-- Noah Webster
Ephesians 6:2-3
HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.
The foundation of all free government and all social order must be laid in families and in the discipline of youth. Young persons must not only be furnished with knowledge, but they must be accustomed to subordination and subjected to the authority and influence of good principles. It will avail little that youths are made to understand truth and correct principles, unless they are accustomed to submit to be governed by them... And any system of education... which limits instruction to the arts and sciences, and rejects the aids of religion in forming the character of citizens, is essentially defective."
-- Noah Webster Ephesians 6:2-3 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.
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"Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together," is a most important exhortation. Even if we should not derive any especial benefit, at the time, so far as we are conscious, yet we may be kept from much harm. And very frequently the beginning of coldness of heart is nourished by keeping away from the meetings of the saints.
-- George Muller Hebrews 10:24-26 And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains. "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty'" (Daniel 3:16-17).
What enabled these men to stand up under such incredible pressure? What enabled them to stand firm when their commitment was challenged? First of all, they knew that God is in control. We know that ultimately, God is in control. We know that God holds everything in His hand. That means you and your life as well. God holds the whole world in His hands. The Bible says that the oceans are like little puddles in His hand. Don't worry about your life; God holds your life in His strong and gentle hands. God is in control. That enables you to stand up against opposition because your security is not in you; your security is in the Lord. Secondly, they knew the Word. That helped them stand firm. They knew the Word! That's the reason they refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image in the first place. They knew what was right and they knew what was wrong. We live in a world that would like to keep us in a moral fog. We live in a world that hates conviction. The world hates that! "Do anything but convict me! You Christians!" They hate conviction. All we have to do is to declare what we believe as truth, and they think we are doing something bad to them because the world hates conviction. Jesus said this: "And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed" (John 3:19-20). Thirdly, they were willing to die for their convictions. Verses seventeen and eighteen clearly show that these men were willing to die for the one true and living God. "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Daniel 3:17-18, NASB). We know that our God is able to deliver us, but even if He doesn't, we are not going to bow down to you, O King. We only bow down to the living and true God; He alone is the One whom we serve. You're not going to force us to bend our knees. We bow willingly to the living and true God. (Commentary Mark Martin)
Great explanation on this topic of God's sovereignty and man's freedom. Worth your time to understand this important concept.
"If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring" (Proverbs 25:26).
"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).
"For My yoke is easy to bear…" This yoke leads us to rest; Jesus' yoke leads us to a place of soul-rest. His yoke is easy. That's why we find rest. The Greek word for "easy" means "well-fitting." May I ask you who was speaking here? It was Jesus. What was His occupation while He was on earth? He was a carpenter. What did carpenters build? They built furniture and yokes. Here is a master carpenter talking about what He spent years doing. Jesus is saying, "Look, I know all about yokes. I know that for a yoke to be light, it has to be well-fitted." Each one of the bows had to be carved differently because every animal is different. Jesus doesn't treat any one of us the same. He knows every one of us. He knows what we need. He knows what would hurt us. He knows what we couldn't pull. He knows what would be too heavy for us and He is designing our lives with that in mind. As He pulls with us, our side of that yoke is well fitted. He knows what He is doing in your life. Let Him lead you through the fields of this life, stop trying to do this yourself or fight against His leading. Enjoy the "rest" of your day. (Commentary Mark Martin) As strange as it may sound, in the Book of Hosea God asks the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute. God asked him to love her and care for all of her needs. No longer would she need to earn her living through immorality. Yet, after a while she began to wander away from him and went back to her lovers and her old way of life. God told Hosea to continue to love her and support her even though she was living with another man. Then, one day she just disappeared. Hosea didn't hear from his adulteress wife for a long time until one day he saw slaves being auctioned and he saw her about to be sold into slavery. All of her lovers had used her up and dumped her, and now the only way for her to stay alive was to sell herself into slavery. To everyone's surprise, Hosea bought her off the auction block and took her back home. Now, she is his—not only by the vow of marriage, but also by redemption because he bought her with a price. Did she deserve any of it? No. God had a message He wanted his people to see. He wanted them to see, through Hosea's life, the granting of grace to those who don't deserve it. Hosea was literally living out God's grace. God said, "This is exactly the way I love My people. I don't just love you when you are good. I don't just love you when you obey. I don't just love you when you are faithful to Me. I love you with an everlasting love. Though your heart may wander, I still love you. Though you may stray from Me, I still love you. Though you run from Me and live with your lovers, I still love you and continue to give you breath, clothing and a place to live." God is so loving, forgiving and gracious towards us. He has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will never divorce you" (Paraphrased from Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said. "Whoever comes to Me, I will never—no never cast away" (Paraphrased from John 6:37). (Commentary Mark Martin) "You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together" (Deuteronomy 22:11, NASB). What's wrong with mixing wool and linen? Let me share something with you that's really awesome. Linen is made from the fibers of the flax plant. Throughout the Bible, fine, white linen represents righteousness and generally is a picture of the Lord Jesus' perfect righteousness. For instance, the priests were to only wear garments made out of pure linen. The fabric couldn't be mixed with wool. One of the reasons is that the priests were types of Jesus, the great High Priest whose righteousness is unmixed with any sin. The Scriptures teach us that when we are saved our sins are taken away and we're clothed with Jesus' righteous robe. Now, here's a special insight: Linen is made by beating the flax plant until it becomes fibrous. Then those fibers are woven together to make cloth. But if you take the fibers and look at them under a microscope you'll see that all of them have the shape of a cross. Our Lord was beaten for us. He went to the cross to die for our sins and offers to cover us with His perfect robe of righteousness. It's all about being covered with the cross. The priests were not to mix linen with wool because nothing can be added to the perfect covering Jesus has provided for us. The work of the cross is enough—to add anything to it is an offense to God. "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" (Ephesians 2:9-10). (Commentary Mark Martin) |
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