Pastor Billington's Blog

Matthew 5

Jesus is like a new Moses, giving God’s Word from the mountaintop, and He’s teaching us how to live in the kingdom. Believers are to behave differently, have different values, and be of different character than the world around us. Where the world values pride, we are to be humble. Where the world values safety, we should consider being persecuted a blessing. And this shouldn’t be a surprise to us, because God’s Word has always taught a different standard and Jesus is encouraging us to embrace it. We are to be examples of that higher standard, which means we are to be salt and light to the world around us.

What may be the most surprising is that this standard appears to be an enhancement of the law. The law isn’t gone. In fact, Jesus’ standards are even higher! “You have heard that it was said…but I tell you.” Believers understand that murder starts in the heart with anger. Believers understand that adultery starts in the heart with lust. Believers understand that God hates divorce. Believers understand the importance of telling the truth. Believers understand the importance of mercy. Finally, believers understand the importance of love, even to the point where they are to love those who want to do them harm.

Thought for the day: The key to all of this is the heart. If we allow sin to start in our hearts, then we will eventually act on it. We need to continually fill our hearts with the Word of God, ask God to transform us through His Spirit, and seek the help and guidance of the community of faith if we truly want to live for God!

James 1:14-15 (WEB) “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death.”

Matthew 4

One of the most interesting things about the word for “test” in the Greek is that it can also mean “tempt.” Its translation depends on the context. Satan surely wanted to “tempt” Jesus to sin, but Jesus was “tested” and passed with flying colors! Jesus’ encounter teaches us some important lessons about testing/temptation:

• God allows us to be tested. Notice that it’s the Spirit that leads Jesus into the wilderness.
• Others (including Satan) will try to get us to sin.
• We should pray so that we can withstand “temptation” (fasting implies prayer).
• We can also fast (be careful here). Start small and understand your motives.
• Knowing the Bible can help us to resist temptation. Jesus used the Bible to counteract
  Satan at each point of temptation.

Scripture is not only predictive (Matthew 4:14-16), but it is protective! Hopefully we’ve all felt that initial call to follow Jesus and obeyed it, but then we have a responsibility to continue in discipleship. A big part of that is knowing Scripture, because Scripture helps us to resist both sin and Satan.

Psalm 119:11 (WEB) “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

Notice that in the list of illnesses and afflictions that were brought to Jesus we have a differentiation between “all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics.” Some skeptics try to claim that in NT times people thought that everything was caused by demons. Not so! But this should also show us that there are some things that happen and have a demonic component. God is real. Satan is real. Angels are real. Demons are real. The natural is real. The supernatural is real. We would do well to remember that in our day and age!

Thought for the day: Since Jesus was tested, we can go to Him for strength and understanding.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (WEB) “For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.”

Matthew 3

There is an important warning from John here. It doesn’t matter where you are from, or what your ancestry is. Our relationship with God is personal, and we can’t rely on someone else’s relationship with Him to cover up our own sin. If we do, then judgment is waiting!

The term “baptize” literally means “to dip,” and it was symbolic of the worshipper’s repentance. The washing of their bodies with water symbolized the cleansing of their souls that came about because of confession.

And as important as John the Baptist is with his message of repentance and his call for baptism, he points to the one who deserves the preeminence. It’s all about Jesus! In fact, John says that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around!

Why does Jesus allow John to baptize Him? When Jesus uses the term “righteousness,” He’s probably referring to doing what is right in God’s sight. In other words, Jesus is doing what the Father wants him to, which we see echoed by God when the Spirit comes down. Why is it right? Because He is identifying Himself with the very mankind he came to save. Thank God He did!

Thought for the day: John’s ministry is a fulfilment of Isaiah 40:3, which was written hundreds of years before. We can trust God’s Word!

Numbers 23:19 (WEB) “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?”

Matthew 2

It’s not God’s chosen people that bring gifts to the Messiah, but Gentiles (pagan astrologers!). Why were they looking for a king in Judah? Perhaps because of the influence of Daniel years before.

Daniel 2:48 (WEB) “Then the king made Daniel great and gave him many great gifts, and made him rule over the whole province of Babylon and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.”

Our passage should cause us to be stunned and amazed at God’s omnipotence and omniscience. The wise men are influenced by events God set in motion centuries before. Old Testament quotations remind us that God has a perfect understanding of all things at all times. God directs both the wise men and Joseph in order to keep them safe. God is sovereign and amazing!

Thought for the day: Here we see God’s care and protection on display. God promises us that same care and protection if we put Him first!

Matthew 6:31-33 (WEB) “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 1

Why does Matthew’s genealogy go back to Abraham, while Luke’s goes back to Adam? Matthew is very concerned with showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises that God made to the Jewish people through both Abraham and David. However, those promises don’t just show that Jesus is the coming King of the Jews (2 Samuel 7:12). They show that He is also the Savior of the world. As God said to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, WEB). Which is one of the reasons we see Gentiles like Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth mentioned in the genealogy: Jesus is the Savior for all!

Thought for the day: Abraham had issues. David had issues. Tamar had issues. Rahab had issues. Sin doesn’t mean God can’t use us. He can! But we should still do our best to live for Him.

Romans 6:1-2 (WEB) “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”

Proverbs 4-5

It’s important for parents to teach wisdom, and to have the right attitude when they teach. There should be an urgency and tenderness that accompanies teaching, which all teachers (not just parents) should embody. I’m sure Paul had Proverbs in mind when he wrote, “You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, WEB). As important as wisdom is, forcing it down someone’s throat doesn’t work, and the person on the receiving end needs to have a desire to learn too! And that desire helps us to understand the four “laws” of Proverbs set forth in our passage:

• We need to accept the words of wisdom.
• We need to walk in the way of wisdom.
• We need to keep to the path of wisdom.
• And we need to avoid the way of the wicked.

