December 17, 2013

Tuesday: December 16, 2013

READ: Deuteronomy 11-12

THINK: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse…” – Deuteronomy 11:26

It’s really that simple. God invites every one of us to live the way that we were created to live – the way that the original designer designed and wired us to live – and, at the same time, allows us the opportunity to choose not to live that way. And he promises us that if we do things his way we will be blessed beyond measure. But if we choose to go the other way then we’ll experience the very real and present hell of separation from him in this life and the next.

One of the coolest things that God does in Deuteronomy 11 is gives us a really practical handle on what it looks like to live his way in daily life. In verses 18-20 he says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…”

These words remind us that God’s word and his character should dominate our desires and our will. They should define our actions and our thoughts. They should be a focal point of our interactions with our children. They should define us when we’re at home and when we’re out in the world. And they should impact our relationships with both family members and guests and strangers.

ASK: Ask yourself today: Do God’s word and character define my thoughts and actions? How does this impact my interactions with everybody that I intersect day to day? Am I the same person in the comfort of my home as I am in public?

If you are uncomfortable with any or all of your answers to those questions – and I know I am and suspect most all of us will be – what will you do about it? I assume that you want to live a blessed life rather than a cursed one. I certainly do. And the God of universe tells us that the real key to doing so isn’t anything the world has to offer but, instead, following him and allowing his word and his will to define everything about us. How can you open yourself up today so that this will be your reality?

PRAY: Ask God to fill you. Ask him to define you. Ask him to invade the spaces of your heart that haven’t been open to him in the past. Ask him to help you live the way you were created to live. Ask him to bless you.

Posted by on December 17, 2013 in Law.

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December 16, 2013

Monday: December 16, 2013

READ:  Hebrews 9

THINK: Outside Madrid stands an ancient monastery where the kings of Spain have been buried. The architect designed an elongated arch so flat that the reigning monarch insisted it could not hold the structure above it.

Against the architect’s protest, the king ordered that a column be placed underneath the arch as a safety precaution. After the king died, the architect revealed that he had deliberately made the column a quarter of an inch too short—and the arch had never sagged!

Nothing need be, or can be, added to the finished work of Christ on Calvary to sustain the weight of the world’s salvation. Our Savior’s cry from the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), is a translation of a single Greek word which more literally could be rendered as “Ended!” “Completed!” or “Accomplished!”

That one word tells of the greatest miracle our Lord performed, the work of redeeming a lost world. Because our redemption was perfectly finished, it is impossible for us to add even one submicroscopic work of our own to what was already done on the cross.

With utter assurance, then, we can rest our eternal hope on that one all-important word, “Finished!” We are saved not by what we do but by what Christ has done.

– Vernon C. Grounds in Our Daily Bread

 

PRAY: Confess your own self-righteousness to God – all the times you’ve tried to be good enough to earn your salvation. And then spend time worshipping him for the gift of the cross!

 

Posted by on December 16, 2013 in Epistles.

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December 15, 2013

Sunday: December 15, 2013

READ: Psalm 144

THINK: Something that has been on my heart lately, especially as it relates to why we praise God like David does in this Psalm and how we influence those around us for Jesus – from C.S. Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms:

“When I first began to draw near to belief in God and even for some time after it had been given to me, I found a stumbling block in the demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should ‘praise’ God; still more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it. We all despise the man who demands continued assurance of his own virtue, intelligence or delightfulness; we despise still more the crowd of people round every dictator, every millionaire, every celebrity, who gratify that demand. Thus a picture, at once ludicrous and horrible, both of God and His worshippers, threatened to appear in my mind. The Psalms were especially troublesome in this way —’Praise the Lord,’ ‘O praise the Lord with me,’ ‘Praise Him.’ . . . Worse still was the statement put into God’s own mouth, ‘whoso offereth me thanks and praise, he honoureth me’ (50:23). It was hideously like saying, ‘What I most want is to be told that I am good and great.’ . . . [Furthermore], more than once the Psalmists seemed to be saying, ‘You like praise. Do this for me, and you shall have some.’ Thus in [Ps.] 54 the poet begins ‘save me’ (1), and in verse 6 adds an inducement, ‘An offering of a free heart will I give thee, and praise thy Name.’ Again and again the speaker asks to be saved from death on the ground that if God lets His suppliants die He will get no more praise from them, for the ghosts in Sheol cannot praise ([Pss.] 30:10; 88:10; 119:175). And mere quantity of praise seemed to count; ‘seven times a day do I praise thee’ (119:164). It was extremely distressing. It made one think what one least wanted to think. Gratitude to God, reverence to Him, obedience to Him, I thought I could understand; not this perpetual eulogy. . . .

