Tuesday, February 28, 2006
March 1 Matthew 1
Go ahead and look first at Matthew 1 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Matthew 1:20
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Title: What does the Holy Spirit Impregnate Today?
Observation: The beginning of this chapter is the 3 lists of seven generations, placing Jesus in the historical lineage of the Jewish people. After that is the story of coming of Jesus, and how one man had to cope with the work of the Holy Spirit.
The work of the Spirit is strange. We should not try to limit the way that God can work. God often works miracles in uncomfortable circumstances. But we have to be willing to let the Spirit lead. God’s will will be done in any case, but if we are to grow we must be stretched into difficult positions.
Application: I need to be willing to go with the strange movements that the Spirit moves in. My rigidity can cause me not to see opportunity I already am too skeptical of how God will work. I need to be open and free to the spirit.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be ready to follow your lead, however scary it looks at first. Help me to believe that you know better than me whatss good for me and for my family. Lead our church into new ways of following you.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, February 27, 2006
February 28th 1 Corinthians 16
Go ahead and look first at 1 Corinthians 16 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Title: Money Keeps Coming Up
Observation: Paul is addressing the needs for a mission offering for the church in
Application: I need to be better with money. I need to find ways to manage my money better. I also need to love money and possessions less so I can love God more. I need more discipline, but I know I don’t want to be disciplined.
Prayer: Lord, help me to do better with money. Help me to give cheerfully, to trust you, and to love you with my money as well as my heart.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
February 27th 1 Corinthians 15
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Title: The Response to God’s Love
Observation: We have this incredible gift when we begin to follow Jesus. As Paul carefully lays out in this chapter, we have the promise of eternity, the hope of heaven. We have a savior who came to mediate between God and people. We need to carefully hold on to this doctrine.
But just as closely we need to see that Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we could settle into the warm bathwater of complacency. We are, in the words of one theologian, “to join the dance.” Jesus died for our sin and invited us to find a new life. And that is a new life is a life of service. We will be rewarded by God for being faithful if we do. But ultimately our lives of service are because of who we now are in Jesus Christ. Jimmy Carter said it this way:
“ I have one life and one chance to make it count for something… I’m free to choose what that something is, and the something I’ve chosen is my faith. Now my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands--this is not an option—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
Whatever his political failures, President Carter understands what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Application: My faith must be a verb. IT must not be a Topic it must be an action. I must put into motion my service in order to be authentic in my appeal for Christ.
Prayer: Lord, help me to serve, even in areas where it will never be seen. Help me to give up my predilection for selfishness and be willing to be used by you. Change my heart, sensitize it to the needs of others, and use me this week in some way I am not expecting.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
February 23 1 Corinthians 14
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 13:5
I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
Title: The Closed Mystery To Me
Observation: I do not speak in tongues. I do not come from a Christian tradition that emphasizing speaking in tongues. I am suspicious when I have been around others who have spoken in tongues. Yet I firmly believe that they exist. I am a little sad that I have not had the opportunity to experience this gifting of God.
Of course I already struggle with pride. Perhaps this is one of those areas of giftedness that God is keeping away from me because I would misue it. I need to allow God to work in my life the way God wants to.
Application: I need to believe that God causes others to speak in tongues. I need wisdom how to allow this manifestation to occur, if it is in God’s will, in the church. I need to not try to silence but encourage the giftedness of others.
Prayer: Lord, help me to have humility as your servant. Allow me to be led by you, where ever you chose to send me. Help me to give up my agenda so that I might be molded to yours. Help me to understand and experience your faithfulness.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
February 22 1 Corinthians 13
Go ahead and look first at 1 Corinthians 13 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 13:5
[love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Title: Competitiveness Keeps Me From Loving People
Observation:
Application: I need to accept others for what they are and allow God to love me and give me my sense of personhood. I need to allow others to fail me and turn back to them with real forgiveness, not merely condescension. God wants me to trust in Him not my meager achievements.
