January 11 - Dunb and Dumber

January 11

Dumb and Dumber Excuses

Ex 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off.

So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. 

Webster’s Dictionary is a great Bible study tool.  I often start a study by looking up words I already know the meaning of. When I looked up excuse I found a number of related words and several shades of meaning. Webster's 11^th collegiate dictionary has four major definitions of the word which include “…1b; to try to remove blame from…”  I think that is the sense of the word Excuse we are looking at today. People offer reasons why they should not be blamed.
 

We have all heard people come up with the dumbest excuses. A time management seminar came to a large city near where I worked.  A couple people showed interest so I signed them up to attend. They were both very busy people who needed to learn time management skills but they did not attend. They said they didn’t have time! Yes, Sometimes excuses are laughable.  Other times they are just illogical, as when people say they didn’t have time. Wrong!  We all get the same 1440 minutes per day. We do have time. We had to or chose to spend them on something else. But we did have time.

Aaron and the children of Israel had the opposite problem. They had too much time on their hands.

 Ex 32:1 ¶ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount,…

Moses was gone longer than the people’s ability to wait for him.  The idolatry of Egypt still clung to them. And Egypt was a land filled with idolatry. If you study the plagues that freed the Israelites you will discover every one of the plagues God sent upon the land was directed against some god they worshipped. 

We understand some of the reason they may have taken up idolatry when Moses was gone but it was inexcusable after all the miracles they had witnessed.  

But what about Aaron? He really was inexcusable.  But he still offered excuses to Moses, even if they were dumb and dumber.  

“Hey Moses, don’t get mad at me. You know how bad these people are. This is all their fault.”

Ex 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot:

 thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

Blaming other people is dumb. But it is such an effective excuse that it is still widely used today.  It is used in churches. It is still used by Christians. Gentle reader, do you blame others for what is your own fault? 

“Look, Moses, I can explain. The people were demanding I do something, so I just gathered up their gold and threw it in the fire. I didn’t really do anything wrong. Throwing gold in a fire is not wrong, is it?”

Ex 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold,

let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire…

OK now it is starting to get dumber. Who throws gold into a fire? Here he was trying to excuse the circumstances.  That is also a common ploy still used today. “Well, under different circumstances…”  “I didn’t have any choice…”  “What else could I do?”  These statements may be reasonable explanations. Or they may be dumb and dumber excuses. Christians who want to avoid being blamed still blame cicumstances.

How could it get dumber? Well it did and Aaron found a way to the dumbest excuse.  

“Moses, I know you are angry, but listen. The people were demanding I do something. You know because you had been gone so long, and so I gathered up their gold and threw it into the fire. How was I supposed to know a calf would come out of the fire?? “

“…then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.”

The Bible does not record what Moses did to Aaron after this really dumb excuse. I would like to think Moses took his rod and hit Aaron over the head while yelling “Do I really look that stupid”?   

Aaron tried to blame a thing, a golden calf. He used people, circumstances and things to avoid blame.    Christians may also resort to blaming people, circumstances, or things to avoid admitting their own blame.  Yes, unforeseen events may require an explanation. But the excuses I want to think about are the ones used to avoid blame. Had Aaron deceived himself and thought his excuses would work?  Do we think our excuses will work any better?  They won’t. We may just wind up looking dumb.  

January 10 - Poverty of Christ

January 10

The Poverty of Christ

Lu 9:58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Jesus did not have much more than the clothes on his back. But his poverty contains one of the greatest lessons we could ever learn. Am I suggesting we give all our goods away and live without any possessions? No. Let’s look at what he did not have to see if there is a lesson we can learn.

The topic verse above tells us he had no house, no bed and maybe not even a pillow.  He had nowhere to lay his head.

When he needed a colt he had to borrow one. By the end of his ministry he still had nothing. When he came to Jerusalem on what is commonly known as Palm Sunday he rode on a colt. Luke 19:30  tells us the story of how they went into town as Jesus had told them and they untied someone’s colt. The owner asked what they were doing, they told him the Lord has need of the colt and the owner must have agreed.  Perhaps the owner recalled the prophecy of Zec 9:9

  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Jesus had to borrow a boys lunch. When a multitude followed Him into a mountain and Christ told Phillip to go buy bread we are told they did not have enough to buy bread. So Jesus had to borrow a boy’s lunch.

Joh 6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

He had to borrow a coin to answer the critics in Matt 22:19. Mark also records the event. 

Mr 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it.

He had to borrow a coin from a fish to pay tribute, a required fee. Matt 17:27 gives the details.

“…and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

He borrowed the upper room.  He gave Peter and John instructions on how to find a man who would take them to an upper room where everything was there for them to prepare the Passover.

Lu 22:12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

He was that poor.  As you read about Christ in the Gospels you will notice there are several times he has to ask for something because he does not have it.  Even at the end of his life he had to borrow things.

The cross he was crucified on was intended for Barabus. But Christ used it instead.

He was buried in a borrowed tomb. 

