Loving God, loving each other

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 John 1 & 3 John 1; Psalm 38

TO CHEW ON: "And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another." 2 John 5


When I first posted this devo some years ago (it is a re-post) we were in the middle of our annual church conference. One night visiting speaker Joel A'Bell (Hillsongs Church, Australia) talked about loving each other. He said something like, "We want deep teaching, to know what the colors of the priest's robes mean. But we don't obey Jesus' most basic commands to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbour as ourselves - Mark 12:29-31."

"Have you ever thought about what it means to love God this way?" he asked. He went on to explain how we love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. Here are some of his thoughts (via my scribbled notes):

- Loving God with all my heart means having a heart to let go.
"We struggle when there's more in our heart than Jesus."

- Loving God with all my soul means to go slow.
"We're speedy; make decisions quickly, we're too fast on the inside, don't take time to think, meditate, pray."

- Loving God with all my mind is having a mind to change (i.e. repent).
"Maturity is evidenced by the decreasing time gap between the challenge to change and the actual obedience."

- Loving God with all my strength is endurance.
An example he gave of this is our tendency to become familiar with the things of God so they no longer move us. The person that loves with strength pulls his/her mind back to focus on the truths of God's word, the lyrics of the familiar worship song etc. and does "not give in to the weakness of familiarity."

Loving God this way will make us ever more convinced and sure and secure in God's love for us. The natural outflow of such love is for us to love others. I like how Leslynn Musch puts it in her Truth-In-Action in 2 John article: "If we are truly loved, then that love should affect the way we love others. Love others as Jesus has loved you" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1795.

PRAYER: Dear God, I know I often fall short of loving You with my heart, soul, mind, and strength and so it is no wonder my relationships with others are tainted by insecurity, fear, comparison, and competition etc. Please help me to bask in Your love, love You back, and from that loop, to love my Christian family and the world. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 38

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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.

Two tests for our to-do lists

TODAY'S SPECIAL: James 4-5; Psalm 32

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:17


In this practical section of James' practical letter, I see two filters or tests for our to-do lists for today, tomorrow, and into the future.

1. Is this God's will (James 4:13-16)?

After years of walking with the Lord, I still often find myself making plans and then feeling a check in my spirit and the question: "Have you consulted Me about this?" Or realizing that I want something to happen or work out NO MATTER WHAT and then getting the insight: this thing is self-conceived, self-imposed, and self-generated.

Author Janette Oke came face to face with such a dilemma when she began writing. At first she prayed:

"'God, I'm going to write this book. And if it works and if I discover that I have talent, I'll give it all to You.'"

But she quickly sensed that was not what God wanted. His response as she recalls it:

"'I'm not interested in your book after you're done with it. I'm not even particularly interested in your talent. If you are really serious about writing as a ministry, then I want it all, right now before you start.'"

At that early stage in her career, then, she made a hands-off commitment  and the result:

"She was free. She was free to write without worrying about the outcome. She was free from the pressure of getting sales. She was free from the temptation of pride'" -  Janette Oke: A Heart for the Prairie by Laurel Oke Logan, Kindle Location 3167.

2. Am I doing the good I know to do (James 4:17)?

The IVP commentary says about this verse:

"Suddenly James shifts his emphasis from whether we know God's will to whether we do God's will… The adverb oun ("Then"—in the NKJV "Therefore") provides grammatical evidence James intends a connection in thought. The picture is of one who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it" - IVP commentary accessed through Bible Gateway.

I see this enacted in author Oke's life as well. Once she'd had her first book published, she started planning another. But then letters began pouring in from people who wanted to know what happened next to the characters in her story and her editor asked her to write a sequel. So she abandoned her plans and did her duty to the publishing company.

Throughout the active years of her writing career, she continued to do the good she knew to do, delivering three books a year. And it wasn't always easy. In this interview she describes writing as " ... very time consuming and frankly, it’s hard work."

That, folks, is knowing the good one should do, and doing it!

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to make plans subject to Your lordship in my life and to faithfully perform the good and humble duties You set before me. Amen.
 

MORE: The Reward
The reward to Janette Oke for relinquishing her work to God and faithfully doing her duty is still being seen. Her books have sold over 30 million copies. In 2002, Michael Landon Jr. chose that first book she wrote—Love Comes Softly—as the basis of his first TV movie for the Hallmark Channel. Over the years many more of her books have been made into movies, including the When Calls the Heart TV series, based on her Canadian West books.

But it would be my guess that the reward she is most looking forward to is meeting Jesus and hearing His: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

My  short biography of Janette Oke, posted in the Encyclopedia of Canadian Christian Leaders is HERE.




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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.

The force in us

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Galatians 5-6; Psalm 7

TO CHEW ON: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." Galatians 5:6

Paul states his position about the need for circumcision. He says it doesn't "avail" anything.

Different Bible translations use different words for "avail": "… neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything" (AMP); "… means anything" (NASB); "… has any value" (NIV);  "…amounts to anything" (MSG); "… there is no benefit" (NLT).

[Ischyo is the Greek word translated "avail."  It means to be strong in body, robust, in sound health; to have power, be a force, avail, be serviceable, able.]

What does avail? It's "… faith working through love." That sounds wonderful and simple, though also somewhat ethereal. What does "faith working through love" look like in real life? Other places in the Bible help fill in the picture.

• This love is a fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22.

