The
online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.
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Monday,
June 14,
2021
Saturday we attended a huge car show
sponsored by a local church with reportedly 1000
vehicles on display. Without a doubt this 1928
Ford Model AA Dump Truck was the most unusual one.
It's for sale, all accessories included, if
interested. Perhaps it's a distant cousin to the
Jed Clampett truck from "Beverly Hillbillies", a
cut-down 1921 Oldsmobile Model 46 Roadster.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
"The Peril Of
Clinging To Worthless Idols"
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Those
who cling to worthless idols turn away from
God’s love for them" (Jonah 2:8).
In
April we visited Cape Cod for several days
intending to ride our bikes although it ended
up being a rainy, cold weekend. However we
made the best of it with some sightseeing,
including a trip to Wellfleet to visit the
Cape Cod National Seashore.
Wellfleet just made the news due to
a Bible-like experience a lobsterman had on
Friday off the coast of Cape Cod. Michael
Packard was taken in by a whale and was in the
whale's mouth before getting spit out. (See
below for link to video and article.)He
detailed the incident in a Facebook post
Friday afternoon.
“Hi
everyone, I just want to clarify what
happened to me today. I was lobster diving
and a humpback whale tried to eat me. I was
in his closed mouth for about 30 to 40
seconds before he rose to the surface and
spit me out. I am very bruised up but have
no broken bones.”
Can
you imagine the call he made to his wife on
the way to the hospital, "I just got swallowed
by a whale". This most unusual experience may
very well bring about an epiphany in his life
story. I know already where your mind is
wandering off to, as you're already
considering the first story of a man swallowed
by a whale, though he spent a lot more time in
the belly of the whale as God was dealing with
spiritual issues in his life.
Jonah
was running from God's call and experienced a
very unique consequence in his famous whale
encounter. But he had an epiphany while in the
whale and seemed to come to his senses as
revealed in his prayer (Jonah, chapter two)
which includes today's text. He
makes a powerful theological point concerning,
"Those who cling to worthless idols".
What were the "worthless idols" Jonah was referring to in the daily text? Likely he meant the objects of worship that we normally associate with idolatry in the Bible. Bible commentator Albert Barne's considers worthless idols as, "All people's idols, idols of the flesh, idols of intellect, idols of ambition, idols of pride, idols of self and self-will. People 'observe' them, as gods, watch them, hang upon them, never lose sight of them, guard them as though they could keep them. But what are they? 'lying vanities,' breath and wind, which none can grasp or detain, vanishing like air into air."
However in light of the current political season here in America, regardless of party, candidate or ideological position, many place their hope in a person, program, or a cause to make things right. I sure see a tendency for many people to idolize a person. The first part of the verse is very descriptive, "Those who cling to worthless idols." There are many "worthless idols" we can cling to.
But today let us consider a worthless idol concerning those who grew up in church and in religious homes and yet have an inferior understanding of God's love and grace. They may be extra hard on themselves and judgmental toward others. They may have difficulty accepting God's forgiveness or His assurance of their personal salvation that leads to peace and the abundant life.
Trying to attain righteousness with God through good works is a "worthless idol" that many cling to and thereby "turn away from God’s love for them". The clear New Testament teaching on this matter states, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). This leads to truly resting in the all sufficient grace of Jesus and having a lasting and peaceful assurance of our salvation!
The Bill Gaither Vocal Band sings a great song, "Child, You're Forgiven" which has a powerful expression in it: "I've traded performance for amazing grace. What a relief, I can't earn my way." Do you identify with the expression, "What a relief, I can't earn my way?"
The late Jerry Bridges notes, "God's grace does not supplement our good works. Instead His grace overcomes our bad works, which are our sins." Erwin Lutzer observes, "When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God's generous grace."
Good works are an outflow of God's amazing grace, not a replacement! Accept God's generous grace today and proclaim with the Palmist, "But with You there is forgiveness" (Psalm 130:4).
What were the "worthless idols" Jonah was referring to in the daily text? Likely he meant the objects of worship that we normally associate with idolatry in the Bible. Bible commentator Albert Barne's considers worthless idols as, "All people's idols, idols of the flesh, idols of intellect, idols of ambition, idols of pride, idols of self and self-will. People 'observe' them, as gods, watch them, hang upon them, never lose sight of them, guard them as though they could keep them. But what are they? 'lying vanities,' breath and wind, which none can grasp or detain, vanishing like air into air."
However in light of the current political season here in America, regardless of party, candidate or ideological position, many place their hope in a person, program, or a cause to make things right. I sure see a tendency for many people to idolize a person. The first part of the verse is very descriptive, "Those who cling to worthless idols." There are many "worthless idols" we can cling to.