[Part of my initial problem is that] I did not see that it is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men. It is not of course the only way. But for many people at many times the ‘fair beauty of the Lord’ is revealed chiefly or only while they worship Him together. Even in Judaism the essence of the sacrifice was not really that men gave bulls and goats to God, but that by their so doing God gave Himself to men; in the central act of our own worship of course this is far clearer — there it is manifestly, even physically, God who gives and we who receive. The miserable idea that God should in any sense need, or crave for, our worship like a vain woman wanting compliments, or a vain author presenting his new books to people who never met or heard him, is implicitly answered by the words, ‘If I be hungry I will not tell thee‘ (50:12). Even if such an absurd Deity could be conceived, He would hardly come to us, the lowest of rational creatures, to gratify His appetite. I don’t want my dog to bark approval of my books[!].

But the most obvious fact about praise — whether of God or anything — strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honour. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless . . . shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise — lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favourite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favourite game — praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. . . . Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible. . . . I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: ‘Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?’ The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with. . . .

If it were possible for a created soul fully . . . to ‘appreciate’, that is to love and delight in, the worthiest object of all, and simultaneously at every moment to give this delight perfect expression, then that soul would be in supreme beatitude. . . . To see what the doctrine really means, we must suppose ourselves to be in perfect love with God — drunk with, drowned in, dissolved by, that delight which, far from remaining pent up within ourselves as incommunicable, hence hardly tolerable, bliss, flows out from us incessantly again in effortless and perfect expression, our joy is no more separable from the praise in which it liberates and utters itself than the brightness a mirror receives is separable from the brightness it sheds. The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end is ‘to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him”

PRAY: Let Psalm 144:1-2 be your prayer today. Praise him!

Posted by on December 15, 2013 in Psalms.

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December 14, 2013

Saturday: December 14, 2013

READ:  John 1

THINK: “They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’” – John 1:38-39

Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They…remained with Him that day…” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

“You are Simon…You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would think we were the highest quality saints. But don’t dare look at us when we are not in that mood. A true disciple is one who has his new name written all over him— self-interest, pride, and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the sin of making “self” our god. And some of us today do this, not like the Pharisee, but like the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). For you to say, “Oh, I’m no saint,” is acceptable by human standards of pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. You defy God to make you a saint, as if to say, “I am too weak and hopeless and outside the reach of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.” Why aren’t you a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe that God can make you into one. You say it would be all right if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is exactly what He will do! And not only do we make our home with Him, but Jesus said of His Father and Himself, “…We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Put no conditions on your life – let Jesus be everything to you, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for eternity.

– Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest

 

PRAY: Pray that God would help you abide in him today. Ask him to come in and be everything to you. He came down to earth to become a man for you; you can know that he is willing to come in and be your everything.

Posted by on December 14, 2013 in Gospels.

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December 13, 2013

Friday: December 13, 2013

READ: Jonah 1-2

THINK: “Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.” – Jonah 1:3

He went down to Joppa. — Sin is always a going down. Down from the heights of fellowship with God; down from the life of high and noble purpose; down from self-restraint and high endeavor. Yes, and we know we are going down; that our self-discipline is relaxed; that our holy separation from the world is [lacking].

He found a ship. — Opportunity does not necessarily indicate either expediency or duty. Because the ship happened at that moment to be weighing anchor and the sails to be filled with a favoring breeze, Jonah might have argued that his resolution was a right one. Whether he did or not, there are many times in our lives when we are disposed to argue that [convenient] circumstances indicate the right course. But it must be remembered that they never can belie God’s summons to the soul to do his will. The court of conscience is the supreme court of appeal; and to run away from known duty cannot be right, though circumstances seem at first to smile.

He paid the fare thereof. — Yea, if we go opposite to God’s will, we always have to pay for it. The loss of self-respect, the broken piece of conscience, the deprivation of God’s blessed presence, are part of the fare. And even when we have paid and lost it all, we fail to get what we purchased; we are dropped out of our chosen vessel in mid-ocean; and God brings us back to land at his own expense, and in a ship of his own construction. The morning may be fine, but it is soon overcast: the sky may be clear at starting, but God sends a great storm after the runaways to bring them back to Himself: the ship may seem to be opportunely leaving the wharf, but disaster will over-take it.

