November 21, 2009- Belief

Scripture to read today:

Matthew 8; Matthew 9; Matthew 10

Scripture that spoke to me:
Matthew 9:28-29
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”;

Observation:
Belief is the key to all the gifts of God. Just like these blind men believed and were granted their sight, we have to believe that God is who He says He is (I AM) and He will do what He promises to do.

Application:
This is one of my biggest challenges. I do believe in God- I do believe He can do anything. But sometimes I don’t believe He will. I tend to ask for things, pray for situations, where I ask God to do something if He wants to. I think I’m leaving a way for my spirit to not be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. And I know you can pray for healing and not get it. I know you can pray and have Him answer “no.” But I need to learn to approach prayer not timidly but boldly. Just ask and believe that He will come through. No, not for a million dollars or for unnecessary things, but for love, goodness, forgiveness, and peace.

Prayer:
Lord, grant me love, peace, goodness, and forgiveness. I know You offer these freely to those who believe- and I do believe. Help me not to carry a troubled and weary heart, but a heart that is so full of Your goodness that it spills out onto others and gives them love and peace as well. Amen.

October 30, 2009- Random Verses

I’ve not felt good this week- and with some time off from work and crazy things going on, I’ve taken a break from this daily routine. It has also begun to feel more like work than pleasure. So, to try to recapture some of my earlier enthusiasm, today I grabbed a Bible, closed my eyes, and opened it and pointed. Here’s what I read:

Matthew 5:44 – Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Hmm…. I struggle with this. Love your enemies? What does that mean. Paul defines love in 1 Corinthians 13 as something that is patient, kind, and DOESN”T KEEP A RECORD OF WRONGS. Yikes! So if you love your enemies, and you’re not keeping a record of wrongs, they’re not really your enemies after all, are they? I think that was Jesus’ idea all along.

So I thought maybe I’d go in search of a “better” verse- can’t I have something that will give me the warm fuzzies today? So, I turned blindly again and pointed to:

John 15: 18- If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.

Thanks a lot! This one just kept the thoughts going. So if I have no enemies (because I’m not keeping score, and I’m loving) that doesn’t mean that others are doing the same for me. So there will be people out there who don’t like me. Who will laugh at me, talk bad about me, and maybe even worse things than that. So here’s Jesus again, reminding me that he was hated, scorned, persecuted, and crucified long before someone made a remark about me. In other words, he totally knows what I’m going through when someone is mean to me. So we have a loving Savior, who understands what it is to love, to love those who don’t treat you well, and is compassionate and knows that it hurts us to do this.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you have so much to teach us about how to treat each other. Help me be the person that you want me to be- one that shows the love you have for us to others. Amen.

October 13, 2009- Learning from History

Scripture to read today:

Nehemiah 9; Nehemiah 10; Acts 2

Scripture that spoke to me:
Nehemiah 9:16-17
“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.

Observation:
I’m reading this thinking that “our ancestors” could be us now! The Jews messed up so often, turning to other gods, letting their daily lives distract them from worship, and forgetting all the good things that God had done for them. But God was always forgiving- slow to anger and rich in love. He was giving grace then and He still offers us grace now.

Application:
I get so caught up in what has to be done today that I don’t look toward heaven. I’m sure I miss many blessings along the way. Thank goodness God is slow to anger- I’m sure  He has been mad at me more than once! And He is forgiving. More than that, He knows me and understands me. He can help me become the Christian He had in mind for me to be!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, keep shaping me into the person You want me to be. Help me see that things in this life are secondary to loving and worshiping You. Amen.

September 23, 2009- Help me Jesus

Scripture to read today:

Daniel 11; Daniel 12; Luke 6

Scripture that spoke to me:
Luke 6: 27-28
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

Observation:
This is one of the hardest challenges Jesus gave. Love your enemies? But he goes on to explain that it is easy to love those who love you. The challenge for those who follow him is to love everyone as an equal. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Show the world that there is a better way to live than the way they’re living now.

Application:
I don’t even know that I can really apply this. I’m supposed to love those who hurt me? Forgiveness I can get to, but LOVE? Forgiveness is hard enough- compassion is a stretch- love seems impossible. Yet that is the challenge Jesus offers- treat everyone else the way that you would like to be treated? That would be easy if I just wanted to be left alone, but I want friends. I want to be told that I matter to someone. I want to be able to make a difference from someone. Maybe I can do this, but it is going to take a lot of work and a lot of help.