• It grows in us as we make a home for Christ in our hearts and He reveals to us the extent of His love for us - Ephesians 3:17-19.

• It is demonstrated through the body-like workings of the church - Ephesians 4:16.

• As individuals "faith working through love" looks like:
• Obedience: "But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfect in him. But this we know that we are in Him" - 1 John 2:5.

• Love for our brothers and sisters: "He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him" - 1 John 2:10.

• Avoiding the things that are against what the Father stands for: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" - 1 John 2:15. "World" is defined in the next verse as the "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life" - 1 John 2:16.

The Message translation of this passage is so clear: "Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father" - 1 John 2:15,16 MSG (emphasis added). (See also 1Timothy 6:9-11.)

Wow! We might concur with the sentiments the Galatians may have had when they understand the extent of what "faith working through love" meant—Circumcision was a lot easier! But thank God they weren't left to do achieve this by themselves and neither are we. For it's all Jesus working both the faith and the love in us and through us by the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I need this force of faith working through love strengthened in my life. Thank You for living in my heart through Your Spirit and broadening my practical understanding of that what truly avails (counts, means something, has value, amounts to something, benefits). Amen. 

PSALM  TO PRAY: Psalm 7

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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 NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®,Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

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

Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Slaves - of what?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 5-6; Psalm 135

TO CHEW ON: "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?" Romans 6:16.

Slaves? That sounds extreme. By using the startling analogy of slavery, Paul pictures our life choices in a very either/or, black/white way. Is he saying Christians can actually still be slaves of sin?

What I understand this passage to mean is that even as people who have accepted God's gift of salvation and are legally free, it is possible to live as slaves of our old master, sin. We humans have been born with a nature to which sinning comes naturally. How easy it is, even after we've been set free, to slip back into old habit patterns of worry, envy, pride, anger, unforgiveness etc. etc., that is, patterns of sin.

Paul urges these Roman Christians to resist old reactions and instead prove that they are slaves of Christ by living in obedience to His standards of righteousness.

But, I can hear you say, slavery has a bad connotation. I don't want my life with Christ to be characterized in such a negative way.

Even Paul acknowledges the unfortunate aspect of this metaphor: "I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh..." he says. But then he goes on to extend and explain it even further: "For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness" Romans 6:19.

But Paul is not giving a mere "just do it" message. Something real happened when we gave our lives to Jesus and began living in the realm of grace. Romans 6:23 reminds us we have been "set free from sin" and have in a real sense "become slaves of God."

So let's use this slavery picture to flesh out and affirm our freedom from sin and our enslavement to the "fruit of holiness and the end, everlasting life" (Romans 6:22).  Today when we're at a decision crossroads:
- about whether to fret about the difficult thing on today's to-do list, or place it in God's hands and refuse to worry about it any more.
- about whether to eat one more helping or push back from the table.
- about whether to react to the person who cuts us off in traffic — or not.
- or about a hundred other situations
we can ask ourselves: What would a slave of Jesus do in this situation? And then choose to do it.


PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where I am a slave to sinful tendencies and am habitually making sinful choices. Help me to enslave myself to You today. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 135


The Bible Project VIDEO: Romans - Part 2 of 2 (Read Scripture Series)



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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.

The Christian's memory

"Return of the Ark" - Gustave Dore (1 Samuel 6:13)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 27-28; Psalm 132

TO CHEW ON: "Behold we heard of it in Ephratheh
We found it in the fields of the woods." - Psalm 132:6

What is the "it" the psalmist is talking about? It is the ark—that box that symbolized the presence of God among the Israelites.

The first verses of this psalm refer to specific stories about the ark that pilgrims marching to Jerusalem* would have known. They recall the time that David vowed to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. They remember an even earlier time when Samuel located it in "the field of the woods," that is, Kirjath Jearim ("City of Forests") - 1 Samuel 7:1,2.

What's the point of bringing up these memories? It is to help the people get a vision for their future with God (Psalm 132:11-18).

Eugene Peterson enlarges on this psalm in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. He says about the importance of memory in matters of faith:

"This history is important, for without it we are at the mercy of whims. Memory is a databank we use to evaluate our position and make decisions. With a biblical memory we have two thousand years of experience from which to make the off-the-cuff responses that are required each day in the life of faith.

"[...] The past is not, for the person of faith, a restored historical site that we tour when we are on vacation; it is a field that we plow and harrow and plant and fertilize and work for a harvest" - Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, pp. 166, 168 (emphasis added).

What are we facing today that is making us nervous, upset, panicky, desperate, scared? Let's recall our history with God and how He has proved Himself faithful to help us in the past. Let's obey His instructions to us, whatever they are in the situation. Maybe it's to:

• acknowledge Him and trust Him for directions (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• pray and not worry (Philippians 4:6-7).
• tell the truth and live with integrity (Matthew 5:37)
• be single-hearted (Luke 6:13; James 1:5-8)
• or ...

Peterson again:

"What we require is obedience—the strength to stand and the willingness to leap, and the sense to know when to do which. Which is exactly what we get when an accurate memory of God's ways is combined with a lively hope in his promises" - p. 171.

PRAYER: Dear God, I bring the specific situation of ___ to You. You know the dis-ease I have in my spirit over it. Please settle me down as I remember Your faithfulness to me in the past. Help me to hear Your instructions about what to do (or perhaps it's to be still)  and to obey. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 132

MORE: Defective memory

"A Christian with a defective memory has to start everything from scratch and spends far too much of his or her time backtracking, repairing, starting over. A Christian with a good memory avoids repeating old sins, knows the easiest way through complex situations and instead of starting over each day continues what was begun in Adam" - Peterson, p. 167 (emphasis added). 

