Grooves or Gravity?

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Peter 1:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing … As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, ‘I am holy; you be holy.’” 1 Peter 13-16 MSG

I see two actions in this Message rendering of these verses from 1 Peter:

1. Slipping back into “old grooves of evil.”
The images that come to mind are a record player needle bobbing along in the groove of a record or car wheels caught in hardened mud or snow ruts. It’s an object caught and following the path of least resistance.

What are some of those “grooves of evil” we might be caught in?

• Wayward, undisciplined thoughts that take us to bad places.

• Rote actions (habits) that we need to break.

• Giving in to triggers that cause us to become irritated or angry (e.g. people consistently late, inconsiderate drivers).

2. Being “pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life.”
The image I see here is an object (satellite, moon, asteroid) attracted and pulled toward a star or planet by gravity. How can we cooperate with the pull of God’s gravity?

•  Arresting those negative thoughts and changing their direction.

• Substituting bad habits with good. (E.g. instead of checking email or text messages first thing in the morning, check in with God’s word and prayer. My confession: When I do the former first, my whole morning can get derailed by silly little details that suddenly feel way more important than they are.)

• Intentionally living with a grateful outlook.

• Cultivating a “yes” attitude toward God (obedience).

An excellent book on holiness is The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. Here is a quote from that book that I was reminded of by today’s 1 Peter reading:

“… we have misunderstood ‘living by faith’ (Galatians 2:20) to mean that no effort at holiness is required on our part. In fact, sometimes we have even suggested that any effort on our part is ‘of the flesh’ … But then the Holy Spirit said to me, ‘And you can put away the sinful habits that plague you if you will accept your personal responsibility for them. Acknowledging that I did have this responsibility turned out to be a milestone for me in my pursuit of holiness” - Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, Kindle Location 101, 109 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to be realistic and honest about those old “grooves of evil” I’m still caught in. May I, more and more, respond to Your Spirit’s gravitational pull toward You and a life of obedience to Your revealed will in attitude and action. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Litmus test for Christians

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is he who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:10


A possible title for 1 John 3 would be: "Two Ways to Tell if Someone is a Christian." John talks about two litmus-test aspects of the Christian life in this chapter and they come together in verse 10:

"In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:

1] whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God

2] nor is he who does not love his brother."

Practicing righteousness makes its appearance in various forms throughout the chapter. It involves purifying ourselves (1 John 3:3), avoiding sin, and living, instead, a life of habitual righteousness (1 John 3: 6-8, 10, 22).

Loving one's brother is just as prominent. John presents it as an ancient requirement going back to Cain and Abel (1 John 3:11-12). He describes the person who does not love his brother as someone who "abides in death" (1 John 3:14), and the person who hates his brother as a "murderer" (1 John 3:15). That brotherly love is practical evidencing itself in a compassionate response to our brother's need (1 John 3:17-18). Our right living in this gives us confidence before God and assures us that He will answer our prayers (1 John 3:22).

I ask myself, if people looked at my life and judged it by these two criteria, would they say I was a Christian? What about you?


PRAYER: Dear God, Your standards are easy to understand but hard to live. I ask for Your help, especially with loving my brothers and sisters. Please help me to see fellow Christians—indeed all people—through Your eyes. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual hygiene and diet

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 1:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "And whatever he does shall prosper." - Psalm 1:3


A lot leads up to the righteous person's success. There is conscious avoidance—no walking in step with, standing in the way of, or sitting in the company of the wicked, sinners or mockers. (Does even keeping social company with God's enemies imply a certain sympathy with them?)

Instead there is wilful keeping company with the things of God—meditating on His ways (for David the "law," for us the Bible), letting His presence saturate us to the roots so we stay vital and yield fruit.

This speaks to me of the dailiness of good life habits that, once set, need to be maintained. I love the title of a Eugene Peterson book that expresses it well: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

I am writing this while on holiday. I confess I am not always faithful, while on vacation, in having a daily time of reading the Bible, finding something relevant for life, and praying over the day.

I know that doing this is not something that gets me points with God. Neither do I sense His frown when I miss. But what I do sense in myself is a spiritual weakening, a lack of spiritual energy as I feel a lack of physical spunk when I skip a meal.

We know eating is daily. We can't eat for the future (we can accumulate fat which will keep us nourished for a while, but not forever). Neither can we be lively and fruitful spiritually when we don't guard our spiritual health and eat and drink His words.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to put into daily practice these Psalm 1 habits of spiritual hygiene and diet. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Getting a friend-of-God mindset

TODAY'S SPECIAL: James 3:13-4:10

TO CHEW ON: "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you now know that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4


These are stern words for us who, as Christians, may already feel sidelined and snubbed by our culture. But, according to James, this is how it's meant to be.

A sidebar article in my Bible comments on the "world" and what our relationship with it should be:

"The spirit of the world (Greek: aion) is one of the perennial enemies of the believer. "World" refers to the world system—to its values, mind-set, philosophies of life, and priorities that run contrary to the will and way of God. … Romans 12:2 provides a strategy to combat the pull of the world through the renewal or 'reprogramming' of our minds. The Holy Spirit's power can transform our minds (Philippians 2:5,13; Titus 3:5) and redirect us toward the things of God (Philippians 4:8)" - Kenneth C. Ulmer, "Growth Inhibitor," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1756 (emphasis added).

