The Importance of Knowledge

But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 45-48 NASB

We began our study of this portion of Scripture with the unfaithful servant , then being salt and light, and Christ and the Constitution. Yesterday, we looked at the importance of praying for our leaders. If you missed one of them, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and get caught up.

At last, we are coming to the end of this passage. 

The topic today is the disobedient servant, the one who did not do the Master's will. Jesus made a distinction between the servant who knew his Master's will and the one who did not know His Master's will. The one who knew the Master's will yet still refused to obey will receive a greater punishment, in accordance to the degree of his sin. Knowing God's will, yet refusing to do it, indicates a greater degree of willfulness, a greater degree of rebellion against God, and deserves a greater consequence.

The one who does not know the Master's will and, therefore, fails to obey what he does not know, will receive a lesser punishment.

The word translated as "know" is ginōskō and indicates knowledge with understanding. This is knowledge that makes a difference in us, changes us because of our understanding. 

If I effectively study the Word of God, I will be changed (unless I make a conscious decision not to be changed) by His truth.

Lest we be tempted to decide we are better off without knowledge, think again. 

Our options are not limited to more punishment or less. Our options are obedience with reward or disobedience with consequences and no reward.

If  I want rewards from God, I must obey Him.

Jesus has a remarkable way of simplifying the life of a disciple. Obey or don't. Reward or consequence. We decide.

How easy is that?

The difficulty comes in seeking knowledge. Knowing God's will comes by knowing His Word. Knowing His Word comes by study. There are a plethora of study tools available today, some better than others. In parts of the world today, studying God's Word is a dangerous undertaking because of persecution of believers. In this country, it is not. 

What, then, is my excuse for failing to study God's Word?

There is no worthy excuse. From the beginning, God gave us the gift of choice. We can choose obedience or disobedience. From the first day in the Garden, He made it clear. Obedience is a choice for life. Disobedience is a choice for death. 

The choice is mine. The choice is yours.

Choose wisely. Choose life.

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”

Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NASB

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Our Father, forgive us our lack of study, our lack of knowledge. Give us such a hunger for Your Word that we will study and learn and know how to please and obey You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Praying for our leaders: Pray for God's chosen leaders will emerge in the coming weeks of campaigning so that we might have the leaders He desires, not the ones we deserve.

#knowledge #Biblestudy #Godsword #disciple

How to inherit eternal life, part 8: loving God with all your mind

And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?" And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." And He said to him, "You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE." (Luke 10:25-28 NASB)

We are continuing our study on how to inherit eternal life by loving God. In previous posts, we looked at how to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. Today, we look at how to love God with all our mind. (You can click on the links to open a new window and review those posts.) 

The word translated as "mind" is dianoia". This is a profound word that we, in the body of Christ, need to embrace. Dianoia is literally a "thinking through". To love God with our mind, then, is to spend time pondering, reflecting on Him and on His Word. To do this, we must know His Word by studying it and "thinking it through" so that we understand it and its implications for our life. This love by dianoia involves knowing Him and meditating on His attributes.

It may be that loving God with all our mind, dianoia, is critical for loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength. When we make the effort to know Who God is, we have a better understanding of this One we serve. Understanding the majesty and might of our God should bring us to a position of humility and love before Him. When we love Him with our mind, studying His Word to know what He expects of us and the relationship He offers us, it should change our life. 

We use our minds to "think through" this life of faith, and it is with our minds that we make the choice to follow Him. If we truly understand something of our relationship to our loving heavenly Father, we must desire to please Him, honor Him, and obey Him, for knowing God must bring us to loving Him. It is only through dianoia that we gain this knowledge. 

To review, the initial question was "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" When Jesus asked the lawyer how he understood the law, he replied, "Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus replied, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." Inheriting eternal life involves "doing". It is not the doing of walking down an aisle, being baptized, or filling out a commitment card that brings us eternal life. All of those acts may be a part of our walk of obedience, but it is the "doing" of loving God that brings eternal life, and it is accomplished through relationship with our triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Loving God, then, begins with dianoia, this thinking through so that we have understanding. It is a "thinking through with results", rather than a pointless, pie-in-the-sky pondering. Dianoia requires that our pondering have change as its objective, so that we might understand God better and live in ways that please Him more. It requires that we be still and learn to know our God. Loving with our mind is the way we begin to love Him with every fiber of our being because it is the way we learn to know the God we love. 

Selah. Pause and consider.

Then, dear ones, love Him with dianoia.
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There is much to learn of faith and following from the story of Jairus, who trusted Jesus for the life of his daughter when it seemed that all hope was gone. The story is examined with dianoia in The Waiting: When the Answer to Your Prayer is Delayed and Your Hope is Gone, and is available here. Also available in Tupelo at Joyful Creations and Park Place Salon.

Christmas Favorites, part 2

On Christmas Day, I shared some of my favorite passages from Isaiah and promised more that evening, but am only just getting back to it. My son has been home!!! We had a marvelous time and (of course) writing is a bit lower on the priority list when he's home.

Here are a few more of my favorite passages from Isaiah: 

"For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9 NASB)

I've learned more about righteousness through the discipline of God than any other way.

For his God instructs and teaches him properly. (Isaiah 28:26 NASB)

God knows and will use exactly the right tool in just the right way to accomplish His purposes but no more than needed.

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. (Isaiah 30:18-21 NASB)

This is one of those passages on which I have relied for many years. Once we have learned what our Teacher intended through our hard times, we will see Him, recognize Him, in those circumstances. Even better, we will have clear direction for every step along the way. How about that? We can be confident of our decisions because we've learned to recognize that still, small voice!

I have more favorites, but maybe this is enough until next Christmas! We will likely chew on these truths for months to come. 

The Scoop That is Always Full

Because Toby, our 28 year old horse, is very grumpy when he wants to be fed, we fill the horses' feed buckets after the evening feeding and leave them in the feed bin for the next morning. Since the horses' feed is prepared ahead of time, we go ahead and prepare the goat's feed scoop, too. As soon as someone (me) gets to the barn in the morning, the goat starts throwing a fit. Everyone wants to be first. The horses get their feed first because Toby kicks the barn door like crazy if he's not. All the goat does is baah over and over. She waits, but the only way to survive the ruckus is get prepared ahead of time.

Today was no exception. I went to the barn, fed the horses, grabbed the goat scoop, and headed to the goat pen. As always, I dumped the scoop into the trough. I'm not sure which of us was more surprised, but Shamrock the Goat was definitely unhappy-surprised. She looked at me and started throwing a baahing fit. The scoop was empty. I had grabbed the wrong scoop. It's the first time I've ever fed the goat air, and she did not like it one little bit. 

Of course, I went back to the barn and got feed, but it made me think about all the times I've turned to God for spiritual nourishment. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." It is Scripture that is absolutely essential for our spiritual life, and it is always nourishing. The good thing is that God never feeds us from an empty scoop. When we turn to Scripture and ask the Lord for spiritual nourishment, we find that His scoop is always full, and He gives us exactly what we need to grow and mature into the faithful disciples He has called us to be. 

Are you feeling a little "lean" spiritually this holiday season? Maybe you need to let His word nourish your spirit and renew your soul. Turn to the Scoop that is always full.