Monday Easter Week Four -- May 11
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Meditation
Monday of Easter Week Four lessons indicted those leaders that failed to keep their flocks properly. The Old Testament lesson in Ezekiel pointed the finger of blame on the shepherd-leaders that were favoring some flock members over the others. The fat sheep were given preference and the thin sheep were starved and deprived of water, deliberately, with malice of forethought.
God replied that he would take over the shepherding job, and put his David in the position of shepherd; of course this meant, Jesus, the shepherd of David’s line.
The Psalmist called for all to sing praises to God, because God is in charge. Any service we do (as volunteers or leaders) depends on the grace of God for its effectual achievement. “It is God, who created us and not we, ourselves,” the Psalmist said. The final words of Psalm 100 acknowledge the mercy and grace of God.
The New Testament epistle of Peter was responding to church leaders, who didn’t care about their flocks but were serving the church for the money they could receive. Peter pleaded for the leaders to serve because of their love for God, not money. The leaders were lording it over their flocks—oppressively—and Peter asked them to be examples of Christ, instead. The last part implored the young to obey their elders in humility.
Clearly, there was a crisis in the church, where the arrogant leadership abused their positions and the arrogant young flock resisted their suggestions. Peter wanted the young to accept the leader’s guidance. This time he mentioned their arrogance. More importantly, Peter told them that “God is against the proud, but kind to the humble.”
Church leaders today have railed against those, who believed or acted differently from them on issues of marriage, sexual behavior, LGBT and finances. I can’t remember hearing anyone holding any leader accountable for demonstrating arrogance. Some Christian leaders, regardless of side of the debates, have spewed hate with arrogance.
God has been consistent about disliking arrogance. From the first sin—Satan appealed to the belief of superiority of being like God—to Lucifer’s fall because of his putting himself as equal to God—to King Saul, whose actions in disobedience to God were counted as him believing he knew better than God—all demonstrated arrogance when facing God. Even Job, whose friends tried to console him by showing him his mistakes and Job challenging God with his belief that he was righteous, God’s final word asked Job if he was part of the creation process putting the stars in place or the Leviathan in the sea etc. and of course, Job acknowledged his subordinate position to God.
The third temptation of Jesus by the devil was about pride, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Jesus replied that “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
None of us is capable of understanding God fully. God is greater than our greatest imagination, or comprehension. We cannot think in the ‘infinite or the eternal’ and so our thoughts fall short of who God is. I Corinthians talks of understanding in part, but at the end times, we will understand fully when we see God face to face.
Until that moment, we don’t have the right to be arrogant of our knowledge. We must be cautious in how we present the Word of God.
I am pretty sure I have failed at this more than once, but my responsibility is to ask God’s forgiveness and pray for grace to cover my sins of arrogance and transform me into a more Christ-like servant of God.
All the lessons are indictments of leaders in the church. This is God’s church—not ours. This is God’s work; we are the servants. We must follow Christ’s style of loving the masses. Reaching the unlovely. If we were doing our job, our churches would be filled with prostitutes and gamblers, loan sharks and murderers, ex-convicts and gangs, etc. That’s whom Christ reached out to. The hungry are in need and we are ignoring them. Our churches are packed with ‘sameness’ and they resemble ‘country clubs for saints’ instead of hospitals for sinners.
On the ships, we staged practice of emergencies and tried to imagine every possible circumstance. As a chaplain, we went to medical stations, where the wounded and dead or dying would be brought. We dealt with them in their incarnations of need—a spiritual triage. Dead and dying first—giving them the sacrament of the sick(Catholics) or listening to their concerns, last words written for them, and always prayers/hand holding. Then, we addressed the three other stages of injury, with prayers and symbols for the sailors to carry with them.
But in our churches, the triage is difficult, because so many hide under false fronts and those in need, often won’t come.
A pastor shared that he encountered a member in the grocery store he had not seen in a year. The man replied that it was the worst year of his life and the church was the last place he wanted to go. He expected judgment and criticism, rather than help and healing.
