Romans 9:1-5

[Ro 9:1] I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, [2] that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. [3] For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, [4] who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, [5] whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Romans 9:1a

[Ro 9:1a] I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying…

Paul, accused of lying?

In order for Paul to write this, we need to realize that someone in the Roman church must have stained his character viciously.  This seems beyond our comprehension; “How could someone dare claim fraudulence of this great soldier of our Lord?”  We are as challenged by this thought as we are by the crowd that would so sadistically turn upon our Savior. 

Unfortunately, this is not only indicative of human behavior – it is an indication of the modus operandi of the evil one.

As for human behavior, when we forget that we are sinners.  We rapidly become self-righteous and when we become self-righteous we also become judgmental.  Once judgmental, we become picky, petty, perfectionists who start most of our sentences with; “You should…”   From our, ‘You should’, view of the world we begin to see fault without reflection.

Our truth starts to be based upon half-lies that are verified in the hidden rooms of gossip.  When we run out of facts – we will even bend reality to fit our perceptions.

All of us are prone to this type of behavior.  It happens at the very moment we move from; a) the recognition of our sinfulness and the Lord’s redemption (a thankful heart) to, b) self-righteousness and pride (gnashing of teeth).

Satan need not work very hard to feed such behavior.  Excusing self and blaming others is his most popular theme park.  If we are willing to cast condemnation on others – Satan will always help fuel our passion with half-lies.

For His part, Jesus is less than patient with judgmental gossipers:

Matthew 13:33-37

[Matt 12:33] "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. [34] "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. [35] "The good man out of {his} good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of {his} evil treasure brings forth what is evil. [36] "And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. [37] "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (NAS)

Matthew 15:8-20

[Matt 15:8] 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. [9] 'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'" [10] And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, "Hear, and understand. [11] "Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." [12] Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" [13] But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. [14] "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

[15] And Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain the parable to us."

[16] And He said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also? [17] "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? [18] "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. [19] "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. [20] "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." (NAS)

Dealing with the sin of gossip in the church

We need to recognize that this type of behavior will only occur whenever we are dealing with human beings on this earth (in other words…).  Linus, of the famed cartoon strip, Peanuts, once said; “I love humanity – it is people I can’t stand.”

Whether it is as simple as lying to myself or within the complex ties of a church (as Paul was experiencing) – the greatest prohibition to personal healing in any relationship will always be self-delusion.  It especially applies to the delusion of our own innocence in relational conflicts.  When delusion is combined with self-justification it’s like combining a truck on a steep hill with no brakes.  The truck just keeps picking up momentum.

Such sin only intensifies its attack when left unchecked.  The venom increases as it spreads everywhere but to the head of the body.  When a person shares a falsehood and the listener receives it without check – immediately the listener begins to look for indications of such behavior.  One of man’s greatest survival techniques is to make patterns out of independent information – unfortunately, it is also one of our greatest faults as well.  We hear something negative and begin to make patterns around those comments.  The information need not be true – we create truths around it.

Alternatively, one of the most basic concepts that makes a relationship functional is trust.  Trust can be defined as giving another person the benefit of the doubt.  A relationship cannot exist without this foundation.  Here are three parameters of trust that are fundamental to relationship:

1.      We do not trust someone to be perfect – that is not trust, it is a set-up.

2.      We trust someone to do the best they can with what they know.  It may not be what we think ‘we would do’ – or even what ‘they should do’ in our little minds, but it is what ‘they did’.  We are neither ‘them’ nor in ‘their situation’.  Should is simply another ‘sh’ word that should be flushed out of our lives.

3.      However, we also trust that a person will act true to their character in stressful situations. 

When I watch a child throw themselves upon the floor or whine to their parent – I realize that the child is merely doing what works for them.  Sadly, people often continue to use these dysfunctional childhood behavior patterns no matter how unhealthy those behaviors are for a healthy adult. 

For example, a person who cannot manage their anger (let’s call anger a hammer) tends to use that hammer in all situations.  Even if a screwdriver (a tool like conflict resolution) is a better implement for the job, he keeps using the hammer because it is what always worked best. 

