February 23, 2013

Saturday: February 23, 2013

READ: Psalm 100

THINK:

“Serve the Lord with gladness.” – Psalm 100:2

Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if he seeth that we serve him from force, and not because we love him, he will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. If a man be driven to battle, he is no patriot; but he who marches into the fray with flashing eye and beaming face, singing, “It is sweet for one’s country to die,” proves himself to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,

“Make me to walk in thy commands,
’Tis a delightful road.”

Reader, let us put this question—do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.

– Charles Spurgeon

PRAY: Thank God for the opportunity we get to serve him and be a part of what he is doing in the world.

Posted by on February 23, 2013 in Psalms.

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February 22, 2013

Friday: February 22, 2013

THINK: Lamentations is one of the saddest books in the Bible, but just because it’s chock-full of disappointment doesn’t mean it’s absent of hope. Jeremiah, writing this book as he mourns the utter destruction of the famous and once-splendid city of Jerusalem, speaks of pain and sadness and disappointment. But he also reflects on the undying goodness and faithfulness of God.

READ: Lamentations 3. Read the passage carefully. As you do so, note Jeremiah’s complete honesty before God. Also note the change in Jeremiah’s attitude toward the end of the chapter from extreme disappointment to an embrace of hope because of God’s faithfulness.

PRAY: Take a few minutes to consider the disappointments you have experienced or are experiencing. Then follow the guidance of Jeremiah’s words and trust that when life is heavy and hard to take you can trust and wait for hope to appear.

LIVE: Don’t ever forget that despite disappointment and pain, God always remains faithful.

Posted by on February 22, 2013 in Poetry.

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February 21, 2013

Thursday: February 21, 2013

READ: John 17

THINK: Reread verses 20-26 aloud slowly, remembering that this is Jesus praying for you (“those who will believe in me”), and substitute your name when you read them or they.

If you need to, read those verses one more time before considering these questions:

1. What are you most excited about Jesus praying for you or saying about you?

  • your witness for Jesus
  • to be one heart and mind with other followers of Jesus
  • to be one heart and mind with God and Jesus
  • that Jesus has given you glory
  • that Jesus is in you
  • that you’ll be mature in oneness
  • that you’ll give the world evidence that God sent Jesus
  • that Jesus made the very being of God known to you
  • that God’s love for Jesus is in you
  • that Jesus is in you

2. Why?

PRAY: Thank Jesus for praying for you. Talk to him about the parts of his prayer that you found most meaningful. Repeat Jesus’ words and pray his prayer for his followers in the world today.

LIVE: Walk around today with the sense that Jesus is in you and that this was always his plan!

Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on February 21, 2013 in Uncategorized.

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February 20, 2013

Wednesday: February 20, 2012

READ: Philippians 3

THINK: Watch this challenging video from pastor Francis Chan.

PRAY: Commit to living for things that matter. Ask God to help you count all of your earthly gains as loss and help you forget what lies behind and press on toward what lies ahead.

MEMORIZE: Take some time out this week (practice every day) to memorize Philippians 3:7-11. And remember, the goal isn’t the ability to recite it; the goal is internalizing the passage and letting it be a reflection of your heart.

Posted by on February 20, 2013 in Epistles.

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February 19, 2013

Tuesday: February 19, 2013

READ: Exodus 33:7-34

THINK: Jonathan Edwards is one of the greatest evangelists and theologians in American history, and he was one of the key leaders of the period of spiritual revival during the 1730’s known as The Great Awakening. Many of the things Edwards wrote have stood the test of time, and his deep and challenging sermons continue to make an impact even today. One sermon in particular, a sermon entitled Sinners in the Hands of Angry God, has moved countless thousands of people to put their faith in Christ over the centuries since it was first delivered and has a huge impact on many lives when it was first given.

Thought the theology and the message were profound, and though many of his contemporaries were noted for their communicative gifts, it is interesting to note, when considering the impact his sermon had, that Edwards was not a particularly gifted public speaker. He spoke rather softly and in a monotone voice, clearly but without any inflection. He read from a manuscript without ever looking up at the congregation and he rarely even took his hands off of the pulpit in front of him. If he was alive today, he would not be high on anyone’s list of great speakers and gifted preachers and he probably wouldn’t have very many podcast subscribers. But people were moved by his preaching. Why?

