THE LORD SPOKE (August 17)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Psalm 70-73

Ever notice how much time we spend talking? Sometimes it’s mindless drivel. Sometimes, if it weren’t for traffic and weather, we wouldn’t have much to talk about. Sometimes we’d do well to shut up and listen to others rather than talking so much.

The writer concludes this psalm by saying, “My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long” (Ps. 71:24). Now there’s a topic that will keep you occupied for a long time! Take a look at the variety of terms used for how we can/should speak of our God:

• “I will ever praise you...my mouth is filled with your praise” (Ps. 71:7-8)
• “my mouth will tell of your righteousness” (Ps. 71:15)
• “I will proclaim your mighty acts...I will proclaim your righteousness” (Ps. 71:16)
• “I declare your power to the next generation” (Ps. 71:18)
• “I will sing praise to you “ (Ps. 71:22)
• “my lips will shout for joy” (Ps. 71:23)

What with eating too, that should be enough to keep our mouths busy for a long time. In fact, there shouldn’t be much time left for slander, back-biting, derogatory remarks, cursing, grumbling, or any of the other things that often come out of our mouths. As James 3:9-10 says: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

Instead, let us resolve to use our mouth to honor God. What a magnificent tool He has given us. Imagine how difficult life would be without the gift of speech. If all your communications were limited to written messages and sign language, how much harder it would be to express ourselves. So, let us express our gratitude to God always and tell of His mighty acts. Determine today to say at least three things in praise of the One who gave you a mouth to do so.


New Testament: II Peter 2

Vilification and vituperation! If we were to list all the terms Peter uses in this chapter to denounce false teachers, we’d have to write out the entire chapter. He spares no judgmental term upon them. He wore out the page in his thesaurus. If you’d used all those words at school you’d have found yourself sitting in the corner.

But the question is, was he right in doing so? Was there just cause? Did/do the false teachers deserve such treatment? Indeed they do! Take a look at what they do and are responsible for:

1. they often go about their shady business secretly (II Pet. 2:1)
2. what they do is destructive to others and to themselves (II Pet. 2:1)
3. it amounts to denying the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice (II Pet. 2:1)
4. they lead others astray (II Pet. 2:2)
5. what they do is shameful (II Pet. 2:2)
6. they bring disrepute on the truth (II Pet. 2:2)
7. they are exploitative and greedy (II Pet. 2:3)
8. they make up lies (II Pet. 2:3)
9. they are twisted by sin (II Pet. 2:10)
10. they despise authority (II Pet. 2:10)
11. they’re arrogant (II Pet. 2:10)
12. they’re slanderous (II Pet. 2:10)
13. they’re blasphemous (II Pet. 2:12)
14. they’re harmful (II Pet. 2:13)
15. they’re besotted (II Pet. 2:13)
16. they’re adulterous (II Pet. 2:14)

And that’s just the warm up! The second half of the chapter goes into even greater detail.

So, back to the question. Did Peter do the right thing in condemning them? What about us? Do we do right to condemn false teachers in our day?

Standing firm for the truth demands it. It’s not enough to just be positive. A doctor must do more than give you vitamins - he also needs to cut out the cancer. This isn’t a call for a negative ministry. Look at all the good and the positive that Peter gives us in the remainder of his two epistles. But balance and honesty demands that we counter and confront false teaching. In this case, the old adage, “If you can’t say something positive, don’t say anything at all” is patently false.