*This psalm is one of the "Songs of Ascent" which pilgrims sang as they went to Jerusalem to celebrate the yearly festivals.

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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.

Called and led

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 15-16; Psalm 126

TO CHEW ON: “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia but the Spirit did not permit them… Now after he had seen the vision (of a man saying ‘Come over to Macedonia to help us’) immediately we sought to go to Macedonia concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel there.” Acts 16:6-7,10

A reader, Judy, tells of a missions trip she took to South Africa (used with her permission):

First of all God supplied the funds. In 1966 I taught school on First Nations reserves north of Souix Lookout. I bought two large paintings for $35 each from Norval Morrisseau when he visited the isolated community I was teaching in. During our years of teaching in the Arctic they hung unframed, tacked up with push pins in several homes.

Fast forward ahead to 2008 when after reading something on Becky's blog I said to Christian, Where are those paintings? I'd done some research on the Internet and realized they just may have some value. I sold one of the paintings for $6,500. Christian said immediately that I should do something very special with this unexpected windfall. I like to imagine our Lord saying on the day I bought the painting, "Do I ever have a surprise for you. It will be arriving in 42 years."

I heard about the volunteer group in South Africa, again through Becky's blog. One of her daughters had worked in an orphanage and had had a very positive experience. I wanted to teach and found a school along the east coast that seemed to be a good fit. I did make it clear that I did not want to teach computers or run an after school recreation program. They said that was fine I could just be in a classroom.

I was picked up in East London by a different volunteer group than the one I'd communicated with. I thought that was a little unusual. The next day I found out that the first group had contracted me out to a second group AND . . . . . perhaps you can guess what is coming; they wanted me to teach computers and run an after school recreational program. For a few moments to use my mother's term, I was floored. Then I thought about the lessons I'd learned in home studies the previous winter studying the life of Abraham. Don't focus on the "problem." Focus on God.

I was sure God could/would enable me to do the tasks but I also knew the desire of my heart and where my strengths lie. I had immediate assurance from Him that there would be a solution to the situation. It took a couple of days until I was at King's Playschool. That was the last name of the people who ran a rural facility out of their home. I had noticed the verse "They shall shine like stars in his crown" from the song "When He Cometh" based on Zech. 9:16, on their sign. So .. . . I knew they were believers but they didn't know I was.

When I had the opportunity I told Tracy that I was a follower of Jesus Christ, that I knew He had led me to South Africa but that I didn't know what I was supposed to do. She said she'd been praying for someone to relieve her of classroom duties while she dealt with the rest of her life. Here's what was on her plate.

Pentecostal Pastor's wife of a growing church.
Home schooling their 3 children
Running the school of 50 children and 10 employees
In the process of adopting two black babies who had been abandoned
Teaching a class

I had three glorious weeks of teaching eager 5 year olds. Most of my ideas were new for them… Both Tracy and I felt so blessed…. Who, but our loving Father, would take a woman from northern North America and team her up with a woman from Southern South Africa at exactly the right time! These kinds of experiences just light a fire under my faith which was already strong. An entire year later I still marvel at it and hope I always do.

They light a fire under my faith too! I never cease to marvel at God’s way of putting together the circumstances of our lives to work for His kingdom and our blessing if that’s our desire.

(Even as I'm preparing to repost this, a song is playing on my husband's computer, reminding me of the same truth: "In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time")

In today’s reading Paul and Silas were shunted off the track they were on by the Holy Spirit. How that looked, I’m not sure – a feeling of uneasiness, a prophetic message? However it happened, they knew they were not to go to Asia. At Bithynia likewise “the Spirit did not permit them.” The vision to go to Macedonia, then, was most welcome. Here was clear direction .

In Philippi – one of the largest cities in Macedonia – was Lydia and a band of believers who met at the riverside regularly for worship. Can you imagine how she must have felt the morning Paul and Silas showed up and told her the story of how they got there.

Judy’s story shows us that God still works in behind-the-scenes ways. It freights these familiar verses with a new and personal relevance:

“Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:27-28

PRAYER: Dear God, please put my life in the stream of Your usefulness. Help me to hear Your Spirit’s instructions and obey them. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 126

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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.

One secret to perseverance

Illustration from Lyman Abbot Commentary on Acts

Oriental Prayer Meeting

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 13-14; Psalm 125

TO CHEW ON: "So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus." Acts 13:4

What strikes me about the disciples here is their lack of personal agendas. They have no five-year plan to evangelize the world. There seem to be only two items on their to-do list: hear and follow God's instructions.

When those instructions come via the Holy Spirit saying "Separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" there is immediate obedience. No hanging back with—'Well, we had planned to visit our families, take a vacation, write a book…'

Their sense of being appointed and sent by God Himself on this mission was, I think, key to how they would handle what was ahead on this, Paul's first missionary journey (called Saul here, but his name was later changed to Paul). They didn't know it yet, but they would face opposition from a sorcerer, city-to-city hassling by the Jews, the desertion of a team member,  the threat of stoning in one place and actual stoning in another (Acts 13 & 14).

