February 24, 2010- Give me Strength

Scripture to read today:
Numbers 14; Numbers 15; Numbers 16; Mark 3

Scripture that spoke to me:
Numbers 14:2-3
All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Observation:
The Israelites are sure a bunch of whiners. They have sent 12 men to explore the promised land and do not like the report they got- the land is beautiful and fertile but the people are fierce. The Israelites, in their own eyes, are beaten before the battle has begun. They don’t have faith in their God. They don’t really have faith in themselves.

Application:
I can identify with this sometimes, though. I have forgotten this in my efforts to lose this last 20 lbs. It is hard- I can’t do it. But I haven’t put it on my prayer list- haven’t asked the Master for help in doing it. Yes it might still be hard, but He will help me do it. This applies to many other things. After all, Jesus says “ask and you will receive.” And Paul reminds us, in Philippians 4:13, that I “can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” And that’s a wonderful thing!

Prayer:
Lord, I’m weak. I give in to cake and french fries. I like food too much and it affects my health. Please give me the strength that it will take to be the healthiest I can be- to make good food choices, to find time for the gym, and to treat my body like the holy vessel that You created it to be. Amen.

January 30, 2010- Walking with God

Scripture to read today:
Exodus 25; Exodus 26; Exodus 27; Acts 6

Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 6:10
But they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

Observation:
Stephen was walking with God and was full of the Holy Spirit. No matter who tried to oppose him, they couldn’t fault what he was speaking. They had to go to the Sanedrin with lies and false witnesses.

Application:
When you’re walking with God, it shows. I wonder sometimes what people see when they look at me. Do they see someone walking with God or someone sold out to the world? I hope it is the first but often I find myself wallowing in the things of this world. I like them- they bring pleasure, they feel good…

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for those times that I turn my back on You for the pleasures of the world. Let me come back to You. Amen.

August 24, 2009- Freedom

Scripture to read today:

Jeremiah 33; Jeremiah 34; Psalm 74; 1 John 5

Scripture that spoke to me:
Jeremiah 34:17
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD -’freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Observation:
The law of the Jews required that they free their Hebrew slaves once every 7 years. This kept the people out of bondage and kept their own countrymen free. Here, we see that it is the 7th year and the slaves have been freed and then re-captured. The Lord is telling the people that they will all be captured by the evils that they have done themselves.

Application:
The word “freedom” is what caught my eye. We are all free to do whatever we please. Sure, some things are unlawful, but we choose whether or not to follow the law, too. However, it is what we choose to do with our freedom that counts. We are free to love or hate; believe or be skeptical; choose life or choose death. Freedom doesn’t mean that we’re free to do whatever we want- freedom means we’re free to choose the path that we want to follow. Every path has its own rules and its own limitations, but to choose to follow the path of Christ is the most freeing path of all.

Prayer:
Lord, let me choose my freedom wisely, so that others see that the freedom found in Jesus is desirable. Amen.

August 2, 2009- Prayers for our Leaders

Scripture to read today:

2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33; John 4

Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Kings 21:11-13
“Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

Observation:
A nation looks to its leaders for the way it should go. A good leader will keep his people prosperous and good. A bad leader will lead his people to ruin. Here, Manasseh is worshiping other gods, defiling the temple, and causing disaster in Jerusalem. The people are going to pay for his bad leadership.

Application:
What can we do to save ourselves from bad leadership? Sure, we have the power of a vote, but even that power will not help us for another 3 years. If we choose to follow our leader, I’m afraid of where we will end up. If we rebel against our leader, I’m afraid of where we’ll end up. In light of that, we can only follow God and what He wants for our lives. Pray earnestly, that our country and our friends and family will be held up before God as righteous and good and that one day our country will return to the principles that it was founded upon- liberty under God.

Prayer:
Lord, I pray that you spare the people of this country who truly love You and seek You. Help our leaders realize that they do have the power to lead people, either to redemption or destruction. Enter their hearts and minds so that their choice is redemption. Cause a revival in the land that promotes Your ideals of love and understanding. Amen.

July 3, 2009- You’re Rocking the Boat

Scripture to read today:

Isaiah 6; Isaiah 7; 2 Chronicles 26; 2 Chronicles 27; Philemon 1

Scripture that spoke to me:
Isaiah 7:9b
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

Observation:
The metaphor that comes to mind is of the man with one foot in the boat and one on the shore. He has to choose to be on one or the other or he will fall.

Application:
I think we try to stand like the man in the boat- one foot in God and one in the world. It is so hard to put both feet in the boat with God because we want to be anchored to the land. But God has the true anchor- and as we float scarily, we have to remember that Jesus calms the storms in our boat.

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for giving us an anchor. Help me to trust in You more and more. Amen.

