Oh shiny!

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:33-48

TO CHEW ON: “Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.” Psalm 119:37


Are you attracted by beautiful things? By the tempting challenges that promise to further your career? By the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that might just set you up for the foreseeable? Oh shiny!

The Bible has a lot to say, indirectly and directly, about what we see and respond to.

• Way back in Eden it was the sight of that tempting fruit that first got Eve in trouble (Genesis 3:6).

• Lot too was attracted by the sight of that well-watered Jordanian plain. It drew him to move close to corrupt Sodom (Genesis 3:10,12).

• Achan’s eyes got him in trouble when they dwelt on the beautiful Babylonian garment, the silver and the gold. His covetous look led to taking, hiding, and a whole lot of trouble for him, his clan, and Israel (Joshua 7:21 - read the whole story in Joshua 7:10-26).

• Rich and wise King Solomon made several observations about setting one’s eyes on and directing one’s life by the attractive. By his own admission he lived that way (Ecclesiastes 2:4-8). And though he claimed to have kept his wisdom (Ecclesiastes 2:9), in the end all he went after turned out to be futile (Ecclesiastes 2:11). His advice: Go ahead and let your heart follow your eyes, but there will come a day of reckoning for this (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

• Even Jesus faced the temptation of the attractive (Matthew 4:8). He was not taken in. And on that mountaintop of temptation, Satan’s proffered exchange exposed what’s at stake here: “‘All these things I will give you if You will fall down and worship me” - Matthew 4:8 (emphasis added).

Perhaps that last is key to unveiling what’s behind such “Oh Shiny!” temptations for us too.  Their appeal and our response to them reveals to us and the world what our heart is worshiping. So the prayer of the psalmist becomes as relevant today as ever.

PRAYER: “Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to covetousness.
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things.
And revive me in Your way” Amen.


MORE: Extracurricular
Another passage that we might consider when facing the “shiny” opportunities and challenges that come our way is Paul’s advice to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:4,

“No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

We might ask—is this shiny possession / opportunity / deal, consistent with my role in the Kingdom of God? Or will it prove a distraction?

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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.

Love—it begins between the ears

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 2:31b-3:13

TO CHEW ON: "Love … believes all things, hopes all things …" 1 Corinthians 13:7


Today is Valentine's Day when we demonstrate our love with all kinds of loving actions like sending cards, gifting chocolates, and taking our loved one out for dinner. It's a day when 1 Corinthians 13—the Love Chapter—is the perfect reading. But have you noticed how many of the attributes of love listed in it are rooted in thoughts and not actions at all.

Let's make a list. (I've referred to the Amplified along with the NKJV):

Love refuses to think thoughts of:

• envy, jealousy, vainglory or self-exaltation (1 Corinthians 13:4).

• violated rights, self-promotion, resentment, the evil done to it (1 Corinthians 13:5).

Love encourages thoughts of:

• patience, kindness (1 Corinthians 13:4).

• truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).

• perseverance—bearing up under anything and everything, the best about the loved one, hope (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Whatever kind of love we celebrate today—the love of parent to child, friend to friend, or lovers—let's remember that how it begins and whether it stays strong are dependent on the thoughts we feed it. If your love for someone is anemic, take a look at your thoughts about that person. And love-friendly thoughts not only nourish love but also give integrity to all those actions of love we perform today—and every day.

PRAYER: Dear God, please make me sensitive to thoughts that destroy love—like envy, jealousy, and resentment. Help me to make a habit of thinking the best of every person. 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.

Works that last; works that burn

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." 1 Corinthians 3:14,15


The older I get, the more I ponder the meaning of these verses as they relate to my own life. Will my life's work last or will it burn?

Here are some things the Bible calls enduring or lasting:

• Riches and honour whose source is God - Proverbs 8:18.

• Spiritual food that "endures to everlasting life" - John 6:27. The whole chapter of John 6 is Jesus declaring and explaining his role as the Bread of Life that lasts.

• Spiritual works that endure (1 Corinthians 3:14). The works Paul talks about here relate to building the church and Paul uses the metaphor of Jesus as the foundation of this building and each one of us as builders.

• Faith, hope and love - 1 Corinthians 13:13.

• Unseen eternal things - 2 Corinthians 4:18.

• The kingdom of God, which cannot be shaken - Hebrews 12:27-29.

Here are some of the things the Bible names as frail and destructible:

• Our lives - Psalm 49:12; 78:39; 103:14.

• Our righteousnesses—the good things we do to try to earn salvation - Isaiah 64:6.

• Our pleasures - Luke 12:19,20.

• Human knowledge - 1 Corinthians 13:8.

• The glory of man - 1 Peter 1:24.

• Material things—the earth - Psalm 102:25,26.

• Spiritual works that don't pass the fire test (1 Corinthians 3:15). Though these works will burn, Paul makes a special point of saying that the person who built the works will be spared, barely, and with no reward.

These two lists leave a lot of room for self-searching and discernment, as you and I compare how we spend our lives with what will last, and what won't.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to discern what is a worthwhile use of my limited time on earth. Help me to bring this perspective to all the activities of my life. 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.

Think long

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 5:21-37

TO CHEW ON: “‘If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast t from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.’” Matthew 5:29,30


While I don’t think Jesus was seriously suggesting self-immolation here, His radical instructions do make us take notice. What His comparisons say to me are: if something you see or do is causing you to sin, that organ, reaction, or habit demands serious action.

