Hear, See, Speak No Evil

Which frog fits you? 

Do you enjoy listening to gossip and negative stuff?  Then you'd be like the first little green frog.

Do you close your eyes to provocative images? Then the middle one is your guy.

Do you repeat what you've heard and seen? Then the last frog fits you.

It's difficult to not hear, see, and speak when so much negative information is around us, but it's a good idea to avoid harmful, damaging material as much as possible.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." -- Colossians 3:17

Genuine Love

1 Corinthians 13 teaches us that love is more than empty noise. A Christlike love is self-sacrificing and is earned or deserved by those who receive it.

Wow! Who loves everyone like that?

Most parents love their offspring with that kind of love. Perhaps a husband-wife relationship contains those same qualities, but let’s be honest here. Most family relationships aren’t self-sacrificing all the time, and most family relationships aren’t perfect all the time.

Since we are to imitate God’s love, and His is perfect, let’s examine His example.

1.       God acted faithfully in the past, He will do so in the future. So, should we.

2.       God expresses love to the believer and nonbeliever in difficult circumstances. So, should we.

3.       God is patient. So, should we be.

4.       God is kind. So, should we be.

5.       God does not envy, boast. Neither should we.

6.       God is not conceited. We shouldn’t be either. God knows who He is, and He knows you we are. He loves us anyway.

7.       God rejoices in truth. So, should we.

8.       God endures our petty actions. We should endure the ugly actions of others. 

9.       God forgives. And so should we.

God extends love into eternity. And we will, too.  

And the eternal love will be perfect!

More Bible Study

Article from Gay N. Lewis Blog. Appearing here by permission.

Five Sisters Must Marry Cousins to Keep Inheritance.

That would have been the headline in the Israel Daily Times, printed during the Wilderness Wanderings. The article would have been written by Moses some forty years after he lead the Jewish nation out of Egypt.

Odd headline, right?  Five sisters must marry cousins? Yes, odd, but it's not fake news. 

Okay, here's the history. The twelve tribes were promised an inheritance in the new land, and they were now on the border, ready to enter. These five sisters had no husbands and their father had died. Well, guess what? Women couldn't inherit land, animals, money, etc. If anything came to them, it automatically went to their husbands.

These ladies had no men in their lives, so they gathered their skirts together and boldly went to Moses. They asked him why they couldn't have the inheritance. If they received none, there would be no allotment due to their family.

Moses took it to the Lord, and the Lord agreed with the ladies!

Yay! Chalk one up for women with courage and a sense of fairness.

God told Moses to "give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives and turn their father's inheritance over to them." Numbers 28:7.

These ladies were descendants of Joseph and were of the tribe of Manesseh, Joseph's son. Now get this. The family heads of the Manesseh clan went to Moses. They had begun to worry. Together, they voiced a legitimate concern. "What if the sisters marry men other than an Israelite? Then their inheritance will be taken away and given to a non-member of the nation." Numbers 36:3.

So Moses made another trek to speak to God. God says the daughters may marry whomever they want as long as they marry withing the tribal clan of the father.

So the ladies married cousins on their father's side, and everyone had a happy ending.

Great story, right?

These noble women obeyed the Lord.  I wonder if they had happy marriages?  Relatively speaking, of course.