There are so many, many things that make the bible a unique book. It’s amazing unity; it’s content that often predates science; it’s prophetic nature along with perfect fulfillment… all make this a book no human could have composed apart from God’s aid. It is a book that is timeless. Take away the technological advances unique to our generation and you still have a point on message that is just as relevant today as it was millennia ago!
Most authors today try to “spin” their message to make the bad guys look bad, and the good guys look good. But the bible tells it like it is. When we read in the Old Testament about Abraham lying about the identity of his wife Sarah, about Moses disobeying God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it, about King David becoming intimate with Bathsheba and having her husband killed to cover up their sin, we become sorely disappointed. After all, these are our heroes and we want them to excel.
My point is this: the bible tells it like it is. And, for this reason, many people reject it and criticize it. It not only points out the shortcomings of Abraham, Moses, and David, but it points out OUR own personal shortcomings as well.
While preparing for our Sunday morning bible class (Book of Malachi), I took special note of Malachi 4:1 and Malachi 4:6 which looks ahead to the final judgment when God will punish the wicked. These verses remind us that the purpose of Christ’s ministry was to save us from that tragic end. God, through Jesus and His word tell us the plain truth that we need to hear in order to prepare for that great day of reckoning. Which…
finally brings me to the subject of this post and the subject of tomorrow’s worship hour lesson: The Biblical Profile of a Lazy Person. Why don’t we study more? Pray more? Attend worship faithfully? Edify one another more? Teach the lost? Support the efforts of the church? We hear a lot of excuses, and maybe we have all made some of the same excuses ourselves. But, could the reason be… get ready for this… plain, old-fashioned SIN?
God created us to be industrious and productive human beings. “Work” is in our design, and if we allow the world and our baser tendencies to take over, we will become miserable, unhappy people. In tomorrow morning’s lesson, the Biblical Profile of a Lazy Person, we hope to look at the characteristics of such a person:
- He Can’t Get Started
- He Seldom Finishes Anything
- He’s Full of Excuses
- He Gets Lots of Bad Breaks
- He Talks a Good Game
- He’s Full of Unrealistic Dreams
- He Gets on People’s Nerves
Come be with us tomorrow as we take an honest look at some of the attitudes that might be keeping us from being what God would have us to be, and from being prepared for our Lord’s return.