In a true fellowship of believers, we use a basis of trust to help each other leave those old ways behind.  We don’t let people stay in damaging patterns – but we take the time to earn enough trust to invite change. 

We help each other grow and put on the ways of Jesus Christ.  However, this is not possible if a) we do not have someone’s trust, or b) we are unwilling to trust that the other person truly is doing their best to follow the Lord.

When we are unwilling to give each other the benefit of the doubt the relationship is unsalvageable.  You can’t start a fire out of cold ash.  However, before saying good-bye, there are some tools that can bring life out of death.

Rebuilding trust in the fellowship

There are specific things that can be done to rebuild trust:

1.      Call people to personal repentance. 

Once again, undermining others is usually an example of personal self-deception, ego inflation and/or unresolved issues that are projected upon another person.  Only at the foot of the cross can the truth of deception be revealed.  “I am THE sinner, Lord.  It doesn’t matter what others have done – I am THE sinner.”

2.      Call the Body into repentance.

Almost all conflict occurs in a church when it is self-centered not other-centered.  There can be no such thing as a self-centered church – the very terms are mutually exclusive, a parody of Christ’s bride. 

We (the bride) might take the name ‘Church’ but that doesn’t mean we act as the bride of Jesus Christ by focusing on His needs and His mission (uh-oh, there’s that word submissive again).  All relationships begin to die the moment one of the party’s says; “What about me.”  The moment that attitude becomes acceptable in a church, it blasphemes Jesus Christ.  Blasphemy means to call oneself a King’s or Lord’s representative but not to act on their behalf – you can see why that was punishable by death.  How does that affect the way that you translate ‘the unforgivable sin’?

Matt 12:31-32

[Matt 12:31] "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. [32] "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the {age} to come. (NAS)

The 2^nd and 3^rd Chapters of Revelation are a great basis for church-wide repentance.  Listen to these words of warning to the church at Laodicea:

Rev 3:14-22

[Rev 3:14] "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: [15] 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. [16] 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. [17] 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, [18] I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and {that} the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. [19] 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. [20] 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. [21] 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. [22] 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" (NAS)

3.      Leadership must unite in prayer and rediscover the Lord’s purpose in their lives and the life of the Church.  This leadership must be given the confidence of the church to listen for the Lord’s guidance.  While they are in retreat – the entire church must be ‘at prayer’.  These leaders must be respected for their commitment to following the three commandments: 1) Love God without rival; 2) Love others as Christ loved them; and 3) Give up everything and follow Him.  Further direction on Christian leadership is given by Paul to Timothy in 1^st Timothy 3.

A church should never just appoint to leadership whoever answers the phone when the ‘Church Committee Task Force’.  That is not considered a call to spiritual leadership. 

If this type of leadership cannot be found – the church needs to seek outside help immediately.  It needs to fall totally before the Lord in prayer and seek out another church that models such behavior.  The leadership of that church should be petitioned for assistance in examining the viability and potentiality of the church that is lacking in spiritual leadership. 

Unfortunately, one of the biggest signs of the lack of spiritual leadership is the belief that ‘everything is all right’ and the belief that ‘we have done all right since the foundation of this church was dug into the dirt by the bloodied knuckles of our pioneering grandparents’.  Such an attitude will rarely seek the help of spiritual mentors or the Lord (and it is doubtful they would read a study like this one).

Retreat is essential because the Lord frequently retreated with His closest apostles for prayer and personal teaching (see this week’s Gospel reading from Matthew 14:13-21).  He does not expect less from us.  The problem with most churches is that people in leadership say they do not have time to commit to such endeavors.  The response to such a statement is tough, but simple – these people should excuse themselves from the leadership of the church.  There is no greater responsibility than to be a leader in the Church of Christ.  It involves more than a monthly one-hour meeting.

There are those who would say; “But that would leave our leadership ranks pretty thin.”  Well, the Lord isn’t worried about numbers – however, He is totally committed to committed believers.  It is much better to have a small and powerful body than a large and disoriented one.  (For further explanation of this biblical truth, read the story of Gideon and the Midianites from Judges 7).