Prayer: Lord, help me to live in your love and experience your grace. Give me someone to love unconditionally in my actions toward that person. Help me to trust you to remember that which I have done in Your name, and not to try to get credit for myself.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, February 20, 2006
February 21st 1 Corinthians 12
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 12:5
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
Title: The Giftedness of Each Individual
Observation: Each Christian is given a gift that is to fit into the body. We are all uniquely made, and especially after our conversion, specially gifted. We too often ignore our giftedness, work out of our natural strength, and miss our unique calling and have the church suffer because we are not using our gifts to God’s glory.
Discerning our gifts is one of the most vital parts of our Christian growth. God enables us to do the things that we can’t do because of our limitations within the work of his spirit. While God can use or natural talents and abilities and use them for his glory, we find our faith grows when we do things we on our own can’t do, and we trust and experience God’s presence moving us forward.
We also need to remember that the gifts of the spirit are meant to be used in unity in the body of Christ, not for our own goals. We are to submit our giftedness to God and to the use of His Church- this is particularly hard sometimes, if your gift is service. In the areas in which you are gifted you are to not merely be a committed believer, you are called to be extraordinary in your service
Application: My gifts of leadership and Preaching/Teaching are pretty standard for those called in to pastoral ministry. And even though many have these gifts, I am to use them to the fullest God will empower me to. Nor should I copy the outcomes of others pastors- I am as unique and delicate and exquisite as a snowflake!
Prayer: Lord, help me to lead out of your giftedness and not my talent. Use all that is me to further your kingdom. Help me to be willing to go where you send me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Feb 20th 1 Corinthians 11
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 11:33
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
Title: Propriety is Still Important
Observation: We have two different examples of propriety being violated in Corinth. The first is women who were flaunting their sexuality in a way that was unacceptable in their culture and believers who were denigrating the Lord’s Supper by turning it into an invitation only drunken feast. Both of these seem worlds removed from our time and culture.
But the warning is still there. We must show honor and respect one to another. We can celebrate our gender differences as a God ordained plan, one in which we are mutually submissive to Christ and each other. We are to live a life of love toward one another, one where we share our common life.
Application: I have to ask what is loving rather than ask what can I get away with. I need to serve and lead in a way that is caring and loving, especially toward those who are harder to love. I must temper my freedom so that I do not hinder any from responding to the gospel.
Prayer: Lord God, help me to not be selfish and self-centered, but to see the needs of others. Give me eyes to see their hurt and pain. Give me the ability to have compassion and to be an encourager. Help me to give when I don’t want to.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
February 17th Psalm 7
Go ahead and look first at Psalm 7 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): Psalm 7:7
Let the assembled peoples gather around you.
Rule over them from on high
Title: The Great Judge
Observation: God is the perfect judge, and clustering around God and having Him lead the people is a reason for praise. All creation is waiting for God to restore his leadership over all things. We look forward to the day when God rules over all things and puts an end to evil and strife.
Application: I will worship the Good Judge who will set all things right. I will wait for God’s justice. I will trust him to uphold me.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for your goodness. May you be glorified now as we wait for your perfect time to restore Your rule to the universe. Help me to long each day for your leading and my willingness to submit to Your goodness.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
February 16th 1 Corinthians 10
Go ahead and look first at 1 Corinthians 10 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s):
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Title:
Observation: I am not likely to go out and carve an idol and bow down and worship. My carpentry skills, for one thing, are not up to it. Still the temptations of lust, power, and security are still with us today, mutated into new forms, that demand worship in exchange for the illusion of possessing them. The car I want to drive can be every bit the idol, and have the hold on me, as the OT god Baal did.
Application: I need to be aware of those things that I unconsciously place before Jesus. My own well being or that of my family can be what I worship instead of Jesus. I must worship Jesus and allow Him to take care of me and my family.
Prayer: Lord, help me to trust you not only for the eternal but in the now. So often I want to control everything, trust in my own strength, rather than trust you for your provision. Help me to see and believe that you have a better way for me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
February 15th 1 Corinthians 9
Go ahead and look first at 1 Corinthians 9 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 9:16-17
Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
Title: A Preacher by Trade or a Preacher by Conviction?
