Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Deuteronomy 20-22; Luke 6:1-26.
A couple of things I noticed today... nothing really jumped out in a big way, but I did have a couple of thoughts I'd like to share with you.
A repetitive phrase during today's reading was "You must purge the evil from among you." We no longer stone or put to death people who break laws (although there are a few crimes I can think of for which I could still see it being a justifiable punishment...), but sometimes we are too willing to just co-exist alongside things we know to be wrong until we start wondering why we thought they were so bad. There are ways to continue to purge evil from among us, or at least limit association, without stoning people or putting them to death. I don't think it's appropriate to ONLY associate with other Christians or participate ONLY in church-related activities because that leaves non-Christians feeling like we're an exclusive club they can't join. It's great to spend time with non-Christians (and I am in no way implying that everyone non-Christian is evil), however it is important to spend regular time together with other Christians, not just sitting in the same service with them on Sunday mornings, but we need to have good relationships with other Christian people. We need to treat ALL the people around us with love and kindness, but we can choose how often and for how long we spend time with people who may influence us or our children negatively.
For example, I would personally not attend a church that allowed homosexual people to serve in the church, be it as Sunday School teachers, music leaders, ushers, or especially as ministers. If the person or people were known in the community to be homosexual and provide leadership in the church, it sends the message that the church condones homosexuality and I feel that is inappropriate. Homosexuality as a sin is no worse than any other sin, it's true, and the rest of us are also sinful. The difference is that as Christians we are to repent of our sin and ask forgiveness. If someone is living a homosexual lifestyle, they usually don't consider it to be sin and therefore are unrepentant.
Moving on, I've sometimes wondered why the terms "disciples" and "apostles" were both used in reference to those who followed Jesus, assuming both terms referred to the twelve men that he chose who are named specifically. Then I noticed during today's reading that Jesus' disciples were evidently many more than the Twelve. It says in Luke 6:13, "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:" and in verse 17, "A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people...".
This is what Wikipedia had to say about the two terms:
The term disciple is derived from the New Testament Greek word "μαθητής"., coming to English by way of the Latin discipulus meaning "a learner". Disciple should not be confused with apostle, meaning "messenger, he that is sent". [3] While a disciple is one who learns from a teacher, a student, an apostle is sent to deliver those teachings to others.
So all those who were learning and following his teachings would be considered disciples, but only those he sent out to preach, heal, cast out demons in His name, etc. were apostles as well.
Like I said, nothing too profound today, just a couple of things I noticed. Have a great day!
Tomorrow's passage: Deuteronomy 23-25; Luke 6:27-49
2 comments:
Interesting differences in the definitions of disciples and apostles.
I love the first verse of Chapter 20 - "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you." And that is true for us today too - even when, from a human standpoint the enemy is just too strong for us, or the trial is too much or the temptation too strong - God is with us, to help us and to fight our battles. Nothing is impossible with God.
It's funny Tammy, that same verse stood out for me and for the exact same reason.
Great post Miriam. I agree with you that purging evil is necessary and that being surrounded by negative influence and unrepentant sinners can damage our own walk with God.
One thing that stood out for me was that doing nothing was sinful.
1 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.
I think that sometimes it too easy to do nothing. Whether it is not going out of our way to help someone or whether it is standing up for what we know to be true. It is so much easier to do nothing that it is to do something but God commands us to "not ignore it."
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