The lesson I take from this is  that I too need to listen to God's voice when I see opportunities to be sure that what I take on is by His leading and not my own idea. I need to be open to new tasks in areas I hadn't even considered. And when I don't hear anything specific, I need to be content to carry on faithfully with what I'm doing, knowing He is perfectly able to let me know when it's time to change course.

This sense of God's call is important because it is sure that I, that you, will face opposition, discouragement, misunderstanding, maybe even threats and physical danger while on Kingdom assignments. The knowledge that God has called us to any specific task will help us to persevere.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this clear picture of how You worked in Bible times. Help me to be as available as Paul and Barnabas were, and to follow Your direction, knowing that if You call me to a job, You will see me through it no matter what comes my way. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 125

The Bible Project VIDEO: Acts - Part 2 of 2 (Ch. 13-28) Read Scripture Series 

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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.

Cut Hearts

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 7-8; Psalm 122

TO CHEW ON: “‘You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you’ … When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.” Acts 7:51,54

Eloquent Stephen concluded his speech of defense to the high priest and the council by condemning them. His description of them as “stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears” certainly stirred them up, though not in a safe way. It was the last speech Stephen ever made.

A couple of things snag attention here.
1. We can be in the presence of God’s truth, as the religious Jews were, and still not be touched by it. Our unregenerate hearts readily filter out what our ears don’t want to hear.

2. If and when we are “cut” by God’s truth about us and our lives, our reaction can be negative or positive. Stephen’s speech to the council cut their hearts not to “circumcise” or alter them in the way of being marked for God’s kingdom, but to make them angry; they “gnashed at him with their teeth.” In this way they sealed their own fates—though young Saul at whose feet the stoning people laid their clothes (Acts 7:57)* later had his own heart circumcision encounter.

Let’s take seriously the fact that being in the presence of God’s truth about us isn’t enough. We still have the choice to resist the Spirit or let His words to us cut and mark us as His own.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to have a heart and ears that are sensitive to what Your Holy Spirit says to me. Amen.
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 122

* A note in my NKJV Cultural Background Study Bible comments on the stone throwers laying clothes at a Saul’s feet (Acts 7:57):

“Because the activity was physically strenuous, they could lay aside their outer garments, as was customary during exercise. … Ancient practice, however, specified not the stripping of the executioners but rather the stripping of the person being executed. Luke may ironically emphasize their stripping themselves to remind the reader who is really on trial” - Kindle Location 206,939.

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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.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

When doing nothing is doing something

"Jesus converses with the doctors of the law"
 - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 6-7; Psalm 115

TO CHEW ON: "And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him." - Luke 7:29-30

There are moments of decision, crossroads where we must choose one direction or another. John the Baptist was one of the people who confronted his listeners with their path options. His message was repentance. The graphic way people showed they chose this repentance road was to submit to John's baptism.

After John's disciples asked Jesus John's question ("Are You the Coming One?" - yesterdays reading), Jesus explained John to the people (Luke 7:24-28). And then the writer Luke adds his author observations about what was going on here (Luke 7:29,30). Here's how the Amplified Bible puts it:

"And all the people who heard Him (Jesus), even the tax collectors acknowledged the justice of God [in calling them to repentance and pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent] being baptized with the baptism of John" - Luke 7:29 Amplified Bible.

However, two groups of people—the Pharisees and lawyers—steeled their hearts against this truth. How did they show their resistance? Apparently by doing nothing. Luke again:

"But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and] not being baptized by [John]." - Luke 7:30 Amplified Bible (emphasis added). 

Jesus goes on to describe them as utterly resistant to wisdom (Luke 7:31-35). My Bible's commenter says it well:

"Jesus illustrates the fickle and even caustic response of the people to John's ministry and to His own. Unbelief will not respond to the truth, however well it is presented and demonstrated" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew 11:16-19, New Spirit-Filled Bible, p. 1310 (emphasis added).

There is a subtle warning in this for us. For we too can choose one way over another by doing nothing—by refusing to respond to the Holy Spirit's tug on our consciences, by resisting His invitation to change direction. How sobering to think that it could be said of me or you: "She / He annulled, rejected, brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves by refusing …"

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me understand the danger of passivity. I want to have a heart that is sensitive to You and quick to respond. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 115

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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotes are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation - Used with permission.

Our very costly oil

Image: debdebdeb / pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 11-12; Psalm 108

TO CHEW ON: "Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." John 12:3

Some of the questions that come to me as I read this story are:
- What was special about spikenard oil and why did Mary have it on hand?
- What was she intending to do with it?
- Why anoint Jesus' feet?
- What would motivate her to give such an extravagant gift?

Study Bibles to the rescue!

According to my New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, "Spikenard was a valuable and fragrant ointment derived from the dried roots of the herbal plant called nard. By the first century A.D. it was already being imported from its native India in alabaster boxes because of its costliness" - Siegfried Schatzmann, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1465.

Why did Mary have this oil? According to the Quest Study Bible, she had purchased it to anoint Jesus' body when He did die (I'm sure not expecting it to be mere weeks later). "It was not uncommon for family or friends to spend enormous sums of money on strong perfumes and spices to mask the door of a decaying body" - Quest Study Bible, p. 1486.

As for anointing Jesus' feet, the custom was to wash a guest's feet and anoint his head. QSB suggests that Mary (and another woman who also anointed Jesus' feet—Luke 7:37-38) felt unworthy to anoint His head.