Why?

Because the consequence of giving in to sinful patterns can reach into eternity.

This is an apt warning in our day when we make so many snap decisions without much thought to how they will impact the next hour, not to speak of forever. Our online life alone encourages quick Yes’s or No’s as with the almost imperceptible movement of a finger we “Click,” “Like,” “Share,” “Send.”

I like a “rule” I heard about on Christine Caine’s “Propel” DVD teaching series—the 10-10-10 rule: When making a decision, ask: How will I feel about that / how will it affect my life in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years?

Jesus would extend that even further. He might ask us: “How will your decisions today affect your eternity?"

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to consider the eternal consequences of each day’s decisions and actions. 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.

Jerusalem’s story - part 3

U-Turns allowed (Image: Pixabay)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:44-63

TO CHEW ON: “And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth any more because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says the LORD GOD.’” Ezekiel 16:62,63


Jerusalem continued to deteriorate in God’s eyes. She had spurned Him as her husband and gone after idolatrous lovers. Her sins were worse than those of her sister cities (and their daughters—their suburbs and  surrounding villages), big sister Samaria and little sister Sodom.

God named specific sins: pride, gluttony, idleness, callousness to the poor, committing “abominations” [abomination: toebah = a disgusting thing, in a ritual sense of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages, in an ethical sense of wickedness etc.]

The Bible commenter Matthew Henry draws our attention to the height from which Jerusalem has fallen:

“Jerusalem had the temple, and the ark, and the priesthood, and kings of the house of David; and therefore the wickedness of that holy city, that was so dignified, so near, so dear to God, was more provoking to him than the wickedness of Sodom and Samaria, that had not Jerusalem’s privileges and means of grace.” - Matthew Henry Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com.

God saw only one solution for Jerusalem. It came from Him and was given not because Jerusalem deserved His mercy but because He doesn’t go back on His word—His covenant (Ezekiel 16:60). 

The atonement He will provide  (I believe a prophecy of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross) will pay for all they have done (Ezekiel 16:63). 

His grace will soften even Jerusalem’s rebellious heart (“Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed…”), a picture Ezekiel paints so beautifully in other places like Ezekiel 11:19,20:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

Though this passage is a prophecy concerning a city in the Middle East and an ethnic people, it also shows us a side of God that relates to us. Though we may violate our covenant with Him, backslide, and commit the most awful sins, He is willing to accept us back (Isaiah 1:18). All it takes is our own repentance (“…remember your ways and be ashamed…” - Ezekiel 16:61, also Luke 13:3, Acts 3:19; 8:22). For us too the atonement He made is sufficient (1 Peter 3:18).

PRAYER: Dear father, help me to detect signs and symptoms of rebellion within me before they fruit into backsliding. Help me to be quick to repent. 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.

Jerusalem's story - part 2

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." Ezekiel 16:32

Yesterday we saw how God rescued Jerusalem from her hopeless beginnings as an unwanted newborn. He nourished her until she was grown, then took her as His wife. He dressed her in extravagant garments, adorned her with expensive jewelry, and pampered her with the finest food. She was His queen (Ezekiel 16:1-14).

Today we read her heartbreaking response. Confident in her beauty and secure in her position, she began misusing her husband's benefits to cheat on Him. Our reading is a list of how she did that.

• She flung herself at whoever would have her.

• She used her royal garments to decorate "high places"—shrines where she worshiped idols.

• She recast the precious metal of her jewelry into idol images.

• She used the cosmetics and food her Husband supplied as idol offerings.

• She offered the children of their union to idols.

• She wasn't a normal prostitute who took payment for her services. Instead she was so intent on getting new lovers, she paid whoever would come to her.

Yesterday we likened ourselves to Jerusalem, seeing how we are like that cast-out helpless newborn who God rescued, redeemed, and married.  But we would never act like today's unfaithful wife, would we?

How close we come. For don't we:

• Misuse God's benefits to us, employing them to gratify our desires and establish our own little empires. To impress? To be entertained?

• Push our children toward the idols we serve, idols of money, fame, beauty, success, sensuous gratification, leisure, sports, etc.?

And notice how innocently it all begins: by trusting in our own abilities and achievements, and misusing our blessings ("But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame…" Ezekiel 16:15) forgetting from whom they come and for what purpose they were given.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize within myself the tendencies toward unfaithfulness to You. May it never be said of me, "You are an adulterous wife who takes strangers instead of her husband." 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.

Jerusalem's story - part 1

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem - James Tissot

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 16:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "'Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendour which I had bestowed on you,' says the Lord God." Ezekiel 16:14

In allegory form Ezekiel tells the story of Jerusalem. Born in the land of Canaan of mixed parentage (Amorite and Hittite), she was neglected at birth. No one cut her umbilical cord or washed her skin with salt to keep bacteria from growing. She wasn't swaddled in cloths or nurtured—things parents do for a wanted baby. Instead "'you were thrown out into the open field when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born'" - Ezekiel 16:4.

Then God turned things around. "'And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, "Live!" Yes, I said to you in your blood, "Live!"'" - Ezekiel 16:6. Wow!

God nurtured her until she was mature and beautiful—also innocent and naive. For on seeing her developing beauty, He claimed her as His own, before anyone else could,  and clothed her. Notice the picture of the covering her with His wing (Ezekiel 16:8). We've seen that before—in the story of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 2:12; 3:9).

