Throughout history, various motives have moved men to sing unto the Lord. Some men sang as a testimony of some specific thing God had done for them (Exodus 15:1; Psalm 126:1-2). Others sang in order to teach truths set forth in the word of God (Colossians 3:16; Psalm 101:1). Some even sang songs that would testify against them in times of disobedience (Deuteronomy 31:19). Though some things have changed throughout history, God’s people still should sing songs of personal testimony like My Jesus, I Love Thee; songs that teach like Holy and Reverend Is the Name; and songs that witness against disobedience like He Was Not Willing.
In John’s epistle to the elect lady and her children (2 John 1), he encouraged them to look to themselves so that he, and those with him, might not lose those things which they had wrought. In order for John to receive a full reward, those to whom he had ministered must take heed to their own service and their walk before the Lord. This line of thinking seems to be less emphasized today in many Bible-believing groups. However, it is a truth set forth by the scriptures. Paul reiterated this truth in Galatians 4:11 when he said, “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” In 1 Thessalonians 2:19, he declared that God’s people were his hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. You might say that Paul concluded the matter when he asked, “are not ye my work in the Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1).
Too many people have assumed that believers may freely rebuke in their own authority, but there exists no scriptural basis for this. The LORD gave us an excellent example when He said, “The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan.” When rebuking the Devil, the LORD emphasized the importance of authority. No believer should ever rebuke except according to the God-given authority of scripture. In Zechariah 3:2, the LORD was His own authority, but believers do not have any such authority in themselves apart from the Lord and His word. Paul spoke expressly about this when he charged Titus to “speak, exhort, and rebuke with all authority” (Titus 2:15). It is not sufficient to flippantly invoke the Lord’s name; one must base any rebuke upon the scripture. Henceforth, it is the Lord that rebukes, never the believer.
On the sabbath day, the Lord Jesus stood to read the scriptures. This was a common practice in New Testament times as the Jews would read the scriptures every sabbath day (Acts 13:27; Acts 15:21). Publick scripture reading was not uncommon and appears to have also been a practice of the Israelites in the Old Testament (Exodus 24:7; Deuteronomy 31:11; 2 Kings 23:2; Nehemiah 8:3). The Bible also records that publick reading was common in the early church. Unlike today, believers did not own personal copies of the scriptures. Believers learned the scripture from publick reading (1 Thessalonians 5:27; 1 Timothy 4:13). Even now, believers should make an effort to publickly read the scriptures.
The Bible is not meant to be read merely for the sake of reading. God intends for the Bible to be read with a deliberate purpose! Sometimes that purpose may be learning, while at other times it may be for purification. There will be times when one might not know the purpose for reading, but there can be no doubt that the Lord has a purpose. In Deuteronomy 17:18-19, the Lord states that His king should spend time in the law of God so that “he may learn to fear the LORD his God” and “keep all the words of” God’s law “to do them.” In Ephesians 5:26, the Lord describes one of these purposes when He speaks of “the washing of water by the word.” God’s purposes may be missed when one indiscriminately hastens through the scriptures.
The prevailing philosophy today seems to be that each person should be allowed to do what is right in his own eyes. With this philosophy, anything goes! Unfortunately, even Christians have bought into this wicked mindset as they raise their children and allow them to decide what to believe to be true. This contradicts the very foundation of biblical faith that teaches believers to pass on the truths that they have received. The Lord called Moses to the mount to receive commandments with the end purpose that he would teach the people what he had received. This theme was quite common in the history of the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:9-10). God gave His truth to His people with instructions to give those truths to others. The New Testament follows this same pattern. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
Some Bible teachers have suggested that there are specific times of the day in which believers ought to go to the Lord in prayer. In Psalm 5:3, David vowed to present his prayers before the Lord in the morning. In the 88th psalm, the psalmist acknowledged that he prayed to the Lord day and night (Psalm 88:1). Of course, many know about the pattern followed by Daniel, even in the face of persecution, when he sought the Lord three times a day (Daniel 6:10). From these passages, one might suggest that there are specific times of prayer, but according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17, believers are to pray without ceasing. In other words, believers ought to always be in a constant state of prayer before the Lord.
We know that believers should pray for others, but should we limit our scope of prayers? The apostle Paul admonished the believers of Thessalonica to pray for him but also wanted those who served the Lord by his side included (1 Thessalonians 5:25). He admonished the believers in Ephesus to pray for all saints (Ephesians 6:18). Then, he instructed Timothy, the young preacher, to pray “For kings, and for all that are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2). In verse one of the same chapter (1 Timothy 2:1), Paul gave Timothy a much broader scope when he said “that . . . supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks” should “be made for all men.” If believers fail to pray for others, who will take up the slack to pray for those in need?
In Deuteronomy 7:7-8, the Lord expressed His great love for the nation of Israel. In the midst of this declaration, the Lord provided reasons why He placed His love upon this particular nation. In Deuteronomy 1:27, the people began to murmur and their murmurings bred lies. They stated that the Lord brought them out of Egypt to destroy them because of His great hatred for them. Their statements were completely false. This is true in most circumstances when people turn to murmuring. The problem gets exaggerated and the truth corrupted. Fabricating lies helps the one murmuring to feel better about voicing the complaint. Interestingly, the truth is usually not worth murmuring about.
God made you! He either made you a male or a female (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4). As such, He expects each of us to act, look, and live like what He made us in every way. Ever more frequently, the world and the Devil have blurred the lines of distinction between male and female. One of the most grievous outcomes of the blurring of distinctions between male and female has resulted in the public’s acceptance of the sin which led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God condemned it then and condemns it no less today. The Lord wants men and women to be distinct and look differently in every possible way. As such, He created the genders with obvious physical differences. He even admonished each gender to bear clear and distinct differences in length of hair (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) and commanded them to maintain obvious distinctions in apparel (Deuteronomy 22:5). In other words, focus upon looking like what God created you to be.
