Meditation

08/03/2020

“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (Isaiah 50:4)

Biblical faith places a high priority on the family. Meeting the physical needs of one’s family is a part of Christian stewardship. Christians should manage personal resources in a responsible way to care for family needs.

To fail to fulfill family responsibilities is sin, making one as untrue to be committed of faith in Christ. Even non-believers provide necessities of life for their families.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, As you see Christians certainly consider it their responsibility to take care of family members and their needs, and verse 8 even notes that non-Christians recognized their responsibility of caring for family. We have seen a change in society over the last 30 years or so, where family members are put into nursing homes and then virtually forgotten. Abba, help us to remember that not only are responsible in financial ways, but we must also show our love and responsibility towards our loved one by visiting them regularly and in a meaningful way. This we pray, in Jesus’ name pray. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“If you’ll stand for Jesus, He’ll stand for you!”

KNOWING GOD:

“For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” (Romans 15:26–27)

“Saints” is used often tin association with the love which Christians have for one another. The context of this verse (26) concern the offering which Gentile saints made for the poorer and more persecuted saints of Jerusalem. To be a saint, a member of Christ’s Church, is to love and help others. You see the Christian life is always spiritual in nature and claims material things to serve spiritual ends. Christians are to serve God and our fellow Christians by properly using material possessions. The Gentile Christians knew they owed their opportunity for salvation to the missionary efforts of the Jews. They were willing to cross geographical and racial lines in order to help the Jews in their physical needs. Christian love places no limits on who can be helped by our sacrificial gifts to God’s work.

I AM:

“Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” (Acts2:45)

Great needs prompt special responses by believers. Early Christians shared prompt special responses by believers. Early Christians shared their assets as a voluntary response of Christian concern. The believers made their property available for the common good of fellow believes. Christians stewards cannot hoard resources for personal desires when members of the Christian family lack life’s basic needs.

The Bible shows that putting all resources in a common hand was an unusual and temporary plan for supplying the needs of fellow Christians. The Bible also shows that supplying needs of fellow Christians is God’s plan for the church. This is still true today and I hope this never changes.

Second Thought of the Day:

“And he said to them: ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother, and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things” (Mark7:9-13)

Family responsibilities are not to be set aside to fulfill religious obligations. The law requires faithful Jews to care for their parents in their old age but oral tradition provided a way for selfish children to avoid this responsibility. By declaring all their property to be “carbon,” given or dedicated to God, they could tell their parents thy had no money available to help them.

Jesus placed His trust firmly on the biblical revelation and rejected the oral tradition which pious Jews believed was a binding as the law. I don’t about you, but I suspect an unethical lawyer at work here. I would take Jesus’ definition over biblical law over anyone else’s. What do you think?