The Bible in the Everyday.
I have a verse for you to think about, meditate on, memorize, and make a part of the way you think:
This book of instruction shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it both day and night, being careful to do all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success in whatever you do.
Joshua 1:8
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(This was the FIRST text among those that eventually became 350 Words.)
When it began, the internet was hailed as a “great democratizing force,” and that’s exactly what it is when people no one ever heard of can make videos in their bedrooms and soon collect a million followers. And what a range of topics! The most popular Instagram influencer topics are 1) music, 2) humor, 3) literature and journalism, 4) cinema and celebrities, and 5) travel[1]. Others include money, luxury, fashion, gaming, fitness, sports, technology, and beauty.
The result is the overwhelming noise of a thousand voices. The average American is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000[2] ads per day. Ten thousand ads?!
How are you supposed to sort through a thousand messages? Remember, these are not simply ads trying to sell you products. There are paid ads for politicians who want your vote and public service announcements promoting causes and charities seeking your money or time. Even religious messaging falls into this category—it can become just one more set of distracting messages that you scroll past and try to ignore.
Is life in this modern world not complicated enough? Now we have ten thousand messages a day to sift through? How do you decide to whom you will listen?
Who deserves your attention?
If you want to live a productive, successful life, the answer is simple: you need ONE MESSAGE from ONE INFLUENCER: The word of God.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall MEDITATE on it both day and night, being careful to do according to all that is written in it. For THEN you will make your way prosperous, and THEN you will have success” Joshua 1:8.
Put the phone down and open the Bible. Turn off the videos, the films, the shows, the searches. Spend more time in God’s word. It contains the answer to EVERY question, the solution to every problem. Read it, study it, memorize chunks of it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
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[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117938/popular-instagram-influencer-topics-worldwide-follower-growth/#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20the%20most%20popular,average%20annual%20growth%20of%20followers.
[2] https://www.zippia.com/advice/advertising-statistics/#:~:text=How%20many%20ads%20does%20a,person%20saw%20in%20the%201970s.
Do you struggle with fear? What about fear’s minions: WORRY, ANXIETY, DREAD, PHOBIAS, and certain kinds of STRESS? Familiar with those? What can be done about fear? Is fear up to you, or do you have no choice in the matter? Moses commanded the people:
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified” Deuteronomy 31:6. Then Moses told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous… do not be afraid or discouraged” vv.7-8. Later, the Lord told Joshua the same thing: “Be strong and courageous” v.23.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this text tells me that YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE. If God commands you to be strong and courageous, then he must know you can CHOOSE to be strong and courageous.
If fear was an emotion over which we had no control, God would not command us to avoid fear.
First Cor. 10:13 says God gives no commands that we are unable to obey. So if he says “be strong and courageous,” then he knows we have the ability to obey—to actually BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.
In the very next book, Joshua commands the people:
“Have I not commanded you? BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with you, wherever you go!” Joshua 1:9.
We do have a choice. When we struggle with FEAR or its minions—DOUBT, WORRY, ANXIETY, DREAD, STRESS, and PHOBIAS—God instructs us to CHOOSE to be STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, and to choose NOT to be afraid.
God, remind us when we are fearful that WE HAVE A CHOICE. Help us choose to be strong and filled with courage! Help us focus on YOU, the object of our worship; and help us NOT to focus on the object of our fears.
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There is nothing like a great speech. President Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg after a battle that claimed 50,000 lives (MLB stadiums seat 40,000) and in 275 words he assured the nation it would survive the war. Martin Luther King took the pulpit at the most inspiring location in America, convincing 200,000 that his dream was the American Dream, that the founders, hymn writers, and preachers of this nation had always intended it be a nation of liberty and justice for all, where all men are created equal, where we will be “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”
The Bible includes a speech from God. Imagine half a million people on the Mall in Washington. Bands, bunting, parades. Someone quiets the noise, and God—yes, GOD HIMSELF—steps up to the podium. He does not need a microphone. He rebukes America for turning to idols. He asks why the idols have not rescued us. Why aren’t the idols solving your problems? He looks at the crowd. He looks me in the eye. He looks you in the eye. He speaks slowly, letting the words sink in:
“See, now that I alone am He. There is no God but Me. I bring death. I give life. I wound. I heal. No one can rescue anyone from My hand…. As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will take vengeance on My enemies and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood while My sword devours flesh—the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders” Deuteronomy 32:39-42.