Again He washed her and anointed her with oil. He dressed her in the most expensive garments and she was adorned with dazzling jewelry. He gave her the best food. Her reputation for beauty was unmatched. She was His queen.

In addition to this allegory being the story of Jerusalem, I see in it the story of what God does for us.

Spiritually we're as helpless and neglected as baby Jerusalem. But God passes by and speaks "Live!" over us too. He nurtures us by human and divine means using our families, friends, the church, His word and prayer.

The decision to give Him our lives could be likened to accepting His proposal of marriage. Then He clothes us with the beautiful dress of righteousness and hides us under His protecting wing.

As we live with Him, feeding on the riches of His word and living by it, He makes us even more beautiful. How could Jerusalem—how could we—ever remove ourselves from such a delightful place? Yet, as we will see tomorrow, Jerusalem did.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for pronouncing "Live" over my life. Help me to appreciate my position in You. 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.

What we already know

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 30:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "But the word is very near you in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." Deuteronomy 30:14

There is within us humans a thirst for novelty. We get bored with the old ways of handling life and want to try something new—a new diet, a new way of organizing life, a new way of staying fit. There's nothing wrong with this thirst for newness unless it threatens to draw us away from the true and tested. Perhaps this tendency accounted for Israel's habit of straying from God in trying out new religions.

Here, in one of his final addresses to Israel before they enter Canaan, Moses warns the people against making such novel but idolatrous choices.  The commands I'm giving you today, he says to Israel (my paraphrase), are not hard to understand, not something you need to search for, not a secret of heaven (Deuteronomy 30:11-13). Rather, they are "… very near you, in your mouth, and in your mind and in your heart" - Deuteronomy 30:14 AMP.

Those of us who have been Christ-followers for a long time do well to take to heart Moses' warning to the Israelites  for ourselves. If we, over a lifetime of being disciples, have read God's word, hidden it in our hearts by memorizing it and meditating on it, and tried to live by it, God's instructions are also near us. We don't need to search out the latest book, subscribe to the hottest new speaker's podcasts, or keep up with the theological blogs to discover how to live.

Let's follow Moses' advice to Israel here, and do/obey/live according to what we already know.

PRAYER: Dear God, it's so easy to look for shortcuts or jump on the bandwagon of the latest spiritual craze. Help me to trust and obey Your familiar word. 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 AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Open eyes

Photo: V. Nesdoly

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:17-32

TO CHEW ON: “Open my eyes that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.”


What a great prayer to pray regularly when we begin our times with the Lord!

It brings to mind incidents when Bible characters had their physical eyes opened to spiritual realities:

• Balaam, on his way to “curse” Israel for Balak had his eyes opened to the angel that was blocking his donkey’s path - Numbers 22:31.

• Elisha’s servant had his eyes opened to the surrounding “horses and chariots of fire”—the Lord’s army—after Elisha prayed - 2 Kings 6:17.

It brings to mind the question, why are some eyes spiritually closed, some open?

• Disobedience is one reason for spiritual blindness:

For the Lord has poured out on you
The spirit of deep sleep,
And has closed your eyes” - Isaiah 29:10.

• So is failure to acknowledge God’s existence and glorify and thank Him: “ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,  because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” Romans 1:20,21.

• But “'Blessed are the pure in heart, / For they shall see God’” - Matthew 5:8.

The beautiful thing is, spiritual sight is available and possible.

•  It came to the man born blind whose eyes Jesus healed with mud and Siloam water, so he could exclaim: “‘One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see’” - John 9:25. Jesus later made sure that He also addressed the man's spiritual sight issue - John 9:35-38.

• And it came to Saul/Paul on the Damascus Road. I love the parallel of physical and spiritual sight in his story. For it was after Ananias prayed for him that “scales” fell from his light-blinded eyes so that he regained his physical sight (Acts 9:17,18), while at the same time embarking on a new life path that God showed him - Acts 9:16.

Let’s make the psalmist’s prayer our own as we seek spiritual sight and insight for our lives from the Bible.

PRAYER: Dear Father, “Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” 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.

Is God's Word part of your life's fabric?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart.” Psalm 119:2

Psalm 119 is a psalm that focuses on the delights of the Word of God. As I read the first two sections, my attention is captured by all the verbs. Interacting with God’s Word is not passive for the psalmist. It includes much that’s intentional:

“Walk” - Psalm 119:1,3.
“Keep” - Psalm 119:2,4,5,8.
“Seek Him” - Psalm 119:2,10.
“Praise”  - Psalm 119:7.
“Learn” - Psalm 119:7.
“Take heed” - Psalm 119:9.
“Hide” - Psalm 119:11.
“Declare” - Psalm 119:13.
“Rejoice” - Psalm 119:14.
“Meditate” - Psalm 119:15.
“Delight in” - Psalm 119:16.
“Not forget” (remember) - Psalm 119:16.

I ask myself, do I, do we interact as actively and intentionally with the Bible? What are some everyday things we could do to engage with the Bible?

• Regularly read the Bible and pray, and in this way "seek God." "Learn" by studying the Bible and when we have questions, consult Bible study helps.

• Memorize passages and verses and in this way "hide it" to "not forget" it and have it readily available to "meditate" on.

• Sing, write (e.g. in a journal), and speak responses back to God and in this way "praise," "rejoice," "declare," and "delight in" God, during our quiet times and as we go about our daily activities.

