December 9, 2012

Zeal That is Not in Accordance with Knowledge (12/9)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Romans 8-10.

Even though Paul was sent specifically to preach to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13; Acts 22:21), he still had a strong desire that his Jewish brethren would come to Christ and be saved. Unfortunately, many did not. One of their major stumbling blocks that kept them from obeying Christ is mentioned in the following passage:

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3).

The reason why many of Paul’s Jewish brethren were going to be lost was because they did not obey God (“subject themselves to the righteousness of God“). Why did they not obey? It was because they were “seeking to establish their own” righteousness. But why did they do this?
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November 19, 2012

“Immediately He Began to Proclaim Jesus” (11/19)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Acts 9-10.

When Saul left for Damascus, he was an enemy of Jesus and His church. After the Lord appeared to him on the way and he came into the city, he obeyed the gospel. Then he wasted no time in getting to work teaching Christ to others.

“Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, ‘Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?’ But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:19-22).

Saul was a unique case. As one who had been chosen by Christ to be His apostle (Acts 9:15), he would have the benefit of the Holy Spirit guiding him into all the truth (John 16:13). It will take more time for us to learn the Scriptures and be able to teach them (though we should still work toward this goal – Hebrews 5:12). But there are certain characteristics that Saul demonstrated that we should emulate.
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July 4, 2012

"See My Zeal for the Lord" (7/4)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Kings 9-11.

When Elisha anointed Jehu as king over Israel, he revealed a specific mission which God had for him.

“You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel” (2 Kings 9:7-8).

Jehu faithfully executed God’s judgment against the house of Ahab. When he met Jehonadab, the record shows Jehu’s completion of this work and why he was successful in carrying it out.
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May 14, 2012

Book Review: Lifelong Zeal

Lifelong Zeal by Phillip ShumakeLifelong Zeal: How to Build Lasting Passion for God is a new workbook by Phillip Shumake. In it, he shows how we can develop the type of zeal that God wants us to have by taking us through the seven step process that Christ used to develop this sort of zeal in the life of Peter.

The book contains 22 chapters. Each chapter has a few pages of reading, some thought questions, and more, making it helpful for both individual and group Bible studies.

What I liked most about this book is that it explained how to be zealous in a very practical way. We have all heard that we are to be “zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). But how can we keep our service to God from becoming a grudging obligation? How do we develop and maintain the desire to serve God and do what is right? Phillip does a good job explaining in practical terms how we can move past merely doing good deeds – often grudgingly, apathetically, or incompletely – to being “zealous for good deeds.”

Read more about Lifelong Zeal at the book’s website: LifelongZeal.com. If you are interested, you can purchase the book through that site or through Amazon.com.

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August 7, 2010

Having a Zeal for God

Bonfire

After Paul obeyed the gospel and went about preaching to the Gentiles, he was viewed by many of his Jewish brethren as a traitor. When he came back to Jerusalem, a group of Jews stirred up the crowds against him, intending to kill him. He had to be rescued by the Roman cohort that was present in the city. Before being led away, he was given opportunity to make a brief defense for himself before the Jews. As he began, he started by highlighting what they had in common.

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today” (Acts 22:3).

Zeal for God – the eager and intense interest in pursuing Him – was a characteristic that Paul had in common with the Jews. It is important that we, as Christians, also have a zeal for God and the things of God. But zeal alone is not enough. That is plainly seen in this passage. Both Paul and the Jews were zealous, even sharing the same object of their zeal – God. But the Jews viewed Paul as an enemy. So intense was the division between them that the Jews were beating Paul, intending to kill him, when the Roman soldiers arrived (Acts 21:31-32). When Paul reached the point in his defense where he talked about his work in preaching to the Gentiles, they cried out, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!” (Acts 22:22). Both were zealous for God, yet they were on opposite sides of this conflict. How?
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