Observation: Paul is making a defense of the pastoral calling, suggesting that as churches grow up like a vineyard grows, the vinedresser has every right to take a living from the fruit of the vineyard that he has cultivated. That’s seems straight forward. Paul’s twist is that he then says that he will not take support from this church, even though he has every right to do so. He implies that the reason he won’t take financial support for them is that it would compromise his ministry… and he is out to be totally productive. He then switches the metaphor to say that he is in training like an Olympic athlete, out to win and not to come in second place.
Too often we think of the church and our walk with Christ as a static world; we try to keep our churches running and rebuild the walls of our life that have been damaged by sin. Paul interjects movement to this image of the vineyard. Our goal is not merely to sit and fight our internal temptations, keep our church alive, and to passively enjoy that which God has given us. We are to run, to struggle, to keep moving especially when our spiritual lungs hurt, so that we might live our life as a race run for others.
But our competition is not another person that we want to outshine from the secular world, nor is it even another Christian that we want to keep up with. Our competition is between ourselves and the person that God called into existence to love and serve Him. God wants us to use our energy, creativity, and skills not merely to build a life for ourselves and our families, but to offer all of these things as gifts of worship to Him.
Application: I have been called and gifted by God- I need to not merely be adequate at leading the church, I need to use my energy and creativity, at the impulse of God’s love, to the limit of my ability to serve God. In my family as well. I have been lacking energy in the last few days as it seems the days of crisis at church are over for the present- but just surviving isn’t why God has called me here. It’s to lead with every scrap of ability and courage that God has given me to serve and lead others to lose our lives in service to the community in order to find the life Jesus has for us.
Prayer: Lord, these thoughts and words are scary and energizing. Help me not to be afraid and to work both in and out of crisis mode. Help me not to compete with others, but rather to run in order to condition myself to become the person that you have called me to be. Help me to not squander my time on the unimportant, but to be alive to your leadership in my life and to be totally present in reading Barn Dance with Josiah. Lord thank you for your goodness and your redeeming love.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Feb 14th 1 Corinthians 8
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 8:1b
We know that we all possess knowledge.[a] Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
Title: Knowing and Loving are Not the Same Thing
Observation: Paul’s main point is about meat sacrificed to idols. Our commentaries tell us that much of the meat that was available in the marketplace had previously been sacrificed to idols. Paul reminds us that eating these meats isn’t going to separate us in any way from God- unless we are so drawn back to that of our former life that it reminds us of our previously pagan ways.
It’s a good reminder to treat those with weakness with respect. Its more important to not merely do what is correct but to do what is loving. We are an addictive people, its easy for us to be drawn back into our old paths. For me its easy to think about not serving wine to my guests for fear that it will remind them of an alcoholic past. However, I’m not yet ready to jettison the chocolate cake that I plan to serve to my small group. As someone who deals with food issues- I don’t want to acknowledge their power over me, nor accept that for some it might be sin to eat it. Or is it a conscious thing, that each individual must decide for themselves? Or should I be tempting them/me? Hmmm. This has gotten a little too personal.
What is undoubtedly true is that knowledge puffs up but love builds up. I need to remember that when I shape plans for church or family I must not only do what’s correct, I must do what is loving and what can be done in love. How can I communicate truth and love and not compromise the hard truths that need to be said?
Application: We are focusing on sharing our faith right now as a church. It’s hard being “on” every time I encounter someone. And yet, me being grumpy because I can’t spend the effort to say a kind word to someone I encounter brings no glory to Jesus. I need to be loving, and aware of what loving means, in the contexts I’m placed
Prayer: Lord, help me to share your good news, with a smile, a calm word, or even a testimony as the situation warrants. Open doors for me to be your witness, even in the scary places. Help me to be fearless and gentle, radical and peaceful in Your name as I walk the roads you put before me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Feb 13 1 Corinthians 7
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 7:5
Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Title: The Concession That Became the Gold Standard
Observation: Paul continues to talk about sexual ethics in this chapter. His main point seems to be celibacy is the best choice in the troubled times in which the church lives, but marriage is the place for sexual intimacy of celibacy would cause someone to stumble into sexual sin. Paul is also clear about the commitment of marriage, that the bonds are crucial and not to be broken lightly.
