WEARISOME WORDS

“You have wearied the Lord with your words; yet you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?” (Mal. 2:17 NKJV).

It is true that God does get tired of some of our talk. We too have felt that way about others. We get tired of their talk. Our verse cites two kinds of talk which wearies God - perverted talk and profane talk.

Perverted talk – “In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them.” Much talk today tries to justify evil and make it sound acceptable. Further, when some wicked person dies, folks vie with one another to see who can give the best sounding eulogy which seem to usher the wicked person into heaven as one in whom God delights. All of this perverted talk wearies God. And when God gets tired of something that we are doing that is wrong, we are headed for judgment. Be careful of your talk; God is listening.

Profane talk – “Where is the God of justice?” This form of profane talk blames God for all our troubles. When troubles come upon us, we profanely ask, “Where is God?” as though it is God’s fault. People try to blame God for all the evils in this world and forget that He has duly informed mankind how to live and how not to live. If we do not heed God’s exhortations and evil comes upon us as a result, we cannot blame God. It is our own fault. Blaming God is what Satan wants us to do. It is the age of the “victim.” Many folks picture themselves as a “victim” and shifts the blame to others and especially to God. But such profane talk wearies God and will provoke judgment upon the critics.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The more clearly we see the sovereignty of God, the less perplexed we are by the calamities of man - God is with us in darkness just as surely as He is with us in the light!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Establish

In 1 Peter 5:10 we read, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you!” (NKJV).

Establish is the Greek word stērízō (στηρίζω = stay-rid'-zo). The word means to make stable, to fix, to strengthen, make firm, to cause to be inwardly firm or committed. The basic idea is that of stabilizing something by providing a support or buttress so that it will not totter or all. In classical Greek stērízō means to secure, establish, make fast, firm. In the Septuagint, stērízō means to support, to set, place fix, appoint. In the New Testament, stērízō was used literally to mean fixed. However, here in 1 Peter 5:10, it was used metaphorically to mean strengthen, and referred to a divine promise that in spite of sufferings, God will give believers the needed inner strength and resolve to continue to resist the onslaughts of their adversary, the devil, and stand fast in their faith.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“And say unto him, take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah” (Isa. 7:4 KJV).

Did You Know…

Scripture records that there was a Philistine from Gath who had twelve fingers and twelve toes - six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot (2 Sam 21:20).

Bible Quiz

According to 2 Corinthians, how did the apostle Paul escape from Damascus?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What did a woman do to the Lord Jesus in the house of Simon the leper at Bethany? Anoint Him with oil (Matt. 26:6-7).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“FOUNDATION”

"For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ!” (1 Cor. 3:11 NKJV).

1. Meaning – FOUNDATION speaks of the Lord Jesus as the One who is our base, and our reason for being. Everything that we do must fit into the pattern provided by Him.

2. Insights – The foundation is the most important part of the building, because it determines the size, shape, and strength of the superstructure. Every house and every building needs a solid foundation. The person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed in the Scriptures is the true foundation on which the church is built. All other foundations are as sinking sand. A ministry may seem to be successful for a time, but if it is not founded on the Lord Jesus Christ, it will eventually collapse and disappear. He is the foundation of our message and of our ministry, as well as the foundation of salvation.

Did You Know – Christian History

Lott Carey was born in 1780 in Charles City County, Virginia. He was the first African-American missionary to Africa.

Though his parents were illiterate, Carey’s father was a respected member of the Baptist Church. When Carey was twenty-four, he was hired out as a laborer in the Shockhoe tobacco warehouse in Richmond. He was profane and drunk. But in 1807, Carey converted to Christianity and joined the First Baptist Church of Richmond. Hearing a sermon on the 3rd chapter of the gospel of John, Carey became eager to learn to read the story of Nicodemus. He learned to read and was licensed to preach.

Carey was an excellent worker; his efficiency, faithfulness and literacy earned him a promotion to shipping clerk in the tobacco warehouse. The merchants often tipped him and allowed him to collect and sell waste tobacco. With the money he saved in this way, he purchased his freedom and that of his two young children (his wife had died). Lott continued to work in the tobacco warehouse but also preached to the slaves around Richmond. He bought a house and educated his children.

In 1813, William Crane came to Richmond from New Jersey. Carey and William organized a society to collect funds for mission work in Africa. The society chose Lott Carey and Collin Teague as their missionaries. In 1822 Carey moved to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, a colony established for free blacks who wanted to leave America. There he established Providence Baptist Church - the first church in Liberia. He preached several times a week and gave religious instruction to native children, using his own money to maintain a charity school. He also established a school at Big Town in the Cape Mount region despite Muslim protests.

In 1823, there was disagreement by the freed blacks over the distribution of land. Although Carey sided with the blacks against the colonial agent Jehudi Ashmun, they were soon reconciled, and Carey became vice agent for the colony. Carey and Ashmun established a school for newly-freed Africans. In 1828 Jehudi Ashmun returned to America, leaving Liberia’s management in Carey’s hands. Ashmun urged Carey to become the permanent agent for the colony. But before Carey could do so, he was mortally wounded in a munitions explosion, while preparing to undertake an expedition. He died on November 10, 1828.

A Little Humor

Walking down the street, a man passes a house and notices a child trying to reach the doorbell. No matter how much the little guy stretches, he can’t make it. The man calls out, “Let me get that for you,” and he bounds onto the porch to ring the bell. “Thanks, mister,” says the kid. “Now let’s run.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Of all the thousands of deceptive substitutes, a substitute for salvation is the worst!”