ATTITUDES ABOUT THE WORD

“He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded!" (Prov. 13:13 NKJV).

Our attitude towards the Word of God will result in either rejection and retribution or respect and reward.

Rejection and retribution – “He who despises the word will be destroyed.” One can despise the Word in a variety of ways. One can despise the word by disobedience. Laws that are despised are disobeyed. People who despise the Word will not obey it. One can despise the Word by disinterest. If you are interested in something, you will give it a lot of your time. Those who give the Word little time show they despise it. One can also despise the Word by discrediting it. Some say the Word is not sufficient and that we need psychology and other things to help us know how to live right. Some say the Word is not inspired of God and that it is full of mistakes. All of this shows they despise the Word. But all this despising of the Word will only bring destruction to the soul. Divine retribution is the tragic result of rejecting the Word of God. No one profits by despising the Word.

Respect and reward – “He who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” The word “fears” carries the idea of reverence and respect. We show respect for the Word by learning it. No knowledge is more important than Biblical knowledge. We show respect for the Word also by living it. The Bible is our guide on how to live. It sets the standards. If we respect it, we will love it and live it. The Psalmist said, “Oh, how I love Your law!” (Psalm 119:97). The result of all this respecting of the Word will be rewards from God. And they will be the best rewards of all, for God gives the best. What is your attitude towards the Scriptures today? Will your attitude bring retribution or rewards to you?

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Rich treasures of God’s truth are waiting to be discovered in His Word!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Draw away

In Acts 20:30 we read, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (NKJV).

Draw away is the Greek word apospaō (ἀποσπάω = ap-os-pah'-o). It is made up of two words: “apó” which means from, and “spáo” means to draw or pull. Thus the word means to draw out, tear away, or simply withdraw.

In classical Greek, the use of apospaō include alienating pupils from someone. In the Septuagint apospaō refers to withdrawing men from a task, withdrawing a person from contractual duties, and of removing oneself from a place or a situation. In the New Testament apospaō carries the idea of the withdrawing of persons, and imply that the withdrawing or parting involved pain or force. Apospaō is used literally of drawing out a sword in Mt 26:51. It is used figuratively here in Acts 20:30 to describe drawing someone away from (attracting them from) a point of view (resulting in alienation).

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Declared to be the Son of God with power (Isa. 9:6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Rom. 1:3-4

Did You Know…

Moses wandered in the desert for 40 years (Num. 32:13) after coming up out of the water of the Red Sea. Jesus wandered in the desert for 40 days (Mark 1:13) after coming up out of the water of the Jordan River.

Bible Quiz

All the land of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem came out to John, “and were all baptized by him” in what river?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: Who said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me?” Jacob (Genesis 32:26) .

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Father knows best”

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8 NKJV).

“Father knows best” - The expression “father knows best” carries the idea that parents’ knows their children’s needs. The believer in the Lord Jesus does not have to worry about God knowing or meeting his needs because our God knows our needs. That God knows our need is not a reason for not praying but a reason for praying. Our praying to Him should show our dependence upon Him and our devotion to Him. The believer’s concern should be living in the presence of God, taking enough time to share and to fellowship with God. The more he shares and fellowships with God, the more he will know God and learn to trust and to depend upon God’s care and promises.

Did You Know – Christian History

Hans Schlaffer was born in 1490. He was a former German Catholic priest, who became an Anabaptist in 1526.

The December evening was cold. As Hans Schlaffer left the Anabaptist meeting in Schwaz, he was headed up the Inn River toward his home in the mountains of Austria. There he planned to sit out the winter months until Spring, when he would renew his ministry. But the plans of this former Roman Catholic priest took a shocking turn.

On December 5, 1527, Hans Schlaffer was arrested by local Roman Catholic authorities. In the nearby Frundsberg Castle, they tortured and questioned him about infant-baptism. Hans said that according to scripture, a man had to “hear, understand, believe, and receive” God’s word before being baptized. As he saw it, this alone counted as Christian baptism. Children need not be baptized and the Lord did not command it because they were already his. When asked on what foundation the Anabaptists rested, he replied, “our faith, actions, and baptism rest on nothing else than the commandment of Christ.”

Hans was also known as a master of prayer. On the day he was arrested, he had been teaching his hearers about prayer. Two months later, on the night before his execution, he was still focused on prayer. He wrote a last letter to his flock; it was smuggled out of the castle and preserved for us. It read in part: “Oh Father in heaven, whoever lives in Christ your Son and suffers and dies with him will rise with him in glory to be in his Kingdom forever. This is how we have understood the holy Gospel. This is how we understand Christ and his teachings, and this is how we now understand the word faith which we never understood like this before.”

With the letter he included a prayer. It concluded with these words: “Eternal Father! We pray that You will send workers into Your vineyard; for the harvest is great, while the laborers are few. We pray for all those who carry Your gospel throughout the whole world, that You will strengthen them with the power of Your holy spirit, that in them all the terror of man may be quenched and that they will not renounce Your Word through fear. Sustain us in Your Holy Name, and let us not wander away from You, fountain of living waters, that we may hold fast to the true faith firm unto the end.”

Hans Schlaffer died on 4 February 1528.

A Little Humor

A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw that her father was putting on his tuxedo, she said, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit." "Why not?" he asked. "Because it always gives you a headache the next morning."

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Salvation is so simple that people overlook it; so free they do not believe it!”