– F.B. Meyer

PRAY: Ask God to help you identify areas in your life right now where you are going down and headed away from him, where you are taking the easy path instead of really seeking his call, and where you are paying dearly for sin. And pray that he will help you seek him instead.

Posted by on December 13, 2013 in Prophecy.

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December 12, 2013

Thursday: December 12, 2013

READ: Ezra 10

THINK: It’s an old saying but a true one nonetheless: You can’t be a leader if nobody follows you. So part of the question of leadership is: how do you get people to follow you? Throughout history there have been a number of different strategies. Some leaders have tried exerting military power to coerce people into following them. Others have used propaganda, blackmail, or manipulation. Still others have gained followers by telling them whatever they wanted to hear.

Ezra is an amazing example of a different type of leadership: spiritual leadership. Spiritual leaders like Ezra get followers for an entirely different reason: integrity and godly example. In Ezra 10 the nation repented for turning away from God towards false idols. This wasn’t because Ezra coerced them at the tip of the spear, because he lied to them or produced some sort of propaganda to entice them. It was because they watched him pray. And they watched him weep. And they saw his integrity and his genuine pursuit of God. And they saw God through him. And it was compelling! It was so compelling that they joined him in weeping, prayer, and repentance.

Whenever Ezra faced a crisis situation, his first response was to turn to God and seek God’s wisdom. He did it over and over again. He wasn’t concerned with telling people what they wanted to hear or with taking immediate action to address any and all concerns. He was concerned with being who God wanted him to be. His primary motivation was leading God’s way and serving as an example to the people he had been entrusted to steward.

Anyone who has been entrusted with spiritual leadership – of any sort or any magnitude – can learn a lot from Ezra. We cannot lead people where we have not been. And we will not gain followers and transform lives spiritual by our knowledge, our winning personalities, or our giftedness alone. Those things are merely supplements. Spiritual leadership must start with prayer. At its very core, at the foundation, it is about connecting with the heart of God and getting a vision of who he has called you to be so that you can reflect him to those around you. Spiritual leaders gain followers and change the world, one life at a time, by reflecting the character and the heart of God to the people they lead.

ASK: What would it be like if people who came into contact with you were more loving because the love of God oozed out of you? What would it be like if people around you were more honorable because they saw your integrity? What would it be like if people around you were more generous because they were profoundly moved by how you give?

How would your spiritual leadership be different if you were convinced – at the core of who you are – that your ability to teach, train, equip, love, serve, transform, etc. others is first and foremost tied to your Christlikeness?

PRAY: Ask God to line up your heart with his today. Ask him to give you a vision of who he has called you to be to those around you. Ask him to transform and sanctify you so that you might reflect him better to everyone you come into contact with.

Posted by on December 12, 2013 in History.

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December 11, 2013

Wednesday: December 10, 2013

READ: Zechariah 13-14

THINK: “At evening time it shall be light.” – Zechariah 14:7

Oftentimes we look forward with forebodings to the time of old age, forgetful that at eventide it shall be light. To many saints, old age is the choicest season in their lives. A balmier air fans the mariner’s cheek as he nears the shore of immortality, fewer waves ruffle his sea, quiet reigns, deep, still and solemn. From the altar of age the flashes of the fire of youth are gone, but the more real flame of earnest feeling remains. The pilgrims have reached the land Beulah, that happy country, whose days are as the days of heaven upon earth. Angels visit it, celestial gales blow over it, flowers of paradise grow in it, and the air is filled with seraphic music. Some dwell here for years, and others come to it but a few hours before their departure, but it is an Eden on earth. We may well long for the time when we shall recline in its shady groves and be satisfied with hope until the time of fruition comes. The setting sun seems larger than when aloft in the sky, and a splendour of glory tinges all the clouds which surround his going down. Pain breaks not the calm of the sweet twilight of age, for strength made perfect in weakness bears up with patience under it all. Ripe fruits of choice experience are gathered as the rare repast of life’s evening, and the soul prepares itself for rest.

