Daily Devotional – April 20, 2020

Well, good afternoon. I hope you're doing well on this beginning of a new week. Beautiful day outside. I trust that on day 31 of staying home. You're gonna be able to get outside soak up some of that vitamin D.

Your body needs the sunshine your spirits could use it as well. I'm sure so so get outside take advantage of that. Well, do you miss you miss not being able to attend church services? Well, I hope you're missing it and I hope you're looking forward to regathering soon.

Readjusting to Church After the Virus Crisis

But of course, you know by that time we're all gonna have to do some readjustment all over again, right? Well one guy anticipating that coming readjustment. He said I'll be glad to be able to attend church again, but I'm sure gonna miss being able to fast-forward and mute.

Yeah, well I mentioned this guy's comment at breakfast this morning and My sister said who's my sister's far far more spiritual than that guy. He said she said she's gonna miss being able to to pause so that she can get better notes.

Oh. May her tribe increase right? Well, anyway, whatever the case we're gonna have readjustments to make when that happens and and I hope it happens soon. And I hope that you're looking forward to it.

Suspicious Cars and a Neighbor Without Hair Color

By the way, word to the wise here. I was driving home from the church the other day. And looked down one of the streets along the way and noticed about three cop cars police cars are all around this This one house and I wondered what in the world was going on.

You know some kind of great crime going on or something and it turns to fun come to find out the owner of Of a house across the street thought that she saw some suspicious person There at her neighbor's house.

So she called the police and said I think I think something somebody's suspicious some something funny going on there. So the police came turned out it was just their neighbor who Hadn't been able to get her hair colored for quite a while.

She'd never makeup on didn't have her hair extensions in and all that kind of stuff. So Anyway, I think that may be the same neighbor that said if this stay-at-home order doesn't lift soon then hair stylists are going to open up the modern equivalent of a speakeasy from the Prohibition era.

Well, I don't know about that. But anyway. Well, I wanted to share a few thoughts from Luke chapter 11 on most weekdays. I read an entry in a devotional book entitled Daily Readings by J. C. Ryle and what it's it's actually just a compilation of Ryle's comments on the Gospels.

J. C. Ryle was Bishop in England back in 1800s and he he wrote expositional thoughts on each of the four Gospels and very very good a Very good resource and I commend it highly. But anyway, he was commenting on Luke 11 verses 45 to 54 and That section that passage tells about an encounter that Jesus had with one of the lawyers of his day now just to be clear a lawyer in the first century Israel was not like a lawyer or an attorney in our day.

He was supposed to be an expert at in the Mosaic law that Old Testament Jewish law. That is laid down in the Torah those first five books of of the Old Testament. But what the lawyers were experts at were supposedly those that law in those five books, but also all of the Commentaries the traditional commentaries that were added to it over the course of the centuries.

So this this guy this lawyer was supposed to be a real expert at at that law. And he got a little bit miffed at Jesus because Jesus had some rather harsh things to say to some hypocritical Pharisees and these Pharisees were criticizinging Jesus and his disciples because they didn't do the traditional washings that the Pharisees said people had to do and They weren't required they weren't it's not part of the law or anything.

They just added on traditions added on and Jesus said you're a bunch of hypocrites. Well, the lawyers heard that the lawyer heard that and he said hey, wait a minute now. You're you're you're talking about us too.

You're reproaching us, too. So Jesus responded to the lawyer with a series of three criticisms. In the first place he said You load people down with burdens heavy burdens that you yourselves won't even carry.

Secondly, he said you give tacit approval to what your ancestors did. When they killed the God-appointed prophets whom God sent to Israel to call the people to repentance and call them to a restored relationship with God and Thirdly he said instead of educating people in the truth.

You've taken away the key to knowledge. You're preventing people from finding out what God is really like and what God truly wants.

Well.

That didn't sit so well With that lawyer, but the reason that Jesus was so critical of the lawyer and those like him is that innocent Unsuspecting people were being hurt. Well in his comment on this passage what struck me is something that I that is really kind of a parallel to today Ryle points out that a reckoning day is coming for those who persecute God's people and Jesus said to the lawyer the bloodshed of God's prophets will be required of this generation.

In other words You're gonna answer for this you're gonna answer for this. So in that context Ryle went on to say and I think there's something here for what we're dealing with in this virus crisis. Ryle said this he said let us look ahead to the judgment day.

There are many things going on in our world that try our faith. The frequent triumphing of the wicked is perplexing. The frequent the frequent depression of the godly is a problem that appears hard to solve.

But it shall all be made clear one day all shall be unraveled and put in its rightful place. Every drop of righteous blood that has been spilt shall be required. So here's the thing. There is I believe a good bit of Unrighteous junk if you will that's going on related to this virus crisis.

There's already been talk of Abusing the so-called stimulus money or whatever you want to call that Abusing that and You know People stealing it and all that kind of stuff. That's that's one thing but but beyond that there was a god-hating communist regime that for whatever reason Failed to take the steps that they could have and should have taken To prevent this virus crisis and prevent it from becoming the pandemic that it is today and you know I know there's debate whether it was intentional or accidental Doesn't matter.

There's a lot that wasn't done that could have been done and then there are some power-hungry politicians that have denied access to to medical care people getting medical care and procedures that they have deemed to be Elective at the same time they insist that Baby killing abortionists can go on carry on with their work because it is quote essential and life-saving and then there are many in the mainstream media who seem to be controlled by a political agenda and That is to destroy the president at all costs to keep him from being elected.

Whatever we have to do to make that happen, even if it means suppressing or Distorting the truth and keeping people in the dark all these things remind me of the kind of stuff the category of stuff that Jesus was Condemning that lawyer for and criticizing that lawyer for I could go on and on with that kind of thing.

I won't do it. I'm sure you're privy to it already and to that and probably Probably more. My point is this my point is that we have to look beyond today. We we must not on one hand. We must not bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these things don't exist.

These kinds of things don't exist and they aren't happening because they are and Probably so much more than we know. But the end of the story isn't being written by the New York Times or the Washington Post.

That the end of the story will be written by the one who knows the end of the story and to whom all will answer. Listen again to what Ryle said a hundred and sixty years ago. Let us look ahead to the Judgment Day.

There are many things going on in our world that try our faith. The frequent triumphing of the wicked is Perplexing. The frequent depression of the godly is a problem that appears hard to solve. But it shall all be made clear one day all shall be unraveled and put in its right place.

Every drop of righteous blood that has been spilt shall be required. What Riles is referring to is recorded for us in Revelation 11 or Revelation 20 verses 11 and 12. Listen to what it says. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

From his presence earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them and I saw the dead small and great Standing before the throne and books were opened. Then another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books According to what they had done.

So my friend as you look around you today and this world in which we're living as you watch the news you hear of the reports of Scandal and abuse and all the rest of that kind of stuff. Listen keep a long view keep a long view and So our Heavenly Father, I pray that we shall Will not allow ourselves to get caught up with Fear and trepidation and undue aggravation and anxiety and stress over all that is unrighteous in this world today May we keep a long view and realize that there is a judgment day coming when all will be clear and all will be Set right this we pray in Jesus name.

Amen. All right. Well, have a great Monday and Lord bless you and we'll see you again Tomorrow Lord willing the same time. Have a good day.