by Don Ruhl

Read the Bible in a year: Read Matthew 15:1--20

Beware of the Greater Defilement

Meditate today on these words of Jesus,

11 Now what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man (Mat. 15:11).

Jesus uses relative negation to make His point. Relative negation is a device whereby one truth is denied to emphasize another. Yes, we can hurt ourselves by eating the wrong thing, but it does not hurt the inward man and that is what concerns Jesus. The world is overly concerned with what they eat, but give almost no attention to ingesting harmful things in the spirit.

Watch yourself today to see which concerns you most. Does your concern to have a pure body over ride your concern to have a pure spirit?

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read Exodus 4--6

People Misunderstood Moses At First

Moses truly cares for the people of Israel, but they constantly misunderstand him. After his first confrontation with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt increases the workload of Israel. Therefore, it does not appear that Moses is doing a very good job of leading Israel. Officers of the children of Israel rebuke him, saying,

21 "Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us" (Exo. 5:21).

Is that truly what Moses had done? Is Moses a poor leader? You know what is going on more than the Israelites do, but in time, they will see his great work. Later they will complain about him again and again, but he continues with his awesome job, wanting to quit sometimes, but he keeps with it and later Israel honors him as a true man of God.

Are you a leader in the church or some other organization? Do you truly care for the people? Are you working for your people, as you believe you should? If yes to those questions, then keep with it, and your leadership will succeed.

Are you critical of a leader? Remember Moses and that Israel criticized him greatly at first. Do you want to be on the side of the critics or on the side of Moses? Believe in your leader and you shall succeed as the leader succeeds. Back him with all your might.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read the Bible in a year: Read Exodus 7 and 8

Frogs and More Frogs

The second plague that God puts on the Egyptians through the hands of Moses and Aaron is frogs, so many frogs that they are in the homes, bedrooms, beds, ovens and kneading bowls of the Egyptians. To demonstrate that this is nothing spectacular, here is what the Egyptians do,

7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt (Exo. 8:7).

Now that was brilliant! Would not the Egyptians have demonstrated the superiority of their gods by instantly getting rid of the frogs, even as Aaron's serpents swallowed up the serpents of the magicians? It is not wise to contend against the Great God of heaven.

Look deep within you and see if there is any way in which you oppose God working in your life. If you find one, repent quickly.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read the Bible in a Year Today Read Exodus 12 and 13

The Lord and the Destroyer

Where do people get the idea that the death angel passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt? Read what the Bible says,

23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you (Exo. 12:23).

The Bible says that the LORD passed over the Israelites and He did not allow the destroyer to enter their homes. This bit of information is not given so that you may say to people, who mention the death angel, that they are wrong. It is not that you may be arrogant and self-righteous, but see it as an opportunity to teach. In gentleness, simply say what the Bible says. This will open doors later for further teaching.

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100

by Don Ruhl

Read the Bible in a Year

Today Read Exodus 9--11

God Shows Pharaoh Compassion

As God sends the ten plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt, it does not appear at first that God is showing compassion, yet, that is what God is showing the Egyptians. Think about this verse,

15 "Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth" (Exo. 9:15).

The ten plagues show God's massive power, but in each instance, He allows Egypt to survive. Could He not have wiped out the Egyptians, and then led Israel out of Egypt to their promised land? Yes, He could have done that, but He did not. The next verse goes on to say that God raised up Pharaoh to demonstrate power. If only Pharaoh had learned from this, he could have spared Egypt the great damage that his nation suffered.

God cares for each of us, and shows us compassion daily, although we may be slow to see it at first. What is He teaching me today?

Don Ruhl Church of Christ 220 NE Savage Street Grants Pass, Oregon 97526-1310 541-476-3100