The way of the wicked is seductive and compulsive (4:16), and its path grows darker and darker the more we’re on it. In contrast, wisdom’s path grows brighter and brighter the longer we walk it! Wisdom’s path should keep us from the seductiveness of an adulteress. But the words here are not just for young men. Anyone can have a problem with sexual immorality. Sex is seductive and destructive. It can affect not just the mind and the spirit, but the body as well. No matter how strong we think we are, we can be pulled in and suffer because of it. That’s why Paul’s instruction is so important: “flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

We’re reminded here that unfaithfulness is easy. Unfaithfulness is the default setting of the human heart. Even believers have their old nature that fights against their new nature (which is given by the Spirit of God). Faithfulness is hard. Faithfulness requires discipline! And we are to be faithful to our spouses. We need to discipline our minds and hearts to have single minded devotion. We aren’t to cheat on them. We aren’t to turn them in for a new model when they get older. Instead, we should rejoice with them as we grow old together and not seek sexual or emotional satisfaction elsewhere.

Thought for the day: Wisdom teaches us that we need to be careful what we put inside our hearts and our minds. What we take in will eventually infect our thoughts and show up in our actions.

Matthew 5:19 (WEB) “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.”

Proverbs 3

What is wisdom?

• Wisdom is staying in the Word. We are to bind wisdom around us like a necklace!
• Wisdom is trusting in God instead of being influenced by ungodly influences or ungodly impulses.
• Wisdom is trusting that God will take care of us, which then allows us to be charitable.
• Wisdom is understanding that God’s discipline is for a purpose. He wants us to do what is right!
• Wisdom is doing good for others when you can.
• Wisdom is paying what you owe.
• Wisdom is being kind to your neighbors.
• Wisdom is not picking a fight with someone who isn’t looking for one.
• Wisdom is choosing not to be violent and not envying those who are!
• Wisdom is being forthright and truthful instead of devious.

Thought for the day: The Hebrew word used here for “blessed” can also mean “happy.” When we gain wisdom and understanding we will be happy! Happy because we stay out of trouble, and happy because of the benefits we gain. Nothing is more important than wisdom, not even wealth. Wisdom helps us to have long lives and be at peace. Wisdom is a “tree of life.” We know from Genesis that mankind was expelled from the Garden of Eden and barred from the tree of life (Genesis 3:24), but Revelation teaches us that we’ll have access to it again in the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 22:14). It was a mercy to be barred from the tree because it would have the effect of locking us into our sinful state (Genesis 3:22). Wisdom helps us to live righteously in this life, so it is a type of the “tree of life,” but one day we will get to eat of the actual tree because of Jesus Christ!

John 11:25-26 (WEB) “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’ ”

Psalm 4, 5, 6

Psalm 4 is a prayer asking God for help. David still has people after him even though he is God’s anointed king! David is confident that God will hear Him, because he is God’s (4:3). David will not allow his anger at his persecutors to be his undoing, because he trusts in God (4:4). He is also humble and recognizes that God answering prayer is a result of grace (4:1). David will be glad and experience peace because of God’s faithfulness, and the unrighteous will learn they shouldn’t underestimate God or His servants!

Psalm 5 is a reminder that we can approach God because of His steadfast love. Verse 1 literally says, “consider my groaning.” Groaning implies spiritual weariness and disquiet. Have you ever awakened in the morning upset about your personal circumstances, or distressed because of a dream, or agitated because you have something unpleasant later in the day? We need to pray and look forward to how God will answer those prayers. But beyond that, we should pray every day, because it puts everything in perspective. We remind ourselves that God is in charge. That we are His creation. That He expects us to live a certain way. That he wants us to be humble, kind, truthful, and gracious. Acknowledging God at the beginning of our day gets us started on the right foot!

Psalm 6 is a psalm of lament where David cries out to God in despair. Its circumstances are unknown, but whatever is going on, David has considered that his own sin had a part to play in it. He asks for God’s grace and favor to prolong his life so that he can continue to praise God on the earth, and trusts that God hears him.

Thought for the day: Lament. Do we do it enough? Does our pain or guilt cause us to turn to God rather than turn away? Do we really think that God doesn’t know how we feel? Why can’t we pour out our weariness, our grief, our complaints to Him? How else do we get rid of our angst and enter into trust?

Lamentations 3:55-57 (WEB) “I called on your name, LORD, out of the lowest dungeon. You heard my voice: ‘Don’t hide your ear from my sighing, and my cry.’ You came near in the day that I called on you. You said, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ “

Exodus 40

Why should we read all of this? In part, to understand that there is a price that has to be paid for sin. Sacrifices have to be made, and those sacrifices need to be made in a particular way by particular people. But what if only one sacrifice could be made? What if there was a better way? What if there was a better covenant, with a permanent sacrifice for sin? What if there was a way that consciences could be made clean and worshippers could be made righteous?!?!?!

Hebrews 9:1-12 (WEB) “Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Holy Place. After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail. Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services, but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place wasn’t yet revealed while the first tabernacle was still standing. This is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshipper perfect, being only (with foods and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation. But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Isn’t it wonderful that the New Testament helps us to understand and apply what we read in the Old?

Thought for the day: Instead of God’s glory residing in an external place (like a temple or a tabernacle), it now resides in us because of what Jesus has done!

Romans 8:9 (WEB) “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.”