5/30/14- Obedience

We confess and acknowledge that God has given to man his holy law, in which not only all such works as displease and offend his godly majesty are forbidden, but also those which please him and which he has promised to reward are commanded. These works are of two kinds. The one is done to the honor of God, the other to the profit of our neighbor, and both have the revealed word of God as their assurance. To have one God, to worship and honor him, to call upon him in all our troubles, to reverence his holy Name, to hear his Word and to believe it, and to share in his holy sacraments, belong to the first kind. To honor father, mother, princes, rulers, and superior powers; to love them, to support them, to obey their orders if they are not contrary to the commands of God, to save the lives of the innocent, to repress tyranny, to defend the oppressed, to keep our bodies clean and holy, to live in soberness and temperance, to deal justly with all men in word and deed, and, finally, to repress any desire to harm our neighbor, are the good works of the second kind, and these are most pleasing and acceptable to God as he has commanded them himself. (Scots 12a)

32So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. (Dt. 5:32,33)

Thoughts: We live in a time in which people are not so worried about pleasing God as they are concerned that God please them.  In such an environment, there is a neglect and even a distrust of the Law of God.  As we trust our own hearts, we forget to trust God.  But our hearts are deceitful, blind to our own faults, and quit to excuse and justify our behavior.  God's Law is given to teach us the way we are designed.  It has been proven over thousands of years, yet now we feel like we are much smarter and knowledgeable so that we justify our disobedience with our prideful knowledge.
    Knox reminds us that the Law teaches us how to please God.  Knox speaks specifically about the Ten Commandments that speak of how to honor God and how to benefit our neighbors.  Knox adds some wrinkles in his interpretation.  For example, to believe in one God and to respect His name implies that we would call upon His holy name and respect His Word.  These are part of the first order of honoring God. 
   Living in kindness, working against tyranny, yet obeying the just ruler is important.  A second set is to "keep our body clean and holy."  Perhaps this 1569 document inspired the 1760 statement of Benjamin Franklin that cleanliness is next to godliness.  To keep ourselve sober and temperate would allow us to think and hear clearly the Word of God.
    To be just and not harm our neighbor are also two clear implications from the Ten Commands.  

Prayer: Lord, give me a heart that wants to respond to you.  Give me ears to hear and a deep love for you.  

5/29/12- Pleasing God

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19,20)

(Epps- 19th century- John Knox confronting Mary Queen of Scots)


Thoughts: Today went to John Knox's house.  John was known for his many confrontations with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.  But when Mary first arrived in the country, John Knox fled towards England to escape her wrath.  But he turned around.  Doubtless he had received advice to flee for his own good and the good of his cause.  But Knox not only turned around but he went to Holyrood to meet the queen in an effort to convert her to Reformed thinking (she was a devout catholic).  Mary, on the other hand, made every effort to try to please people, and it often led to disastrous results.  She married her first cousin- in an effort to have a Stuart heir - but he ended up being murdered.  Her third marriage was to Lord Boswell who assisted in her husband's marriage and was still married in catholic eyes- so she married him in a Protestant service.  But she made the catholics mad by not getting permission from the pope for the marriage and having a Protestant service.  The Protestants had been given some power by Mary, but they were not happy either.  Lincoln said you can't please all the people all the time.  The apostles said they must please God rather than man.  It was the regent of Scotland who said at Knox's funeral, "Here lies a man who fears no man."  May that be true of us. 


Prayer: Give me grace and strength and insight to please you, Lord, above all others.