• Obey - change our behavior as we "keep" in mind what the Bible says,  "heed it," and "walk" in its ways by incorporating its principles into our lives.

It’s a lifelong occupation and adventure!


PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. Help me to weave it into the very fabric of my life. 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.

The "salty" Christian

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 5:13-20

TO CHEW ON: “‘You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.’” Matthew 5:13


Jesus’ use of salt as a metaphor for those who believe in Him is clever. For salt (NaCl - sodium chloride) is surprisingly versatile.

We may think of it primarily for how it’s used as a seasoning in food. That seems to be the comparison Jesus is making here because He refers to how it might lose its flavor. In food, just a little salt is all that’s needed to enhance other flavors and bring about a balance pleasing to the palate.

Salt can be used as a preservative of food and other things. We have probably tapped into its germ-killing qualities when we gargle with salt water to treat a sore throat.

However, salt has many more uses. The Maldon Salt Company website claims that as a society we use salt in more than 14,000 different ways. Their graph shows that its greatest use is in industrial chemicals (where it’s used to make plastic, paper, rubber, fertilzer, bleach, detergent, dyes and more), followed by water conditioning, highway de-icing, food, and agriculture. (During a recent bout of cold weather we experienced the usefulness of salt, especially that which was “trampled underfoot.”)

Some additional facts about salt:

• Salt can remove some stains.

• Salt removes traces of water from purified aviation fuel.

• Every cell in the body contains salt.

• Sodium is key in the operation of all signals within, as well as to and from the brain.

All that to say when Jesus compared believers to salt, He was implying a lot! Here are some parallels I’d suggest:

• Just as a little salt accomplishes much, so though we as Christians may be few in number, our presence can have a seasoning and purifying effect on any society we inhabit.

• Salt is used for many purposes and processes. Similarly Christians (bearers of the salt) can be found in a multitude of places in many careers doing many jobs.

• Just as salt is found in every body  cell and needed for brain function, so the saltiness of the gospel in us unites us as Christians and helps us work together as the body of Christ.

• Salt can be an agent of safety and we can be that too. As a pastor in my church prayed recently, “Help us Christians be like the salt on the icy sidewalk, keeping people from slipping and falling.”

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please help me to be a salty Christian. 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.

The "spiritual" Christian

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 1:12.

My Bible’s study notes suggest three categories when it comes to how people understand and respond to the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4):

1. The Natural Man (1 Corinthians 2:14) is unregenerate and devoid of the Spirit, has no appreciation for the gospel.
2. The Spiritual Man (1 Corinthians 2:15,16)  is regenerate and possessing spiritual maturity as seen in freedom from sectarian strife (1 Corinthians 3:3,4).
3. The Carnal Man (1 Corinthians 3:1)  is regenerate but living much like an unregenerate, is a believer with childish ways as seen in a jealous and sectarian spirit” - Donald Pickerill, study notes on 1 Corinthians,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1582.

I want to be the "spiritual man" (woman) don’t you? Paul names some characteristics of this spiritual person in our reading.

• The spiritual man/woman does not live by the wisdom of this age (1 Corinthians 1:6).

In our day, as in Paul’s, we can imagine a list of values inherent in such wisdom would include worldly beauty, wealth, and power. Those are not our highest values.

• The spiritual person is privy to a “mystery” (1 Corinthians 2:7).

“'Mystery' in the NT does not mean mysterious or difficult to understand but denotes a truth hidden in God’s mind until He chooses to disclose it … Believers live by a secret, the essence of which is Christ and His glorious purposes for the world” - Pickerill, Op. Cit. (emphasis added). 

• Spiritual people get spiritual wisdom, discover and understand this “mystery” through the Holy Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:10-13.

• Spiritual people “judge” or evaluate “all things” through this spiritual lens - 1 Corinthians 2:15.

When I put myself into the mindset of the spiritual man/woman, so much of what I see in Jesus’ life makes sense. It’s His stance when He withstands Satan’s temptation (Matthew 4:1-11). His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7) illustrates the values, motivations, and actions of the spiritual person. Later writers like Paul catch its essence in passages like 1 Corinthians 13.

And the beauty of it is that living in this spiritual man / woman way does not have to be a stressful, effortful thing. For if we believe the gospel and have invited Jesus into our lives, we are connected to Him and this spiritual wisdom flows in an organic way; His life flows into us as sap flows from the vine to the branch - John 15:1-8,26.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to be a "spiritual" woman by Paul's definition here, living by Your values, sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s life in me, able to discern and live with good judgment. 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.

Will our work be rewarded?

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 22:6-21

TO CHEW ON: “‘And behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.’” Revelation 22:12.

Though the Bible is clear that our work doesn’t save us (Titus 3:5-7), work is mentioned often in the Bible. So, if we are not working to gain heaven, what compels us to work?

Here are a few of the motivations the Bible mentions;

• To be a bridge between God and a hurting world - Isaiah 50:4.

• To serve Jesus, who comes to us as the hungry, thirsty, homeless stranger - Matthew 25:35-40.

• Because as God’s children, we see the world, and the people around us through our Father’s eyes of compassion so that our neighbour’s need becomes our assignment - Luke 10:30-37.

• It is our way of following, obeying, and mimicking Christ in spirit and deed, as Paul explains it in Philippians 2:3-15.

