LESSONS FROM THE ANT

“Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise!" (Prov. 6:6 NKJV).

It is true that animals sometimes show more wisdom than people. In Scripture, a sluggard is not only one who demonstrates a poor attitude towards work responsibilities but is also one who demonstrates a poor attitude towards spiritual responsibilities. Our verse speaks of the ant’s pondering and preparing for the future which is a rebuke to both.

Pondering the future – “Go to the ant . . . consider her ways.” The ant is very much concerned about the future and so it ponders the future. If the ant did not think about the future, it would die in the winter. Spiritually speaking, there are many folk who do not think of the future. They live for the here and now and think nothing about the hereafter. These folks will die and go to a lost eternity because of their failure to ponder the future. Do not neglect pondering the future. It is necessary to assure a good future.

Preparing for the future – “Go to the ant . . . consider her ways, and be wise.” In preparing for the future the ant does so early and earnestly. In v. 8 we read that the ant, “provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.” It prepares for the winter in the summer time, and does not wait until the last day of summer to get started. If you have ever watched an ant work, you know they work earnestly. This speaks of foresight, diligence, thinking ahead, and responsibility. The ant knows that to wait until winter to prepare its food would be too late. Spiritually, many folks lack this sort of wisdom and do not think of making spiritual preparation until their life is about over. Prepare now to think about eternity. “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“True wisdom starts with a heart full of faith, not a head full of facts!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dragged

In Acts 21:30 we read, “And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut” (NKJV).

Dragged is the Greek word helkuō (ἑλκύω = hel-koo'-o). It means drag, draw, haul, persuade. It was used of drawing a sword from its sheath (John 18:10-11), of bringing a net up onto a shore (John 21:11), of Paul and Silas being dragged into the marketplace in Philippi (Acts 16:19), of bringing Paul out of the temple (Acts 21:30), and of hauling believers before courts (Jam. 2:6).

Further, helkuō usually signifies an act of relative gentleness, as opposed to surō which carries the idea of dragging by force. This distinction is important when the word is used to describe the divine drawing of men to the Lord (John 6:44; 12:32). Both Song of Song 1:4 and Jer. 31:3 use this term to describe the inner compulsion or drawing of love. Thus the crucified Savior draws the attention of all and the faith of some.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – A child born speaking of Messiah’s humanity (Isa. 9:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:31

Did You Know…

In Exodus 31:12-18, Moses went up the mountain and brought down the Word of God. In Matthew 5:1ff, Jesus, the Word of God made Flesh, went up on the mountain and preached the Word of God (the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5-7). .

Bible Quiz

According to the apostle John in the Book of Revelation, whose name were on the walls of the City of Jerusalem which he saw in his dream?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Where was the Ark of the Testimony located within the Tabernacle? In the most holy place (Exodus 26:34).

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Faith that moves mountain”

“So Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20 NKJV).

“Faith that moves mountain” - The expression “faith that moves mountain” carries the idea of strong faith. The phrase was a Jewish idiom or proverb meaning to remove difficulties. The greatest difficulties in human life can be removed by faith. However, the Lord Jesus was not pointing to the amount of faith but rather to its effectiveness. By using the contrast of the mustard seed, the smallest seed known in Palestine, the Lord declares that even the smallest amount of faith can accomplish tremendous feats. It is not a matter of intellectual assent, but of a practical reliance on a living God.

Did You Know – Christian History

Blaise Pascal was born June 19, 1623 in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France. He was a French Mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic Theologian.

Blaise Pascal was a Renaissance man. He made important contributions to geometry, calculus, and helped develop the theory of probability. Pascal’s law is the basis for hydraulic operations. At l9, he invented the world’s first mechanical calculator. The computer language known as PASCAL was named after him.

Pascal grew up accepting the Bible as God’s word. Nonetheless, he lived with a sense of spiritual desperation. On November 23, 1654, Pascal’s horses bolted and plunged off a bridge. Pascal was thrown into the roadway. He saw this as a warning directly from God. That night he experienced a Christian conversion that would cause his outstanding scientific work to take second place. He recognized who Jesus was.

From that day forward, Pascal realized even more deeply that he must live primarily for God. He started out by giving much more to the poor. He closely associated himself with the Jansenists, a group of Catholics that emphasized morality in all aspects of life. In 1657 Pascal published his Provincial Letters which criticized the moral teaching of the Jesuits, the rationalism of Descartes, and Montaigne’s skepticism; and which urged a return to Augustine’s doctrines of grace.

In literature, Pascal is regarded as one of the most important authors of the French Classical Period and is read today as one of the greatest masters of French prose. In France, prestigious annual awards, Blaise Pascal Chairs are given to outstanding international scientists to conduct their research in the Ile de France region.

Pascal also wrote that we come to know God’s truth not only by reason, but even more through the heart by faith. It is through our heart that we come to know God and to love Him. It is by faith that we can come to know Christ - and God alone gives us faith.

Pascal died in Paris on August 19 1662, after going into convulsions. His last words were, “May God never abandon me.”

A Little Humor

Customer: “Your watches seem so cheap. Only $20! How much does it cost to make them?”

Shopkeeper: “They cost me $20 to make them.”

Customer: “But if it costs $20 to make these watches, and you sell them for $20, where does your profit come in?”

Shopkeeper: “That comes from repairing them.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“No one who ever followed Christ ever went astray!”