My Daily Pause

“Again it is written …”

When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness he gave us this phrase, which might be the most important phrase in the Bible. (Matthew 4:7) When responding to a question about the Scriptures, we should be using the Scriptures!

Temptation of Christ – 16th Century – Simon Bening (circa 1483/1484–1561)

The account of the temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) is a short one, but it holds some very heavy lessons. What jumps out at me is how powerful Satan really is. When Satan was tempting Jesus, he gave us an example of how well he can misuse the Scriptures.

It still happens all the time – Satan helps God’s enemies misuse the Scriptures. Those who wish to defend God often cannot, because their knowledge is not strong enough to stand against the attack on their beliefs. We’ve all heard the common ones:

• Judge not lest ye be judged
• Take a little wine for your stomach’s sake
• Eat, drink, and be merry!
• Be not overly righteous

The pro-gay community is getting really good at deflecting the Bible’s prohibition against homosexuality.

It is important that a Christian is able to respond to such temptations (or tests of our knowledge) with “It is written … ”

He must also be able to do so in context, and in the spirit the text was written.

If you are a Christian and desire to respond the same way Jesus showed us when he was tempted, there are some easy steps you can take:

• Begin a daily devotional reading program.
• Take extra time to study on a regular basis
• Attend Bible classes at every opportunity
• Set a goal to become a Bible teacher

Doing these things over the years will make you good at using the Bible the way God intended for it to be used.

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction. – Proverbs 1:1-7

Off and on over the years I have followed an old suggestion that one should read a chapter of Proverbs a day. On the first day of the month read Proverbs 1, one the second day of the month read Proverbs 2, and so on. I especially did this when I was self-employed because I wanted to run my business with literally, the Wisdom of Solomon.

To finish the exercise, it is important to try and make application of some portion of the day’s reading. The opening lines of Proverbs tells us exactly the benefits of this wisdom to how we live and how we do business. The writer promises us most of what any self-help book published today tries to deliver:

• Wisdom and instruction
• Understanding
• Wise dealings
• Discretion

Often, what was given as a warning or suggestion in Proverbs, is found in the New Testament as a commandment. This is excellent reassurance that God had only the best intentions for us when He gave us His laws.

Solomon, through his God-given wisdom, knew all the answers. He left us with advice that can make us successful and productive. It’s no wonder that so many of Proverbs verses have a direct connection to the Apostle’s teachings!

If you have extra time beyond your current Bible reading plan, or if you are still trying to build a daily reading habit, try the “Proverbs chapter a day” plan for a few months.

I have been setting my goals for the year in December for a few years now. Some years are better than the others as far as sticking to them, but I like January 1^st for no other reason than the clean slate I have ahead of me.

Lofty goals take time, planning and effort to reach them.

Since Genesis 1 is listed on the first day of just about every published daily Bible reading plan, that clean start feeling is enhanced by reading it on January 1st. God’s creation is complete and is in the same state as our new goals (or resolutions):

• The world is fresh and new
• Adam and Eve haven’t had to make a critical decision yet
• Nothing but perfection is visible

Keeping up with our goals is easy in the beginning. In the beginning nothing has caused us to choose between sticking to the plan and chasing another temptation. In the beginning, it looks like we’ll easily develop our new goals into lifelong habits.

Goals, like ideas, look great on paper. Goals, like ideas, without a plan to carry them out will most likely remain on the paper. Goals and ideas on paper aren’t worth very much.

Solomon reveals the basic philosophy behind making things happen. He tells us that there is a time for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) Meeting goals requires prioritizing everything into its proper time.

Let me repeat that:

Meeting goals requires prioritizing everything into its proper time.

What that means is that items at the bottom of the priority list will probably not happen. The bottom of that list is where the time wasters belong – not the activities required to meet our goals.

Solomon said there is a time for every purpose – so for me, I want to ask myself more often if what I am doing has a purpose.

Have you set any goals for the year? Remember to plan sufficient time to work on them.

[This is part six of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

I think I’ve heard the phrase “forgive and forget” all my life. I have heard it a number of times in church as if it is a Biblical principle we are supposed to be following. The Bible never really says we are supposed to forgive and forget in so many words, but it does talk about forgiveness a number of times. We are to:

• forgive so the Father will forgive us (Matthew 6:14)
• be kind tenderhearted and forgiving to one another just like we were through Christ (Ephesians 4:32)
• forgive unrepentant enemies (Matthew 5:44)

Jesus even used the parable of the unforgiving servant to teach us the lengths we are to go through to be forgiving. (Matthew 18:21-35)

The forgetting part just isn’t in our human nature though, is it? Remembering what someone did to us might be a way of gauging the amount of trust we can offer them. Even though we can carry on as if the sin against us never happened, the hurt it caused can often take a lifetime to heal.

Maybe the term “forgive and forget” came into use by people that were working hard to be like Christ. When Christ died on the cross, he sealed a new and better covenant for us. (Hebrews 7:24) This is a covenant that does not remember our sins once we repent. (Hebrews 8:12 quoting Jerimiah 31:34) Think for a moment how huge that is. God forgets a forgiven sin ever happened!

The marvelous thing about this covenant is that it was not given only to the Jews. It was given to all that get into Christ. (Galatians 3:29) Through our becoming a Christian, we are added to the rolls of Abraham’s children and become beneficiaries of God’s promise.

[This is part five of a deeper study of the article 6 Ways Christ was Better than the Law. To get better context and a link to the other parts, you can click there and read it first.]

The audience of the Hebrews letter was thinking about returning to Judaism. The writer confronts them in Hebrews 7 with a full discussion of Melchizedek. Any reader that wanted to be a true son of Abraham had to stop and give this a second look.

With just three verses in Genesis 14:18-20 and another sentence in Psalm 110:4, the Jews might not have given this a lot of attention. Once the writer reveals Melchizedek as the highest of priests, a priest that is also a king, the Jews could now accept Christ as a high priest. In fact his priesthood was even better than the Levitical priesthood.

For a little more development on Melchizedek, 8 Reasons Christ was like Melchizedek
takes a little closer look at the comparisons of him and Christ.