So, the question is for each believer: What am I doing to be a true servant of God? How should be ‘shepherding’ differently to serve God better, like Christ? If we ask those questions with sincerity, we open our hearts and minds to the leading of the spirit, and great things will happen.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Easter Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 100;Ezekiel 34:17-23;1 Peter 5:1-5&version=KJV;NCV;GNT;NIVUK;ERV (multiple versions)
Monday, Easter Week Four
Psalm 100
Ezekiel 34:17-23
1 Peter 5:1-5
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3045/5797590971_abd3064752_z_d.jpg "The Good Shepherd 136" by Waiting For The Word; flickr
23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Peter 5:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we ask forgiveness for our arrogance and failure to serve you and your flock as we ought. Open our hearts and minds to your leading that we might do great service for you. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, of Easter Week Four’s lesson centered on the shepherd’s work, again. But the focus was poor shepherding versus God’s shepherding. All church leaders should pay attention to this passage and scrutinize themselves. Arrogance has no place in the church, although it is rampant. Every division in the universal church through the ages came from arrogance—more often from the leaders than the congregants. One of the attractions to people like the Rev. Billy Graham and Pope Francis has been their humility.
Our goal as Christians is to do service for God, and in all we do, it is God’s service not ours. But the rewards in heaven will be greater for those who serve with humility even as Christ showed us humility in his sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
Monday of Easter Week Four lessons indicted those leaders that failed to keep their flocks properly. The Old Testament lesson in Ezekiel pointed the finger of blame on the shepherd-leaders that were favoring some flock members over the others. The fat sheep were given preference and the thin sheep were starved and deprived of water, deliberately, with malice of forethought.
God replied that he would take over the shepherding job, and put his David in the position of shepherd; of course this meant, Jesus, the shepherd of David’s line.
The Psalmist called for all to sing praises to God, because God is in charge. Any service we do (as volunteers or leaders) depends on the grace of God for its effectual achievement. “It is God, who created us and not we, ourselves,” the Psalmist said. The final words of Psalm 100 acknowledge the mercy and grace of God.
The New Testament epistle of Peter was responding to church leaders, who didn’t care about their flocks but were serving the church for the money they could receive. Peter pleaded for the leaders to serve because of their love for God, not money. The leaders were lording it over their flocks—oppressively—and Peter asked them to be examples of Christ, instead. The last part implored the young to obey their elders in humility.
Clearly, there was a crisis in the church, where the arrogant leadership abused their positions and the arrogant young flock resisted their suggestions. Peter wanted the young to accept the leader’s guidance. This time he mentioned their arrogance. More importantly, Peter told them that “God is against the proud, but kind to the humble.”
Church leaders today have railed against those, who believed or acted differently from them on issues of marriage, sexual behavior, LGBT and finances. I can’t remember hearing anyone holding any leader accountable for demonstrating arrogance. Some Christian leaders, regardless of side of the debates, have spewed hate with arrogance.
God has been consistent about disliking arrogance. From the first sin—Satan appealed to the belief of superiority of being like God—to Lucifer’s fall because of his putting himself as equal to God—to King Saul, whose actions in disobedience to God were counted as him believing he knew better than God—all demonstrated arrogance when facing God. Even Job, whose friends tried to console him by showing him his mistakes and Job challenging God with his belief that he was righteous, God’s final word asked Job if he was part of the creation process putting the stars in place or the Leviathan in the sea etc. and of course, Job acknowledged his subordinate position to God.
The third temptation of Jesus by the devil was about pride, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Jesus replied that “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
None of us is capable of understanding God fully. God is greater than our greatest imagination, or comprehension. We cannot think in the ‘infinite or the eternal’ and so our thoughts fall short of who God is. I Corinthians talks of understanding in part, but at the end times, we will understand fully when we see God face to face.
Until that moment, we don’t have the right to be arrogant of our knowledge. We must be cautious in how we present the Word of God.
I am pretty sure I have failed at this more than once, but my responsibility is to ask God’s forgiveness and pray for grace to cover my sins of arrogance and transform me into a more Christ-like servant of God.
All the lessons are indictments of leaders in the church. This is God’s church—not ours. This is God’s work; we are the servants. We must follow Christ’s style of loving the masses. Reaching the unlovely. If we were doing our job, our churches would be filled with prostitutes and gamblers, loan sharks and murderers, ex-convicts and gangs, etc. That’s whom Christ reached out to. The hungry are in need and we are ignoring them. Our churches are packed with ‘sameness’ and they resemble ‘country clubs for saints’ instead of hospitals for sinners.
