March 5, 2013

Tuesday: March 5, 2013

READ: Lamentations 5. Read slowly, keeping in mind other stories you’ve read and heard about the Israelite’s unreliable commitment to God and the times they walked away from him.

THINK: When you hold side-by-side this expression of Israel’s humility with stories of their pride, hardheartedness, idol worship, and rebellion, what is your response to their prayer in this passage? If you were God, how would you respond to them?

PRAY: Read and absorb the following words, spoken by Jesus many years later to the same people, when he came to live his life for them: “Jerusalem, killer of prophets, abuser of the messengers of God! How often I’ve longed to gather your children, gather your children like a hen, her brood safe under her wings – but you refused and turned away!” Stop for a moment, close your eyes, and consider those words from Jesus in Luke 13.

When you see this openhearted love that God continued to have for his people, despite their turning away, what do you feel? Ponder the reality that this is the God who rules the universe.

LIVE: What are the differences between the way that you would have responded to Israel and God’s response? In what ways might your responses and your own heart towards others cloud your perception of how God responds to people? Ask God to help you learn to distinguish your reaction from his, so that you might know more clearly what he is like and better reflect that to those around you.

Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on March 5, 2013 in Poetry.

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March 4, 2013

Monday: March 4, 2013

READ: Nehemiah 1-2

THINK: In Nehemiah’s days every major city in the world was surrounded by walls. The walls served as a fortification to protect against enemies and also as a mark of pride. The walls of Jerusalem had been down for 140 years and this was a huge embarrassment to the people of God. And it wasn’t just embarrassing. It also left them very vulnerable to attacks and oppression. 140 years is a long time. Just to get a picture – that’s like saying that the walls and defenses of the United States have been down ever since the Civil War. It’s a long time! And so, the people of God living in Jerusalem were very depressed. They felt like they had no hope, and they thought, “Life is never, ever going to get better, the walls of our city are broken down.”

Well, how did that happen? If you know the story of the Old Testament you know it went something like this: God told the Jewish people, He said, ‘If you obey me, I will bless you. If you disobey me, there will be consequences.’ And sure enough, the hearts of God’s people drifted away from God and they began to they were worshiping false gods and idols and performing all sorts of sacrifices that were displeasing to God. So God said, ‘There will be consequences for your disobedience.’ And God allowed the Babylonians to come in and to wipe out the city and the people. They destroyed the temple, which was incredibly important since it was the place of worship where the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized God’s presence with Israel, was kept. And the Babylonians tore down the walls and they took the people into captivity.

Eventually Persia became the world superpower and they had a little bit of a different philosophy about captive people groups than the Babylonians so they sent some of the Israelites back to Jerusalem – not very many of them, just a small remnant – to try to rebuild the temple. And they tried, but the temple was nothing like it had been when Solomon made it into one of the most fabulous buildings on earth. It was a makeshift temple, but it was the best they could do so that they could resume their worship. But the walls of the city were still razed to the ground and so they were incredibly vulnerable to being attacked . And this was difficult and frustrating and humiliating. The entire nation was heartbroken and distraught. And then something happened. One man, a cup-bearer, an ordinary nobody poison-tester had had what I call a Twisted Sister Moment.

No, he didn’t perm his hair and dress in a disturbingly tight leather jumpsuit. He just decided that the situation was not okay and declared, “I’m not gonna take it. No! I aint gonna take it. I’m not gonna take it anymore!” He recognized a need in his world and said, “Somebody has got to do something about it, and it might as well be me!” I think that God is inviting all of us to have Twisted Sister moments. He is inviting us to line our hearts up with his and allow our hearts to break for the things that break his. Not to avoid the pain of our broken world, or ask God to send somebody else while we sit back and wait on the world to change, but instead, to do three things – just like Nehemiah did. 1 – Sit down to cry. 2 – Kneel down to pray. 3 – Stand up to act.

Nehemiah saw the need and said, “This is not okay with me.” And what I wanna do is push you a little bit today and ask you something. When you look at your world – at the people and the realities that surround you – what is it that’s not okay with you? What breaks your heart? What is it that you know breaks God’s heart and you just feel like he has given you that same burden – like your heart is lined up with his – and your heart is breaking for what breaks his and you just wanna shout, “THIS IS NOT OKAY!” Sit down to cry about it. Kneel down to pray about it. Stand up and take action to fix it. Believe this: just like he used an insignificant cup-bearer thousands of years ago, God wants to use you change the world and to create a better future for the people around you.