Recalling what had recently happened in Mary's life (Jesus' resurrection of her brother Lazarus), we can understand the gratitude and love and respect, and frankly awe, she had for Jesus. Her lavish gift (calculated to be "equivalent to the annual income of a labourer" - QSB, Op. Cit.) was her way of expressing all these feelings to the living Jesus.

As the scene played out, what started as a private gesture soon became very public as the perfume scent filled the house, leading to both ridicule and praise.

Applying this story to life, we in the 21st century have no physical Jesus on whom to pour our love and gratitude—for changed lives, hope for the future, help with our day to day living, healing (both physical and spiritual), etc. But we can still say thank you with the most precious gift we have—our lives. Paul makes the very comparison of our lives to perfume in 2 Corinthians 2:14:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

For most of us this is a private gift—a habitual and daily "yes" to what He asks of us. The perfume of this gift may not seem to be going anywhere. But there are sacrificed lives—which were also given in private—whose fragrance has "filled the house." people like David Livingstone, David Brainard, Jim Elliot and many others. I believe heaven will be full of the fragrance the the "very costly oil" of lives poured out for Jesus. May ours be among them!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to continually give you my most valuable possession, my life, with words and actions that say "Yes, help Yourself to me." Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 108

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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.

Are there doubters in the house?

Image - Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 27-28; Psalm 94

TO CHEW ON: “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17

I often wish I’d been with Jesus and had seen Him with my own eyes. Then, I imagine, it would be easy to believe no matter what.

Or, maybe not. Here we have disciples who had been with Jesus for the better part of three years. Yet we read “some doubted.”

I wonder what they doubted. That the man who appeared to them as Jesus after the resurrection was actually Jesus? That He had really died and come back to life? That His time on earth had accomplished what He said?

These were not their first moments of doubt. Jesus had often addressed the doubts of those around Him.

• He talked about trusting God to meet needs of daily living - Matthew 6:30.

• Doubt caused Peter to sink under the waves after he started out walking on the water - Matthew 14:31.

• Doubt was at the root of their inability to understand Jesus’ teaching in metaphors and symbols - Matthew 16:8-12.

• Doubt made the disciples powerless to heal - Matthew 17:17.

• Doubt had the disciples panicking in a storm - Mark 4:40.

• Doubt kept the disciples from understanding Jesus’ explanation of how He had fulfilled prophecy - Luke 24:25.

• Doubt caused Martha to demur when Jesus told them to take away the stone from Lazarus’ grave - John 11:39.

• Doubt caused Thomas to ask for proof that Jesus was who He said He was - John 20:25.

Jesus’ reaction to the doubt in our passage was to ignore it. Instead of scolding the doubters or launching into an apologetic explanation of how He had fulfilled Scripture, He carried on by giving them their assignment, promising His presence every step of the way - Matthew 8:18-20.

Maybe that’s the antidote to our doubts too—to get busy, exercise some faith, and we’ll find that He does have authority, He continues to attract disciples. He is with us every day.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus it seems to be in my human DNA to doubt. Please help me step out in faith wherever You lead and so prove Your reality. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 94

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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.

Available wisdom

Jesus teaches about paying taxes - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 21-22; Psalm 91

TO CHEW ON: "When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way. … And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching." Matthew 22:22,33

The Pharisees were determined to trip up and silence Jesus. And they had the perfect way to do it. They would out Him as an enemy of Rome by getting him to declare Himself on the contentious issue of taxes.

To add clout and witnesses they took along their disciples—probably the brightest minds in Jerusalem—and some Herodians. The Herodians were a political party that sympathized with the Herods in their policies of governing and introducing new social customs into Jewish society.

But when the troupe got to Jesus and confronted Him, He saw right through their little scheme. Those pharisaic wolves, who had circled their prey and were licking their chops in anticipation of the take-down, were disappointed, while the surrounding crowd marveled at the wisdom of Jesus' answer (Matthew 22:17-21). The same thing happened to the Sadducees who tried to trap Him later (Matthew 22:23-32). For Jesus was wise.

• Isaiah prophesied Jesus' wisdom - Isaiah 11:2; 53:11.

• He was wise from childhood - Luke 2:40.

• He astonished all who heard Him, especially His neighbours - Matthew 13:54.

• The amazing thing is that His wisdom can be ours! In Colossians 2:3, Paul describes Christ as the One: "… in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Paul goes on to encourage his readers, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in him … For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him" - Colossians 2:3-9.

Let's ask to receive His wisdom for all kinds of situations. And then let's move ahead in faith, acting on the answers He gives - James 1:5-8.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I need the spirit of wisdom and revelation for everyday living as much as for special problems. I ask for Your wisdom today. Help me to trust and act on what You tell me through Your word and in prayer. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 91

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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.

Fighting life's battles

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 32-34; Psalm 79

TO CHEW ON: “‘Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.’” 2 Chronicles 32:7,8

Judah’s King Hezekiah gave the encouragement, above, to his subjects in the face of Sennacherib’s (king of Assyria) invasion of Judah. But before he said these things, he was busy doing what he could to fortify and protect his territory from the Assyrian threat.

• He stopped the flow of water to the land (2 Chronicles 34:3,4).
• He repaired the Jerusalem wall (2 Chronicles 34:5).
• He manufactured and distributed new arms (2 Chronicles 34:5). 
• He organized the army (2 Chronicles 34:6).

Then he gathered the people for the pep talk.

