September 3 – Ezekiel 23-24

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Ezekiel 23-24. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

I absolutely love the Bible. God did not hold back. God did not skirt around issues. God did not remove vulgarity to protect us. God was willing to use harsh language, scandalous illustrations, and sharp points to teach His children. That is what we experienced in Ezekiel 23. What we read there was pretty pointed and what we would consider almost X rated.

For that I am thankful. God created us in His image. That means part our creation is intelligence. He created us with the ability to understand the teachings, even if it meant doing so in ways that are not so pleasant to read.

Somehow though, we have forgotten that in the church. We do not talk about things sometimes that need to be talked about because we have considered them too taboo for church. We skip over the joys of sex because we the church feel it is too risky to preach about. God used sex to define the relationship Israel and Judah were creating with Him. We skip around church discipline, but is not that what God has been doing to Israel and Judah through our reading these last few months? Maybe it is time to begin communicating like our creator, using sharp, scandalous, and even painful points to teach truth. 

How Do You Handle Yourself?

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

It has been a long time since I have read the book of Romans the way I am doing so now. I am almost kicking myself for not studying it like this in the past couple of years. Today’ reading (Romans 14) really reminded me of that.

I love how this passage begins with the word of Paul … “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” Sometimes I think many of our arguments in the church are over disputable matters. Friends, we all come to church at different levels in our Christian walk. Some of us have been in the church our whole lives, we have spent years studying the scripture, and some of us might even have some college background in our study of the word. Others have come to the table at a completely different level of maturity. Some may have come from a background that was weak in teaching the scriptures’. Some may be new to Christianity and have little knowledge of God’s word and his teachings.

We must remember to accept the brother or sister who is weak. It is our job to teach, guide and correct. That is how you more than likely became a stronger brother. But when it comes to areas were there is disputable knowledge, those are areas we must learn to not pass judgments, where we must act out of love towards others.

A couple of weeks ago in our small group we got into a discussion about eschatology. Myself and one of the group’s members are on completely different sides of the table on that particular subject. However, because of the love we have for each other we did not get up demanding that one of us was correct, on the other hand we discussed peacefully and without passing judgment on each other. Why was that? Because it is a disputable matter! It is not something we should wage war over. In the end while we did not agree that friend and I enjoyed a nice time of fellowship afterwards.

So how do you handle being in the prescience of a weaker brother? How do you handle yourself when in a discussion on matters that is not set in stone, matters of opinion? Continue reading the rest of Romans 14 and Paul gives some pretty good answers.

Correction

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

Do you like to be corrected? At times it is probably something none of us enjoy. Today’s reading (Proverbs 9) talks about a lot about correction and rebuke.

"Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”

So when you get corrected, what category do you fall into? Are you the mocker or the wise man that loves the corrector? Following God means loving correction. Why? Because when you seek to grow that means when you are corrected, you may just be drawing more and more in line with the Father’s plans for your life. I know correction hurts, but it is certainly for the best. Today I want to leave you with these thoughts.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”