But today let us consider a worthless idol concerning those who grew up in church and in religious homes and yet have an inferior understanding of God's love and grace. They may be extra hard on themselves and judgmental toward others. They may have difficulty accepting God's forgiveness or His assurance of their personal salvation that leads to peace and the abundant life.
Trying to attain righteousness with God through good works is a "worthless idol" that many cling to and thereby "turn away from God’s love for them". The clear New Testament teaching on this matter states, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). This leads to truly resting in the all sufficient grace of Jesus and having a lasting and peaceful assurance of our salvation!
The Bill Gaither Vocal Band sings a great song, "Child, You're Forgiven" which has a powerful expression in it: "I've traded performance for amazing grace. What a relief, I can't earn my way." Do you identify with the expression, "What a relief, I can't earn my way?"
The late Jerry Bridges notes, "God's grace does not supplement our good works. Instead His grace overcomes our bad works, which are our sins." Erwin Lutzer observes, "When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God's generous grace."
Good works are an outflow of God's amazing grace, not a replacement! Accept God's generous grace today and proclaim with the Palmist, "But with You there is forgiveness" (Psalm 130:4).
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, as we experience amazing grace
through Your forgiveness of our sins it
compels us to show compassion to others
who have not yet applied Your grace to
their lives. As Jude writes, we are to "Be
merciful to those who doubt; snatch
others from the fire and save them; to
others show mercy, mixed with
fear—hating even the clothing stained
by corrupted flesh." In reaching
out to those living in sin help us to be
discerning, wise, and cautious, always
loving the sinner but never embracing or
justifying the sin. May our redeemed
lives be living examples of the freedom
we enjoy in this life after we forsake
worthless idols in exchange for the
grace that is ours through Christ Jesus
our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Daily
prayer:
Father, as we experience amazing grace
through Your forgiveness of our sins it
compels us to show compassion to others
who have not yet applied Your grace to
their lives. As Jude writes, we are to "Be
merciful to those who doubt; snatch
others from the fire and save them; to
others show mercy, mixed with
fear—hating even the clothing stained
by corrupted flesh." In reaching
out to those living in sin help us to be
discerning, wise, and cautious, always
loving the sinner but never embracing or
justifying the sin. May our redeemed
lives be living examples of the freedom
we enjoy in this life after we forsake
worthless idols in exchange for the
grace that is ours through Christ Jesus
our Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Wonderful
Grace of Jesus" Video
Ernie Haase &
Signature Sound
Video about
lobster diver.
Article
about Massachusetts lobster diver
swallowed by humpback whale off
Cape Cod coast.
Today
we will show photos of several
cars we saw at the car show on
Saturday
Sharon
and Phil with Sharon's '67 Chevy
Nova. We see Sharon each week when
we visit JK Mechanical and she has
become a good friend. Phil has been
a mechanic for 51 years and
currently repairs and maintains U.S.
Postal vehicles. Sharon's car is a
reminder of our "antique" age since
Brooksyne drove a white '64 or '65
Chevy Nova her senior year in high
school. Her folks surprised her in
her freshman year at CBC with a '71
orange Ford Maverick which we both
drove in 1976 after we got married.
Donna, another good
friend from a company we served as
chaplains for over 12 years, was
there with her brightly decalled
mustang. At 11:30 that morning
engines were revved up altogether
and this roaring mustang was among
them.
It's
nice to talk with owners and they
are pleased to have you look at
their restoration including
beautiful bucket seats in the
interior. This fella is from nearby
Columbia and we have seen his truck
often. Brooksyne teased him that she
would be surprised to see lumber
loaded in the back of his pristine
truck bed. He agreed that she would
not!
We
especially enjoyed the restored old
trucks.
There's
no mistaking which team this Camaro
owner is for!
I
read a story about a
snowflake New York Times reporter
being triggered by seeing trucks
with American flags on them. This
one would probably send her to the
hospital!
Finally today:
This morning we had our
air conditioning system tuned up
by two service techs from JK
Mechanical. We serve this company
as chaplains so we personally know
the technicians. Tom (near the
unit) has been with the company
since long before we started in
2010 and Chad (left) is a recent
graduate and intern from Stevens
Institute of Technology. We
commend these two men and those
who do jobs like this that keep
things going. They have been very
busy which can take a toll
especially in the extreme heat.
Tom was talking with me as I was
preparing to take this photo and
rested his hand between the
decking floor and this privacy
fence right where he is now
standing. Suddenly he was
startled as a wet "critter" began
sniffing his hand so he
immediately withdrew his hand from
the deck. We had quite a chuckle
as we informed him that our dog,
Mollie, was on the other side of
the privacy fence and checking him
out.
Our
forty-fifth
anniversary
photo taken in
Harpers Ferry,
WV
(Click on photo for larger view)
(Click on photo for larger view)
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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