"He who steals must steal no longer" (Ep 4:28 NASB)

Paul's letter to the Christians around Ephesus is useful for Bible teachers. It is a more generic letter and contains a broad spectrum of topics. After opening with three chapters demonstrating the wonderful gift of Jesus, Paul spends his time addressing issues that he saw Christians were facing.

Stealing was among these problems, to which Paul states, "He who steals must steal no longer" Ephesians 4:28 (NASB).

The absolute simplicity of this statement is what appeals to me. There is no argument about how stealing hurts others and is fed by one's own laziness & covetousness. Instead, Paul simply says, "Stop it!"

He does, however, continue on:
"He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need." Ephesians 4:28 (NASB)

It is not enough to merely stop stealing. We have to Labor and Work for ourselves.
It is not enough to merely work for ourselves. We have to labor and work to give to Others.

This is a clear explanation of repentance. Not only "changing your mind", but pushing for the other direction. We don't just stop stealing, but instead we work hard to help others out!

(That's the opposite of lazy selfishness!)

"But as for you, you must not turn to them" (Je 15:19 NASB)

Poor Jeremiah. The "weeping prophet" had such a depressing message. I don't know why, but it's soundly more depressing than Isaiah's message. Sure, the latter half of Isaiah has as much hope as despair (possibly more hope), but even when Isaiah is pronouncing doom, it's not as sad as what Jeremiah has to say.

Consider what Jeremiah says to Israel on God's behalf:

My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to hate her. (Je 12:8)

Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
What will you say when He appoints over you- ...
Former companions to be head over you? ...
If you say in your heart,
"Why have these things happened to me?"
Because of the magnitude of your iniquity ...
Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert wind.
This is your lot, the portion measured to you
From Me, declares the LORD,
Because you have forgotten Me ...
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will you remain unclean? (Je 13:20-27)

Then the LORD said to me, "Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!" (Je 15:1)

That's sad.
It's not merely pronouncements of judgment,
but sad descriptions of just how sorry a people they were.
The people were so bad!
That is what Jeremiah had to spend his days doing.

And then we have Jeremiah 15:15-21.
Jeremiah asks God "Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors" (Je 15:15). He tells God "Your words became for me a joy ... For I have been called by Your name" and that he "did not sit in the circle of merrymakers" and that he "sat alone" (Je 15:16-17). He then asks God, "Why has my pain been perpetual ...?" (Je 15:18).

How does God respond?
If you return, then I will restore you- ...
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become my spokesman ...
Then I will make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze; ...
They will not prevail over you ...
So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked ... (Je 15:19-21)

Wait a minute!
a) Jeremiah has one of most depressing messages God has ever sent to man
b) The people are rejecting God
c) The people are rejecting Jeremiah and he is suffering
d) The wicked are having "a good ol' time"

And when Jeremiah asks God what's going on, God says "If you return, then I will restore you" (Je 15:19).

What?
After all he has to go through ...
After the people leaving God ...
After the effort Jeremiah makes ...

God wants him to be restored?

Sure puts things into perspective, huh?
The Israelites were so bad ... and Jeremiah was still told to reform himself.
We have to do what God wants and be perfect and complete, no matter how nasty everyone else is.
We have to do what God wants and be perfect and complete according to his standard ... and not rest our laurels on merely being better than the sinners around us. When I read Jeremiah 15 I get the feeling that God's standard is tough to measure up to no matter what's going on!

It makes me think of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32.

"For I will not contend forever ..." (Is 57:16 NASB)

The end of Isaiah chapter 57 shows that God wants to reach out to the meek but has reached his limit with the sinful. What is interesting is that he regards all of them as having sinned.

The one who God heals in verse 18 is the same one with whom he says in verse 17:
"Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
[then, in verse 18]
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore confort to him and to his mourners,"
Isaiah 57:17-18 (NASB)

God was upset with this individual because of the "iniquity of his unjust gain". Yet, God "will not contend forever, Nor will [He] always be angry" (Is 57:16 NASB).

This struck a strong chord with me as a father. Training a child in the way he should go is a lot of hard work. A child will learn but may be stubborn. A child will understand but still test to verify. A child will sometimes be ignorant despite our efforts to train and instruct.

When God looked down on his people he saw a people that would faint in front of him if he did not maintain mercy:
"For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
'I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.
For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry,
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.'"
Isaiah 57:15-16 (NASB)

God is considerate in his judgment.
God is merciful to the contrite & meek, even in the face of our problems.

This is what I need to do as a father. I must expect godly perfection and devotion, train toward that perfection and yet live with a merciful heart.

When God saw a meek heart in a sinner, it did not matter how far away they ran, but that they had a meek heart and wanted to love God still. We see this in the story of the Lost Son (Lu 15:11:-32).

For those who do not maintain this attitude, God does not have much compassion:
"'But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
There is no peace,' says my God, 'For the wicked.'"
Isaiah 57:17-18 (NASB)

"Remember this, and be assured ..." (Is 46:8 NASB)

Israel had several problems that God was trying to deal with when he sent his messages through Isaiah. One which we may take for granted today is the supremacy & singularity of God himself.

Isaiah 46:8-11 (NASB)
Remember this, and be assured;
Recall it to mind, you transgressors.
Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
God, and there is no one like Me. ...
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned, I will do it.

I don't think this is an issue the world has quite learned to cope with yet. Growing up on a pew, I was raised with God's word and the primacy of his rule & authority. But the world offers many options now as it did back then. The general idea today is, "I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God". (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58026)

The LORD heavily stressed to the Israelites that he stood alone as God and that he is a jealous God (Ex 20:5).

However, God also expresses his reach, care & concern for the people he has created in Isaiah 46:1-4 (NASB):
Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;
Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.
The things that you carry are burdensome
A load for the weary beast.
They stooped over, they have bowed down together;
They could not rescue the burden,
But have themselves gone into captivity.
Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,
And all the remnant of the house of Israel,
You who have been borne by Me from birth
And have been carried from the womb;
Even to your old age I will be the sam,
And even to your graying years I will bear you!
I have done it, and I will carry you;
And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

This isn't a LORD who stands apart and away but reaches down to carry our burdens.
This isn't a wooden idol which is heavy on an animal, but a God who has bourn us since our birth.

There's still a bit of confusion out there: Is there another God? Are there lesser gods? Is Jesus really God or a lesser God? Are there other sources of hope?

There's still a lot of options for us to trust in: Some trust in empirical evidence ... or their own experiences ... or in a collection of faiths, distrusting any one on its' own.

God reminds us that we can trust in him as a single and supreme God.
God reminds us that we can trust what he's said:

For I am God, and there is no other; ...
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned, I will do it.
Isaiah 46:9-11 (NASB)