Our passage implies that all work is not equal. We may be driven by wrong motives (for example, to be seen and praised by others) to do good things. And so this end-of-time reward ceremony is a revelation, an unveiling of our work’s quality: “… to give to everyone according to his work.”

[The word “reward” (misthos) means pay, salary, recompense for service. “The word especially describes wages, divine rewards given to believers for the moral quality of their actions” - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1847 - emphasis added.]

May this someday heavenly reward ceremony compel us to examine our own actions or non-actions and the attitude we have when we do act.

I confess this is convicting. Just yesterday on my way to the track where I walk on rainy days, I passed a homeless camp-out right on the sidewalk of a busy street. The cheery “good morning” from one of the street dwellers elicited a grumpy reply from me. I felt annoyed and irritated, for though our city has worked to house these folks, many insist on living outside.

Lord, please give me Your eyes and a heart of compassion—even when I don’t understand.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to face and understand my own motives. Replace my judgemental heart of stone with a heart of flesh - Ezekiel 11:19,20. 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.

Would God tell you His secrets?

Nunc Dimmitis - (Infant Christ and Simeon)

by Giovanni Bellini c. 1505-1510

TODAY'S SPECIAL:   Luke 2:22-40

TO CHEW ON: “And it had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ… 

 (Anna) was a widow of about eighty-four years who did not depart but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:26, 37-38

The day Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the temple a wonderful thing happened. Two complete strangers approached them with messages from God about Jesus, their eight-day-old baby.

What, about these people, made them candidates to hear from God? What can we learn from Simeon and Anna about the kinds of people to whom God tells his secrets? I see six principles:

1. Live a holy lifestyle. Simeon is described as “just and devout.” Anna lived in the temple, praying and fasting day and night. I don’t think God expects us to go to those lengths. But prayer and fasting–at least occasionally–are disciplines that attune our senses to hear God’s voice.

2. Live with expectation. Simeon was “waiting.”

3. Listen. Simeon heard the Holy Spirit’s instructions. In our world of noise from every direction, this is big. One practical practical way we can do this is to let God’s words be the first ones we hear every morning (before we check our email, messages, Facebook).

4. Obey. Simeon went to the temple when the Holy Spirit led him, then opened his mouth and spoke over Jesus.

5. Refuse to make excuses because of age or life situation. Both Simeon and Anna were old. Earlier, God spoke to Joseph and Mary who were young. Anna was a widow.

6. Realize that God is in every situation. There are no coincidences. Anna had no specific instructions to go anywhere. She just happened to come in “at that instant” and spoke of what filled her heart.

I ask myself, would God reveal His confidences to me? Would He to you?

PRAYER: Dear God, I would like to be like Simeon and Anna, someone to whom You can tell Your secrets.

MORE: The Feast of the Presentation
Today is known as the “Feast of the Presentation” or “Candlemas” in the church calendar.

This collect begins the liturgy for the Feast of the Presentation:

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

• Learn more about this day as celebrated by the various church traditions.

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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.

Living with God

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 84:1-12

TO CHEW ON: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house …
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You …
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” Psalm 84: 4,5,12


This is one of my favorite psalms. I love its exuberance over spending time with God. I love its let’s-be-in-this-for-the-long-haul encouragement (Psalm 84:5-7). Today I realized there are three “blesseds” in it: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house…  whose strength is in You… who trust in You.”

Of course the picture of dwelling in God’s house is a metaphor. So how can we do that in reality, and find strength in God and trust in Him in a living-with-Him kind of way, every day,  multiple times throughout the day?

One aid I’ve discovered recently that helps me with this is an iPad app called PrayerMate. What I love about this app is that I can easily add prayer requests to it and upload pdf files of, for example, my church’s monthly prayer requests. I’ve also added to it Scripture prayers, like this “Praying the Bible Prayer for Writers” that I cobbled together some time ago.

Earlier this year during our church’s prayer emphasis, our associate pastor gave some excellent teaching on prayer. I’ve begun using the simple template he introduced:

• Thanksgiving: Begin prayer time with giving thanks—for things related to your request, for things you’re thankful for generally.

• Ask: Tell God everything about the issue. Spill it out onto Him in your own words.

• Agree: Find, in the Bible, what God says concerning your issue and agree with Him in prayer, praying Scripture words back to Him. 

I’ve written a Thanksgiving-Ask-Agree prayer for the writing project I’m currently working on and I plan to apply this way of praying to many more requests. If you and I did this about every anxiety and challenge that came up during the day, wouldn’t we be one of those "Blessed" ones, dwelling in God’s house, getting our strength from Him and trusting Him?

And the nice thing about having this prayer aid on my iPad is that I can open it any time I have a minute or two, and, instead of playing Solitaire or Scrabble, spend a little time “dwelling” with God.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to experience the joy, contentment, security, and hope of living with You expressed in this psalm. Amen. 

MORE: What does the Bible say?
Need some help finding scripture verses about your issue? Here are a few online lists that will give you a start:

89 Bible Verses About Life

23 Encouraging Bible Verses

20 Key Bible Verses for Everyday Problems 

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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.

Do you love God's rules?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 112:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.

Who delights greatly in His commandments." Psalm 112:1

When was the last time you delighted in commandments or rules?

["Delights" (chaphets) means to take pleasure in, be bent or inclined toward, to cherish or be favourably disposed toward, to love and desire.] The psalmist calls the person who has this attitude toward God's commandments "blessed."