Mt 27:59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:

  OK so where is there any lesson in all this?   It may be interesting Bible trivia, but it isn’t what I promised you at the start “But his poverty contains one of the greatest lessons we could ever learn.” Well, there was one more thing he had to borrow.

He borrowed our sins. He did not have any of his own, so he took up on himself our sins and died on the cross for the remission of our sins. Because of his complete poverty your sin debt has been paid in full. And by some miraculous kind of bookkeeping, when our sins were placed on his account, his rightiousness was imputed to us. It is an oversimplification, but essentially true, that when God looks at the accounting books he sees our sins under Christ’s account and they are stamped, “Paid in full”. That would be fantastic enough but under our account is entered the righteousness of Christ. 

 

What greater thing could we learn from Christ's poverty than this.   

Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This is the most important lesson we can learn. “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jan 8 But I Was Angry!

Jan 8 

But I was Angry

Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:         

          “The reason I did it was because I was angry!”  That sorry excuse is not so much an explanation as an indictment of your wrong behavior.  Being angry is a sin, isn’t it?  No, the verse tells us that when we are angry we should not sin. It must be possible to be angry and not behave badly. The idea that anger is a sin is because too often sinful behavior is connected with anger.  So it is wrong to get angry isn’t it. And if you do get angry you have to get over it by sundown.  Isn’t that what the verse means?  No, not at all.

          Let’s look at the verse and see what it says, and not be guided by what we think it says. First it says “Be angry”.  There are times when we should be angry, but more on that later. Then the verse cautions us to “sin not” while we are angry. That is where the problem arises. Too often our anger is motivated by what has happened to us. We have been wronged. We have been hurt. We just aren’t going to take it any longer, and we respond with anger and bad behavior (sinful behavior!)  We permit ourselves to have bad thoughts (“I hope he gets run over by a bus!”)  We permit ourselves to use bad language ( “you &*%$#  fladderwakin, gerbalsnatzin idiot”)  We permit ourselves to act badly (Slam doors, throw things, etc)  Those are the behaviors the verse prohibits, not the anger.

          The second part of the verse seems to say we have to get over being angry by sundown, or “bedtime”. But that is not what it says at all. The first part of the verse deals with anger. The second part with wrath.  Some modern translations, such as the NIV use the word anger in both parts of the verse. The old King James version uses the words anger and wrath.  I checked my computer Bible program, which can show the Greek words. I am not a Greek scholar but I could see that the Greek word for wrath was not the same as the Greek word for anger.  The words anger and wrath do not mean the same thing.

My Webster dictionary explains the difference. The simple explanation; Anger is “I am mad at you” and wrath is “I am mad at you and I am going to get even”  Wrath is anger plus revenge!  The verse says “get any thoughts of revenge out of your head the same day you have them.”    

Ro 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

          Moses had a temper. It caused him lots of problems.  He had to flee Egypt after he killed an Egyptian that was striking a Hebrew.  Ex 2:12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

          His temper kept him from entering the Promised Land. Nu 20:8 He was told to speak to the rock to get water for the people. But in verse 11 Moses is angry with the people and smacks the rock with his rod, twice.

          My favorite account of Moses’ temper is when God had prepared two stone tablets with the law engraved in them by the finger of God.  Moses returned from the mount and saw the golden calf and the people partying and (Ex 32:19) “Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.”    So later he has to go back up to get a duplicate set of the stone tables, only this time there is a difference.  Ex 34:1 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.          

          God had made the first set of tables, which Moses had broken in a fit of anger. So this time God tells him “Well since you broke the first set how about this time you make the stone tables.”  I wonder how much work that took. I smile as I picture Moses chipping away at a pile of stones trying to get two tables of stone prepared.  I like to think of it as anger therapy for Moses.

          So are we supposed to be all “zippity do dah” Christians who never get angry?  NO! Pslms 7:11 tells us “God is angry with the wicked every day.”  What is there in your life that you should be angry about?  We should be angry at our own sin. Proverbs 25:23 says we should be angry when invited to join others in evil things such as gossip, backbiting, evil communications. We too often overlook what we should be angry about in our daily lives and at the same time excuse too much anger over things which wound our prideful spirits. God grant us wisdom to recognize the difference and the desire to bring every thought into compliance to His word and will.  May our prayer be “Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

Jan 7 Are two Heads Better Than One?

January 7

Are Two Heads Better than One? 

Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 

    People who begin well and end badly know nothing of this verse. It was their double minded way of thinking that led to their downfall. We should look carefully at this verse to be sure we do not end badly and become “…unstable in all our ways” 

What exactly is the meaning of being double minded? Our modern expression of being two faced comes close. Saying someone is two faced is not a compliment. We mean that they behave one way with us and a different way with others.

The common expression “Two heads are better than one” is not what double minded means at all. When two heads are working together to solve a problem it is usually better.  Double minded people just want to be completely involved in two or more differing life styles. They want to appease their conscience by doing good and want to satisfy their lusts in spite of their conscience. An old expression that is also close to the meaning is sometimes misunderstood “People want to have their cake and eat it too” does not mean people want to get some cake so they can eat it. It means they want to not eat the cake (so they will have it) but they also want to enjoy eating their cake (they would no longer have it)  Both cannot be true, they can have their cake or eat their cake but not both at the same time.

