GOOD VISION

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?" (Job 31:1 NKJV).

In our verse, Job is telling his three friends about the covenant he had made. Thus we want to note the sanctity in the covenant, the sight in the covenant, the seriousness of the covenant, and the strength from the covenant.

Sanctity in the covenant – “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman.” This covenant was designed to keep Job pure morally. People often set goals for their life, but few of these goals ever involve moral purity. Job’s goal was to be pure morally.

Sight in the covenant – “With my eyes.” Job recognized that the eye gate is a major avenue for the entrance of sin in our lives. Further, TV and videos are a main source of pollution. Since more evil enters through the eye gate than any other gate, we need to guard our eyes.

Seriousness of the covenant – “I have made a covenant.” Making a covenant is serious business. Job’s covenant shows his dedication to be pure. If we are not serious about purity, we will not succeed in being pure.

Strength from the covenant – “Why then should I look upon a young woman?” The thought here is that the covenant gives strength to overcome temptation. We need to do all we can to protect ourselves from being seduced by immorality. We need to keep ourselves spirituality strong or we will be overcome by sin.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Sanctification requires consecration without reservation!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Discipline (sound mind)

In 2 Tim. 1:7 we read, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (NASB).

Discipline (sound mind) is the Greek word sōphronismos (σωφρονισμός = so-fron-is-mos'). It is made up of two words, “sozo” which means save and “phren” which means mind. The word describes an individual marked by a sense of sobriety, sound judgment, prudence, moderation. Literally, sōphronismos describes a saved mind or a sound mind. Not only is such a mind secure and sound but it carries the additional idea that this mind is self-controlled, disciplined, and properly prioritized able to stay in control in success or failure.

In Classical Greek sōphronismos carries the idea of good judgment, improvement, moderation, self-control. In the Septuagint as well as in the New Testament, sōphronismos has to do with a sound mind or a spirit of self-control or self-discipline. This means the believer in Jesus must be marked by a mind that is disciplined (not being shaken by intimidation). Self-discipline comes from continuous reliance on the grace that God gives to believers who trust Him wholeheartedly and without reservation.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would be a lamb “without blemish” (Ex. 12:5)

New Testament Fulfillment – 1 Peter 1:19

Bible Facts

Love explained (Matt. 22:37-40; 1 John 4:7-12). Evolution cannot explain love. Yet, God’s Word reveals that the very purpose of our existence is to know and love God and our fellow man. God is love, and we were created in His image to reflect His love.

Bible Quiz

What name was given to the place in the wilderness where the Israelites found bitter waters and murmured?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What is another name used in the Bible for Jerusalem? Zion (Isa. 52:1-2; cf. Heb. 12:22; Lam. 1:4).

That’s in the Bible

"Physician, heal thyself”

“And He said unto them, ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country” (Luke 4:23 KJV).

“Physician, heal thyself” - The expression “physician, heal thyself” carries the idea of taking care of your own problems. The people wanted the Lord Jesus to do in Nazareth what He had done elsewhere. If He didn’t then He was like the physician who can heal others but not himself. The people wanted evidence. This same problem exists even today as evidenced by the common sayings, “familiarity breeds contempt.” Also true is the fact that when people reject God, He will go elsewhere.

Did You Know - Christian History

Kenneth Lee Pike was born June 9, 1912 in Woodstock, Connecticut. He was an American linguist and anthropologist. He was also the originator of the theory of tagmemics (grammar that describes language), and the developer of the constructed language Kalaba-X for use in teaching the theory and practice of translation.

Pike studied theology at Gordon College and initially wanted to do missionary work in China. When he applied to the China Inland Mission, he was turned down - too nervous, said the board. He also failed their linguistics test. When the Wycliffe Mission offered a phonetic class, Pike was intrigued, so he enrolled. He studied linguistics with Summer Institute of Linguistics (S.I.L.). He then went to Mexico with SIL, learning Mixtec from native speakers there in 1935. Further, he got hold of a copy of Language by the famed anthropological linguist Edward Sapir. This formed his thinking. The next summer he taught at the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

In 1937 Pike went to the University of Michigan to work on his doctorate in linguistics. His research involved living among the Mixtecs, and developing a written system for the Mixtec language with his wife, Evelyn. In 1942, Pike became the First President of the Summer Institute in Linguistics (SIL). The Institute’s main function was to produce translations of the Bible in unwritten languages. In 1951 Pike published the Mixtec New Testament. He was the President of SIL International from 1942 to 1979.

Pike is best known for his distinction between the emic and the etic. “Emic” refers to the subjective understanding and account of meaning in the sounds of languages, while “etic” refers to the objective study of those sounds.

Pike was a member of National Academy of Sciences, the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), the Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States (LACUS), and the American Anthropological Association. He served as president of LSA and LACUS and later was nominated for the Templeton Prize three years in a row. Pike died December 31, 2000 in Dallas, Texas.

A Little Humor

Determined to “take it with him” when he died, a very rich man prayed until finally the Lord gave in. There was one condition: he could only bring one suitcase of his wealth. The rich man decided to fill the suitcase with gold bullion. The day came when God called him home. Saint Peter greeted him, but told him he couldn’t bring his suitcase. “Oh, but I have an agreement with God,” the man explained. “That’s unusual,” said Saint Peter. “Mind if I take a look?” The man opened the suitcase to reveal the shining gold bullion. Saint Peter was amazed. “Why in the world would you bring pavement?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Man is saved by believing Christ - he is lost by believing the devil!”