Tabletalk Devotions with R.C. Sproul

Ministry to the Gentiles Matthew 15:29–39 "The crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel" (v. 31). Because Jesus' feeding of the four thousand (Matt. 15:32–39) is so similar to His feeding of the five thousand (14:13–21), many liberal commentators say that Matthew has confused and repeated two different accounts of the same event. Even worse, they might suggest that the second, if not both, of these stories are made up altogether. Such theories call the research and writing abilities of the first evangelist into question, and even make him an author of lies. However, the evidence compels us to take these stories at face value ­— descriptions of two different, miraculous feedings. The five thousand were clearly Jews because the group followed Jesus from Nazareth and other surrounding towns (Matt. 13:53–14:21). On the other hand, the four thousand were probably Gentiles. Just prior to feeding them, Jesus healed many of the four thousand who then "glorified the God of Israel" (15:29–31). Jews could speak of the Lord this way, but it is more likely that Gentiles would say such things as the Jewish crowds in Matthew do not use this title elsewhere. More importantly, Mark locates the events of today's passage in the Decapolis (7:31–8:10), a region of ten predominantly Gentile cities east of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus' ministry in this area reveals that the kingdom is for Jew and Gentile alike. His miracles here figure predominantly in the prediction of the Messiah's reign in Isaiah 35. Christ's work here shows that His blessing is for the nations, which may explain why His Jewish disciples had trouble conceiving that Jesus would feed unclean Gentiles (Matt. 15:33). Even Peter struggled to believe that the nations could become full citizens of God's kingdom (Gal. 2:1–10). Or, the disciples may have simply forgotten Jesus' mighty feeding of the five thousand. Such forgetfulness is not limited only to the Twelve. John Calvin comments, "There is not a day on which a similar indifference does not steal upon us; and we ought to be the more careful not to allow our minds to be drawn away from the contemplation of divine benefits, that the experience of the past may lead us to expect for the future the same assistance which God has already on one or more occasions bestowed upon us." Coram deo: Living before the face of God Matthew Henry writes: "Forgetting former experiences leaves us under present doubts." We are quick to forget all that God has done for us in the past and grow impatient when He does not act in the manner that we desire in the present. We sometimes then doubt His love for us even though He has shown Himself good and true in our past. If you are having trouble trusting the Lord this day, remember an occasion in the past in which He provided for you. For further study: Deuteronomy 8 The Bible in a year: Job 21–23 Bible Gateway Recommendations Buy Now ESV Reformation Study Bible 2015 Edition, Hardcover Browse more from the English Standard Version! Copyright Information INTO the WORD daily Bible studies from TableTalk Magazine, Matthew Studies. Copyright © 2008 by Ligonier Ministries.   Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. For information regarding our privacy policy, click here. 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Codes for Christian Living - June 29, 2020

Stress is Paradoxical My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —JAMES 1:2–4 James insisted we should “count it all joy” when we face stressful trials of many different kinds. Count it what? Joy! And how much joy? All joy! Could this be a misprint? Most of us consider various kinds of trials a taste of hell itself, certainly not joy. We tend to count it all joy when we avoid trials, not when we fall into them. We hear of someone else’s trial and breathe a prayer of joyful thanks that the same fate has not fallen to us. What a paradox then! We’re to counter stress with joy? James’s admonition seems diametrically opposed to the way we tend to look at life’s challenges and difficulties. On the surface, this advice appears strange. Most of us would say, “Count it all joy when you escape trials of various kinds.” We should let go of the misconception that we can avoid stress. We can’t. It’s a part of life. For those of us who believe in the supernatural power of Christ, our times of stress should be times of making sure we are in the will of God. Stress is rather neutral. The way we react to it is the issue. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus preached about the importance of our reactions. Jesus said, for instance, when someone slaps us on the cheek, we are to “turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:39). Or if someone wants to sue us for a piece of our clothing, we should give him our coat as well (v. 40). These are hard sayings, but dealing with stress is hard as well as counterintuitive and paradoxical. But we can, James insisted, deal with stress by learning to “count it all joy.” When James wrote these words, he placed the phrase “count it all joy” in a tense that indicates exactly when we are to do that counting: when the trial is in the rearview mirror, we can begin to count it joy. James wasn’t saying the trial itself should be considered a joy. The word consider (some-times translated count) literally means “to think ahead, to think forward.” This is exactly what Job was doing when he said, “When [God] has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Job did not at all consider losing his family, his wealth, and his health a joy, but he did look forward to the joy he knew would follow his trial. James was addressing “my brethren” in verse 2, and this is significant. Brethren indicates those people who share values and beliefs. James was writing to his brothers and sisters in the faith. It is folly to tell a man without a spiritual life to count it joy when the trials come. James’s approach to stress is a family secret. As we discovered in The Joshua Code, we who are God’s children have a family secret: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). The lost world doesn’t know this truth. Stress has a paradoxical nature to it. James went on to say, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3–4). Content drawn from The James Code: 52 Scripture Principles for Putting Your Faith into Action.

