James 4:17 – Sins of Omission

James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

-Sins of omission.  Just when we think our hands are full enough with abstaining from the things we shouldn’t be doing, James comes along and reminds us that it is also a sin if we fail to do the things we should be doing.  So, the million-dollar question becomes, “what should we be doing?”  Acts 16:31 is a good place to start.  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”  That allows us to follow Luke 10:27. “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”  How about Matthew 5:16? “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”Mark 16:15 should always be high on the list and it’s not just for Pastors and Evangelists, you know.   “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  The Bible makes it perfectly clear what we should not be doing, but it makes it just as clear what we need to be doing.

Matthew 19:26 – All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:26
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

-Notice that Jesus didn’t say that with God more things are possible, but that all things are possible.  This brings to light an important aspect of the Lord’s nature, His omnipotence.  Although it may be beyond our ability to understand, it is nonetheless important to accept that God has no limit.  He can do anything, at any time, in any place, and so, is not bound by time, space or circumstance.  He’s not just more powerful than us, which implies that we could be measured on the same scale as Him, He is all-powerful and beyond measurement.

John 1:1, 11-13 – The Children of God

John 1:1, 11-13
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

-Jesus has the power to make us the children of God.  In the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the son reckoned that based on his actions and choices, he was no longer worthy to be his father’s son.  He was hopeful that if he asked very nicely, the father may take him back as a hired servant.  Before the son was even able to get his planned speech out, the father immediately welcomed him back; not as a servant, but as a son.  What this prodigal’s father did for his son is the same thing God does for us.  It would be more than enough if God saved us from Hell and made us servants for all eternity, but the Lord went much further than that.  He made us “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).  “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1).

Isaiah 52:3 – Redeemed Without Money

Isaiah 52:3
3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.

If we were separated from God due to a financial debt, the remedy would be easy.  Simply get together enough money to pay off the debt.  While it is debatable whether or not any of us could actually get enough money together, still the solution would be straightforward.  But the Bible tells us that we were not sold for money, but rather we sold ourselves because of our sins (Isaiah 50:1).  How do you buy back something that was sold for sin?  We know that money won’t work because we just read in Isaiah 52:3 that money would not be involved.  Hebrews 10:4 tells us that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins”, so that’s not going to help the situation.  But, 1 Peter 3:18 teaches that “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God”, and from there we learn the nature of the transaction that had to occur, “the just for the unjust.”  The only way to buy back the sinful is with the sinless and that is why Christ had to suffer. Since “there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20), “the Holy One and the Just” (Acts 3:14) had to come from Heaven.  

Psalm 34:5-7 – Not Ashamed

Psalm 34:5-7
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

-We make many choices in life that leave us feeling ashamed, but Psalm 34 tells us of a choice that doesn’t lead to shame or remorse.  Those who choose to truly look to the Lord and choose to follow Him come to find that they never regret having made that decision.  The Lord’s path is straight and narrow and can be difficult to follow but it will be forever worth it.

Jude 1:5 – Afterward Destroyed Them That Believed Not

Jude 1:5
5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

-When the Lord brought the Hebrew people out of Egypt, He brought them all out.  Those who planned to trust Him, those who dared to doubt Him, and those who eventually blasphemed Him.  Regardless of those prior mercies, however, when the Lord began to prove the Hebrew people in the wilderness, He still destroyed those He found faithless.  There was a time when all the Hebrews received the same treatment and, from the outside, you couldn’t tell the believers from the mockers.  That lasted right up until judgment began to fall.  As it was with the Hebrews, so it is in the world today.  For a time, those who mock and those who believe seem to get similar treatment; and certainly, “he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).  But, “be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  Things may continue this way for a while, but when judgment starts to fall, the Lord will judge unbelievers in the present day just as surely as He did the Hebrew in the wilderness.

Psalm 119:74 – Kinship in the Lord

Psalm 119:74
74 They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.

-Kinship, is a word we use to define a connection between people based on characteristics or origins.  A common type of kinship is a blood relationship shared among relatives.  Police officers and soldiers also develop a strong kinship because of the circumstances they face together.  The Bible here presents another type of kinship that is arguably the strongest of all.  They who fear the Lord should automatically be glad to see another believer because the Lord connects us.  Just as we are made to be sons and daughters of God, it must follow that we are also made brothers and sisters to each other.  Not just a brother or sister to those you see in church weekly, but to everyone who has ever hoped in God’s Word throughout all time.

Psalm 115:3-7 – The Lord’s Beautiful Feet

Psalm 115:3-7
3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

They have feet, but they can’t walk.  Why would anyone want to serve a “god” that can’t walk?  Think about how far Jesus walked for us:  He took on human feet and walked the earth to reveal the truth of God’s Salvation and “to preach deliverance to the captives” of sin (Luke 4:18).  He walked into the mountains and deserts alone to pray for strength to finish the job He alone could finish (Luke 5:16).  Above all, He walked the hill to Golgotha and laid His life down on the cross (Matthew 27:31).  There is no beauty in the feet of a lifeless idol, but “how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7)

Luke 7:6-9/Mark 6:4-6 – The Lord Marveled

Luke 7:6-9
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Mark 6:4-6
4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

-A recorded in Scripture, these are the only two occasions where Jesus is said to have marveled at what He had seen.  Think about how powerful something must be to make the Lord marvel.  As the Creator of the universe, He has seen wonders beyond any of our imaginations, and all of those wonders actually sprang from His own creativity.  You would think that nothing could make Him marvel and yet two things do:  1) The idea that a human being could have such strong faith in God and 2) The idea that a human being could have such weak faith in God.  If you think about it, every action we take in life is an expression of our faith in the Lord and that means every day we give the Lord a chance to marvel at us.  The question is- Does He marvel because of our belief or our unbelief?

Psalm 62:1-8 – I Shall Not Be Moved

Psalm 62:1-8
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.
4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah

-Do you see the progression of David’s faith here?  In verses 1 and 2, he declares his confidence in the Lord and decides that his problems may move him, but they won’t move him greatly.  He starts thinking more about his situation in verses 3 and 4 but by verses 5 and 6 he is dwelling more and more on the Lord and his confidence peaks.  Where once he was resigned that his problems may affect him slightly, now he is certain that they won’t move him at all.  His problems didn’t change, the only difference was a firmer grasp that the Lord is a defense from all trouble.  The next time you feel like telling God how big your problems are, don’t forget to also tell your problems how big your God is.