Jeremiah 17:5-8

As I was reading Jeremiah 17 in my Scripture reading today, I was reminded of how foolish it is for people to be trusting in others as opposed to trusting in the Lord. Granted, the context of the passage has more to do with the Israelites trusting a pagan nation like ancient Egypt instead of the Lord. As it was, when Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet, Israel was already in decline and the last good king of Israel was Josiah. After Josiah’s death, Israel’s fate was already sealed.

Now, please pardon me as I go off on a tangent for a bit. A few years ago, I was driving through the Cincinnati area when I came across a Christian radio station. I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was a Lutheran radio program. Nonetheless, I found the program to be very useful. I can’t remember who the radio presenter was, but he did speak on these verses and I found his explanations to be edifying.

Thus, there are some things that I would like to draw from this passage. First, there is a lot of meat here. This could produce at least an hour-long sermon or two. However, for the sake of brevity, I am only going to cover a few brief things and keep it as concise as possible. Second, just as Israel made a huge mistake in trusting other nations instead of God, so has this been going on throughout human history. Even today, this is still going on. Let me put it this way: the Left trusts government to get things accomplished – especially if fellow Lefties hold the majority in government. There is no denying that, and I think they are proud to admit that. However, conservatives, especially those who identify with such groups as the Moral Majority or the Christian Coalition, also trust in a “conservative” government to do pretty much the same thing. Yet, they appear to me to be a bit more reluctant to admit this. They claim to put their trust in God, yet they also trust that government will do certain things.  The problem with this is that this really does make the Christians look like they are putting more of their trust in government than in God. Thus, I find this to be a really big mistake in their part.

Brethren, we are to put all of our trust in the Lord, not in government. Yes, we do have a responsibility to contact our Congressmen if we wish to address a specific issue in a peaceable manner. But, that does not mean that we are supposed to trust that they will make the right decision (no pun intended). We contact them, and we pray that the Lord’s will be done (since this is part of The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13).

Furthermore, we also have to understand that even our fellow man will also let us down from time to time. There are even those who claim to be Christians but who obviously have their own agendas. They may forget to do something (like the cupbearer did to Joseph), or they may gain our trust only to stab us in the back (like Judas Iscariot did to Our Lord). Having said that, we have to expect that if we trust in Christ, He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Thus, let this be an encouragement and a reminder to all of us that we trust in the Lord in all things and that our firm foundation must be in Him (Matthew 7:24-27).

Proverbs 20:15

As I was doing my Bible reading today, I came across a very edifying verse in Proverbs. In 20:15, it reads, “There is gold, and a multitude of precious stones: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.”

There are some things that I observed from it (without using any commentaries). While precious metals and jewels certainly have their value, wisdom has an exponentially greater value than all of the riches of the world. People can be wealthy and immensely miserable all at the same time. Then there are those who are not rich and yet they can observe and discern and be joyful in the Lord. Of course, this could all be switched around, but there’s not enough time to go over tangents. What I think is the crux of this proverb is that we can say the right thing at the right time when someone really needs to hear something. It’s not so much as having a head knowledge of everything in the world (as can be illustrated by anyone who spends every waking moment of their lives glued to Wikipedia. I’m not saying that Wikipedia is a bad thing, but having an unquenchable appetite for knowledge is a whole different story). Rather, the knowledge that is being spoken of here is where we know how to build someone up. If we have a brother or sister in Christ who is having some serious issues, we may be able to speak Truth to them in a way that builds them up instead of tearing them down. As it is, some well-meaning people have said some things to others who were in difficult circumstances that actually made them worse off than they were before, i.e. “well maybe the reason why you’re not getting what you want is because you have some sort of secret sin that you’re not letting go of (when you can’t even remember what could possibly be holding you back)”. How may times have we heard that one? The speaker had the best of intentions but obviously tore down his or her friend without realizing it, and resentment soon follows (unfortunately). It is that apt word, sentence, or paragraph that can really make someone’s day and which really makes a positive impact in their walk with Christ – even if they’re enduring severe trials and tribulations.

I must admit that I’ve read through Proverbs many times, and I always seemed to miss that one. Yet, by His Grace, Christ opened my eyes to this today, and I am ever so thankful for this. My prayer is that we as brethren would be enabled to do the same for others when it comes to building up others by such means.

God bless you! :)

A Brilliant Bible Reading Plan (unlike any other)!