PRAY: Ask God what he wants to break your heart for. Let him do it. Then ask him what action he wants you take. And then stand up and take action.

Posted by on March 4, 2013 in History.

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March 3, 2013

Sunday: March 23, 2013

READ: Exodus 37-38

THINK: Depending on the translation of the Bible that you read, Exodus 37:6 says that an atonement cover or a mercy seat was made to sit atop the Ark of the Covenant. The devotional on January 25th (Exodus 26) discussed the etymology of the word kapporeth and exactly what atonement means for us. Today I want to head in a little bit different direction because my heart was moved, as I read the passage anew, to think about Jesus and his unbelievable sacrifice on our behalf.

And the questions I wanted to answer (briefly, because doing so fully could take volumes) are these: what does Jesus’ sacrifice have to do with the sacrifices made in the Old Testament? Also, what was the purpose of the blood that was sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat and what did that sprinkling accomplish? Even if that’s not a question that hit you while reading this passage, understanding the answer will help set the stage for reading all of the sacrificial laws that are yet to come in the Pentateuch. Like I said, the explanation will be brief, so please feel free to ask questions in the comments.

Sin requires a payment of blood. Sin is death and blood is life. Life is found in the blood and so the holiness of God requires that blood must be shed to atone for sin – to cover it up and pay the price for it. But the blood of bulls was never enough. No matter how perfect the bull, how pristine and well bred, no bull’s blood could cover the cost of human sin. And the Israelites knew this. Even as they participated in the sacrificial system and sprinkled the blood, year after year, atop the Mercy Seat, they knew that God never declared such blood to be fully sufficient.

So what were the sacrifices about? Well, it is a matter of expiation and propitiation. Expiation is the putting off of punishment. It is choosing not to count a persons sins against them. But it doesn’t mean that the sins are gone. They are simply set aside temporarily. This is the entirety of the Old Testament system. God asked the Israelites to make blood sacrifices as a show of faith – so that they could be expiated until the Messiah came and accomplished their propitiation. Propitiation is the complete and total wiping away and covering of sin. The people in the Old Testament were not forgiven because of the sacrifices they made. They were never atoned for by the blood of bulls. Make no mistake, their system was always symbolic act of faith and trust in the forgiveness God gave them – credited to them – because of the atoning sacrifice that the Messiah would one day make.

See, the hope of the entire system and the purpose of the Mercy Seat was always Jesus! It was never about anything else or anything less. Even as it was built during the time of the Exodus – though the people didn’t know exactly how it would play out in the end – the Mercy Seat was never meant for bulls. It was always Jesus’ seat. Those in the Old Testament looked ahead to him, and we look back to him because the cross of Jesus is the central event of human history. It is where blood was shed that was sufficient. It is where propitiation was accomplished for the entire world (1 John 2:2).

Jesus freely poured out his blood, giving everything for us, so that we could be shown mercy. So that our sins could be atoned for. So that we could experience propitiation as God totally wiped our sin and guilt away – not just ignored it for a time. Christ’s blood is God’s mercy. Christ’s blood covers sin in a way the layers of encrusted blood atop the Ark never could. Jesus was the hope that those in ancient times looked forward to – as they shed insufficient blood as an act of faith that the Messiah would one day be sufficient. And it is the hope of our time – as we accept God’s invitation to put our faith in what the blood of the Messiah accomplished for us. The blood-stained Mercy Seat was always just a preview of the blood-stained cross, and Jesus has always been the hope of the world.

PRAY: Thank God for the cross!

Posted by on March 3, 2013 in Law.

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March 2, 2013

Saturday: March 2, 2013

READ:  Ezekiel 16-18

BACKGROUND: As always, with Ezekiel, it’s thick. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments section.

THINK: Benjamin Franklin once said, “The person that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” Sometimes I worry that he was right. Especially as I look out at a 21st century American culture where excuse making is an art form and personal responsibility is seen as an antiquated thing of the past. But the idea of blaming others for the results of our own poor choices or blaming the situation we’re in for the fact that we made those choices is not new. It has been around for a long time. In Ezekiel 18, we see that the Israelite people were doing the same thing thousands of years ago.

It’s important to remember that Ezekiel was speaking to them in exile. They’d been carried away from the land of Israel and were living far from their homes. And the people laid the blame for their suffering squarely on the heads of their ancestors. In repeating the saying, “The parents eat sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge” they were basically saying, “The reason we’re suffering is because our parents sinned. It has nothing to do with us or how we treat God. We just have to pay the penalty and suffer the consequences for their actions and there is absolutely nothing we can do. It’s all their fault.”