It may seem strange to us that Old Testament writers extolled the law that included odd-to-us rules about using materials in their pure forms, avoiding certain foods and observing standards of hygiene that included clothes washing, hand-washing, and observing specific procedures when it came to things like mildew-infested houses.

Yet, when we look deeper, we see in the Rule-maker a heart that was for the people, that sought to protect them from dangers of which they were unaware. For though we're still not clear about the reason for some of these commandments, others now make a lot of sense (ask anyone who has had to live in a mold-infested house).

Perhaps that is why these writers found "delight" in God's commandments. They knew God was for them and had given them these boundaries and limits for their own good.

We need to have the same attitude about the principles of holy living which apply to us today. Even if we don't understand the reason for them we know:
- They are given for our benefit.
- They come from Someone who loves us and has our best interests at heart.
- They come from Someone who we value and esteem. Our delighted inspection gives us information and knowledge about the Lawgiver.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to delight in Your word — not only its promises but also its commandments. Help me to see beyond their apparent restrictiveness to how You show Yourself to be for me in them. 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.

Fasting: ritual or obedience?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 58:1-14


TO CHEW ON: "Is this not the fast I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

and that you break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked that you cover him

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?" Isaiah 58:6-7

"Fasting is a powerful and effective part of the Christian life," begins a sidebar article about fasting in my Bible (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 942).

Though the dictionary defines "fast" as abstaining partially or wholly from food, it seems that in our focus verse, God is telling the backslidden Israelites  (through Isaiah) that they need to fast from something besides food.

These people are getting frustrated because their fasting isn't getting the expected results.  Isaiah tells them why it isn't effective:

• Because they are treating it as mere ritual and not entering into the self-denial spirit of it: 

  "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure and exploit all your labourers" Isaiah 58:3. 

  "[Is true fasting merely mechanical?] Is it only to bow down his head like a bulrush and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him [to indicate a condition of heart that he does not have]? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?" Isaiah 58:5b - AMP. (emphasis added).

• Because they are treating it as a way to manipulate others and God:  

  "Indeed, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness...To make your voice heard on high" Isaiah 58:4.

What, then is the fast that pleases God?

1. It is a fast from evil. It is ceasing unfairness, oppression, and putting heavy yokes on others (Isaiah 58:6). In other words, we can't expect results from fasting when we're living in blatant sin.

2. It is a fast from self-absorption. It is ceasing to see only our own little world, opening our eyes to the needs of others--the hungry, the poor, even one's own family--and responding with practical help: food, shelter, clothes, compassion.

We could sum up by saying that the fast from food that pleases God begins with the right attitude. It begins with a focus on the things that are important to Him.

The sidebar article with which I began continues:

"Jesus taught that some things are resolved only through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). However, fasting and personal holiness are acceptable to God only when we have our priorities straight....Fasting becomes offensive in God's sight when we ignore the people closest to His heart, the poor, the oppressed, and the needy." Keith W. Phillips, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 942.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me in my observances of spiritual disciplines like fasting, to begin by understanding Your heart for it, and for me through it. Help me to align my priorities with Yours. Amen.

MORE: The purpose of fasting

"It is sobering to realize that the very first statement Jesus made about fasting dealt with the question of motive (Matthew 6:16-18). To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want. At times there is such stress upon the blessings and benefits of fasting that we would be tempted to believe that with a little fast we could have the world, including God, eating out of our hands.


Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained. Like the prophetess Anna, we need to be "worshiping with fasting" (Luke 2:37). Every other purpose must be subservient to God."

- Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, pl. 54.

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

The peacemaking gene

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 5:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed are the peacemakers

For they shall be called the sons of God." Matthew 5:9

When a new baby is born we study its face to see who it looks like—Mom or Dad. Children who never knew their parents, though happy in their adoptive homes, still often experience a strong urge to find their birth parents and discover their blood lines. There is something inside us humans that longs to be part of a family—to know where we come from. When we find our roots, we begin to understand where some of our distinguishing features of body and personality originate.

Being part of God's family is not so different. For just like human children inherit physical features and aspects of temperament from their ancestors, the children of God bear a family likeness. Jesus highlights one trait of the "sons of God" in the part of the Sermon on the Mount that we read today. It's peacemaking.

A sidebar article in my Bible elaborates:

"In our relationship with the heavenly Father, we display our family likeness by manifesting the fruit of the Spirit of peace and in doing what is important to Him: making peace. Jesus said, 'Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God,' and He also said, 'I must be about My Father's business' (Luke 2:49). His last will and testament was, 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you' (John 14:27). He came to bring peace, made peace through the blood of the Cross, and calls us to be peacemakers. Peacemaking is the family business we all need to share" - Loyd Ogilvie in "Call to Unity," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1297.

How does this family trait work itself out in everyday life? From the Bible we see that peacemakers:

• Are slow to get angry, and in this way stifle contention (Proverbs 15:18).

• Defuse potentially explosive situations with wisdom (Proverbs 16:14).

• Hesitate to take a perceived wrong to court, preferring to do all in their power to rectify a situation themselves before bringing in the strong arm of the law (Proverbs 25:8).

• Practice conciliation, even under extreme pressure (Ecclesiastes 10:4).

• Make reconciliation with others a priority (Matthew 5:24), allowing the sensitive conscience of their brother or sister trump their own rights (Romans 14:19-21).

