Friday: Further Thought ~ Dealing With Bad Decisions
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Reformation”, pages 669–678, in Prophets and Kings.
“Industry in a God-appointed duty is an important part of true religion. Men should seize circumstances as God’s instruments with which to work His will. Prompt and decisive action at the right time will gain glorious triumphs, while delay and neglect result in failure and dishonor to God. If the leaders in the cause of truth show no zeal, if they are indifferent and purposeless, the church will be careless, indolent, and pleasure-loving;
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
but if they are filled with a holy purpose to serve God and Him alone, the people will be united, hopeful, eager.
The word of God abounds in sharp and striking contrasts. Sin and holiness are placed side by side, that, beholding, we may shun the one and accept the other. The pages that describe the hatred, falsehood, and treachery of Sanballat and Tobiah, describe also the nobility, devotion, and self-sacrifice of Ezra and Nehemiah. We are left free to copy either, as we choose. The fearful results of transgressing God’s commands are placed over against the blessings resulting from obedience. We ourselves must decide whether we will suffer the one or enjoy the other” – Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 676.
Discussion Questions:
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The real skill that mathematics teaches is problem solving. Typically you are provided with a set of information and you work though that information and use the fundamental mathematical principles to do the working and come up with a solution. As a mathematics teacher, I would often find myself in front of a class solving a problem from scratch. I would work through the problem on the blackboard in front of the class. (I might add these were not simple one of two-line problems – they often required several blackboard panels and a lot of chalk!) Typically, we would work though the problem adding a line at a time. Sometimes we would make a mistake and not realise it and keep on working until it would become obvious that something was seriously wrong. Then we would have to backtrack though our working to find where the mistake had occurred, correct it and rework the problem with the correction.
Some readers might be tempted to think that such mistakes show that I was ill prepared for the lesson. Why had I not learned the problem off by heart so that I could put the solution up on the blackboard perfectly in the first place? Why subject the students to mistakes?
In fact, this teaching strategy is developing one of the most important skills of problem solving, “backtracking”. Recognising that you have made a mistake and backtracking over your work until you discover where you have made the mistake, correcting the mistake, and reworking the problem. And that is not just a mathematical skill. It has an important practical application in the game of life for us as individuals, and collectively for society and community.
In our lesson this week, the post exilic Jews were doing a bit of backtracking, analysing the problem and what had led to it and were attempting a solution. In fact, many of the biblical narratives are about people making mistakes and back-tracking to find the cause and reworking to find a better solution. Some people had to do a lot more backtracking than others.
And it may be worth considering that the big lesson for this week is that we should be willing to recognise that we have reached an inconsistency in our spiritual lives, backtrack, and with the help of the Holy Spirit work towards a better solution. Perhaps, you should have payed more attention in Maths class!
Relationship - opposite attract right? Yes, in the beginning but in the long run the very thing attracted you into the relationship becomes a thorn. If you are a person who finds a person who can do things spontaneously it will be an attraction when the spontaneous decision affects financial then the effect is a sour relationship. Christianity is all about relationship.
Intermarriage - They are becoming a stumbling stone for those who are seeking a relationship with the Lord. Compromised leaders will have a hard time teaching about morality unless they are like Ruth give up the relationship of the former.
Nehemiah's reproof stems from historical fact that has plagued the nation from Abraham to the current historical time of Nehemiah. After spending years rebuilding the wall brick by brick at the peril of invasion by the enemies, he is not going to sit idol and watch the nation disintegrate to nothingness.
By beholding we become changed. We don't like this phrase. Especially my children ask for proof in spite of the downward spiral this world has been fast approaching due to demoralization. This world is becoming desensitized to the evil; therefore, evil is called good.
Ezra cannot believe what is happening with the people of God. They are knowingly breaking the command of God. After experiencing the bondage for seventy years the people have not learned to be obedient. Now just as Elijah mandated the people must choose to serve God or Baal. There is no middle ground.
What is hard in the Old Testament Jesus makes it impossible in the New Testament. Adultery is based on action in the OT. Adultery is based on lustful eyes. If you compromise My (Christ) relationship there will be no victory. Revelation is clear he who overcomes I will grant him the right to sit with me on my throne.
I guess you have to read the bible in a very low gear. I am surprised I missed this verse.
Ezra 10:16&17
On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, 17 and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.
They sat down to investigate the families case by case on the first day of the tenth month.
They finished the investigation on the first day of the first month.
I believe they had spent sixty days validating the practices of the people who were married to heathen wives.
After the investigation, the women who did not want anything to do with Yahweh was sent away from the establishment.
There will come in everyone of our life to choose between our work, our families, our spouses, and our material possessions of this world. We can be like Lot's wife and turn back or go forward be saved.
How do I share what it means to have a relationship with the LORD with others?
By my actions, how I relate to them, in other words by the resultant impact that relationship has on my life.
The danger is that they might think all they need to do is copy my actions only, while what is needed is a change of heart, thoughts and intentions which will result in a change of actions.
This is what we see so often in the Bible and in the history of the world.
We misunderstand the LORDs desire when He says love Me and this is the result and sums it up in 10 statements. Then we work so hard on trying to change our actions without a changed new heart.
Ezra and Nehemiah read the Word to the people and had people explaining it to them but it appears that many did not grasp the secret clue.
What are the magic words?
Ex 19:5-6 IF you listen to My guidance and cherish our commitment to each other then you will be My Precious people.
Deut 6:5 love the LORD with all your heart, mind and body
Deut 6:6 the Words He gives to you will be in your heart
Ps 51:6 The LORD desires truth in your heart and He will give you wisdom
Ps 51:10 He will create a new, clean heart and give you the power to do His will
Philippians 2:13 for it is the LORD who works in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure
2Peter 1:2-8 the LORD gives you divine power to enable you to partake of the divine nature.
The is the critical question - do you desire a divine nature? Do you want to be a new creation? 2Cor 5:17
Family is our greatest treasure! Anything that goes against this Institution is madness! Family is family, no matter what, it starts basically with HOME! Those with whom we live, that's the basic family! Thus, anything that hurts this core is madness! We have to fight with all the strenght we can for our HOME! Starting with myself, putting God's love in the heart, believing in the sacrifice He made for each single life born in this crashing planet! May we have this as moto always!