May 5, 2010- In One Word- LOVE

Scripture to read today:
2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 20; Psalm 20; Matthew 22

Scripture that spoke to me:
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Observation:
It is all about love. Pretty simple when you put it the way Jesus did. Love God. Love each other. All the rest is taken care of in those two simple things.

Application:
Except it isn’t that simple sometimes. I find I constantly compare myself to others- am I better than she is? Oh, he’s better at that than I am. It is hard to love others who we find irritating- or wrong in our minds- or annoying- or different. Love doesn’t come easy, especially when it isn’t reciprocated.

Prayer:
Lord of Love, love us. Help us to love You and love each other. Amen.

March 9, 2010- God in the Lying Down and the Getting Up

Scripture to read today:
Deuteronomy 10; Deuteronomy 11; Deuteronomy 12; Mark 16

Scripture that spoke to me:
Deuteronomy 11:16;18-19
“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods… So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

Observation:
God just wants us to love and worship Him. That’s all it comes down to, really. But we get so distracted that we forget. Here, he is reminding us to make sure to remember- write it on your forehead… teach it to your children… and talk about the Lord. That is the best way to keep Him in the center of your life. Satan is pretty sneaky. He can creep in where you don’t expect him to be. He will take any chance to deceive that he can find, so we must make sure that God it with us at all times.. in the lying down as well as in the getting up! We can do this by making sure that we are talking about God and talking to God throughout the day. Treating Him as a member of the family, and making sure that our children know Him, too.

Application:
It isn’t always easy to keep God in the center of our lives. I got a pretty good reminder today of His presence, though. You see, I look for God in the coincidences around me. Usually when things just happen that really shouldn’t there God is. This week at Unity, the color of the week is orange. (My pastor is doing a “Colors of Grace” theme for Lent, and this week it is the torchlight scene- Jesus taking on the concerns for everyone.) Anyway, she wants the children’s sermon to be about absorption- Jesus absorbing the hurt and pain for us all on the cross. She asked if I had any small sticky dots that she could give them so that they could put them on the cross (like giving Jesus their hurt, or the way they had hurt someone else.) When I looked for some, there was an entire pack of orange ones! Then, they usually get a small token to take with them to remind them of the lesson. She asked what we had found that was orange- and it was pencil erasers! (Jesus erasing the hurt…) Brought tears to my eyes to see it work out so perfectly! God is good!

Prayer:
Lord, You are everything to us. We want You with us always, no matter where we are or what time of day it is. Always. Forgive us when we wander off and forget You. Gently remind us of Your presence at all times. Thank You for the eerie reminder today, too. I know You’re here and that You are always at work. Amen.

March 8, 2010- You Love Me Why?

Scripture to read today:
Deuteronomy 7; Deuteronomy 8; Deuteronomy 9; Mark 15

Scripture that spoke to me:
Deuteronomy 7:7-8a
“The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you.

Observation:
Moses is reminding the people of the one truth you can count on- God loves you. Not because they were a mighty nation, but because they were HIS nation.

Application:
That applies to us, too. God doesn’t love us for what we do, what we look like, how nice we are… He loves us because we are His. And He’ll never leave us, no matter what!

Prayer:
Thank You, Lord, for choosing me to be Your child and for loving me no matter what. Amen.

February 11, 2010- Do Not Be Afraid

Scripture to read today:
Leviticus 15; Leviticus 16; Leviticus 17; Acts 18

Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 18:9
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.”

Observation:
As I was reading this very factual account of the travels of Paul and his friends, it never gave me much of a reason for Paul to feel scared. But if God is saying “fear not” Paul must have been fearful of his situation. To trust God is hard sometimes, but to not trust Him is even worse.

Application:
Did you know that the phrase “do not be afraid” appears in the Bible 365 times? That’s once for every day of the year! The God I know would not have done that accidentally. To me, that says we should never fear- 24/7/365. But that’s sure hard to do! There’s a lot to be afraid of in this world but with God, we find our security.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to not fear but to trust You even more. Amen.

February 10, 2010- Our Known God

Scripture to read today:
Leviticus 13; Leviticus 14; Acts 17

Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 17:23
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

Observation:
The Greeks had many gods, one for every element and emotion you could think of. Many icons and idols were scattered throughout the city, including this one to “an unknown god.” Paul took the opportunity to introduce the people to Jesus.