• Show themselves to be spiritually wise by being peaceable (James 3:17).

I ask myself, do I carry this family characteristic? Do you? Would people be able to tell that we're children of God because we are peacemakers?

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where my habits and reactions work against making and keeping peace. Help me to be more of a peacemaker. Amen.

MORE: "My Father's Eyes" by Amy Grant



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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 Key to God's wisdom

"... and a voice came from heaven which said, 

'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.'" Luke 3:22

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

TO CHEW ON: "For the Jews request a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:22-24


If Paul wrote to us moderns today he would still be bang-on. For we still search all over the place—from old religions to nature, outer space to inner thoughts—for spiritual reality and truth. It seems we're willing to accept anything but Jesus.

However, it's in Jesus, Paul tells us, that God's opinion on the matter is in full display: "…but we preach Christ … the power of God and the wisdom of God."

[To be wise is to see clearly what is right and just, to have sound judgment, to be shrewd and calculating. When someone has wisdom they act according to their true and right discernment so that what they do is conformed to and dictated by it - paraphrased from Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary.]

In other words, wisdom acts. So we might say that if Christ is the wisdom of God, the reality of the matter is we humans needed a saviour—Someone to pay the penalty of our sin, that Someone not a sinner Himself,  that Someone being Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18).

Once we've bought into this and accepted Christ's substitutionary atonement, applying God's wisdom to our lives doesn't end. For the wisdom of God, seen in Jesus, now becomes part of us as we live under the direction of the Holy Spirit. How?

Through God's Word, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15). In it we discover not only how to be saved but how the means of our salvation—Jesus, God's wisdom incarnate—lived, the things He demonstrated and taught about what is important and what isn't, what is true riches and what will disappoint, what will last and what will decay, etc.

I love how Leslyn Musch sums it up in the "Truth-In-Action Through 1 Corinthians" article:

"As believers we are made righteous and holy in Jesus alone. Corinthians tells us that, having been sanctified, we are called to live holy lives. Holy living requires that we rely fully on the Lord's wisdom and not the wisdom of the world. … Find true wisdom, power, and holiness in Jesus. Reject living in your own wisdom and ability" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1606 (emphasis added).

Let's let Paul have the last word:

"He (Christ) is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge" Colossians 2:3 GNT.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your wise, all-encompassing plan of sending Jesus to be and show Your wisdom. Help me, through the Holy Spirit, to translate what I see in Him and read about His teachings into my life. 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 GNT are taken from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. 

Your words = your character

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 15:1-5

TO CHEW ON: “Who may abide in Your tabernacle? … He who … speaks truth in his heart.” Psalm 15:1,2


In this short psalm, titled in my Bible “The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the LORD,” it is interesting to note how many of these items that show off character involve speech.

A person of good character, according to David, demonstrates it largely by what he or she says and doesn’t say. A person of good character:

• Cultivates a truthful heart.

Character starts with what we say to ourselves: “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? … He who … speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:1,2). We must begin by speaking honestly with ourselves and, from that inner place, acknowledge and agree with God in what He says about Himself and us.

• Does not “backbite with his tongue” - Psalm 15:3.

The Amplified Bible renders “backbite” “slander”: “He who does not slander with his tongue” - Psalm 15:3 AMP.

• Does not “take up a reproach against a friend” - Psalm 15:3.

A “reproach” (noun) means blame, censure, disgrace, discredit. The person with character shows his/her character by refusing to receive such blame, censure, disgrace, discredit (what we might call gossip) about his friend or neighbor and then pass it on.

• Honors good people, specifically “those who fear the LORD” - Psalm 15:4.

This honor could be shown with actions but certainly could involve words too.

• “… swears to his own hurt and does not change” - Psalm 15:4.

A sidebar article in my Bible rephrases this as a personal application: “Honor commitments and your word even when it is costly to do so” - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action-Through Psalms, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 719.

Despite the saying “Actions speak louder than words,” judging by how often speech is mentioned in this character-defining psalm, what we say or don’t say is undeniably important in displaying our own and discerning another’s character. We do well to ask ourselves, what do my words tell me, what do they tell you of my character?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart / Be acceptable in Your sight, / O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). 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 AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The work of fruitless effort

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Micah 6:1-16

TO CHEW ON: “You shall sow, but not reap;
You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
And make sweet wine but not drink wine.” Micah 6:15


Have you ever experienced fruitless effort—worked hard on a project only to have it fall apart before it was finished; created a product that didn’t sell; put years into training that never yielded a dollar of return in salary?

Fruitless effort is what Micah is predicting here for the people of Judah and Israel? But why? The preceding verses of Micah 6 give us some clues:

• Their worship had become a dead form and ritual (Micah 6:6,7). The attitude of their hearts was far from complying with the three things that God required: “But to do justly / To love mercy, / And to walk humbly with your God” - Micah 6:8.

• Their work was characterized by evil and deceit. Notice the list of things that offended God in the way they went about their day-to-day business: “...wickedness … short measure … wicked scales … deceitful weights … violence … lies … tongue is deceitful…” Micah 6:10-12.

• These practices seemed to have become part of their culture, a culture that developed under ungodly kings: “For the statues of Omri are kept/ All the works of Ahab’s house are done; / And you walk in their counsels” - Micah 6:16.