4.      The entire body is invited into the process of prayerfully responding to the mission expressed by the appointed leaders of the church. 

Unfortunately, most church is divided among a) the fellowship and b) the observers.  Most adept church leaders know that the ‘Public Church’ gathers on Sundays, but the ‘Real Church’ meets during the rest of the week.  That is where you will find those committed to the Big Four: 1) Intense Prayer; 2) Challenging Fellowship; 3) Study of the Word; and 4) Involvement in Service.

Christ tells us the role of the church is to make disciples so that they can do the tasks of Christ: 1) Heal the sick; 2) raise the dead; 3) cleanse the lepers and 4) drive out demons.

The church leadership needs to be extremely clear in that this IS the role of the church.  Not personal comfort, exchanging business cards or having potlucks.  Certainly, those activities may be peripheral pleasures of enjoying good fellowship – but all too often, these LCD’s (least common denominators) become the purpose of church.

The leadership must create the process whereby new believers are drawn into spiritual depth and responsibility (moving from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity [1 Corinthians 3:2 and 1 Peter 2:3]).  Yet, it is the responsibility of church members to ‘get involved’.  Even service agencies demand that its volunteers do something!  How much more a church should require participation among its members.  This is, after all, the Body of Christ, not an entertainment center.

It is at our great spiritual risk that we do not take our Christian call seriously and it is simply not responsible spiritual leadership to allow members of the body to atrophy.

5.      Those who continue in deceitful or judgmental behavior which undermines trust need to be stopped.  Jesus gives parameters for confronting such runaway behavior:

Matthew 18:15-17

[Matt 18:15] "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. [16] "But if he does not listen {to you,} take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. [17] "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. (NAS)

Satan seeks every possible opportunity to make the Bride of Christ into a reservation of placid head-nodders.  It is the hardest and most important work of our lives to make His bride into a worthy intimate of our risen savior.  The same Satan that operated in the Church of Rome instigating such virulent attacks on one of the greatest apostles of our Lord is undoubtedly working just as vigorously today.  In fact, we can assume he is more vigorous because his time is so much more limited.

It is time we get our act together and together act as if we were who we say we are when we profess to be church: The Intimate of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Back to top

Romans 9:1b-5

[Ro 9:1b] My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, [2] that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. [3] For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, [4] who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, [5] whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Dealing with personal attack: “My conscience testifies…”

How did Paul respond when he was under personal attack for his faith?  The worst thing a person can do when they are being attacked for their faith is to stop praying and start defending themselves.  As soon as one falls into this trap – he begins to slip down the slope to self-justification and self-righteousness.

Certainly, self-defense may be warranted – but that is the half-truth with which Satan will trap us.  Look at what Paul does.  He searches his heart before the Lord and seeks any manner in which he has violated anyone’s trust.  Even though his conscience through the Holy Spirit grants him innocence and peace – he suffers for his persecutors (going so far as to call them his brothers [adephos] – of the same womb).

Is that how I respond to attack?  If it isn’t it needs to be – it is the faithful way.  Instead of looking for ways to justify myself and condemn another there are a number of immediate steps I can take emulating Paul’s response to accusations.

1.      Immediately go to the cross

Remember the prayer of the tax collector versus the Pharisee? 

Luke 18:10-14

[Luke 10:14] "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. [11] "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. [12] 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

[13] "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!'

[14] "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted."  (NAS)

It is before the cross that we all lose our ‘self-righteousness’ but gain His righteousness.  Standing before the cross of Jesus we can learn not to call others ‘sinners’ because we are sinners too.

Paul went before the cross and found his only righteousness to be from Jesus.

2.      Image the cross of Jesus;

While praying with friends through a recent surprise attack – I saw the image of Christ’s cross.  It wasn’t the entire cross, only its foot.  Yet, I knew it was His cross planted deep in the rocky soil of Golgotha.

Suddenly a spray of mud clots spattered across the foot of the Lord’s cross and it tore open my heart.  Tears filled my eyes and I implored God to not let that mud be from my hand.