The time in Paul’s mind is critical, they must be ready to light and witness to the world at all times. 20 centuries after this letter was written its might be easy to discount the tone, and wall the Apostle Paul off with those hysterical people for whom the sky is always falling. Yet the immediacy of the need to be salt and light was very real then, as it is today! I think the overall point is that Paul does not want to see station in life, family situation, or sexual need getting in the way of the mission of the church. All else is to subsumed under the banner of Christ.
Application: I need to move that which clutters my mind and time out so that I might be faithful and ready for the Lord Jesus to come back or to direct me to be his light and witness wherever he wants me in the world. I need to get out of any situation that might bind me from being able to move, as the hymn says” “at the impulse of thy love.” Lord, help me to want that and then help me to do it!
Prayer: Lord God lead me in consistency of what I preach and live. I have been preaching about seeing every day in everyplace as an opportunity to be your witness- Lord help me live it. And help me to share the Good News with someone who needs it.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
February 10 Psalm 6
Key Verse(s): Psalm 6:4
Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
Title: When a Plea is Better Than A Promise
Observation: We can praise God because an appeal to God’s mercy based on God’s character of love is a sure and certain thing. Far better than the promise of other people, the character of God is consistent. We can trust in the certainty of God’s love and provision more than any other promise or security we might get.
Application: I want to practice praising God for the things that have not yet happened, but know that God will do. Celebrating the victory, in the midst of trial, is an area of faith that I want to grow in. Too often I lose sight of the forest for the trees. I can totally relax and trust in the promise of God.
Prayer: Lord God your never ending love and grace are what keep my coming back to you, keep me from slipping. Lord, help me to see you and the constancy of your character in all that I do. I will give you the glory as you show your faithfulness and love to me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
February 9th 1 Corinthians 6
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 6:7
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
Title: The Appearance of Strength and the Reality of Weakness
Observation: Paul continues to talk about sexual integrity. That the gift of sex is good; the abuse of this God given gift is on the road to being enslaved. Too often we underestimate the emotional and spiritual cost of sin. While there is great forgiveness of God, we ourselves are scarred. While God can heal even these scars, very often we carry them with us. Many are scarred and bitter over relationships years of decades in the past.
Who are we to unite with- the prostitute or God? Our longings, our cravings, our passion- they are good and God given. We are to live passionately. But in seeking to fully express our identity as passionate creatures, do we wreak havoc and destruction (especially in ourselves) or do we find fulfillment in Christ and His plan and provision for us? The deep secret that Christians have learned over the years (read any of the ancient commentaries on Song of Solomon) is that our sexual longings are at least in part spiritual longings, longing to be cherished, to give and receive joy, and ultimately to reach out beyond our humdrum existence toward the Eternal. Romance or sexual fantasy is largely the misapplication of the yearning for Divine love.
Paul also shapes the discussion about mine and yours in the raised stakes of the public lawsuit. Having had a very bitter experience arbitrating right and wrong between Christians, I’d like to hedge what Paul says, but again, I place myself under the authority of scripture. We need to present to the world a united and peaceful and selfless place for them to escape the materialism around us.
The appearance of strength is too often a mask for weakness. In my imagination the Corinthians speak with a bold, authoritative voice that hides the reality of the infantile behavior and accomodationist worldview. They lack, in many ways, the experiencing of the weakness that Jesus commends that allows us to find true strength.
Application: I will give God all of me, to mold and move at His will. I will learn how to be wronged rather than bring dishonor on the Body of Christ.
