreement. Boaz purchased the family property of Elimelech and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, who were all deceased, and took Ruth, the widow of Mahlon as his wife, with the purpose of perpetuating the lineage and inheritance of Elimelech and his sons.

The witnesses blessed Ruth and Boaz, praying that the Lord would use their marriage to build up the house of Israel as had Rachael and Leah (the wives of Jacob, also known as Israel, and the mothers of the heads of the twelve tribes). They also prayed that the family of Ruth and Boaz would be like the family of Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah. (Four hundred and sixty-eight “sons” of Perez came back from Babylon with the exiles, led by Zerubbabel, a descendant of Perez, and under whose leadership the rebuilding of the temple was begun.)

Boaz married Ruth and she bore a son and named him Obed. The people declared that Obed would be a restorer of life and a nourisher of Naomi, the mother of Mahlon, Ruth’s deceased first husband, in her old age. Obed was the father of Jesse, and the grandfather of David, the great shepherd-king of Israel, and the ancestor of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:5-6, 16).

Paul had discipled Timothy and was giving him advice on church administration. Church leaders, especially preachers and teachers who govern the church well, are worthy of special honor. Paul quoted Deuteronomy 25:4 and Matthew 10:10 to make the point that the congregation should support their pastors and teachers. Any charges brought against church leaders should be attested to by at least two or three witnesses. Anyone in the congregation who persists in sin should be publicly rebuked in the presence of the congregation.

Church leaders are to be impartial in their enforcement of these rules. Leaders should not be hasty in ordaining leaders or in restoring sinful members. All Christians are reminded not to “participate in another [person’s] sins” (1 Timothy 5:23) but instead keep oneself pure. Drinking alcohol in itself is not sinful (but there is great potential for addiction and drunkenness, which are not to be allowed). The sins of some people are obvious, but other sins may not be recognized until later. The same thing applies to good deeds.

Jesus had been invited to dinner one Sabbath at the home of a Pharisee where Pharisees and scribes were guests, and Jesus was aware that the Pharisees were watching him critically (looking for something they could use against him). One of the guests had dropsy (a condition causing swelling of the body with fluids). Jesus asked the Pharisees and lawyers present whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, but they kept silent, so Jesus healed the person. Then Jesus asked those present, who among them would not immediately rescue his livestock from falling into a well on the Sabbath? Those present again declined to answer.  

Jesus told a parable about social status at banquets. When one is invited to a banquet he should not take the seat of honor, since a greater person might have been invited, and he and the host would be embarrassed to ask the person to give up the seat of honor to another. Instead it would be better to take the lowest seat. Then the host and this guest would be pleased to ask him to take a seat of greater honor. Jesus’ point is that the humble will be exalted, but the proud will be humbled.

Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi are examples of how God’s people should live (see entry for yesterday, Thursday, Trinity, odd year). Boaz wanted to marry Ruth, but he knew the right of first choice belonged to another, so he acted honorably and followed the rules of his community. The result was that God’s will was done, and everyone was satisfied with the outcome.

Ruth and Boaz became the parents of Obed, and were even more influential through their descendants in building the nation of God’s people than Rachel and Leah (and Jacob) or Tamar and Judah. Through the progeny of Rachel, Leah, and Jacob (Israel) came the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Through the progeny of Tamar and Judah came Zerubbable, and then Boaz. Through Boaz and Ruth came David, and ultimately Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy that Obed would be a restorer of life and nourisher of his people.

The Church is the New Israel, the new people of God. The leaders of the Church must govern the Church well. They should be worthy and accorded honor. They should be supported financially and by the cooperation and labor of the congregation. They should be above reproach in their conduct, but they should be protected from unsupported charges.

They are to enforce Biblical standards of conduct impartially in the congregation. They should uphold Biblical standards for ordination, and for church membership. Paul warned Christians not to participate (or go along with) the sins of others. Not all deeds, good or bad, are immediately obvious, but will ultimately be revealed and made known.