Romans 12:2 says;
"And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Jack Hayford's sidebar article "Renewal of the mind" fleshes out the concept:

"To 'renew' is 'to renovate' implying restoration to freshness or to an original state. … Being 'transformed' by the renewal of the mind indicates a literal 'change in the form or formulas of thought or being.' This describes redemption's provision of power to instil godliness in us—a power that transforms
1) our thoughts, which lead to formulating
2) our purposes, which proceed to dictate our actions; and thus
3) our actions become character-determining habits, shaping the life and setting the course for the future" - Jack Hayford, "Renewal of the Mind," New Spirit-Filled life Bible, p. 1569 (emphasis added; formatting changed a bit from the original).

Nurturing a friendship with God or the world starts out as such a small, private matter. Our thoughts are invisible and silent to all but ourselves and God. However these thoughts—these inhabitants of our minds—eventually set the course of our lives.

I ask myself, am I allowing God access to my thoughts, through His word, godly speakers, uplifting music? Or have I invited enemy-of-God stuff into my mind through what I look at, read, listen to? Do I understand the gravity of this and how it can jeopardize my friendship with Him and the renovating work He wants to do in my mind and thus my life?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to understand how crucial my mind and thoughts are to my friendship with You and the direction of my life. Amen. 

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

A life of balance

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 23:15-25

TO CHEW ON: "Do not mix with winebibbers
or with gluttonous eaters of meat
For the drunkard and glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags." Proverbs 23:19-20

There are lots of reality shows these days that expose peoples obsessions and the fallout from them. I usually avoid them. Perhaps that's because I don't like to face what people are (I am) capable of.

The Bible speaks a lot about two common human obsessions: drunkenness and gluttony—problems we still face today, along with many others.

One of our newer obsessions is with our electronic devices. Go to any place people gather and you'll most likely see a lot of people interacting with their smart phones or tablets instead of the folks around them. Some experts have described this new phenomenon as an addiction.

Naturally not all addictions are equal. But we can learn from the Bible's warnings about excess in any form:

• Amos describes how false trust leads to a preoccupation with satisfying oneself and losing sight of what's really important (Amos 6:1-6).

• Isaiah talks about a habit of excess (in his case drinking wine) becoming an end in itself, stealing ambition and drive (Isaiah 56:12).

• Isaiah also describes how drunkenness can make leaders ineffective by blurring vision and stumbling their judgment (Isaiah 28:7).

• Proverbs describes how drunken son brings shame on parents (Proverbs 28:7). 

• Jesus scolds the scribes and Pharisees for their obsession with living outwardly flawless lives while they neglect their inner thoughts and attitudes (Matthew 23:25).

• He also warns against being "weighed down" with drunkenness (and the cares of life) and so being unprepared for His second coming (Luke 21:34).

• The end of a life ruled by obsession is tragic. Further down in Proverbs 23, the writer lists the consequences of pursuing alcohol (which fit well with other addictions too) in a series of rhetorical questions: "Who has woe … sorrow … contentions … complaints … wounds without cause … redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine. Those who go in search of mixed wine" - Proverbs 23:29,30.

• In His story of the prodigal son, Jesus depicts how a life driven by appetite is vulnerable (Luke 15:11-14).

• Finally, Paul warns that some practices (drunkenness and revelry among them) will disqualify people from the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:21).

It's a sobering picture. I myself have experienced how the virtual world of Facebook, Twitter, email, blog comments etc. can hijack my attention, demand increasingly more of it, as it takes my focus away from what's really important.

How much better to be obsessed and full of the Holy Spirit, leading to all things life-giving and lasting (Ephesians 5:18)!

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to heed the Bible's warnings about unbalanced living and avoiding things that will enslave me. Amen.

MORE: Wise use of technology

In his book The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion, author Tim Challies talks about the many aspects of technology and how it impacts modern life.  He says:

"Our task then, is not to avoid technology but to carefully evaluate it, redeem it, and ensure that we are using it with the right motives and for the right goals" - Tim Challies, The Next Story, Kindle Location 437.

If you are struggling with technology's hold on you, Challies' book would be a great one to read.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Presumptuous sins

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 19:1-14


TO CHEW ON: "Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;

Let them not have dominion over me." Psalm 19:13

"Presumptuous sins"? What is this category of sin?

[Presume, the verb from which the adjective presumptuous derives, means to take for granted, assume to be true, to take upon oneself without warrant or permission, dare, venture, to act or proceed over-confidently.

The Hebrew word zed here translated "presumptuous" means arrogant, proud, insolent, presumptuous]

Barnes' Notes on the Bible gives one explanation of "presumptuous sins" in Psalm 19:

"...the reference is particularly to sins which proceed from self-confidence; from reliance on one's own strength. The word does not mean open sins, or flagrant sins so much as those which spring from self-reliance or pride. The prayer is substantially that he might have proper distrust of himself and might not be left by an improper reliance on his own power to the commission of sin" (emphasis added).

When might we be guilty of presumptuous sins?

Perhaps when we act like the man in Jesus' story who congratulated himself for his full barns and depended on them for the future, never acknowledging God (Luke 12:16-21)?

In our time it is easy to live life this way. We have our paychecks or our pensions and the government will take care of us if we lose them. We have our doctors and hospitals so going to God when we get sick is hardly our first thought. We have our books, the internet and TV so where do we need's God's input when we don't know what to do?

The fact that David prays such sins will not have dominion him over tells us he knows and fears they easily could become his habitual response.

I have a feeling I am more prone to presumptuous sins than I care to admit, and need a new sensitivity to see where I am depending on myself and not Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, please alert me to presumptuous habits and behaviours in my life. Help me to label them sin and to turn from pride and self-reliance to reliance on You. Amen.

MORE: "Give Me Jesus" - Fernando Ortega



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.