Not surprisingly, Sennacherib reaction to Hezekiah’s speech was to mock it and Hezekiah’s faith in God. Sennacherib sent a delegation to Jerusalem to challenge Yahweh and  instill fear (2 Chronicles 34:10-15).

Sennacherib’s mockery and threats brought Hezekiah and Isaiah (the prophet) to their knees: they “prayed and cried out to Him…” 2 Chronicles 34:20.

Then God intervened supernaturally: “… sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the King of Assyria" (2 Chronicles 34:21).

I think Hezekiah here demonstrates some great life principles for us too. When we’re under attack or in trouble—physically, financially, socially or in whatever way we:

• Do all we can. We follow doctors’ orders, put our financial house in order, attempt to make peace with our enemies, or whatever the situation dictates.

• Encourage ourselves in God, refusing to give in to the fear and what-ifs of the situation, reminding ourselves that “there are more with us than there are with them.”

• Pray. Though we've done all we can, in the end our trust is in God and His coming through for us. In His time He will, as He did for Hezekiah and his subjects.  

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to remember that I have more than the “arm of flesh” with me; I have the Lord, God of heaven and earth. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 79

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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.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Practical piety

Shopping carts of the homeless - Photo V. N.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Zechariah 5-8; Psalm 61

TO CHEW ON: "Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 7:12


The people's representatives Sherezer, Regem-Melech, and his men came to the temple priests with a question: "Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?"

It is likely that they were inquiring about commemorating the destruction of the temple in 587 B.C. (according to the writer of my Bible's study notes, D.W. Shibley - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1255).

God's message back to them through Zechariah may have come as a surprise. It contained no congratulations for their past piety. Instead, it pointed out things they had left undone: practicing true justice, showing mercy and compassion, treating widows and orphans well, and acting with integrity toward their neighbors (Zechariah 7:9,10).

These lacks, God said, were proof of the actual condition of their hearts—stubborn, refusing to hear, and hard ("hearts like flint") toward what really mattered to God (Zechariah 7:11,12).

I think there is a warning in this vignette for us too. We also easily reassure ourselves with spiritual activities and practices even while we may be glossing over the hard but practical aspects of obedience and what it means to love God—that is, to love our human brothers and sisters. Often our lack of love comes out in how we treat the poorest.

For me right now, I think of the homeless that trek the streets of my town. For the last few years I've seen them outside, summer through winter. The places they call home remind me of the tent city ghettos I've seen in the photos of faraway cities. I must admit these scenes stir up mixed feelings in me... not all of them positive.

I often ask myself—how do I show justice, mercy, and compassion to these, whose problems are complex (mental illness, addiction, poverty)? Is our household doing enough by supporting the local Salvation Army and the home missions arm of our church? May God never have to say to us (to me) "they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders and stopped their ears… yes, they made their hearts like flint."

PRAYER: Dear Father, I bring to You the homeless and poor in my neighborhood. Please give me creative ideas of how to show mercy and compassion to them. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 61

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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.

Weep at the Word

Reading the Law - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Nehemiah 7-9; Psalm 50

TO CHEW ON: "And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, 'This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.' For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law." Nehemiah 8:9

If you are familiar with Moses' law—that part of the Bible we find in sections of Exodus and Leviticus—you may well be surprised to see people weeping when it is read. Why would they weep on hearing a bunch of rules?

On thinking about it, I can come up with several reasons;

• It may have been the emotion they felt as they again connected with their religious and cultural roots. It seems that these people were unschooled in the law. We can assume that because of the way they needed a lot of explanation when it was read (Nehemiah 8:7). Even so, they probably had glimmerings of it, passed down through generations. But on this momentous day, as they respectfully stood for its reading, they were hearing the real thing for the first time in their lives. No wonder they got choked up.

• They were saddened by how far they had strayed from the law's requirements. But their teachers urged them—don't look at yourselves; focus on God. Make this day holy or separate to God. Let the joy of who God is and what He is doing now, energize you (Nehemiah 8:9-10).

• They were under conviction and their tears were evidence that God was at work in their lives. I love how this incident is the climax of their wall-repair project—an experience that had been both exhilarating and stressful. But they had completed it

Fresh from the victory of re-establishing the integrity of their city, they were primed for the victory of returning to God in spirit. Their sensitivity to God's will and eagerness to obey is on display as they jumped to obey the instructions to keep the Feast of Booths—something that had apparently not been done since the time of Joshua (Nehemiah 8:13-18).

What is our reaction to God's word? We have not only the Law, but the stories, the prophets, the New Testament, much of it plain and easy to understand.

• Do we respect it (to the extent of willingly standing for its reading when our pastors instruct us to, of course) as these people did?
• Do we hear it with the sense that it applies to us personally?
• Do we focus on how badly we've messed up, or on God and His goodness to us, His plan of salvation, and the hopeful outlook that trust in Him brings?
• Are we quick to change our ways when we see where we have been disobedient?

May our lives be evidence of us going from one obedience to the next (like these people did), as we let the hammer / fire / lamp / sword of God's word do its work.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your word which tells me about You and educates me in Your ways. May I take it as personally as these people who, on hearing, wept, repented, and obeyed. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 50


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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.