Edwards has a burning passion in his soul to reach lost people for God. And he went to great lengths in preparing himself to preach Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. He did not eat anything for three full days leading up to that Sunday morning. He did not sleep for three full nights leading up to that Sunday morning. Instead he prayed. Over and over again, he prayed, “Oh Lord, give me New England! Oh Lord, give me New England!” And those who were present on that Sunday reported that as they watched him walk to the pulpit they were moved at the sight alone because his face looked as if he had been gazing straight into the face of God.

In that moment Edwards had a sense of what Moses experienced. And here’s the crazy thing: we can too! Because of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross we have been invited in to real relationship and real communion with the God of the universe. And this is the cold hard fact – spending time with God is like spending time in the sun, it shows. It changes our complexion, as his light radiates from us.

PRAY: Spend some time seeking God’s face today.

Posted by on February 19, 2013 in Law.

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February 18, 2013

Monday: February 18, 2013

READ: Acts 1. Do your best to read this passage with fresh eyes, as though you have never read it before or heard the story before.

THINK: When are you tempted to be a spectator to the movements of God’s redemptive plan rather than a participant involved in the action? Why? What are specific ways you can get off the bench and get up to bat for what God is up to in the world? What are some ways you can be a witness to others in your circle of influence?

You know that Jesus will come again in the future. What implications does that reality have on your life?

PRAY: Ask God to give you the courage to take a risk and get into the game. Ask him to give you a vision for how he wants you to be and to bring about the change the world is desperate for as a part of his redemptive plan.

LIVE: Spend some time seeking God’s heart to line yours up with his. Ask him to break your heart for what breaks his. Be intentional about having some conversations this week with friends and family members to help you discern the ways in which God is calling you to be a participant in his redemptive plan for the lives of those around you.

Adapted from Eugene Peterson in Solo

Posted by on February 18, 2013 in Gospels.

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February 17, 2013

Sunday: February 17, 2012

PRAY: Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word. Ask Him to allow truths to stand out to you today that He can use to impact you and make you more like Himself. Ask Him to quiet your  mind and your heart and allow you to focus completely on Him as you read the pages of Scripture today.

READ: Ephesians 3-4. Mark verses that stand out to you in your Bible or on a piece of paper.

RE-READ Ephesians 3-4. Aloud this time, if possible.

Consider the verses that spoke to you as you read and ask God, once again, to show you what work he would like to do in your heart today. Re-Read the verses that you highlighted. These two chapters of scripture are packed with inspired advice from Paul to believers about what it means for us to be more like Jesus. These are not suggestions from Paul, but commands given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

Don’t read this Scripture today and stay the same. Be different. Write your action step(s) down and remember them throughout this week. Below are a few ideas of actions you may be led to take after reading this passage:

1. Memorize 3:17-21 and bask in God’s love for you. Challenge yourself to believe it, to feel it, to rest in it.

2. Pray 3:14-21 daily this week for someone you know who you desperately want to know and understand and walk in God’s love.

3. Drop a bad habit and start living a life worthy of the calling you have received. (4:1)

4. Be humble, gentle, and patient. (4:2)

5. Quit letting crude, dishonest, slanderous, critical talk come out of your mouth. (4:25, 29)

6. Forgive someone. (4:32)

That list is by no means exhaustive. If you ask God to speak to you through His Word, He will be faithful to teach and challenge you today. It may be through a gentle whisper,  it may take time to discern, and you may desperately want to ignore it – but don’t. Be different today because of the difference God, through His Holy Spirit can make in your life as His Word challenges you.

 

 

 

Posted by on February 17, 2013 in Uncategorized.

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February 16, 2013

Saturday: February 16, 2013

READ: Psalm 97-98

THINK: While walking home from a church service in Southampton, England, 20-year-old Isaac Watts told his father that the metrical psalms sung at their services lacked the dignity and beauty that should characterize hymns used in worship. His father encouraged him to try to create something better. So in the year 1694, Isaac Watts began writing hymns, and eventually put the book of Psalms into rhyming meter for worship.