When we throw mud at anyone – it spatters the Lord’s cross.  All too often the mud spattered on the Lord’s cross comes from His bride – the church. 

“God never, please never, let the mud come from my hand!”

3.      Throw yourself into fellowship and the Word;

This is when challenging, spiritual fellowship is most important.  You will know that you are in spiritual fellowship if: a) People do not encourage you in justifying your anger; b) people immediately call you to prayer; c) people look to the Holy Spirit and the Word for guidance offering biblical solutions – not emotional ones; d) you are embraced, but challenged, when you self-justify or blame; e) people pray not only for God’s discerning Spirit to be present within you – but for God’s peace and purpose to be abundant upon you.

4.      Intensify personal prayer time;

Once again, the power of habitual prayer becomes a spiritual reservoir during the dry seasons of the heart.  Here is the time to not only continue the daily habit of availability to God (prayer), but to intensify those daily habits.  If prayer for you was an hour walk in the morning – make it an hour and a half now.  Yes, it means getting up a little earlier – but God will fortify you through this time.

While praying, take critical scripture versus with you.  Whenever you begin to start defending yourself or mentally attacking another – go to the Word.  Personally, I like to go to Psalm 51.  It helps me recognize that I have sinned before the Lord – but He desires to restore me so that I (and even my enemies) will praise His name.

5.      Do not stop serving others – in fact – increase your foot washing activities;

It is in the midst of self-pity that we become less available to others and to God.  In fact, that is the most important time to get out and serve others in His name.  Staying at home in self-pity only exacerbates the problem.  When I serve someone who is in dire need of God’s blessing – it begins to place the attacks of others on me in true perspective.

As a result, we are able to live less for the approval of others and more for His grace.  In fact, the more we are available for God’s servitude – the less the attacks of the world even matter to us.

6.      Let the Holy Spirit do your talking – don’t prepare your own defense;

Jesus cautioned His own disciples in exactly how to prepare for the attacks of this world:

Luke 12:11-12

[Luke 12:11] "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say; [12] for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." (NAS)

Isn’t it ironic that Jesus would have to give His own people instruction on how to respond to the attacks of the ‘religious’?  Yet, isn’t that still the case today?  We are often more attacked for our good works in the church than out of it.

Seldom, are works of goodness seen as threatening to those in the public arena – in fact, I have normally found people in public institutions to be more supportive of ministry than people in churches.  It is the pious who seem most threatened by a lifestyle of servitude.

Somehow – even in my own church – if I stand and give a message about God’s amazing grace at the homeless shelter or the jail, someone takes it personally.  They are threatened as if I am saying that they have to do what I am doing to be a true Christian.

Not at all!  I do what I do for my own joy – not anyone else’s.   I preach the joy of being in relationship with the alienated – yet, I am very selfish about it.  Anyone who wants to can come with me (unless you are reading this in jail – I will try instead to come to you), but this is God’s gift to me!

Why are we jealous or threatened by another’s joy?  And, if we do feel guilt over another’s commitment to the Lord – then could that be the Holy Spirit’s prompting in our lives?  Why feel angry at someone else’s joy?  Why not just get more involved?

Remember, Jesus says we have three ways to receive the prophet’s reward [Matt 10:40]:

a)                   Be a prophet;

b)                  Receive the prophet;

c)                   Give a glass of cold water to the ‘least of these’ that the prophet brings in.

Nevertheless, the instruction is as valid today as it was in past years.  The closer you get to Jesus – the more you can expect to be attacked.

7.      Live for-giving – let God take care of judging.

There is too much work to do in this life then to hang around and debate with the pious religious.  Like that two-year-old who lays down in the marketplace and starts throwing a tantrum – the pious have nothing to lose by throwing themselves on the floor over their personal issue.  However, mom or dad can’t hardly do the same (though, wouldn’t that be interesting?).  Jesus says that there is no debating with such people [Matt 11:26] because they love to hear themselves reason – yet, their gibberous has nothing to do with loving or revealing Jesus.

