God Has Made Clean – He Provided for Them – The Unrighteous Know No Shame – The Word Was God
This is the last series of notes from the daily devotional I have been reading all year. As noted, I just found it not for me. However, there is some good stuff in these phrases and my use of them.
God Has Made Clean is a phrase I most formatively equate to the story of Peter’s dream, the lowering of the sheet, and the declaration that all food was made clean by God. Therefore, I believe it is not a sin for me to eat a bacon cheeseburger. I still need to try and avoid foods sacrificed to idols, but I am free from the “rules” aspect of the Old Testament since I cannot meet them anyway. However, the deeper meaning is that God loves every person regardless of their standing in the world or any of the world’s notions. Peter was told to witness to non-Jews as well, just as Paul had been instructed. People were either saved or needed it and no other distinction matters spiritually.
He Provided for Them carries an ideal of past performance guaranteeing future results, unlike the stock market. God provided for those wondering in the desert, He provided for the innocent, He provided for the wicked, He provided for the birds, and everything in the world. He has been active, He is being active, and He will be active. We can and must act on this knowledge.
The Unrighteous Know No Shame is lived out around where I sit now in Las Vegas (last week). The people here for “pleasure”, the people here for “business”, and the people here to “live” are drowning in the image of evil. The able bodied of my group are here to ride bikes, kayak, and get away from the day-to-day stress we live in. Seeing a magic show or paying to be entertained by playing games are the acceptable pieces resting on the evils of addiction to sex, gambling, drinking, and worse. Many people here are here to participate in their addictions and it is sad to look at the people suffering from it.
The Word Was God comes from the Gospel of John and tells us that Christ is God, that He is our salvation made known from the testimony of the Bible and those who experienced His life on earth, and that we can all share in it. I was telling my friend about how the youth at our church are going through a three-year review of the whole bible that covers 99 essential doctrines that impact our understanding of who Christ is. Christ is so great that we have to continually spend time remembering who He was so that we do not miss His strength when we need it. I need it daily. I have access to it daily. I need to live unashamed of living for Him. If they can live unashamed, how much more can I?