2019-01-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
By now, we all have a pretty good idea of Who the Son of God is and of His attitudes and attributes. So, let’s look at how this information interfaces with Paul’s concerns about false teaching. We can do this while still offering supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians. In addition, it is my hope that we are each looking carefully into the state of our own relationships with the Trinity and with each other. HE 2: 1-3, “We must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord Himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard Him proved to us that it is true.” This passage is a reference to the giving of the Law [EX 24: 7-11] and the now, annual commemoration of that event, which is Shavuot [EX 23: 16a; 32: 22a; LV 23:15-21; NU 28: 25-31; DT 16: 9-12] and takes place in the third month -Sivan on the Hebrew calendar (May to June on our calendar). You’ll remember that Shavuot is the giving of the Law, which took place 50 days after the Jews escaped from Egypt with God’s help. This Jewish observance points forward to Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit, which took place 50 days after Easter.
We need to look at God’s instruction not to worship angels. HE 1: 1-7 tells us that in the past, God spoke to us through the prophets. Once the Son made His Atonement for our sins, He returned to heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father. We learn that Christ was made greater than the angels by the Father. None of them had ever been referred to by the Father as “My Son,” but He did instruct the angels to worship the Lord Jesus. The Father also said that Christ’s Kingdom will last forever and that He will rule His people with justice. PS 110: 1 is repeated in HE 1: 13, “God never said to any of His angels, ‘Sit here at My right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet.’” The angels are sent by God to help those who are to receive salvation.
The reason for rehearsing all these truths is to clarify the teaching that we receive. Paul certainly felt the need to do this with the early church, as all in ministry to Christ feel all people should know who are willing to listen today. This is our responsibility in view of competition to the truth. Gnosticism certainly qualified in Paul’s time as competition. Today, we deal with secularism and the teaching of other non-Christian belief systems. Knowing the truth equips us to make godly decisions where are beliefs are concerned. In GA 1: 6-8 tells us it’s necessary to convince people there is no other “gospel,” and no changes to the Gospel of Christ are necessary, because God’s teaching is eternally applicable. Those angels preaching some other “gospel” are condemned to hell. We’ve seen that angels can be evil, and thus, must know the truth, to discern whether it is being broadcast. Obviously, this portion of today’s devotion is to help us understand why worshipping angels is not in keeping with God’s will. 1 TIM 5: 21-22 reveals God’s will, concerning our responsibility when faced with false teaching. We must obey God’s instructions and must not show any prejudice or favor to anyone in anything you do. We’re told to take our time in calling people to God’s service, vetting them carefully. We should not take part in the sins of others and keep ourselves pure. Those angels who were evil will be judged by us, and like so many other enemies of God, they will be condemned [1 COR 6: 3; 2 PET 2: 4-9; JUDE 6]. This has been tough talk for us, but we must remember RO 8: 38-39, which reminds us that nothing and no one can separate us (believers) from the love of God. It is ours through our belief in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, there are many reasons why You have given us teaching which contains commands for us to obey. In Your infinite wisdom, You know that we will save ourselves a lot of grief and troubles, if we follow Your way of life. It will call on us to make difficult decisions and to sometimes use discernment in complicated relationships. Self-sacrifices aren’t easy, but they are necessary at times. You are our greatest and most available Source of wisdom in controversial decisions and situations. We know we must learn to turn to You FIRST when faced with them. You have never given us a command that contains evil or without good reason. Today’s devotion has discussed why we shouldn’t worship angels. When we are saved from trouble, if we are conscious of it, there is nothing wrong with being thankful. If a guardian angel is involved, we still must thank and praise You, because it is You, Who sent that angel. We are sinful in our nature, which means we must sometimes go against our nature to avoid being pulled in by temptation to sin. We humbly beseech You to continue to teach, intervene in our lives, and bless us with Your protection. Only You have the power to bring solutions to problems, things You do for us from Your always-kind and good heart. We offer You that praise and our dedication to obey Your commands to the best of our ability. We thank You for all the many blessings You give us. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to take up visions and revelations in the next devotion. In the meanwhile, I will pray that each of you will join me in continuing self-examination, without evoking guilt, of our individual and corporate relationships with the Lord and with other people. I know in my heart that God forgives mistakes we make if accidental. I have known people that were misguided for many years and finally realized their need to humble themselves before God. They worked out their relationship, and I believe God forgave them and welcomed them into His family. Certainly, my own relationship with God and others has taken that pattern. I urge each of you to read God’s “Love Letter” (the Bible) to His people. He opens His heart to us, makes Himself more available than any human does to us, and shows us a way of life that helps us avoid horrendous woes. Truthfully, I worry about the path our country is taking. My reasons are our frequent need to pray for those impacted by these terrible shootings and mass murders that have been going on. The splitting of one North American against another on political lines is not being handled by making compromises and cooperating with each other. Long-term consequences of decisions and actions are often not considered. Uncontrolled emotion rules, rather than peaceful, mutual respect and sensitivity for the needs of others. Anyone who has been in the service knows there is such a thing as “collateral damage.” This means that innocents are adversely affected by some of the decisions and actions we take. We need to consider this in our own relationships. And yes, even God’s feelings can be hurt by what we sometimes do. This behavior matters, which is why I write about it here. Our Lord deserves the very best from us, because He gives us His very best at all times. He is to be praised and thanked!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved
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