John 1: 26: “John answered them saying, I baptize in water, but among you stands One Whom you do not know.”  How much this reflects the state of society today!  Christ is among us, but we do not see Him yet.  John the Baptist himself was not pointing Him out at this point, because Jesus had not yet been revealed even to him.  We the Church, like John, are to cry “Behold the Christ!” but like John, we must recognize and know Him before we can ever show Him to anyone.

Deuteronomy 6: 15:  “For the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous God.”  Why does God get to be jealous when He repeatedly speaks against it (Galatians 5: 20, Romans 13: 13, et al)?  Basically we confuse jealousy with envy, which are actually two different things.  Envy or covetousness is when you strongly desire something that belongs to someone else. God warns us against this, and He doesn’t go there either.  Jealousy is when someone takes what belongs to you and offers it to another, as when we offer the worship that belongs to God alone to someone or something else.  Thus God cannot be envious because He owns everything already, and He alone has the right to jealousy, for exactly the same reason.  We, on the other hand, are not qualified for jealousy, because nothing is truly ours.

Ruth 3: 11:  “And now, my daughter, do not fear.  I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.”  Ruth had been with Boaz from the beginning of the barley harvest till its end, a period of just a very few weeks.  Yet in that short time she had become known throughout the whole city as a woman of excellence.  How?  Humility (2: 13), willingness to work hard (2: 17), generosity (2: 18), submission (2: 23), awareness of personal appearance (3: 3), being in control of her passions (3: 10) - these are some of the characteristics of Ruth that made her stand out, even in a foreign land.  And they will still mark you as a woman (or man) of excellence today.

2 Corinthians 3: 2-3a: “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us ...”  St. Paul and his team were so passionate about shepherding the flock of God entrusted to them, they could confidently say to the world, “Look at our sheep, and you will see how well we love, feed, and care for them.”  Bishops, priests, deacons, pastors of today: can we meet this standard of pastoral care over our flocks?  There is only one way we can accomplish this: having our confidence “through Christ toward God.” (v. 4)

Psalm 119: 168: “I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.”  At first, this seems like the old 19th century “scare ‘em outta hell” theology: “You’d better do right, because Big Brother Jesus is watching you!” But the psalmist is actually expressing a desire born out of love.  If you know the God you love is watching, then every moment becomes an opportunity to please Him.  And it certainly beats the attitude of the wicked after he has killed the innocent, as recorded in Psalm 10: “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

Matthew 5: 18: “For truly I say to you, until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law until all is accomplished.”  We must not read this verse as a promise of destruction, both cosmic and terrestrial.  Look closely at Jesus’ words: It would be as if we said, “Until a team from the local barangay junior league wins the NBA Finals, nothing in the Law will change.”  It is His way of saying, “This ain’t gonna happen!  He puts it more clearly in Luke 16: 17: “But it is easier for Heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”

Ruth 1: 14:  “And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”  Some people are very good at putting on a show of affection, devotion, or commitment.  Their weeping, or even kissing, can seem so convincing.  Well and good.  But it is the ones who cling, who hold fast to their personal commitments, going beyond words or show, who make a difference in the world.  Orpah was never heard from again; Ruth became an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 66: 1:  “Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.’”  A footstool is useless when it is across the room from the chair.  And yet this is what we try to do - separate Heaven far, far, away from earth.  That is not God’s idea; He likes a place to put His feet, so to speak.  That’s what the Incarnation did, rejoin Heaven to Earth and Earth to Heaven.  And Christ’s Resurrection made it accessible to all God’s children. 

Mark 12: 34:  “And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’” So if intelligent answers get you close to the kingdom, what gets you in? Faithful obedience, especially when it comes to love.  ‘Nuff said.

1 Timothy 4: 6: “Who advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.  For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the Word of God and prayer.”  Sanctified by the Word of God?  So, if we wave a Bible over the food, it’s OK to eat?  No, that’s not it.  But contained in the Word of God is Genesis 1: 25 and 31, wherein God calls all possible food good and very good.  There is also Genesis 9: 3, where God covenants with Noah that all animals are given to him for food.  Both of these covenants predate Mt. Sinai, and according to St. Paul’s argument in Galatians 3: 15-18, the prior Word has preeminence over the latter.  So eat away, without guilt!

Psalm 119: 125: “I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.”  A lot of maids and helpers get fired because they try to serve their employers according to their own ways.  But they were not employed for that; they are expected to do things the way the master wants it done.  It’s their house, not that of the servant. It’s no different when we come to our Lord and Master, Jesus.  We do it His way, not ours, so it’s important to come to an understanding of them!