The Washington Post headline may read, “God’s Speech Bit of a Downer,” but headlines were never the point. God wants your heart. Forsake idols and turn to Him. Worship Him only. There is nothing else that can rescue—not money, doctors, success, fame, power, influence, or achievements. Face the truth:
“There is no God but Me” Deuteronomy 32:39.
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Karma. You reap what you sow. What goes around comes around. Moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips.
Consequences are an essential truth of the universe: EVERYONE reaps what they sow. Nonbelievers who work hard and live honest, clean lives, are healthier financially, physically, emotionally, and in other ways. They may have better families, more career success, and even better health. By contrast, believers who live selfish, lazy, dishonest lives, who participate in the worst sins of the world will live shorter, sadder lives. You reap what you sow. (A believer who is morbidly obese will probably NOT outlive an atheist who runs marathons, right?) You reap what you sow—and God does not always miraculously step in and deliver us from the consequences of chronic, repeated actions. (Though I’m sure he steps in more than we know!)
But do you ever SOW consciously? That is, do you THINK ABOUT IT? Do you think about your grades, or your habits, or your work, or what you eat, or your “sleep hygiene”?
“I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity…. I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. CHOOSE LIFE so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to him. For He is your life and he will prolong your life….” Deuteronomy 30:15,19-20.
CHOOSE LIFE! May we choose to live each day in a way that pleases God. “The Lord will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers” 30:9. God enjoys blessing his children. He DELIGHTS in it. Make good choices. Honor him so he can bless you and DELIGHT in your prosperity.
God, help us choose habits that please you, and choose to avoid things that do not. Bless us, God—and may you bless us so much that YOU enjoy it!
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Life is a series of choices, right? You have good options and bad options. God says:
“Today I have set before you both life and blessings, death and curses. For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you.” Deuteronomy 30:15-16.
Obedience + worship = blessings and life.
Sin + idol worship = curses and death.
Choose wisely!
I think we are seeing a time of judgment right now. Let us get our hearts right and humbly seek God so He can bless us!
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Does God always reward obedience? Do good people suffer? Do bad people enjoy pleasures? Is life “fair”? No.
Remember, God is God. “He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:45. We all get wet together. Some rains nurture, some rains destroy. And we suffer for corporate sin. What is “corporate sin,”—something about Exxon or Microsoft? No. “Corporate sin” means the sins of your community—the body of people around you. America is filled with immorality, and all Americans suffer for it. You and I suffer because of the corporate sin around us. As Isaiah said, “Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” Isaiah 6:5. Like Isaiah, we are touched by the sin around us.
However, God is merciful. He sees your suffering. He knows your heart. If you are seeking Him and obeying Him, He can protect you during a global disaster.
“Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come and will overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God.
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country,
Your descendants will be blessed, and your land’s produce [fruits and vegetables], and the offspring of your livestock [meat],
Your basket [grain] and your kneeding bowl [bread] will be blessed.
You will blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out….
Your enemies will march out against you from one direction, but flee from you in seven directions. The Lord will grant a blessing on your storehouses [banks] and on everything you do [work]…. You will be the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward.” Deuteronomy 28:1-13.
Ask God to make you and me faithful and obedient, and to protect us and bless us during this challenging time.
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When Christian television came to Houston, there was one bit of Christian lingo I had not heard until I heard it shouted by TV preachers:
“I am the head and NOT the tail!”
Preachers would encourage audiences to claim it, believe it. To personally put on that phrase like a winning golfer putting on a green jacket at the Masters. We were encouraged to identify with it and accept it by faith: I am the head and not the tail. On YouTube the clause is as popular as ever—there seems no end to the videos with this phrase in the title. Everyone wants to be the head and not the tail.
But few discuss the context. In Deuteronomy 28:13, Moses says that if the Israelites will obey God’s commands, He will make them the head and not the tail, that is, they will have authority rather than servitude, they will lead, not follow. But there is more. If Israel does NOT obey, they will be cursed and a foreign people will take over.
