The Danger of Doing What Is Right in Your Own Eyes
In Judges, Chapters 17 to 21, we read about the idolatry, the immorality and the wars among the Israelites, which reveal the degraded state of a nation that God had chosen to be His representatives on earth. They had sunk as low as Sodom and Gomorrah.
In Judges 17:7-13, we see the first case of a paid professional preacher in the Bible, who was willing to go wherever he got the best salary and the best perquisites. Here was a Levite who agreed to serve as a priest to the highest bidder. A businessman came along and offered him a good salary, a new set of clothes every year, and free housing and boarding. The preacher signed the contract immediately! The businessman who paid him thought that God would now bless him because he had employed a preacher who had graduated from the school of the Levites!! How very like what we see happening today. One would almost think that that was a 21st-century story! The reason for this pathetic state of affairs is given in the verse immediately preceding the description of this incident: "Every man did what was right in his own eyes"(17:6).
And that verse sums up everything that happened in the days of the Judges. And so this statement is, very appropriately, repeated as the last verse of the book (Judges 21:25): "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
That was how the Israelites lived in those days. And that is how many Christians live today. Jesus is not King in their lives and so they do whatever they feel like. They spend their money as they feel like and they live as they feel like. The preachers go wherever they can get the largest salary. They all live without any reference to the will of God or the perfect plan of God for their lives.
God has given us Jesus Christ now as our Example. If we don't follow Him as our Lord and our King, we too can end up like those Israelites described in the book of Judges.
Stay turned on the Lord folks
Sent from my iPad
Rev.Peter Msigwa - MP Iringa - urban Tanzania
Shadow Minster of natural resources Tourism & Environments
Cell+255754360996, home +255262720015, office +255262701958
aabctz@yahoo.com
mbungeiringamjini@gmail.com
mbungeiringamjini.blogspot.com
Po Box 2042 Iringa Tanzania .
Problems can not be solved by the same level of thinking that created them By Albert Einstein
On Mar 31, 2013, at 22:25, Peter <aabctz@yahoo.com> wrote:
> PASAKA NJEMA
> One of the greatest dangers that faces the Christian in his pursuit of a holy life is that of ending up being religious and not spiritual. Religiosity is often mistaken by the undiscerning believer for spirituality. But there is a world of difference between the two. The former is human, the latter is divine. The law could make people religious, but not spiritual. Religiosity is taken up with the external, visible things. Spirituality is primarily a matter of the heart.
>
> God's word warns us that there will be many in the last days who have a form of godliness without its power - in other words, they will be religious, but not spiritual (2 Tim. 3:5). They will go religiously to meetings, pray and read the Bible daily and even attend all-night fasting and prayer meetings, tithe their income, etc. But they will still seek honour from men, live for themselves, love money and be interested in gossiping, etc. Such people are religious, not spiritual. They have a form of godliness without the power. Here are some examples.
>
> If you are more interested in going to meetings than in crucifying the flesh (Gal. 5:24), you are religious, not spiritual.
> If you are more interested in reading your Bible every morning than in controlling your tongue the whole day, you are religious, not spiritual.
> If you are more interested in fasting and prayer than in being free from the love of money, you are religious, not spiritual.
> If you are more interested in evangelism than in personal sanctification, you are religious, not spiritual.
>
> All the activities of religious people mentioned in the above examples are good. But it is a question of priorities. It is right priorities that makes a man spiritual.
>
> Religious people are interested in the written word alone (`the letter') and end up having the righteousness of the law. Spiritual people however are interested in the Word being manifested in flesh and blood, and thus end up having the righteousness of God, the divine nature.
>
> Religious people justify their actions by quoting the words or actions of some man of God. Spiritual people however, never seek to justify themselves before men.
>
> Religious people are more interested in men's opinions than in God's opinion. Spiritual people care only about God's opinion. Religious people can meditate for years on the words of praise that some elder brother spoke concerning them. Spiritual people, on the other hand, like Jesus, refuse to receive testimony from men (Jn. 5:34). They know that other men do not know the corruption that they see within themselves, and so they realise that the praise of men is worth less than nothing.
>
> Religious people are legalistic and are under the law. They think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to please God. This is why they calculate exactly how much 10% of their income comes to and then offer it reluctantly to God. In the Old Testament, this attitude finally ended up in the Israelites offering blind sheep and sick bulls as sacrifices to the Lord (Mal. 1:8). It is possible to have an identical attitude to the New Testament commandments. A sister can think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to keep the letter of the word that commands her to be subject to her husband; Men and women can think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to be 'spiritual' without altogether giving up everything. "What is the minimum that I have to give up of this world?" is a question that is always in the minds of such people. Such can never be spiritual. They can only be religious.
>
> Sent from my iPad
> Rev.Peter Msigwa - MP Iringa - urban Tanzania
> Shadow Minster of natural resources Tourism & Environments
> Cell+255754360996, home +255262720015, office +255262701958
> aabctz@yahoo.com
> mbungeiringamjini@gmail.com
> mbungeiringamjini.blogspot.com
> Po Box 2042 Iringa Tanzania .
> Problems can not be solved by the same level of thinking that created them By Albert Einstein
--
Send Emails to wanabidii@googlegroups.com
Kujiondoa Tuma Email kwenda
wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com Utapata Email ya kudhibitisha ukishatuma
Disclaimer:
Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Wanabidii" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to wanabidii+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
0 comments:
Post a Comment