June 30, 2009- Evolution v. Creationism

Scripture to read today:
Amos 7-9; Psalm 104; Titus 2

Scripture that spoke to me:
Psalm 104: 19-24
The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Observation:
The Lord made everything- and He made everything work together for good. The animals, the seasons- in all, He was wise in His creation.

Application:
We have spent a lot of time and money trying to figure out how things are made and how they work. We have even divided ourselves over some ideas (evolution v. creationism). I have a hard time worrying about this, though. God made it (and in Genesis, it tells us God saw that it was good) and I don’t need to know how He did it. I just need to know THAT He did it.

Prayer:
Lord, You are amazing in Your creation. Thanks for making such good stuff, however You did it! Amen.

June 27, 2009- Making up the Rules

Scripture to read today:
2 Kings 13, 14; 2 Chronicles 25; 2 Timothy 3

Scripture that spoke to me:
2 Kings 13:18-19
Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

Observation:
Elisha told Jehoash (King of Israel) to take the Lord’s arrows and strike the ground. Because the king chose to strike the ground three times, he would only win three times. He could have chosen to hit the ground once or 10 times, but he didn’t know what the rules were.

Application:
Do we know the rules, or make them up as we go along? The choices we make – even seemingly small decisions – have an effect on the future. And at times, the “rules” are only revealed after our choice.

Prayer:
Lord, let me be mindful of how the things I do today affect me tomorrow. Amen.

June 2, 2009- Define Sin

Scripture to read today:

Proverbs 22; Proverbs 23; Proverbs 24; Romans 14

Scripture that spoke to me:
Romans 14:17-18
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Observation:
Paul points out that what one man considers right, another considers wrong. And they’re both right! Those who believe they sin by eating a certain food will sin in their hearts if they eat it. Those who think that drinking wine is wrong will feel guilty if they drink wine. But the kingdom is not determined by what we eat or drink, but by believing in Jesus and serving Him.

Application:
Scott and I got in a deep discussion about sin last night. We both agree that sin is anything that separates you from God. For instance, he believes that drinking is a sin for Him because of where it leads him and how it separates him from Christ. I can have a glass of wine at book club or out with friends and it does me no harm. It is not a sin for me. I have a tendency to separate myself from God by focusing more on other people than on Him. Therefore, I have to watch to balance my time with God and my time with others, for my enabler tendencies get in the way of my relationship with Him.

Prayer:
Lord, lead us closer to You. Remove the obstacles, which we create for ourselves, that separate us from fully loving and worshiping You. Amen.

May 28, 2009- Instructing the Wise

Scripture to read today:

Proverbs 7; Proverbs 8; Proverbs 9; Romans 9

Scripture that spoke to me:
Proverbs 9:8-9
Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.

Observation:
If you are wise, you will know that wisdom is not an end- it is a journey. You can never know it all. Therefore, you would like to learn something every day- add to your learning. If you’re vain and foolish and think you know it all, you are not willing to be instructed in what you don’t know.

Application:
Scott is going to lead a new ministry at our church called Celebrate Recovery. This is for anyone who needs healing, from addictions, divorce, abuse, etc. I’m excited for him, but I’m thinking this could help me, too. I realize that I’m an enabler. I help too much. I’m hoping there is something in there for me as well. He made a comment that he had noticed I did something- now he can’t remember what it was- and recognized it as one of my enabler tendencies. I asked him to point out those things to me (and I can’t believe he didn’t do it anyway!) because the more I notice what I’m doing, the more I can learn from it. I want to learn, and grow, and improve- bring it on!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please let me see that there is so much knowledge out there that I will never even be introduced to all of it, but help me receive it with a willing spirit. Amen.

May 9, 2009- The Big Picture

Scripture to read today:

2 Samuel 17; Psalm 71; Matthew 26

Scripture that spoke to me:
Matthew 26:53-54
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

Observation:
Jesus knows that he fulfills all prophesy about the Messiah. This is the prophesy that has yet to be fulfilled- that the Son of Man will die on the cross and be raised up again in three days. He doesn’t want to do it- he has prayed to God at least twice to spare him- but he realizes that it has to happen in order for the plan to work. He has the power to stop it but doesn’t use it.

Application:
How many times do we know we have to do something that we don’t want to do- but we know it is the best thing to do. Scott’s dog died yesterday. She was at the Humane Society, and they would have disposed of the body. But we knew that we had to go get her and bring her back and bury her. So we did. It wasn’t easy. It would have been easier to let them do it. But we needed the sadness and closure. Savannah needed a grave. She also needed to see. I could think of many other examples- where you see the big picture, even though you don’t like a detail or two of it.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to see and understand the big picture, and know the best things to do. Amen.