The Lord’s people shall also enjoy light in the hour of death. Unbelief laments; the shadows fall, the night is coming, existence is ending. Ah no, crieth faith, the night is far spent, the true day is at hand. Light is come, the light of immortality, the light of a Father’s countenance. Gather up thy feet in the bed, see the waiting bands of spirits! Angels waft thee away. Farewell, beloved one, thou art gone, thou wavest thine hand. Ah, now it is light. The pearly gates are open, the golden streets shine in the jasper light. We cover our eyes, but thou beholdest the unseen; adieu, brother, thou hast light at even-tide, such as we have not yet.

“In summer and in winter shall it be.” – Zechariah 14:8

The streams of living water which flow from Jerusalem are not dried up by the parching heats of sultry midsummer any more than they were frozen by the cold winds of blustering winter. Rejoice, O my soul, that thou art spared to testify of the faithfulness of the Lord. The seasons change and thou changest, but thy Lord abides evermore the same, and the streams of his love are as deep, as broad and as full as ever. The heats of business cares and scorching trials make me need the cooling influences of the river of His grace; I may go at once and drink to the full from the inexhaustible fountain, for in summer and in winter it pours forth its flood. The upper springs are never scanty, and blessed be the name of the Lord, the nether springs cannot fail either. Elijah found Cherith dry up, but Jehovah was still the same God of providence. Job said his brethren were like deceitful brooks, but he found his God an overflowing river of consolation. The Nile is the great confidence of Egypt, but its floods are variable; our Lord is evermore the same. By turning the course of the Euphrates, Cyrus took the city of Babylon, but no power, human or infernal, can divert the current of divine grace. The tracks of ancient rivers have been found all dry and desolate, but the streams which take their rise on the mountains of divine sovereignty and infinite love shall ever be full to the brim. Generations melt away, but the course of grace is unaltered. The river of God may sing with greater truth than the brook in the poem—-

“Men may come, and men may go, but I go on for ever.” How happy art thou, my soul, to be led beside such still waters! Never wander to other streams, lest thou hear the Lord’s rebuke, “What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt to drink of the muddy river?”

“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” – Zechariah 14:9

Blessed prospect! This is no dream of an enthusiast, but the declaration of the infallible Word. Jehovah shall be known among all people, and His gracious sway shall be acknowledged by every tribe of man. Today it is far from being so. Where do any bow before the Great King? How much there is of rebellion! What lords many, and gods many, there are on the earth! Even among professed Christians what diversities of ideas there are about Him and His gospel! One day there shall be one King, one Jehovah, and one name for the living God. O Lord, hasten it! We daily cry, “Thy kingdom come.”

We will not discuss the question as to when this shall be, lest we lose the comfort of the certainty that it shall be. So surely as the Holy Ghost spake by His prophets, so surely shall the whole earth be filled with the glory of the Lord. Jesus did not die in vain. The Spirit of God worketh not in vain. The Father’s eternal purposes shall not be frustrated. Here, where Satan triumphed, Jesus shall be crowned, and the Lord God Omnipotent shall reign. Let us go our way to our daily work and warfare, made strong in faith.

– Rev. Charles Spurgeon

PRAY: As we engage this Christmas season and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus – which was the fulfillment of the prophetic visions of Zechariah – spend some time thanking God for the hope that is available in Christ and thanking him for calling you to himself!

Posted by on December 11, 2013 in Prophecy.

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December 10, 2013

Tuesday: December 10, 2013

READ: Deuteronomy 9-10

THINK: Reread Deuteronomy 10:12-21. Read it one more time, aloud slowly.

– What phrase is most memorable?

– What quality of God stands out to you? Why?

– What command stands out to you? Why?

PRAY: Here are some ways to pray this passage. Use as many of these suggestions as you wish.

– Express to God your thoughts about living in his presence. Has living in his presence been important to you or not?

– Express to God those areas in which you would guess he considers you “heardhearted.” Pause and let this come to you. Don’t necessarily go with the first things that comes to mind.

– Express to God your feelings about the have-nots you know (widows, orphans, foreigners). Talk to God honestly about how willing or unwilling you’ve been to include such people in your life.

 LIVE: Experiment with living in God’s presence while caring for the rest of the world. Relax. Quiet yourself. Just be.

– Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on December 10, 2013 in Law.