The double minded man may in fact be an unconverted man. The book, An Alarm to the Unconverted, by Joseph Alleine says “Men may have a form of Godliness without the power (2 tim 3:5) Men may pray long (Mt 23:14) and fast often (Lk 18:12) and hear gladly (Mk 6:20) and yet be strangers to conversion….There is no outward service but a hypocrite may do it, even to the giving of all his goods to feed the poor and his body to be burned (1 Cor 13:3)”

Dear reader have you accepted the saving grace of our LORD Jesus Christ (read his name as Jehovah Savior Messiah). If so you are not your own, you are bought with a price and any double mindedness in you is treason against Christ.  James 4:8 says “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”  Here we learn sinners need to cleanse their hands (external contamination visible to all) and double minded people need to purify their hearts. (Internal contamination, not so obvious to others.)  Is not this two sides of the same coin- sinners / double minded people.

Psalms 12:2 people can be double hearted.  “They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.”  The hypocrite is both double minded and double hearted.  Even worse they may have deceived themselves by redefining disobedience so they see themselves as obedient.  Saul was such a person. In 1 sam 15:3 he is told to destroy the Amalekites “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not.”  But Saul did not destroy the best animals and Samuel confronts him, “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD...?, Saul stands with the animals as evidence of his disobedience and replies “Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD.”  Here Saul’s double minded way of thinking has deceived himself into believing bringing animals back to sacrifice them to the Lord is greater obedience than obeying what God had told him to do. Hypocrites are quick to justify themselves and slow to judge themselves.   

The Bible warns of deceiving yourselves. 1Co 3:18 ¶ Let no man deceive himself.  1Jo 1:8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We are also warned against being deceived by double minded people.  Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words. 2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means:.

      There are so many things in this world that are clamoring for a place in our mind. How do we resist and stay single minded.  It starts with what we think about. Thoughts lead to desires, desires lead to actions, actions lead to habits, and habits are the building block of our character. 

     Php 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.  That is the best advice I can give you.  May God bless you as you think on these things.

     Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

Jan 6 Don't Confuse Me

January 6

Don’t Confuse Me with the Facts

Pr 18:13 ¶ He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

This instructional proverb tells us to listen to both sides of a story (heareth it) before we make any decision (answereth a matter) or you may wind up looking foolish and/or embarrassed.

Acts 16:16-40 is a wonderful example of making a decision before you hear both sides of a story.  Paul casts a demon from a girl who was very profitable to her “owners”. They haul Paul and Silas to court and complain to the magistrates. Without asking Paul or Silas anything they have them beaten and thrown into jail. An earthquake unlocks the prison and their shackles and the jailor winds up accepting Christ. But Paul and Silas stay and send word to the magistrates that they are Roman citizens.  I would have loved to have seen the faces of the magistrates when they learned they had beaten Roman citizens. Rome had some stiff laws regarding it’s citizens and the magistrates had violated several of them.  This is a case of answering a matter before they had heard it. If Paul or Silas had been allowed to speak the magistrates would have learned they were Roman Citizens and avoided the trouble they were in. 

Unfortunately I often see this error repeated among Christians and churches.  “Did you know that brother Smith was seen sneaking into the back door of Alice’s Bar?” 

“Oh dear, and he is a Deacon in his church. What a hypocrite”  If they had asked Deacon Smith he would have simply told them,  “Alice’s Bar?... Oh yeah, I had to replace the blower motor on their furnace. What did you want to know about it?”   Yes they would have looked foolish and been ashamed, just as the proverb says.

I was once in a church where there was an issue that had divided the church into , well let’s call them the red team and the blue team.  A man who did not want to get involved asked me what he should do when the red team told him something awful about the blue team (of vice versa) I suggested when someone told him some awful thing about someone on the opposite team that he pick up his phone and call the “bad” person to ask them about it. He saw me a couple days later and said as soon as the visitor learned who he was calling he excused himself and left.  Some people don’t want you to know both sides.

 

In 1 Samuel 15 we have the story of Saul going to destroy the Amalekites as God had told him to do. Instead he brought back the best animals.  The fact that he had not obeyed God’s direction was obvious.
Samuel could hear the animals. But before he condemns Saul he asks “What have you done?”  Samuel wants to hear both sides of the story before condeming Saul.

When Christ was brought before the Council of Chief Priests they already had made up their mind about him and after a few questions decided “Lu 22:71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.” 

In Genesis Joseph rejected the advances of a married woman and wound up in prison.  

Ge 39:19 ¶ And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

The book of Proverbs is not filled with just good advice. It is the word of God. While we no longer need to sacrifice rams and bulls for sin, we do need to be obedient to the clear teachings of the Word of God.  If you have received Christ as your savior then “You are not your own, You are bought with a price” 

 

The Bible is the instruction book we are to study and having studied to put it’s precepts into practice in our daily lives.  As Christians our sins have been forgiven.  That does not permit us to write our own rule book. God already did that for you. It’s called the Bible. Dear friend will you study it and apply it to your life today?