Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Deuteronomy 10-12
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 11:29-32
Jesus: This generation is evil. These people are seeking signs and spectacles, but I’m not going to play their game. The only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
The queen of Ethiopia will stand to condemn the people of this generation on the day of judgment. She, an outsider, came from so far away to hear the wisdom given to Solomon, but now, something greater than Solomon is here: how are the people of this generation responding?
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Why is it that people inside the church are often the hardest to convince of their need for salvation? So many just assume because their name is on the role as a member of the church, their name is in God’s book of life. But that’s not necessarily true. Think about the conflicts Jesus had with all those leaders in the temple and synagogues while He traveling among us. The scribes and Pharisees were among His most vicious opponents, yet should have been His most ardent supporters. After all, He came to fulfill the Law they kept preaching to the people that came to their institutions every week.
Jesus pointed to all those prophecies that said the Messiah was about to burst upon the scene and save men and women from their sins and He showed evidence that He was able to do just that. But when He rocked the boat of their neat little religious empire, they opposed Him at every turn. They couldn’t accept that this backwoods carpenter was the Son of God and Savior of humankind.
There are some today that rock the boat of the institutional church. I hope I’m counted as one. When we allow some of the perversion of God’s word to take place and say it’s okay, something is terribly wrong. When we hide blatant sin as just cultural change and accept the sin in our society and civil progress, something is terribly wrong. Satan has crept into our institutions and blinded us to the truth. We allow him to twist and turn and water down the scriptures and accept his lies because we don’t want to hear the truth and worship God for who He is. It means we would have to change our ways and we just don’t want to let God be in charge. We want our way.
So when someone begins to speak the truth, we yell out, “Prove it! Show us some sign that what you say is true and not the man or woman that stands in our pulpit.”
The problem most of us have is that we just fail to read God’s word. If we would sit down with the book He gives us, we would see the truth. We would figure out the false teachings in many of our progressive churches quickly. It’s not okay to pick and choose your favorite verses and forget the rest. It’s not okay to ignore those things you don’t like and only live by the scriptures that support the life you want to live. It’s not okay to twist God’s words to make them say what you want them to say.
There are dozens of translations. Pick one or two or three. Read them all. If you don’t like the way one translates the Hebrew and Greek language, read another. What you’ll find is that they all say about the same thing. Unless you can find one that has perverted the language, you’ll see that dozens carry the same message, the same language, the same warnings and admonitions. The truth hasn’t changed, no matter how much people want it to.
Yes, there are some things that we know are cultural in God’s word. But the flavor of God’s word speaks to us through the ages despite the culture or time or political theories you hold. God’s truth is still viable for every generation and if we follow His word, we find peace with Him now and throughout eternity. He will be the one to judge us at the end of time. We should read His instruction manual and do what it says. We will be judged by that book.
Regardless of whether we want to set up some other method of measurement, He gave us the rules to follow. Don’t you think it makes sense to follow the manual He gives instead of something someone else made up? It certainly does to me. Moses told the Israelites to meditate on God’s law day and night. When you get up in the morning and when you go to bed at night. When you sit down and when you stand up. Meditate on it all the time. We don’t do that. Apparently neither did most of them or they wouldn’t have fallen as far from the path as they did.
Everybody wants a sign. Everybody wants proof. What we really need is to read God’s word. When you do, that will be proof enough. Trust me.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.