Prayer: Lord God help me to control my thoughts and actions. Allow me to be self-controlled in actions, turning the other cheek. Help me to live with integrity so that your people will not suffer disrepute. Give our church the ability to work in unity and live with favor of God and man.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
February 8th 1 Corinthians 5
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 5:12
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
Title: Appropriate Judgmentalness
Observation: The Apostle Paul is writing about a man who is involved with sexual sin that the church knows about and allows that individual to continue and bring the church into disrepute. Even the surrounding culture looks down on this relationship. But those in the church know that this is wrong and refuse to do anything about it.
Biblically, sexual ethics are always clear (man and woman in the context of marriage) in the abstract and more difficult in practice to hold up. First, many, many of church members have children conceived outside of marriage, and we do not want them to feel shame or guilt for their parent’s decisions. We also have the problem that most of our members are former (or current!) breakers of this rule. Thirdly, we want to be compassionate toward those who have a predisposition to homosexual practice or because of poverty (especially government healthcare benefits) have chosen to continue in sexual sin.
Yet, despite the fact that “them is me” in regards to sexual immorality, we are called to a higher standard as Christians. We are also called to judge other Christians. Not non-Christians who we it is easy to attack with impunity. We must be separate, distinct from the culture around us, so that others might be attracted to our communal lifestyle. It was Justin Martyr who said in the second A.D. that Christians were peculiar people, “who shared everything in common except our wives” which was the exact opposite of the culture in which they were immersed. So we together have to set a high standard, be compassionate and loving and firm, and enforce among our membership (not those seeking, not those outside the faith) sexual integrity.
Application: I must have compassion on those who are stuck in sexual sin. I must show love and patience, and not become dragged into their sin. I need to stay away from inappropriate lustful thoughts. And I must lead our congregation toward living a life that causes admiration from the community around us.
Prayer: Lord God help me to control my thoughts and actions. Allow me to be patient and loving toward those stuck in this sin and keep me safe from those who try to ensnare me, especially me. Lord, help me to be faithful to Lori, in all senses, and be a model of sexual integrity.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Monday, February 06, 2006
February 7th 1 Corinthians 4
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 4:3
I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
Title: The Odiousness of Comparisons
Observation: The Apostle Paul in writing this chapter takes aim at the undeservedly high self-image of the Corinthians. They have set themselves up as kings, unaccountable to God or to the teaching of the Apostles. These self-satisfied believers wanted to define and redefine the truth of God on their own terms.
While, I believe that we also need to place ourselves under the authority of the Apostles teaching (Holy Scripture) Paul has a lesson for me today. In leading, he didn’t let those whom he led define the success or failure of his mission. He was accountable to one master, Jesus Christ. He was not comparing himself to other Apostles, nor was he trying to fit the image that the Corinthians wanted of him. Instead he served the Lord with a clear conscious and integrity.
Application: Too often when I am attacked I counterattack. I care too much about what others think of me and my leadership. If I truly understood my position before God, I would be content with pleasing only him. Instead, I look for others to validate my work, or even worse, compare myself to my contemporaries. We are all given different talents to use in service to God; I should not be proud and self-satisfied if I appear to be succeeding more readily than a counterpart in ministry, nor should I beat myself up if another is experiencing God’s favor and faithfulness in a way I am not. I need to be motivated solely by the interests of my Master.
Prayer: Lord God help me to seek my need for approval in the great warmth of your grace. Help me to spend sufficient time in your presences to learn if I am being faithful with what you have given me, and give me the humility to accept rebuke from You and You alone. Lord, let me be so grounded in you that I am not moved by the compliments or criticism of others, but rather live in the tidal sea of you love for me and the happy overspill of love from one believer to another.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
February 6th 1 Corinthians 3
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 3:13
…his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
Title: Above or Underneath the Bible?
Observation: The believers at Corinth (or at least some of them) were placing themselves about the teaching of the apostles and we’re choosing their favorite apostles like we choose favorite football teams. They seemed to be saying, I like this part of the teaching of God and I will ignore the rest. They placed themselves in a position to judge what the teaching was and judge it as though they were wiser than God.