How is the Church doing today? It is apparently no longer obvious, even within the Church,  that such things as homosexuality and fornication are unrighteous, sinful and abominations in God’s judgment (1 Corinthians 6:9-10;* Also see 1 Timothy 1:8-10). Sodom, from which we get the word sodomy, was the city so notoriously and blatantly homosexual that it was destroyed by God (Genesis 18:20-19:28). Also, many Churches are failing to make disciples and failing to teach them to obey all that Jesus commands.

People desire to be teachers of the “Word” without understanding the things about which they make assertions (1 Timothy 1:7). In many churches today administrators are ordaining ministers who have been “educated” in “theological speculation” in Seminaries but haven’t been discipled, and have not been filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit. People are attracted to the ministry as a career and are becoming mere “peddlers of the Word” (2 Corinthians 2:17).

Jesus was in the midst of a group of Pharisees and scribes (teachers of the Law of Moses), but Jesus did not restrain himself from proclaiming the full Gospel truth to them, although he knew it wasn’t going to make himself popular and liked. The Pharisees and scribes were religious leaders who agreed on their own set of rules, instead of following God’s rules. They confirmed their own righteousness among themselves, while being totally in opposition to God’s will and to God’s own Son and promised Savior. The Pharisees gave themselves status according to their standards, instead of doing what was right and worthy of approval in God’s judgment.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:10)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

* Because of the current controversy over same-sex marriage and the appointment of openly “gay” bishops (and clergy), I think it’s important to note that the word which is translated “homosexual” in the text (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; RSV, footnote “j”) is translated from two Greek words (Strong’s numbers 730 & 2845) which mean “effeminate sodomite.” I think it’s pretty hard to deny that “homosexual” is an accurate translation.

Holy Trinity - Saturday

first posted 05/27/05

Deuteronomy 1:1-8,      Historical Insight
1 Timothy 6:6-21,      Godliness with Contentment
Luke 14:12-24      Parable of the Great Banquet

It is only eleven days’ journey from Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai; from the giving of the Covenant of Law) to Kadesh-Barnea (from which the scouts, including Joshua and Caleb, scouted the Promised Land, and from which they could have entered and possessed the Promised Land if they had trusted and obeyed God’s command). Because they had not trusted and obeyed the Lord, they wandered for forty years (counting from the Exodus from Egypt) in the wilderness (until the disobedient generation had died in the wilderness; Numbers chapter 13-14), before they were again able to enter the Promised Land.

Now Israel was in Moab poised, again, to enter the Promised Land. The Israelites had defeated Sihon, the king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan (who stood in the way of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land). Now the Lord commanded Israel to enter and possess the Promised Land. All of the land from Syria, Lebanon and the Euphrates in the north to the Arabah below the Dead Sea in the south, from the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the land of Edom and Moab on the east was promised to Israel.  (Israel never possessed the entire land that God intended.)

Paul told his disciple, Timothy, that there is great benefit in satisfaction with godliness. We are born into the world with nothing, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave this world. As long as we have food, clothing and shelter we should be satisfied. Those who desire to be rich beyond the basic necessities of life fall into a trap and many desires which lead to destruction. It is the love of wealth and possessions which leads to destruction. By the craving for wealth some believers have been led astray and have suffered disappointment and loss.

As a godly person, avoid these things and instead aim for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness. Struggle for the victory of faith, take hold and claim the promise of eternal life, which was given when we publicly declared Jesus our Lord. In the presence of God the Father, the creator of all things, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who bore witness to God before Pontius Pilate, we are exhorted to conduct ourselves so that Jesus’ teachings will be beyond reproach, and this will be revealed in God’s perfect timing on the Day of Judgment.

God is the sovereign King of kings and Lord of lords who alone is immortal and “dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). No mortal has ever seen or is able to see God. He is worthy of and possesses eternal honor and dominion.