On the ships, we staged practice of emergencies and tried to imagine every possible circumstance. As a chaplain, we went to medical stations, where the wounded and dead or dying would be brought. We dealt with them in their incarnations of need—a spiritual triage. Dead and dying first—giving them the sacrament of the sick(Catholics) or listening to their concerns, last words written for them, and always prayers/hand holding. Then, we addressed the three other stages of injury, with prayers and symbols for the sailors to carry with them.
But in our churches, the triage is difficult, because so many hide under false fronts and those in need, often won’t come.
A pastor shared that he encountered a member in the grocery store he had not seen in a year. The man replied that it was the worst year of his life and the church was the last place he wanted to go. He expected judgment and criticism, rather than help and healing.
So, the question is for each believer: What am I doing to be a true servant of God? How should be ‘shepherding’ differently to serve God better, like Christ? If we ask those questions with sincerity, we open our hearts and minds to the leading of the spirit, and great things will happen.
Thanks be to God.
All Scriptures printed below are in King James Version for copyright purposes. However, clicking on the verse locations will take you to Biblegateway.com where the text is linked to more contemporary versions.
Prayer: Almighty God, Open my eyes that I might see. Open my mind that I might understand. Open my heart that I might make your words a part of me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight. Amen
Season of Easter Bible Readings
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm 100;Ezekiel 34:17-23;1 Peter 5:1-5&version=KJV;NCV;GNT;NIVUK;ERV (multiple versions)
Monday, Easter Week Four
Psalm 100
Ezekiel 34:17-23
1 Peter 5:1-5
Daily Bible Verses to Memorize for Meditating
Psalm 23 King James Version (KJV)
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3045/5797590971_abd3064752_z_d.jpg "The Good Shepherd 136" by Waiting For The Word; flickr
23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Single Bible Study chapter to study
1 Peter 5:1-5
King James Version (KJV)
5 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
OBSERVE:
Take a moment and write three observations of the verses. What strikes you? An observation is an observable fact from the Word.
1.
2.
3.
INTERPRETATION:
What do you interpret these verses to mean for you today?
APPLY:
Today, I learned _____________________________________and apply it to my life.
Prayer of Encouragement
Almighty God, we ask forgiveness for our arrogance and failure to serve you and your flock as we ought. Open our hearts and minds to your leading that we might do great service for you. In Jesus name, Amen
Conclusion
Monday, of Easter Week Four’s lesson centered on the shepherd’s work, again. But the focus was poor shepherding versus God’s shepherding. All church leaders should pay attention to this passage and scrutinize themselves. Arrogance has no place in the church, although it is rampant. Every division in the universal church through the ages came from arrogance—more often from the leaders than the congregants. One of the attractions to people like the Rev. Billy Graham and Pope Francis has been their humility.
Our goal as Christians is to do service for God, and in all we do, it is God’s service not ours. But the rewards in heaven will be greater for those who serve with humility even as Christ showed us humility in his sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Go out and be ready for God to do mighty things in your life—for the glory of God.*
Thank you for visiting ChapLynne’s Daily Encouragement and Bible Study. God bless you.
*If you do not know the Lord as your personal Savior and you are seeking, please contact me. A genuine and simple prayer, asking God into your heart for the forgiveness of your sins will also do.
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Replies
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Todays lesson reminds me of the fear instilled in me by the men in the church i grew up in. I have
Three sisters. I was raised in the Church of God. Two of my sisters married Catholic. Before r
Their weddings two of the elders of the church visited our home and told my mother to talk with her daughters, if they married Catholic they would not go to heaven. The long faces, and very solemn expression was very frightening. My mother showed them the door and advised them we all serve one God. ,this is the same unwelcoming expression I have seen in some churches. Yes, Jesus like a shepherd lead us. I do know that Gods love is for all. This is a great reminder to not act or be hauthy, over impressed with self, puffed up. The righteous are just that. It is better to be of a good loving heart and let God judge. Praise be to God. Seek to serve and not be self serving. God bless.0