Too often we do this same thing. There is some scripture that’s easy for us to love and obey. I know Christians who say things like, “ I believe in grace not judgment.” Fair enough. Jesus death and resurrection trumps judgment for the believer. Yet to deny judgment is to deny the character of God and to deny that a just God must punish evil, not merely wave it away as if it was of no consequence. Jesus would have died for nothing and the holocaust would be laughed off as merely a prank of those precocious humans. Justice demands that there be a penalty.
If you ever come to a fork where you are not sure how to interpret the passage of scripture and there are two option a good hermeneutic (way of understanding) is to prefer the more difficult, more uncomfortable way of understanding Jesus. Too often we want to make Jesus say what we want Him to say instead of placing ourselves under the teaching He actually gave.
Application: I must place myself under the accountability of scripture. I am not the exception; I too must place myself under the apostles teaching as those in Corinth also had to. I should also read those with whom I disagree theologically; those uncomfortable to me may be exactly what I need to hear to more fully understand God’s Word.
Prayer: Lord God help me to place myself underneath the teaching of the Apostles. Lord, do not let me stray from their teaching. NO one is greater than their master; I stand under the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles through the Holy Scripture. Let me accept their hard teachings and put them into practice, so that I might not be the infant, tossed to and fro, but the strong man of God that you want me to be. Lord, be glorified in my life.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Feb 3 Psalm 5
Key Verse(s): Psalm 5:8
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.
Title: Choosing Sides in a Hostile World
Observation: Psalms often seem uncomfortable to us, in our quieter moments when the Psalmist is asking God to bash his enemies. The call for destruction on your opponent is never a graceful act, but to demand that God Himself use his might and power to destroy mere mortals is disquieting. It has led some scholars to believe that different authors participated in writing the same psalm.
I disagree. I think that in moments of desperation we do call for God’s protection, and in moment of anger we ask for God’s vengeance. We are much like this psalmist at times and want God to fight our battles. We want God to supernaturally overthrow our enemies.
Unfortunately (actually, it’s quite fortunate) God doesn’t fight our battles this way. He may choose to fight His battles in with direct and overwhelming force, but generally he allows us to be part of the solution to our anger, and to practice humility and patience in the process. However, God would not be perfect if he did not exercise judgment and punish evil. God will see that justice is done.
And because justice will ultimately be done when Jesus comes to run the world, we need to choose sides. God has absolutely promised vindication for those who have suffered on His behalf. We need to take seriously where we stand and what we stand for. God has great patience, mercy, and love, qualities that may allow us to think we’ve gotten away with hurting or using others. But God will not be mocked forever, and we will stand before Him one day.
Application: I need to be aware that I too will stand before the Lord with my life before me. And while I believe that Jesus’ grace is greater than my sin, I want to be before God in a way that he will be pleased with my and my life. I need to rise above conflict with love, to transcend confusion with clarity, and lead with integrity.
Prayer: Lord God help me want to follow you with all that I am. I fall back to easily into patterns of selfishness. Give me an opportunity to express unmerited kindness to someone this weekend. Help me to experience your goodness and worship you with my life this weekend.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
February 2 1 Corinthians 2
Key Verse(s): 1 Corinthians 2:2
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Title: Setting Pride of Knowledge and Accomplishment Aside
Observation: Paul begins to unlock the mystery of the Christian life- that most of what we think we know is wrong or useless and that there is a new way of seeing the world that is more true and more real even though its contradictory to our preconceived notions. When Jesus told us that the first shall be last, that the meek shall inherit the earth, that it is as hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, we are baffled. And yet it is the ultimate reality and the ultimate truth
Application: I’ve had a little success the way the world counts accomplishments- not a lot- yet its hard for me to let go of my meager accomplishments. I need to find the wisdom that matters, and lead others in it.
Prayer: Lord God help me to see your truth. Lord, I echo the prayer of Solomon, give me wisdom to lead your people. Help me to be wise in my family, in my church, and in my walk with you. Let me taste the goodness of your wisdom and truth, so that I might continue on in faith and love. Lord, I pray for fortitude to put into action Your truth that I already know.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