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December 9, 2013

Monday: December 9, 2013

READ: Hebrews 8

THINK: Tonight my wife sent me out to run two quick errands. When I got home the first thing she said to me what “Hi.” The second was, “Did you remember to put gas in the car?” I said, “Yep. That was main purpose of me going out.” And she responded, “I know. But then I have you something else to do so I thought maybe you’d forget the first one.” To be honest, at first I wanted to be a bit offended by that. But then I thought about my long and distinguished history of forgetting stuff and I had to laugh and admit, “That really does sound like something I would do!”

It’s easy for me to forget things. But it’s also really easy for me to remember them again later. Forgetting them isn’t permanent. It just means that they aren’t on my brain for a little while, but not that they wont be again. If my forgetfulness was permanent then I’d have to get a brand new set of keys at least 3 times a week.

This is the problem I’ve always had with the idea that God forgets my sins. It seems like a really nice thought, and I’ve heard it plenty of times. But I always struggled with it. First off, forgetfulness comes from my own imperfection and it’s really hard for me to believe that God can forget because he’s perfect. And second, often after I’ve forgotten things I remember them again later. To think that God might remember my sins again later really bums me out.

But check it out: that’s not what God promises. He doesn’t promise to forget. Instead he promises something much better. He promises that as a part of the New Covenant, in Christ’s blood and because of his sacrifice, he will forgive our sins and he will remember them no more. Remembering them no more is better than forgetting. It means that God consciously chooses to remove our sins from us completely and to never again, not once and not ever, remember them, consider them, or think about them again. Now that is reassuring!

Sometimes I think we can’t accept forgiveness and we can’t get rid of the sin and guilt in our lives because we aren’t sure that our sins are gone. We aren’t fully convinced that they have been removed. And we’re worried that they still count against us somehow. Today lets live in the freedom of knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God chooses to remember them no more.

PRAY: Thank God for the cross. For forgiveness. For remembering our sins no more. And give all of your guilt and shame up to him today. Allow him to remove it from you. Don’t hold on to it or remember it anymore because he doesn’t!

Posted by on December 9, 2013 in Epistles.

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December 8, 2013

Sunday: December 8, 2013

READ: Zechariah 11-12

RE-READ: Zechariah 11:4-11 from The Message, and really dig into the symbolism of the passage as you read:

God commanded me, “Shepherd the sheep that are soon to be slaughtered. The people who buy them will butcher them for quick and easy money. What’s worse, they’ll get away with it. The people who sell them will say, ‘Lucky me! God’s on my side; I’ve got it made!’ They have shepherds who couldn’t care less about them.”

God’s Decree: “I’m washing my hands of the people of this land. From now on they’re all on their own. It’s dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest, and the devil take the hindmost. Don’t look for help from me.” So I took over from the crass, money-grubbing owners, and shepherded the sheep marked for slaughter. I got myself two shepherd staffs. I named one Lovely and the other Harmony. Then I went to work shepherding the sheep. Within a month I got rid of the corrupt shepherds. I got tired of putting up with them—and they couldn’t stand me. And then I got tired of the sheep and said, “I’ve had it with you—no more shepherding from me. If you die, you die; if you’re attacked, you’re attacked. Whoever survives can eat what’s left.” Then I took the staff named Lovely and broke it across my knee, breaking the beautiful covenant I had made with all the peoples. In one stroke, both staff and covenant were broken. The money-hungry owners saw me do it and knew God was behind it.

THINK: When you consider the consequences God allows to come to Israel for their continual disobedience to him, what stands out to you? Why do you think God would allow such horrible things to happen to them? What does this have to do with you?

PRAY: Read that passage one more time, prayerfully. What about God does it highlight? What words or actions especially draw your attention when you consider your life in light of this passage?

LIVE: Consider the following extract from Jan Karon’s These High, Green Hills:

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you Father,” said Nurse Kennedy, walking with him along the hall.

“Shoot.”

“Why is it God so often breaks our hearts?”

“Well, sometimes He does it to increase our faith. That’s the way he stretches us. But there’s another reason, I think, why our hearts get broken.”

She looked at him.

“Usually,” he said, “what breaks is what’s brittle.”

In what area has your heart become brittle toward God? Have you been trying to protect your heart from him? If so, why? Don’t put pressure on yourself trying to change this: There is probably some reason you have felt the need to protect yourself. But today, with God’s help, become aware of it, and explore with him what might happen if you trust him with that area of your heart.

– Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on December 8, 2013 in Prophecy.

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