Mark 11: 13: “And seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.”  True, the season for figs was still several months away.  But the fig tree also posts another sign: when it is in leaf there is also fruit, no matter the season.  It was barren at all other times.  So when it had the temerity to deck itself in leaves, like Adam and Eve in the Garden, it was saying, “I’ve got fruit!  Unfortunately, as with Adam and Eve, the claim was bogus; the only fruit they had at that time was bad fruit.  Thus, the tree received the same judgment they did.

Psalm 89: 8:  “O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?”  This is an oft-repeated cry throughout Scripture.  It came from the lips of Moses after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15: 11), from the mouth of David after making Covenant with God (2 Samuel 7: 22), and from the heart of Solomon at the completion of the temple (1 Kings 8: 23).  It even came from God Himself via the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 46: 9).  This is why many cannot believe in the Lord; they try to compare Him with another they already know, and seriously underestimate Him.  But there ain’t no such animal; He’s incomparable!

2 Timothy 3: 2-4:  “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”  St. Paul says that when people get like this, it will be difficult times.  So why are these things presented today as desirable characteristics, signs of a utopian society?

Isaiah 60: 6: “A multitude of camels will cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah.”  Ok, who out there would like to be covered by a multitude of camels?  They might be the ships of the desert, but they don’t make very good pets.  But don’t miss the message: Midian and his son Ephah were part of Abraham’s second family, the one he had with Keturah after Sarah’s death.  He had given them all gifts and sent them away from his son Isaac, the child of promise (Genesis 25: 1-6).  But now they are returning, after a long travel from the east, (thus, the camels) to be rejoined to their father Abraham, and to his God.  In Christ, all are reunited!

Psalm 119: 111, 112: “I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart.  I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, even to the end.”  So where did we get the idea that God’s statutes and testimonies were due to pass away, or had already done so?  The psalmist here uses “forever”, a pretty dogmatic word.  After all, what’s the problem with justice, mercy, and humility, along with faith, hope, and most of all, love?  May they all last forever!

Mark 9: 42: “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.”  Stumbling is always good for a laugh.  Some even like to get into an intoxicated state to facilitate such stumbling.  But the Lord loves His children, and if your actions and “freedom” cause one of them to stumble, He doesn’t find it very humorous.  The examples we set to others, especially the young, must be as exemplary as we can make them, or we might end up getting a little wet.

Galatians 6: 14:  But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”  St. Paul wasn’t the first to express this; King David said “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord” (Psalm 34: 2) There is always a strong temptation to boast of numbers, programs, and future plans, and take credit for them. (When done in the Church, it is sometimes called “praise reports.”)  St. James even said that such boasting is a sign of arrogance, and“All such boasting is evil” (James 4: 16). Let us remember that everything comes from God, and everything, including all glory and honor, goes back to Him, as well.

Mark 9: 20, 21, 25:  “And when he saw Jesus, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling about and foaming at the mouth.  And He asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ … And when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit ….”  See the picture? The unclean spirit is showing off, doing all kinds of things to the poor boy, and Jesus is having a casual conversation, four verses long, with the boy’s dad.  Wasn’t He concerned?  Of course He was.  He just wasn’t intimidated by the spirit’s antics.  He knew that in a few moments the boy would be delivered, and even if he seemed dead after the work of the enemy, Jesus had the answer to that, too.  Sometimes what seems like an emergency to us is just the devil’s last laugh to Jesus!  So fear not!

Psalm 69: 35, 36:  “For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.  And the descendants of His servants will inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.”  Imagine, the very One who was going through deep mire and waters, reproach, shame and dishonor, a broken heart, affliction and pain, among many other such things, became the vessel to bring salvation to Zion (the Church).  In fact, it was through those things that He accomplished the work!  And through Him we have the promise that Zion will endure as the dwelling place of God’s children forever.  Nothing stops the plan of God!

1 Samuel 2: 3b, 7: “For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed… The Lord makes poor and rich, He brings low, he also exalts.”  What do these verses have to do with the Presentation, the event in the life of Christ which the Church celebrates today?  They are a foreshadowing of the little-noticed words of the prophet Simeon to the Lord’s mother: “This child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel … to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2: 34, 35).”  There was a new standard in Israel, and those who were prospering under the old system were about to find out that the new Way might humble them more than they would like!

Mark 8: 15: “And Jesus was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out!  Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.’”  Wow, how did Herod get dragged into this conversation?  He hadn’t been mentioned since chapter six!  But his leaven fits right into what Jesus is saying.  As the Pharisee’s leaven was their self-centered teaching (Matthew 16: 12), Herod’s leaven was being self-centered in every area of his life.  The only reason he listened to John the Baptist was for entertainment (Mark 6: 20), he never had any intention of obeying his words.  So, why do we listen to sermons, or read Christian books, or sing Christian songs, or go to Church?  What’s our leaven?