Are we perverting God's word?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 23-25; Psalm 19

TO CHEW ON: "'And the oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more. For every man's word will be his oracle, for you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.'" Jeremiah 23:36

In his diatribe against the false prophets of Judah, Jeremiah lays bare what these prophets are all about. He accuses them of being self-appointed (Jeremiah 23:21), of prophesying lies as they interpret any old dream as a message from God (Jeremiah 23:25), of putting their words in God's mouth (Jeremiah 23:31,32), of being a burden to God instead of speaking God's burden (oracle) (Jeremiah 23:33 especially clear in the Amplified), and of perverting God's words (Jeremiah 23:36). Let's look closely at that last.

The Bible is clear about how sacred God's word is and not to be treated flippantly.
- It is not to be added to or subtracted from (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:19).
- It is to be obeyed (Deuteronomy 12:32).
- How we observe it will have eternal consequences (Matthew 5:19).

But could we be guilty of perverting it as those Old Testament prophets were? I can think of several practices which might result in such perversion:

- Emphasizing or giving more weight to one section of the Bible over another. (An example: the Red Letter Movement.)

- Using Bible texts to prove a doctrine which isn't otherwise generally supported in scripture. (An example: Using 1 Corinthians 13:8 as a proof-text that the charismatic gifts, particularly the gift of tongues, have ceased.)

- Overlaying our Bible interpretation with systems of numbers, colours and symbols, making the plain narrative into a puzzle that only the initiated can decipher.

- Picking and choosing which parts of the Bible to obey.

Can you think of more?

I appreciate the five types of people T. Norton Sterrett suggests will properly interpret the Bible. Those with:

1. A new heart (1 Corinthians 2:14).
2. A hungry heart (1 Peter 2:2).
3. An obedient heart (Psalm 119:98-100).
4. A disciplined heart (in its persistence) (Matthew 7:7).
5. A teachable heart (Isaiah 50:4).
- T. Norton Sterrett, How To Understand Your Bible, p. 19-21, 1974 edition.

In today's atmosphere of "My truth is as good as yours," let's continue to let these attitudes guide our reading and following of the Bible.

PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please be my Bible teacher (John 14:26; 16:13). Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 19

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

Do you have an obedient ear?

Photo from RGB Stock

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 25-27; Psalm 6

TO CHEW ON: "Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold
Is a wise rebuker to an obedient ear." Proverbs 25:12


Rebuke isn't a word we use often these days. It means to reprove sharply, reprimand, check or restrain by command. Its synonym reprove (to rebuke, censure, blame) is almost as rare.

Perhaps we don't use these words because we don't do much rebuking or reproving. When the news carries stories of people getting beat up for trying to check or restrain bad behaviour, can we be blamed for keeping our mouths shut?

Yet here Solomon praises the person who learns from a rebuke. Other references to rebuke in the Bible help us understand from whom rebuke might come and how to receive and give it.

• Sometimes it comes from unexpected sources. In the Old Testament, rebuke came to Abram and Sarah from an Egyptian Pharaoh and Abimelech, the king of Gerar, when they lied about their relationship - Genesis 12:18 and Genesis 20:16.

• Rebuke is valuable when it comes from a righteous, wise person. In Psalm 141:5 the psalmist calls it "excellent oil." Our focus verse likens wise rebuke to gold jewelry.

• Parents are expected to rebuke their children and wise children will respond with corrected behaviour - Proverbs 15:5; Proverbs 2:1-22.
  

• Rebuke is most helpful when it's "open" vs. hidden, as in not delivered - Proverbs 27:5.

• We demonstrate whether we are foolish or wise by how we respond to it - Proverbs 17:10.

• God, our heavenly Father, shows His care for us when He rebukes us - Hebrews 12:5.

Have you been rebuked by someone lately? Or by God Himself? How do you tend to respond to rebuke?

Instead of getting our hackles up, or objecting "Who are you to tell me I'm wrong?!" let's prove ourselves wise by valuing righteous, helpful, needed rebuke and responding to it with an obedient ear.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be open to rebuke today and to respond with an obedient ear. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 6

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

Wisdom's lens

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 1-3; Psalm 148

TO CHEW ON: "The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 1:7

My first thought as I read this key verse at the beginning of Proverbs is 'worldview.' It seems that Solomon is saying that the knowledgeable, wise, educated-in-what-is-true person sees life through what we call a worldview of the fear of the Lord.

What is a worldview? Nancy Pearcey talks about it in her book Total Truth:

"... understanding how worldviews are formed, and how they guide or confine thought, is the essential step toward understanding everything else. Understanding worldview is a bit like trying to see the lens of one's own eye. we do not ordinarily see our own worldview, but we see everything else by looking through it. Put simply, our worldview is the window by which we view the world and decide, often subconsciously, what is real and important or unreal and unimportant" - Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth, Kindle Location 425.

What does it mean to have a 'fear of the Lord' worldview? Leslyn Musch describes it well in her "Truth-In-Action-Through Proverbs" article:

"Learning to walk in the fear of the Lord is learning to live in awe and reverence of God. It is foundational to our walk of faith. God is loving and full of grace and mercy, but He is also all-powerful, awesome, holy, righteous and sovereign over all things" - Leslyn Musch, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 842.

We can test whether or not we have a fear-of-the-Lord worldview by looking at the way we live our lives, and answering questions like:
- Who are we more concerned about pleasing, the people around us, or God?
- Which road do we choose when the path of following God splits from the path of pleasing self or others?
- On what do we spend our time and money?

Is it possible that we don't fear God as much as we think or say that we do?