Let's be honest with ourselves. With each new year, most professing Christians resolve to try to read through the Bible through some various reading plan or another, and most of them start off with a few chapters in Genesis and maybe a chapter or two in Matthew. After some time, once they hit Leviticus and Numbers, they become bored out of their wits. Even if they make it through the rest of the Pentateuch, 1st and 2nd Chronicles tends to be where they come to a complete halt and take more pleasure in swimming in the LaBrea tar pits.

Then there's always someone who comes along and says that he's got the best new Bible reading plan out there. Some people latch on to it, while others just dismiss it as being another gimmick in a long line of failed plans that become even more frustrating than the last ones. Whatever the case may be, these plans just do not seem to be able to cater to people's reading abilities and comprehension.

Enter Grant Horner.

Professor Grant Horner of The Master's Seminary (the very same one started by John MacArthur) has actually created a plan that even I have found to be very useful. Just by looking at the the layout, it is divided up into ten different lists. Plus, he gives a recommended reading speed. This way, the reader is not forced to ingest everything that he reads. Rather, it gives readers the means by which to glean over what he or she reads. Furthermore, since it is spread out throughout all ten lists, there will be times when certain books are read more than others. With each new reading of the text, it will be easier for readers to comprehend Scripture as a whole.

Thus, I believe that this plan is truly innovative and that it will benefit the body of believers everywhere who can get access to it.

A Note about the Blogs I follow...

Just so everyone understands, I want to make something clear: just because I follow a blog does not mean that I agree with everything that is written in it. I might agree with something someone says, in spite of the fact that they might use a horrible translation or paraphrase of Scripture. Then again, I might disagree with someone wholeheartedly, but I can respect them because of their learned (as opposed to sophomoric and possibly philistine) points and argumentations.

Just my two cents about the blogs I follow... ;)

Tithing: Mandatory or Voluntary?

I came across a video a few minutes ago on YouTube. It was posted by username NotYourTypicalNegro. The video was about Ed Young Jr.'s push to make everyone tithe 10% of their earnings, or else God was not going to bless people's families, and that the family would continue to be cursed. Here is the link to it: 

What's really interesting is that in the description box of the video, there's also a link provided from an article in the Wall Street Journal about the backlash against tithing. Interestingly enough, one of the other "pastors" mentioned in that piece (besides Ed Young) is John Hagee, who has been known to have an obscenely high compensation package. When an administrative assistant is living on less than $30,000 a year but your pastor is earning well over a million dollars a year, something is grossly wrong with that picture.

Sadly, there have been pastors who seem to preach on nothing but tithing. If anyone has paid close attention, sometimes these churches get themselves into a financial pickle and the senior pastors will do anything possible to get their congregants to "cough it up" in order to meet their budget. Frankly, that can be a huge turn off to anyone who might be thinking to visit or place membership at that church because of the guilt trip that gets played on them. Plus, with that kind of attitude, it gives the heathen plenty of reason to criticize the Church as a whole - and that's tragic.

Fortunately, there are some pastors who don't play the guilt trip. As mentioned in the article, they make it voluntary. If they can't meet certain expenses for the ministry, so be it. They are learning to be content with what they have.

I only pray that all the other pastors would adopt the mindset of the "voluntary tithing" pastors.

What's in a name?

Hello. My name is Jason and this is the first post on my new blogsite. To all of you who are viewing this for the first time, I welcome you and encourage you to come back for future visits.

Now, to the point of my title. What's in a name? Why did I choose the name "rezlimey"? Well, it's a rather interesting story. A close friend of mine called me up one morning before I went to classes at the Rochester Institute of Technology sometime in the Fall of 1995. I answered, "Hello". He said, "Good morning, you resident limey". (Mind you, he was an ethnic German born in Poland three months after Germany invaded Poland in 1939.) Thus, the portmanteau "rezlimey" from "resident" and "limey" came from that.

I admit that it is a rather unusual name. But it comes from the fact that my extraction is English and Scottish. As I explained to one guy a number of years ago about the meaning, someone else chimed in and said that "those are two people who really get along (sarcastically speaking)". My reply was, "It's like mixing blood pudding with haggis".

However, what you will notice in the future is that just like the name is unusual, so am I. I'm definitely different from the rest of the crowd. I don't say this to be a nuisance or obnoxious. It's just the way I am. I think a lot, and there are some things that cross my mind that most people wouldn't think about. I'm not crazy. I just have a mind that sometimes refuses to shut off.

God bless! :)