Watts took the prophetic references to the coming Messiah in the Psalms and expressed them in their New Testament fulfillment. His hymns proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. When Watts came to Psalm 98, he wrote:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! The Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

Though this hymn is a Christmastime favorite, it’s message rings powerful and true all year round. It calls us to acknowledge Christ as Savior and King, and to open our hearts to His rule of love and grace.The psalmist wrote, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!” (98:1). Isaac Watts did just that in his proclamation that Christ has come, and we can rejoice in Him.

Adapted from David C. McCasland in Our Daily Bread

PRAY: Sing to Lord a joyous song today!

Posted by on February 16, 2013 in Psalms.

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February 15, 2013

Friday: February 15, 2013

READ: Ephesians 2

THINK: God is in business of behind the scenes work, and we are totally oblivious to it most of the time. Everything in this chapter is helping us understand the plan that God has been unfolding since the beginning of time! It’s incredible.

Think about this, God has already figured out a bunch of great works that you get to be a part of! He has already dreamed up amazing ways for you to be a part of his story. I started thinking about the honor of being a person who is used by God and it reminded me of a show Iʼve been watching called, “The Worst Chefs in America.” Itʼs a silly food network show that takes people who canʼt even boil water and teams them up with incredible chefs who teach them how to cook. The dishes these amateurs serve represent their chef. For example, Bobby Flay teaches me how to make roasted duck, and gives me everything I need to do it, but then I get to add my own seasoning and actually execute it. However, in the end, the goal is not for people to think it is a dish I made, but rather a dish Bobby Flay made.

I hope you are tracking with me…because this is what itʼs like to serve God! He doesnʼt need us to get stuff done, but yet he dreams up ways of getting us involved in his plan. He values you so deeply that he has special work, designed and appropriate just for you, to get done. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are Godʼs workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

We are on Godʼs team, and if we listen to him he is going to reveal to us the good works he has prepared. You already have everything you need in order to accomplish what God wants you to do for today. He prepares, he equips and then he asks you to get involved! In the end the glory should never come back to us, but people should look and say, “Wow, look what God has done!”

This verse not only gets me fired up to look for where God might be asking me to serve him, it also humbles me and puts me in a position of patience. Sometimes I think I know exactly what God wants me to do… and then the opportunities I thought I had coming, never come. This verse reminds me that God knows where he wants me and I need to be faithful to wait for his leading.

LISTEN: Slow down and take some time to listen to God. Let him prompt you and convict you about the behind the scenes work he is doing in your life, then join him in the great adventure of seeking Christ!

By: KVH

Posted by on February 15, 2013 in Epistles.

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February 14, 2013

Thursday: February 14, 2013

READ: 2 Samuel 17-19

THINK: When we last checked in on Shimei (in chapter 16) he was daring to insult King David – and totally lucking out that David was feeling particularly gracious and not feeling particularly head-choppy-offy. Now he’s back (in chapter 19) falling all over himself to apologize for the inappropriate words that he’d said earlier and begging David’s mercy. Once again, David’s friends and advisors are feeling angry and defensive and want to have Shimei put to death for cursing the Lord’s anointed. And once again, Shimei lucks out because David is not feeling head-choppy-offy. And once again I’m forced to wonder, why not?

Shimei had gone to far. Way too far. He had done and said things that we’re awful and he’d unfairly wished for David’s death. I imagine that he went before David to apologize after David was restored as king without a whole lot of confidence that David would forgive him. It’s very likely that Shimei went before the king feeling as though he had little chance to see the end of the day.

Sometimes we feel the same way when we come before God. We think about our sins, look at ourselves in the mirror, and feel like God could never forgive us. We feel like we’re too broken, too messed up, to sinful to be reconciled to God. But that just isn’t the truth. God makes it clear that, even though we don’t deserve it, he delights in forgiving us. Even though we have done far worse in our rebellion and our rejection of him than Shimei ever did to David. And yet he extends outrageous, incredible grace to us.

Just as David forgave Shimei, Jesus wants to forgive us. I love the words of the great preacher Charles Spurgeon, “He delighteth in mercy. I do believe that the harps of heaven never give to Christ such happiness as he has when he forgives the ungodly, and saith, ‘Thy sins are forgiven; go in peace.’”

PRAY: Spend some time confessing your sins to God, repenting, and seeking his forgiveness. Then thank him for that incredible gift!

Posted by on February 14, 2013 in History.

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