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes and inform my understanding in the things that offend You and please You. Help me to see where I am kidding myself, saying I fear You but living differently. Then help me to line up my attitudes and actions with the truths in the Bible. Amen.

MORE: Examples of Bible characters who feared / didn't fear God.

• DID: Nathan the prophet feared God as shown by his obedience to turn around and change his message to David when God told him he had said the wrong thing - 1 Chronicles 17:1-15.

• DIDN'T: David neglected to follow God's instructions when moving the ark, putting it on a cart instead of having the priests carry it on their shoulders in the way God had said. When a man touched the ark to steady it, he was killed - 2 Samuel 6:1-9

• DID: When the Jewish leaders told Peter and John to stop talking about Jesus and preaching in His name, they expressed their fear-of-God worldview clearly: "'We ought to obey God rather than man'" - Acts 5:29.

Can you think of more?

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 148

The Bible Project VIDEO: Proverbs (Read Scripture Series)






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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. 

Words that accomplish and prosper

   
TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 55-57; Psalm 119:129-152

TO CHEW ON: “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55: 10-11


A few years ago we received the beautiful coffee table book Eye to Eye, Heart to Heart. This book of photographs was put together by Dave and Deborah Crough. Dave is a many-year photographer for Wycliffe Bible Translators. The volume is full of images of people whose lives have been impacted by the rain, snow, seed, and bread of God’s word that our focus verse talks about. The variety of skin color and ethnic dress show how widely the Gospel has spread. But you feel the book’s real impact when you focus on the eyes of the subjects. So many sparkle with hope.

A sidebar article about this passage in my Bible begins to scratch the surface in explaining the power of God’s word to give that sparkle.

“Evangelism (the spreading of the Good News) and expansion (the enlarging of life’s potential under God) both multiply by the “seeds” of God’s word. Jesus described the Word as “seed” also (Luke 8:11), the source of all saving life and growth possibilities transmitted from the Father to mankind…

Fruitfulness is the guaranteed byproduct – whether for the salvation of a lost soul or the provision of a disciple’s need. God’s Word cannot be barren or fruitless. his own life power is within it.” – Jack Hayford – New Spirit Filled Life Bible – p. 939.

This passage tells us:
- All increase of life comes by His word.
- Whether we receive it or disseminate it, God’s word will not be empty (void) but will accomplish and prosper God’s purposes.
- The power of His word fulfills the promise of His word. (Now there’s a thought to bend the mind!)

Is there an area in your life that is barren and fruitless.

• Search God’s word for insight about it. 
• Apply His advice. 
• Obey if there is something you need to do. 
• Then trust Him and His word to be the refreshing rain and snow, the seed and the bread in your life and circumstance.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible – Your amazing communication to us. Help me to apply it to my life and obey it. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 119:129-152

MORE: Some thoughts on the way to make God’s word effective in life:

"The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. …

When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don't shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually. First go - at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you."

– Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest (July 27th reading)

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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.

Pursuing personal revival

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 23-25; Psalm 108

TO CHEW ON: “Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statues with all his heart and all his soul to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.” 2 Kings 23:3

In the up-and-down story of Judah’s kings we were introduced to Josiah in yesterday’s reading. He became Judah’s king at a mere eight years old. He was one of the rare kings that “...did what was right in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 22:2). This involved cleaning up the temple.

The cleanup unearthed a copy of the Book of the Law. When Shaphan the scribe read it to the king (who would probably have been in his early to mid-20s by then - 2 Kings 23:23), he tore his clothes in distress.

Our reading today continues the story, telling of how Josiah covenanted to follow that Book of the Law with his whole being. That involved ridding the land of pagan worship.

The details of this (2 Kings 23:4-20, 24,25) show the extent of Judah’s degradation. But wow, he really cleaned house! He burned idols, desecrated and destroyed pagan shrines, and rounded up priests and other practitioners and did away with them. Finally, he celebrated Passover once again. I think we could call what happened to Josiah “revival.”

I see in his story, some parallels of how we might pursue personal revival.

1. He rediscovered God’s Word (2 Kings 22:10,11)
Though we may not have lost God’s word physically, have we perhaps misplaced it in other ways? If we read it only rarely or as a matter of rote, let’s “find” it again and read it regularly with receptive hearts as God’s communication—His love letter—to us.

2. He cleaned up the land (2 Kings 23:4-20,24,25)
Maybe we too need to do some spiritual housecleaning. We might view what we’re reading, watching, and browsing with an eye to what these things are doing to us spiritually. We might search for objects of worship, like money, success, image, reputation etc. that have become our “idols” and “high places” and again put God on the throne of our lives.

3. He re-instituted Passover (2 Kings 23:21-23)
For us this might be as simple as once again meeting with Him regularly to pray and read the Bible, attend church, cultivate Christian friends, sign up for a Bible study, or listen to Christian programs and podcasts.

4. He led a generation back to God (2 Kings 23:3)
I love how Josiah’s decision impacted not only him but the whole nation: “And all the people took a stand for the covenant” - 2 Kings 23:3. Though we don’t have the clout of a king, our personal revival is bound to affect more than just ourselves. Nowadays with the internet and social media, we have the means to influence not only those with whom we interact face-to-face but virtually the whole world. Only eternity will reveal the impact of our decision to wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the example of young Josiah. May I be as resolute in obedience and as ruthless in rooting sin out of my life and following You with my whole heart and soul.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 108

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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.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.