18 November 2010
Psalm 105.1-22; Mal 2.1-16; James 4.13-5.6; Luke 17.20-37

There is a great responsibility for the priest in Judaism and the teacher in Christianity. I consider verse 7 of the passage, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts” to be my responsibility. It requires care to ensure that we do teach only that which is true rather than our own opinion. Too often we teach platitudes or simple proverbs when true wisdom is to be shared with our people. We speak about the Lord of all creation, the one who has also sustained all things and delivered all things by His Son and it is a precious thing to be in a position of leadership among the people of God.

Jesus is plain about the day of the Lord, it will not be something we can anticipate and when it comes it will not be pleasant. He speaks of Lot and uses language re not looking back as Lot’s wife did in order to get us to understand that we must keep our eyes on heaven. We must develop two things, sensitivity to sin and a heart for righteousness, in order to keep ourselves for Him. We cannot be double minded. Lot’s wife was double minded, she hated to leave behind some of Sodom and Jesus says we must be single-minded. Christians today have been taught that double-mindedness with respect to the things of earth and we must examine ourselves against that tendency.

James’ warning is against the things of earth overtaking us. In the encounter with the rich young ruler Jesus sized him up and gave him a choice to sell all and give the proceeds to the poor and the man walked away. The disciples had their eyes on the kingdom and accepted Jesus’ offer to follow knowing that it meant exactly what Jesus told the young man, leaving everything else behind. What does that mean in our lives today? If Jesus came and said follow me, would we hesitate or would we be like the disciples? We have so much in our society that it is difficult for us to truly follow completely because so much of our time and energy is spent in either acquisition or holding on to what we already have.

Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!