The rich are warned not to be haughty or to trust in material wealth, but instead to depend upon God the creator and giver of all things for our enjoyment. The rich are “to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous” (1 Timothy 6:18) thus building an eternal unshakable foundation, so that they may possess eternal life which is true life. Disciples are admonished to guard the Gospel they have been given, and to avoid false doctrines and what the world falsely considers knowledge, which has caused some believers to fail to receive what has been promised.

One Sabbath Jesus had been invited to a dinner at the house of a Pharisee. He told his host that when he invited friends, neighbors and relatives to dinner they would repay him by inviting him to their dinners. If the man truly wanted to do something nice he should invite the poor, the crippled and the blind. They would not be able to repay their host, but he would be rewarded at the resurrection of the righteous.

One of the guests exclaimed that those who eat bread in God’s kingdom will be blessed. Jesus responded with the parable of the great banquet. A man gave a great banquet and invited many. When all was prepared he sent his servant to call them to dinner, but they began to make excuses. One was buying a field, another had purchased a team of oxen, and another had just been married. Each asked to be excused.

When the servant reported this, his master was angry with his invited guests, and told the servant to go into the streets and invite the poor, lame and blind to the dinner instead. The servant did as instructed, but there was still room for more, so the master sent his servant to the highways to compel people to come, because the master refused to allow any of the originally invited guests to have even a taste of his banquet.

After the great signs and wonders God had done in bringing his people out of slavery in Egypt and saving them from their Egyptian enemy by bringing them through the Red Sea, they were still unwilling to trust and obey the Lord and enter and possess the Promised Land. Only eleven days after they had received the Covenant of Law through Moses they could have entered the Promised Land, but they let the imagined threat of the native people of the land keep them from trusting and obeying the Lord.

Consequently they were required to wander in the wilderness for forty years, until those who had been disobedient had died in the wilderness, and during that time the new generation learned to follow the Lord in obedient trust. Now God’s people were again allowed and commanded to enter and possess the Promised Land. This time they did enter and possess the land, but because they still didn’t completely trust and obey, they never received the full extent of God’s promise.

Paul warned his disciple not to be distracted by material wealth, possessions or pleasures of this world, because they will never satisfy and will not last. We should be satisfied that our basic needs of food, clothing and shelter are met, and our efforts should be directed toward what is eternal: faith, hope and love, which are only possible through obedient trust in Jesus Christ.

We should earnestly pursue the victory over the things of this world through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. We have been given great and precious promises, but we must take hold of them and claim them if we are to receive their benefits. Christians are to conduct ourselves in ways that glorify and demonstrate the truth of Jesus and his teachings.

Those who have been blessed with material wealth and possessions are warned to put their trust only in the Lord, and to use their wealth in ways that glorify Jesus and accomplish Jesus’ purpose. Obedient trust in Jesus is the only sound foundation on which to build one’s life.

Disciples are warned to guard the scriptural apostolic Gospel, and to pass it on faithfully and accurately to others. We must not be misled by false doctrines and false teachers, nor should we be misled by what the world falsely calls “knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:6-7). False doctrine and false “knowledge” may cause “believers” (or those who profess belief) to fail to receive what the Lord has promised.

The Lord is the host of a great banquet in his eternal kingdom in heaven, and we have all been invited. All who will accept his invitation and act upon it will receive what he has promised in his invitation. Some of God’s own people, his “friends,” will fail to join him at that banquet because they have let worldly cares, pleasures, wealth and possessions interfere with their acceptance and participation. The Lord doesn’t limit his invitation to those who call themselves “Christians.” Anyone who hears the Lord’s invitation and acts upon it in faith to claim it will be accepted, and there is abundant provision for all.

All of us are spiritually poor, crippled and blind. None of us is worthy or can repay his invitation. Jesus paid, at the cross, for our admission; all we have do is to accept his invitation and act upon it in trust and obedience to his command (See God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Will you receive what the Lord has promised, or will you die eternally in the wilderness?

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)?  Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?