I mentioned in last week’s study that I have trained my children that, if someone starts to do something spiritually or physically unhealthy in their presence, they are to take the role of a leader and leave.  Here is the process:

a)         Name the behavior: “That’s smoking, it is illegal and unhealthy.”

b)         Offer and alternative: “Let’s go to the pool instead.”

c)         Even if they don’t go with you – LEAVE immediately.

Our Lord tells us that spiritual leaders need to practice the same behavior when people around them practice spiritually or physically unhealthy actions [Matthew 10:7-16].  We are not in this world to convince, force or change people.  We are here to offer our testimony as to what God has done in our life and to love the ‘least of these’.  We are here to preach, teach and heal.

Matthew 11:3-5

[Matt. 11:3] and they said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" [4] And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: [5] {the} blind receive sight and {the} lame walk, {the} lepers are cleansed and {the} deaf hear, and {the} dead are raised up, and {the} poor have the gospel preached to them. (NAS)

We are not philosophers or theologians.  We do not come to ‘study life’ or even ‘study god’.  We are here to Love God, love His people, and give up everything to follow Him.

Back to top

Biblical Index

Psalm 51:1-19

CHAPTER 51

1    Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.

2    Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3    For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

4    Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.

5    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

6    Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom.

7    Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8    Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice.

9    Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11  Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

13  {Then} I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.

14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; {then} my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy righteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise.

16  For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

18  By Thy favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.

19  Then Thou wilt delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then young bulls will be offered on Thine altar.

(NAS)

Return to reading

Matthew 10:40-42

40  "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

41  "He who receives a prophet in {the} name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

42  "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward."

(NAS)

Return to reading

Matthew 11:16-26

16  "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other {children}

17  and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'

18  "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon!'

19  "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

20  Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

21  "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22  "Nevertheless I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in {the} day of judgment, than for you.

23  "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

24  "Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in {the} day of judgment, than for you."

25  At that time Jesus answered and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from {the} wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes.

26  "Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight.

(NAS)

Return to reading

Matthew 10:7-16

7    "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

8    "Heal {the} sick, raise {the} dead, cleanse {the} lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.

9    "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,

10  or a bag for {your} journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.

11  "And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; and abide there until you go away.

12  "And as you enter the house, give it your greeting.

13  "And if the house is worthy, let your {greeting of} peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your {greeting of} peace return to you.

14  "And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15  "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for {the} land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

16  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.

(NAS)

Return to reading

1 Tim 3:1-16

CHAPTER 3

1    It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires {to do.}

2    An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

3    not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money.

4    {He must be} one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

5    (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?);

6    {and} not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.

7    And he must have a good reputation with those outside {the church,} so that he may not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

8    Deacons likewise {must be} men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,

9    {but} holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

10  And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

11  Women {must} likewise {be} dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

12  Let deacons be husbands of {only} one wife, {and} good managers of {their} children and their own households.

13  For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

14  I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long;

15  but in case I am delayed, {I write} so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

16  And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

(NAS)

Return to reading

Judges 7:1-25

CHAPTER 7

1    Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.

2    And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel become boastful, saying, 'My own power has delivered me.'

3    "Now therefore come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.'" So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.

4    Then the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."

5    So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink."

6    Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water.

7    And the LORD said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the {other} people go, each man to his home."

8    So the 300 men took the people's provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And Gideon sent all the {other} men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

9    Now the same night it came about that the LORD said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands.

10  "But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp,

11  and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp. "So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp.

12  Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

13  When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, "Behold, I had a dream; a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down so that the tent lay flat."

14  And his friend answered and said, "This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp into his hand."

15  And it came about when Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, that he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands."

16  And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

17  And he said to them, "Look at me, and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do.

18  "When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp, and say, 'For the LORD and for Gideon.'"

19  So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the pitchers that were in their hands.

20  When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

21  And each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran, crying out as they fled.

22  And when they blew 300 trumpets, the LORD set the sword of one against another even throughout the whole army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the edge of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

23  And the men of Israel were summoned from Naphtali and Asher and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian.

24  And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against Midian and take the waters before them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they took the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

25  And they captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

(NAS)