And the despair and fatalism of that thinking made God mad. Why? Because it couldn’t be further from the truth. Were they in exile because of the sins of their forefathers? Yes. In our lives, do we often find ourselves in situations that are not of our own making – sometimes bad situations because of the poor choices of the generations that preceded us? Yes. But God wanted to make something clear, here. No matter what the situation, we are responsible for our own choices. And those choices matter. God made it clear that he doesn’t hold the sin of the father against the son. And he also made it clear that the father’s sin doesn’t necessitate the sin of the son.

Conventional wisdom in Ezekiel’s day was that you had to carry the baggage of your family. It isn’t that different today. Ever heard someone say, “like father, like son”? But we need to own up to our choices. Life isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s rarely easy. And there is a reality of suffering and difficulty that is caused by others. But we have the opportunity – the God given freedom – to choose to follow after God and be the people he created us to be. Or we have the freedom to reject God and choose sin. But we do not have the freedom to blame that rejection and that sin on anyone else. We do not have the freedom to shirk responsibility and act like it’s somebody else’s fault.

God makes it clear in Ezekiel 18 that he judges us by our own choices. We are not born guilty of anyone else’s sins – though we are born so broken because of sin that we’ll all reject him. But he gives us incredible hope in that as well, by making it explicitly and undeniably clear that every human being on this planet is invited to turn from sin towards him – the Hebrew word shoove in verse 21 literally means turn around or return – and that he desperately desires that every person would do so and wishes that none would perish by rejecting him. Praise God for his great mercy and his incredible grace. Let’s stand up today and declare ourselves, by God’s grace, free from the chains of our past and ready to take responsibility for our own choices and our own pursuit of God.

PRAY: Thank God for the salvation he has made available. Thank him for not leaving us in our brokenness or leaving us with a fatalistic hopelessness of being condemned by the sins of others. Confess the times when you have made excuses and blamed your sin on someone else. Commit to taking responsibility and pursuing God with your whole heart.

Posted by on March 2, 2013 in Prophecy.

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March 1, 2013

Friday: March 1, 2013

READ: 2 Samuel 22-24

THINK: Reread 24:13-17 carefully. Now set the text aside and imaginatively replay the story, inserting yourself as a character in it. Perhaps you will be one of David’s elders, or David himself.

What do you think and feel as you hear God’s words of discipline? What do you experience as you walk through this tension-filled and tragic day? What do you see? Hear? Smell? What questions do you have for God? Are you angry? Afraid? Talk to him about it.

As the end of the day approaches and you see God’s interaction with the angel, what is that like for you? When God’s heart is changed by David’s prayers, what thoughts and feelings bubble up in you? Express them to God.

LIVE: C.S. Lewis wrote, “[Each sinful act leaves a mark] on that tiny central self which no one sees in this life but which each of us will have to endure – or enjoy – forever. One man may be so placed that his anger sheds the blood of thousands, and another so placed that, however angry he gets, he will only be laughed at. But the little mark on the soul may be much the same in both.” Are there any “little marks” on your soul that you haven’t talked about with God? Explore recent experiences, reactions, thoughts, and feelings you’ve had. What do they tell you about what’s inside your heart? Talk to God about this, and make note of any action you feel he is leading you to.

Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on March 1, 2013 in History.

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February 28, 2013

Thursday: February 28, 2012

READ: Psalm 101

THINK: “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Hate: Intense or passionate dislike.

Cling: Hold on tightly to.

My eighteen month old is picking up new words every day and copying just about everything she sees adults do. I am becoming increasingly aware of the words I let slip out of my mouth because I know some day soon I will hear them repeated by a little girl. One of the words I’ve realized I use all too often is hate. I know it’s not swearing, but it sure can be ugly and it really shouldn’t be used lightly.

Paul urges us in Romans 12:9 to hate what is evil. Centuries before Paul wrote Romans, King David wrote Psalm 101 and gave us an incredible description of how he chose to live by this God-honoring principle. Read Psalm 101 in the New Living Translation and allow it fall on open ears and an open mind.

1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
I will praise you with songs.
2 I will be careful to live a blameless life—
when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.
3 I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will reject perverse ideas
and stay away from every evil.
5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride.

