| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God” Our Bible verse for today: “Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. Your faithfulness is for all generations …” Psalm 119:89-90 (CSB) Our thought for today: “God speaks to us through examples in the Bible” In recent devotionals we have been thinking about the fact that God’s primary means of communicating with us is through the Bible. As the Psalmist indicated in Psalm 119:89-90, the truths of the Bible are for all people, in all places, at all times. God speaks most directly through the dos and don’ts given in specific commands. But He also speaks more broadly through Biblical principles, also known as precepts. These are general rules of thumb that apply across a wide spectrum of situations and circumstances, and which provide us with clear guardrails to help keep us in the center of God’s will. Another way God speaks to us through His written word is by the example of people in the Bible – both good examples and bad. For instance, in Joshua chapter fourteen we find a healthy, spry, and feisty Caleb at 85 – still vigorous and living life large. All throughout scripture God teaches us to be good stewards of our bodies by avoiding gluttony, laziness, and other bad habits. Caleb is just one of the positive examples of that. There are other examples of Biblical figures who did not take care of themselves and it is always portrayed as a bad thing (The priest Eli in 1 Samuel 4:18; King Eglon in Judges 3:22). What we learn from Biblical examples on this topic is that God expects us take proper care of our bodies. God also expects us to faithfully attend worship services. We find that modeled for us by God’s people all throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Nowhere in either the Old or New Testament are we given examples of people skipping those services and it being portrayed as a good thing, or even as something God allows. Not only does God tell us in the Bible to go to church, but then He gives us example after example of people doing exactly that. Both positive and negative role models are given to us all throughout Scripture, and they teach us lessons about a wide variety of life issues. This is God speaking to us. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Deborah, Samuel, David, Mary, Jesus, John, Paul, Dorcas, and so many others are all good Biblical role models. Korah, Absolom, Ahab, Judas, and many others are not. Their examples all teach us something about how God wants us to conduct ourselves. God does speak to us through the life stories of people in the Bible – both good examples and bad. But again, we have to take the time to carefully study those examples, learn from them, and then prayerfully and thoughtfully apply those lessons to our own lives. Tomorrow we will consider how it is that God speaks to us through the scenarios, situations, and circumstances we read about on the pages of the Bible. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
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