Could it be that some of our work failures, our fruitless effort fiascos, come about for the same reasons? We shove justice and mercy to the bottom of the priority list (aren’t they more for bleeding hearts?). Instead of walking with God we drag behind or race ahead of Him, working to our own timetables and ambitions? We mimic the work practices of the culture around us. Why not work for cash and so avoid reporting income and paying tax? Why not take a few office supplies home for the kids? Why not call in sick when we feel we need a day off? Everyone else is doing and getting away with it!

A paragraph on this passage in the Theology of Work Bible Commentary sums it up well:

“This is a reminder that the world of work does not exist in a vacuum, separated from the rest of life. If we do not ground our values and priorities in God’s covenant, then our lives and work will be ethically and spiritually incoherent. If we do not please God in our work, we cannot please him in our worship” -  Theology of Work Commentary, accessed through BibleGateway.com (emphasis added).

And if we do not please Him in our work, we should not be surprised if He withholds His blessing from our efforts.

PRAYER: Dear Father, please help me to keep justice, mercy, and walking with you (not ahead or behind) at the top of my work priorities. 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.

The necessity of Jesus School

"Saul Stricken" - Rubens

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Galatians 1:11-24

TO CHEW ON: “But when it pleased God … to reveal His Son to me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” - Galatians 1:15-17


Today the church celebrates the conversion of the Apostle Paul (first known as Saul). The story of his miraculous turnaround is in Acts 9:1-21.

Those of us who have switched careers or taken on new roles can begin to appreciate what a whiplash experience Paul’s conversion must have been to him. His whole world had been rocked. Everything he had staked his life on as a Jewish leader and Pharisee was now in question. He had been an expert but now he was a baby, a complete novice in this new belief system. All he knew was that Jesus was real, had knocked him off his feet, spoken to him, called him, made him helplessly blind, then sent someone to pray for him.

Our reading in Galatians talks about a three-year silent period in Paul’s life (Galatians 1:17,18). During this time he went off somewhere secluded—Arabia—and received divine instruction. We could probably put this period of time between Acts 9:21 (where news of his conversion sparked amazement) and Acts 9:22 (where we see him confounding the Jews in his hometown of Damascus).

I think there is something we can learn here about the timing of placing people in ministry (and going into ministry ourselves). When a big name celebrity comes to faith, the temptation is to schedule them on the rounds of radio and TV shows and display them on a pedestal as Christianity’s latest trophy and voice.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t give popular personalities a platform to share their coming-to-faith stories. But I do think we should be wary of looking to them as experts in the Christian faith.

If even the brilliant and theologically savvy Apostle Paul needed three years of Jesus School, how much more a movie, pop music, or sports personality needs a little time in Arabia before we lean on them for teaching and direction.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me not to be star-struck by new Christians who  have been successful by the world’s standards. Please give me discernment about who I allow to speak into my life and influence me. Amen.

MORE: The Conversion of St. Paul

Today the church celebrates Conversion of St. Paul. Here is the collect prayer that begins the day’s liturgy:

O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

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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.

Exploring some Bible images

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 21:22-22:5

TO CHEW ON: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

One of a poet’s tools to enrich and thicken a piece of writing is to plant within it allusions to past works of great literature and art. In that department, John’s vision of the New Jerusalem here is a visual poem that has those of us who love the Bible and its images in a tizzy of making connections. Here are a few, made with just three images from this passage:

LIGHT - Revelation 21:23,24; 22:5

• Light is the first thing God created - Genesis 1:3.

• God led Israel through their wilderness wanderings with a cloud that lit up at night - Exodus 13:2122.

• Light shone from Moses’ face after he had been with God - Exodus 34:29-35.

• Lights accompanied the announcement of Jesus’ birth - Matthew 2:1,2; Luke 2:9.

• Jesus declared Himself the light of the world - John 8:12.

• Light shone brilliantly at His transfiguration - Matthew 17:2.

• The light was snuffed out at His death - Mark 15:33.

NO MORE EVIL - Revelation 21:27; 22:3.

• The “curse” (Revelation 22:3) was first pronounced in Genesis 3:14-19.

• The giving of the Ten Commandments that help us understand God’s standard of right and wrong - Exodus 20:1-17.

• The rules of washing and purification that accompanied the Jewish sacrificial system (found throughout its descriptions, e.g. Numbers 8:6,7,15,21).

• Christ’s higher-than-the-law standard of right and wrong - Matthew 5,6,7.

• Christ’s blood shed to wash away and cleanse the stain of our sin - 1 John 1:7.

WATER - Revelation 22:1,2

• The river of life-giving water in Ezekiel’s vision - Ezekiel 47:1-12 (this vision also has a temple and healing trees in it).

• Jesus promised the Samaritan woman living water - John 4:13,14.

• Jesus invited all to come to Him to drink and themselves become sources of living water - John 7:37,38.

I'm sure you could find more connections to the items I've chosen and we could choose more items and continue to make connections. The Bible has many references to the temple, gates, nations, healing, the Lamb’s Book of Life, the Tree of Life. (Maybe you'd like to work on those!)

These connections are what make the Bible such a rich and exciting book. They leave me in awe and wonder and praise—what depth, what a consistent message flowing through 66 books despite a variety of writers, what a Master Author!


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your amazing Word, presented to us through so many writers. Help me to hear what You are saying—today about light, purity, living water—and apply these things to my life. 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.