“He will be the head and YOU will be the tail” Deuteronomy 28:44.
In Deuteronomy chapter 28, God offers Israel a choice: obey and be blessed, or disobey and be cursed. It has nothing to do with today’s ‘name-it, claim-it’ approach to prosperity. The promise is not in the words. Telling yourself you are the head will not make it so. “Claiming” it or “manifesting” it will not bring God’s blessings. Read the chapter! It’s no mystery: if you OBEY God, He will bless you.
We should spend less time sprinkling Bible words over ourselves meaninglessly like some holy hair spray. Instead we should use our time to study the word and put it into practice. If you want God’s blessings, obey God. Seek Him in all things. Live a life above reproach. Clean up your life, your lust, your language. Give Him your addictions, your anger, your selfishness. Read the word. Do what it says. Then you will be the head and not the tail.
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We hear the phrase “excessive force” spoken by those who criticize police officers. But the phrase could also be applied to parents, teachers, and coaches. Sometimes we do the same thing: we over-punish.
What is the danger when we over-punish? How does excessive force affect the child? What impact does excessive force have on the children who are bystanders, whether siblings or fellow students? How does excessive force impact morale?
Excessive punishment humiliates the guilty. It creates resentment toward school, adults, rules, and law enforcement. Excessive force can deeply upset bystanders as well. I became extremely angry with an incorrigible tenth grader during my first semester teaching. I was relentless, basically throwing him out of class. And the ENTIRE CLASS treated me differently after that day! No one ever suggested that I was wrong. But the kids were sort of hurt for the bad kid, and shocked to see me that angry. Consider the advice of Moses:
“If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court and the judges will hear the case…. If the guilty deserves to be flogged, the judge will make him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate for his crime. He may be flogged with 40 lashes, but no more. Otherwise, IF HE IS FLOGGED WITH MORE THAN FORTY LASHES, YOUR BROTHER WILL BE DEGRADED IN YOUR SIGHT” Deuteronomy 25:1-3.
Strong, effective punishment is essential to any human operation. But there is a risk: if you overdo it, you will humiliate the offender—and that will have lasting consequences for the leader who used excessive force. Humiliating the offender (even if he previously humiliated you!) puts your leadership and credibility at risk. It also can create resentment in the offender, making a temporary problem permanent.
Leaders must be strong and decisive. But always look for grace, compassion, and ways to protect the offender’s dignity, even while subjecting him to significant punishment.
(Isn’t the Bible filled with practical wisdom?)
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Having been a child, student, parent, and teacher, I have thought a lot about punishments. Here’s one of the best rules I learned from a college psychology professor:
“Punishment should be swift, severe, and soon over.”
Children must be punished quickly if they are going to “learn their lesson.” And only a severe punishment works: it should get their attention. Finally, punishments should not drag on for weeks and weeks. “Revolving grounding,” is a terrible thing to do to a child.
I learned another lesson while teaching high school students: a punishment can go too far. I have never met a teacher who did not raise his or her voice at some time. Fussing at the kids is unpleasant, but not unusual. If you disagree, spend a few days outnumbered 30-to-1 as a substitute teacher. Furthermore, some children refuse to take teachers seriously until they see them angry. Children are not delicate flowers that wilt under the heat of an angry glare or a cross word.
Nevertheless, punishment can go too far. Ancient Israel had no jails, and most crimes worthy of imprisonment today resulted in a flogging—but a whipping can go too far.
“He may be flogged with forty lashes, but no more. Otherwise, if he is flogged with more lashes than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight” Deuteronomy 25:3.
A punishment should not be degrading. Authorities—teachers, principals, parents—must punish without disrespect. You must not humiliate or shame a child. Even when you are angry, be careful what you say. “Be angry, and yet do not sin” Ephesians 4:26. Raise your voice if you must, but do not make it personal. Punishment should not be revenge. I remember angrily responding to a student once. I raised my voice: “That was a really stupid thing to say!” I immediately clarified my words, “and I didn’t say you were stupid, but what you said was stupid.”
Learn to punish without humiliation. Respect the dignity of the guilty party, even when he respects no one.
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Household Words: 