6 I will search for faithful people
to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
will be allowed to serve me.
7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
and liars will not stay in my presence.
8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

David was writing about the standards he used as a leader. We can apply these same standards as leaders and in our homes. David was serious about obedience to God. He knew it meant sacrifice. He knew it meant hating everything evil, not just the things that were easy to hate. In verse three he says he refused to even lay eyes on things that are vulgar. Think about the shows you watch, the images you view on the computer screen, the magazines and novels you read. Read verses 3-8 and think about the friends you spend your time with and allow to influence your decision-making. Do you truly hate what is evil? Are your standards similar to that of David or do you walk the line and allow yourself to have “guilty pleasures”? If your standards are not designed to make you more like Jesus, you should re-evaluate them. In 1 John 2:15 John wrote, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.”

APPLICATION: Write out a list of the shows and movies you have watched in the last week. Add to that list the magazines, articles, and books you have read and the websites you have viewed. Read verses 2-5 again and ask yourself if the things you’ve allowed to come into your mind are vulgar, vile, crooked, or perverse? If they are, confess it to God, ask for forgiveness and for strength to break bad habits. Write another list of the people you have spent the most time with in the last week. Read verses 5-8 and decide if those people pass David’s test of individuals he wants to be his close companions. If they don’t pass, talk to God about how you can continue to love those people without letting them have a negative influence in your life. Ask God to bring godly friends into your life.

Written by: Cari Widdel

Posted by on February 28, 2013 in Uncategorized.

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February 27, 2013

Wednesday: February 27, 2013

READ: 2 Samuel 20-21

THINK: God’s reputation is either enhanced or maligned by the attitudes and actions of His people. Today’s Bible reading illustrates this truth.

During the reign of David, God punished Israel with a 3-year famine because David’s predecessor King Saul had attempted to exterminate the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1). His action violated a solemn promise Joshua and the rulers of Israel had made with Gibeon in the name of “the Lord God of Israel” (Joshua 9:18). God’s honor was at stake.

When David asked the Gibeonites how he could make amends, they demanded that seven men from the descendants of Saul be handed over to them to be hanged. The Bible does not tell us that the Lord demanded this retribution, and the death of Saul’s sons and grandsons must have grieved God’s heart. Yet He allowed the executions to go forward so that the agreement His people had made in His name would be renewed. The Gibeonites therefore knew that God was a God of honor.

Just as Israel profaned God’s holy name by their wickedness (Ezekiel 36:22), so too we can dishonor God today by the way we live. Let’s pattern our lives after Jesus. Then we will bring honor to God’s name.

– Herbert Vander Lugt in Our Daily Bread

God’s reputation is at stake
In all we say and do;
So let us pray for grace to live
A life that’s good and true. —D. De Haan
We honor God our Father when we live like His Son.

PRAY: Confess the times when your life and your actions have brought dishonor to God. Ask him to help you reflect him to those around you in all that you do.

 

Posted by on February 27, 2013 in History.

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February 26, 2013

Tuesday: February 25, 2013

READ: Exodus 35-36

THINK: During my senior year of college I was playing darts in my room with my roommates one day. For the sake of the story and with the hope that neither of them reads this and attempts to make a counter-claim in the comments section we’ll go with this: I was beating them so terribly badly that I decided to just stay seated on the couch on the far end of the room for one of my turns in order to make things fair. It certainly wasn’t because I was losing and frustrated. 🙂 But either way, it turns out that I’m not an accurate dart thrower from a seated position far from the dartboard. I kind of expected that would be the case. But I didn’t expect what happened next. My first throw missed the board by about 8 inches and the dart disappeared into the wall. Like, all the way through. And it wasn’t because I threw it hard.

Naturally, we were all surprised and we ran over to the wall to look and realized that the dart had sailed right through the wallpaper because there was a hole in the drywall that had just been papered over instead of fixed. My first thought was that it was a crazy coincidence that my dart hit that exact spot in the wall. But, upon further examination as we continued to peel back the paper over the hole, we realized that someone had wallpapered over an absolutely massive hole in the drywall that was nearly 3 feet by 3 feet in size. At first I wondered if I should be impressed. Then I wondered why I had never before wondered why only 1 wall had wallpaper. Then I decided that it takes a herculean amount of laziness to decide to just paper over the wall without fixing it.

Chances are, the person who put the hole in the wall decided against fixing it because fixing holes in drywall isn’t easy. It takes measuring and cutting, taping, pasting, sanding, and time. I have a deep appreciation for people who can do it well. If I’m honest I can say that I’m not very handy and I’d have likely opted for just papering over the hole myself. But my lack of handiness helps me to deeply appreciate those who can do things I cant. Like carpenters who can build houses and make things fit without measuring 50 times. Or weavers and artists like the ones who were commissioned to help put together the Tabernacle. Bezelel and Oholiab were incredible at what they did, and they did it to the very best of their ability. That’s why they were chosen to use their talents to glorify God and construct his Tabernacle. And God was honored and glorified through their work.