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Copyright Information Content drawn from the O. S. Hawkins series of books. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Publishers.   Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. For information regarding our privacy policy, click here. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact us. *Manage all Bible Gateway subscriptions — *Opt Out of all Bible Gateway communication *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally For a treasure box of Spurgeon  here for audio and here for books or audio      Bible Study Material   Free standard shipping on U.S orders of $30 or more (excluding Alaska, Hawaii and eBooks.) Bible Study Material from alibris Free shipping info here Affiliate marketer links: Affiliate marketer Rick Livermore with Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog will earn a commission on the Bible Study Material you buy from faith gateway store  and alibris.  Brought to you by Rick Livermore and Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog    If you would like to offset my expenses of producing all this free content, but you want to pass on buying  materials from faith gateway store and alibris, feel free to give a little something-------Give through PayPal-----Rick Livermore-Webmaster220 I live in San Juan Capistrano California now  a fan of tubitv.com/category/faith_and_spirituality also a fan of tubitv.com/channels/dovechannel also a fan of   94 FM The Fish Nashville also a fan of various The Fish stations all over the country The most important link on this blog is this one about cures to the coronavirus.  Landmark info about the treatment of severe cases of the COVID-19 virus Also this one about vaccines that immunize people from catching the coronavirus.  Then there is this one about copper as a weapon to combat this virus. This one could save some lives about the Red Cross. This one is a plasma cure link.

Dallas Willard Daily Devotional, June 29, 2020

Spiritual power is human and transcendent Christian spirituality holds that the invisible and "unbodily" power that it involves is personal and transcendent, though much effort must be expended to explain exactly what that means. In a spirituality conceived in terms of transcendent personality, there are two sides to be observed: (1) On the human side, the individual takes action toward the spiritual realm by addressing it, invoking it, developing ways of understanding it, and finding ways of participating in its activities. One can fall into "spiritual engineering" in the process. But that need not be the case. In fact, one is usually warned against it. (2) On the transcendent side, the Holy Spirit is treated as a person who is in charge of the world, who works to bring about what is good, who is involved in human affairs for that purpose, but who leaves room for human beings to reject him, choose evil, and go their own way. Matthew Arnold's description of God as "a force working for righteousness in human history" does fairly well, if we understand the "force" in personalistic terms. From Renewing the Christian Mind: Essays, Interviews, and Talks. Copyright © 2016 by Willard Family Trust. All rights reserved. Used with permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Forward this email to your friends, or invite them to subscribe to receive the Dallas Willard Daily Devotional.

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Copyright Information Copyright 2016 © HarperOne. Drawn from the works of Dallas Willard. Used by permission. Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog by Bible Gateway, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA. This email is part of a devotional or newsletter that you signed up for on BibleGateway.com. For information regarding our privacy policy, click here. If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact us. *Manage all Bible Gateway subscriptions — *Opt Out of all Bible Gateway communication *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally For a treasure box of Spurgeon  here for audio and here for books or audio      Bible Study Material   Free standard shipping on U.S orders of $30 or more (excluding Alaska, Hawaii and eBooks.) Bible Study Material from alibris Free shipping info here Affiliate marketer links: Affiliate marketer Rick Livermore with Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog will earn a commission on the Bible Study Material you buy from faith gateway store  and alibris.  Brought to you by Rick Livermore and Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog    If you would like to offset my expenses of producing all this free content, but you want to pass on buying  materials from faith gateway store and alibris, feel free to give a little something-------Give through PayPal-----Rick Livermore-Webmaster220 I live in San Juan Capistrano California now  a fan of tubitv.com/category/faith_and_spirituality also a fan of tubitv.com/channels/dovechannel also a fan of   94 FM The Fish Nashville also a fan of various The Fish stations all over the country The most important link on this blog is this one about cures to the coronavirus.  Landmark info about the treatment of severe cases of the COVID-19 virus Also this one about vaccines that immunize people from catching the coronavirus.  Then there is this one about copper as a weapon to combat this virus. This one could save some lives about the Red Cross. This one is a plasma cure link.