Application:
How many people need to know about an unknown God? Some people don’t even know that there is a God. But we’re lucky that our God has made Himself known through many mighty acts. And He works in our lives so that others can see His goodness through us.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for making Yourself known to us, for allowing us to know You and love You and serve You, and for loving us. Amen.

February 5, 2010- God in the Coincidences

Scripture to read today:
Exodus 39; Exodus 40; Psalm 15; Acts 12

Scripture that spoke to me:
Acts 12:1-3
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Observation:
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also known as the Passover Feast. This is the same feast that Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion. Just like Jesus was rescued from the grave, Peter was delivered from the hand of Herod.

Application:
I love to find God in the coincidences- those little things that make you go “hmmm….” There are little things all around that, when viewed through the lens of God, help to magnify Him and let us see just how great and awesome He is. Check out this video about laminin. (Start at about 2:30 if you don’t want to watch the entire thing.)

Prayer:
Lord, You do so many miraculous things that we don’t even see, know, or understand. But You are mighty and every now and then, allow us a glimpse into just how intricately we are made and just how much You love us. Thank You for being a mighty God who loves us completely. Amen.

January 11, 2010- Hearing Voices

Scripture to read today:
Genesis 27; Genesis 28; Psalm 4; Luke 11

Scripture that spoke to me:
Genesis 28:16
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Observation:
Jacob sees the angels of the Lord ascending and descending from heaven to earth. The Lord has appeared to him and tells him of His plans for Jacob and his descendants. Jacob is astonished at the Lord’s presence.

Application:
This verse first caught my eye because something in my head said “well of course He was there- He’s everywhere!” But as I thought about it a little more, I realized how astonished I would be to have an encounter like this one. Jacob had something revealed to him and heard the voice of the Lord. Although I know He is everywhere, I don’t often hear his voice. Maybe it is because I don’t stop and listen, like Jacob did.

Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the noise around me that seems to block out Your voice. I do want to hear what You want to tell me. Amen.

December 12, 2009- Knowing God

Scripture to read today:
Hebrews 5; Hebrews 6; Hebrews 7; Hebrews 8

Scripture that spoke to me:
Hebrews 8:7-8; 10-11
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said:
“The time is coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah…
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.

Observation:
That new covenant is found in the blood of Jesus Christ, the same Christ that we eagerly await this advent season. My biggest sadness is that not more people know the joy that comes from knowing Him.

Application:
I can’t change other people, but I can change me. I can get to know Him even better. And I can do that by continuing to read and study, to go to church, and to pray.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, let me know You better. Continue to show me who You are through Your word and Your people. Amen.

December 2, 2009- Balancing Money

Scripture to read today:

Romans 9; Romans 10; Romans 11; Romans 12

Scripture that spoke to me:
Romans 11:16
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Observation:
This makes good sense. If our offering is holy then so is the rest of our money. This means that the other 90% came from God, too, and should be considered as His money as well. That makes what I do with it even more important.

Application:
I live pretty frugally, but I can waste money, too. I eat out too much- 3 or 4 times a week for either lunch or dinner. I know I could save money if I packed my lunch, but I enjoy the social time. If it really came down to it, I could save some money that way. If it is all God’s money, what would He want me doing with it? I pay my bills, usually on time or early, and I do tithe. But I’m not sure I’m totally spending the way that would make Him proud.

Prayer:
Lord, guide me in the way You would want me to go with my finances. I am giving and like to help people if I can. I also enjoy being able to enjoy myself. Help me find the balance. Amen.

November 15, 2009- Experiencing God

Scripture to read today:

Job 41; Job 42; 2 Corinthians 1; 2 Corinthians 2

Scripture that spoke to me:
Job 42:5
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.

Observation:
Job knew all about God. He was as faithful a servant as he could be, but until he saw God’s goodness with his own eyes, he didn’t get the full impact of the awesomeness of the Lord.

Application:
I know a lot about God. I read. I go to Bible study. I go to church. I can have all the knowledge that there is, but if I have not seen God firsthand in my life, it is like knowing all about the Revolutionary War- I may know it but never experience it. And it is a real treat to experience God. He is all around, and it doesn’t take a lot to see Him. Just stop for a minute somewhere and look around. He created everything you see. And when you look at His creation, you see some really amazing things!

Prayer:
Lord, I honor You for who You are. You are truly an amazing God. Thank you for being with us and allowing us to see You through Your creation. Amen.