Every single one of us has the opportunity to honor and glorify God through our work as well. Whether you’re a student and you’re thinking about what to be when you grow up or you’ve already grown up and chosen a vocation, know that your work is given to you by God for his glory. Proverbs 22:29 says that a person who excels in their work will stand before kings. And Paul urges us in Colossians 3:23 that whatever we do ought to be done wholeheartedly unto the Lord. So, whether you’re studying in school or you’re a teacher or a doctor or an engineer or a pastor or a lawyer or a musician or an artist or a custodian or a nurse or an actuary or salesperson or hog farmer or anything else, your work brings glory to God. Just like the workers on the Tabernacle, understand that you have the chance to honor your Creator and give it all you got!

PRAY: Thank God for the giftedness he’s given you, whatever it may be, and commit to giving it your all to bring him glory.

Posted by on February 26, 2013 in Law.

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February 25, 2013

Monday: February 25, 2012

READ: Philippians 4

BACKGROUND: Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians while in prison. The purpose of his letter was to thank the Philippians for their gift, encourage them to stay strong in the face of persecution, and remind them that they can rejoice in all circumstances (4:4.)

THINK:  If you didn’t realize the context of this passage before reading it the first time, take a moment to re-read the entire chapter. As you read, picture Paul in a prison cell and imagine his incredible loyalty and trust in the Lord to pen such incredible words of hope in the midst of such dark circumstances.

Focus in on verse eight: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Paul had a decision to make from inside the cold, dark walls of his cell. He could choose to focus on his circumstance and let it lead to anger/frustration/confusion/disbelief in God or he could choose to discipline his thoughts and think about what is true and praiseworthy. Taking his thoughts captive and making them honoring to God allowed Paul to rejoice even in the darkest of circumstances.

We have a similar decision to make with each thought that enters our minds. I often times find myself dwelling on people or situations that are frustrating to me in an attempt to find a solution to problems that are outside of my control. While these thoughts pass the first test of verse eight – they are true – they fail the next seven. And therefore, they have no right taking up residence in my mind.

This verse provides an incredible filter for us to use to help us “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Ask yourself these questions when a thought enters your mind – Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it admirable? Is it excellent? Is it praiseworthy? If it fails this list, pray for the strength to quit thinking about it and focus your thoughts elsewhere. Paul’s challenge to train our minds in this way is what will give us the ability to obey the commands he wrote in the previous verses:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Paul does not ask us to ignore the reality of our circumstances, but he challenges us to focus on the truth of who God is in the midst of them – and that will always leave us rejoicing, free from worry, and overwhelmed with the peace of God.

Written by: Cari Widdel

Posted by on February 25, 2013 in Uncategorized.

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February 24, 2013

Sunday: February 24, 2013

READ: Acts 2

THINK: In 1773 the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts’ few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell. During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate. Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.”

Peter’s words pierced their hearts and they questioned what they should do (v. 37). Notice how the Holy Spirit took Peter’s message to cause the listeners to be angry about their sin. He told them they must repent, turn to God, be baptized so their sins would be forgiven (v. 38). Repenting means to change our mind, which results in a change of life. This promise is also for us and our children. It is for everyone our Lord God will choose, no matter where they live (v. 39). Peter told them many other things and about three thousand believed his message and were baptized (vv. 40-41).

The characteristics of the early Church are listed (vv. 42-47):
1. It was a learning Church; it persisted in listening to the apostles as they taught (v. 42).
2. It was a Church of fellowship; it had the great quality of togetherness (v. 42).
3. It was a praying Church; these early Christians knew that they could not meet life in their own strength and that they did not need to (v. 42).
4. It was a reverent Church; in verse 43 the word translated “fear” has the idea of awe in it.
5. It was a Church where things happened; signs and wonders were there (v. 43).
6. It was a sharing Church (vv. 44, 45); they had a feeling of responsibility for each other.
7. It was a worshiping Church (v. 46); they never forgot to visit God’s house.
8. It was a happy Church (v. 46); A gloomy Christian is a contradiction in terms.
9. It was a Church whose people others could not help liking (v.47).

PRAY: The early church attracted people because of the way the members loved each other, and served each other, and served the Lord. Ask God to help you be that kind of person, and ask him how you can help serve your church to help it be more and more like that.

Posted by on February 24, 2013 in Gospels.

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