David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die!
Nathan told David a story of injustice. David was angry, but Nathan tells him, "You are the man!" (v.7) because of his affair with Bathsheba and murder of her husband. Sometimes we get so angry at something we think is wrong, when the truth is we have done so much worse. Righteous indignation is rarely right.
Lord, thank you for helping us to see our flaws. Please help us to remember our own sin before pointing out the sin of another. Amen.
Showing posts with label flaws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flaws. Show all posts
Friday, September 29, 2017
Monday, January 23, 2017
Luke 9:54 - James the windbag
When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
In three verses in the gospels, James (and John) are shown in a not so flattering light. In Mark 3:17, Jesus calls them both Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”, I did a little research on this name and "sons of thunder" may not be a perfect translation for Boanerges. It may means something closer to Thunder Boys or Bunch of Windbags or Busy Lowing Oxen. No matter the translation, it wasn't good. In Luke 9:54 (above) the brothers are bold enough to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village. First of all, that is not how Jesus rolls. Second, they have the audacity to call down fire from heaven. Elijah, a prophet, is the only person in the Bible who does this. The third verse is in Mark 10:35-37 when James and John ask to be at the right and left side of Jesus in glory. Jesus and the other apostles did not take kindly to this political positioning from the brothers.
The last mentions of James in the Bible restore him as a great man of God regardless of his shortcomings. Acts 12:1-2 states :It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. James was faithful to the end and in Galatians 2:9, he is esteemed as a pillar of the church.
Lord, Thank you for giving us examples of imperfect Christians. Please help us to grow and improve in our manner and conduct. Amen.
In three verses in the gospels, James (and John) are shown in a not so flattering light. In Mark 3:17, Jesus calls them both Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”, I did a little research on this name and "sons of thunder" may not be a perfect translation for Boanerges. It may means something closer to Thunder Boys or Bunch of Windbags or Busy Lowing Oxen. No matter the translation, it wasn't good. In Luke 9:54 (above) the brothers are bold enough to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village. First of all, that is not how Jesus rolls. Second, they have the audacity to call down fire from heaven. Elijah, a prophet, is the only person in the Bible who does this. The third verse is in Mark 10:35-37 when James and John ask to be at the right and left side of Jesus in glory. Jesus and the other apostles did not take kindly to this political positioning from the brothers.
The last mentions of James in the Bible restore him as a great man of God regardless of his shortcomings. Acts 12:1-2 states :It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. James was faithful to the end and in Galatians 2:9, he is esteemed as a pillar of the church.
Lord, Thank you for giving us examples of imperfect Christians. Please help us to grow and improve in our manner and conduct. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)