Prayer:
Oh, Jesus, why did you say it? Why did you make things so hard? I find it so easy to love You, and love myself, but to love someone who has hurt me, hurt my family… that’s a tough one. I don’t know that I can get that right without Your help. Please help me to live the way you taught- and give me the strength to do so when every cell I have is screaming for another way. Amen.

September 16, 2009- New Again

Scripture to read today:

Ezekiel 40; Ezekiel 41; Psalm 128; Revelation 21

Scripture that spoke to me:
Revelation 21:5
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

Observation:
Jesus came to make all things new. He brought a new covenant, so that if we accept Him as our Savior and ask for His forgiveness, we can have eternal life in heaven.

Application:
No one likes to follow a bunch of rules. We don’t appreciate the government intrusion into our lives- no talking on the phone while driving, wear your seat belt, etc. We just don’t like to be told what to do. But rules exist for our benefit- they are helpful to us. God gave the Israelites many rules that were helpful to them- ways to eat, worship, treat each other… but like many rules that have to be followed, the people looked for loopholes. They got so caught up in following the rules (or not) that they forgot why the rules were there to begin with. That’s where Jesus comes in. He came to remind us that the most important thing was to love God and love each other. It’s all about love.

Prayer:
Lord, I love You.  Help me to love others as I love myself. Amen.

September 14, 2009- Love with Service

Scripture to read today:

Ezekiel 36; Ezekiel 37; Psalm 110; Revelation 19

Scripture that spoke to me:
Ezekiel 36:9
See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted.

Application:
The Lord is promising to bring the children of Israel home. He isn’t banishing them forever. They will be a prosperous people again. The Lord cares for His people.

Observation:
If you care for someone, you pay attention to them. You help them when they are in trouble. That is why love and service go hand in hand- why James says that faith without deeds is dead. Because loving means wanting to make life better for someone else. It means paying attention to them and to their needs.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, help me to love more people. Help us all to love each other and put hands to that love. I imagine a world where our goal is to help each other. What a wonderful world that would be, full of the love You have for us. Help me to do my part. Amen.

September 5, 2009- What Can I Give Him?

Scripture to read today:

Ezekiel 25; Ezekiel 26; Ezekiel 27; Ezekiel 28; Revelation 10

Scripture that spoke to me:
Ezekiel 28:5-7
Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich,
and your riches have made you very proud.
“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Because you think you are as wise as a god,
I will now bring against you a foreign army,
the terror of the nations.
They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom
and defile your splendor!

Observation:
This message from the Lord was for the king of Tyre, who thought he was so powerful that he was a god. God points out to him that he is just a man- one who can die at the hand of another, not a god powerful enough to save himself. Wisdom and splendor will do nothing for him.

Application:
We rely on wisdom. We’re smart enough to know how to do things, how to get through this world. And we rely on splendor- or at least money- to buy what we need. Facing God, wisdom and splendor mean nothing. He has more wisdom that we can ever match, and His kingdom contains more splendor than we can conceive of.  In fact, all that we have comes from Him to start with! So what can we face God with? Only our love, praise, and humility. For it is only by His grace that we will face Him at all.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me remember that all I have- wisdom, my family, my stuff- comes from You. I can give you nothing that You don’t already have except for my love and my praise. Amen.

September 4, 2009- Marked By God

Scripture to read today:

Ezekiel 22; Ezekiel 23; Ezekiel 24; Revelation 9

Scripture that spoke to me:
Revelation 9:4
They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Observation:
Revelation is full of imagery and symbols. Here, locusts are let loose on the earth to sting like scorpions. They are to leave the people marked by God alone.

Application:
Are you marked by God? How would anyone know? Take a step back and look at your life. Would someone looking in from the outside know that you follow the Lord? I know that following God means that your life will be different from those around you. It may mean that you don’t participate in some things. It may mean that you are laughed at and left out. But it does mean that you are full of love and compassion for others, not hate and greed and gossip. We are marked by God with a peaceful smile….

Prayer:
Lord, bring me Your peace, Your love, Your grace so that others can see You through me. Amen.

August 23, 2009- Real Love

Scripture to read today:

Jeremiah 31; Jeremiah 32; 1 John 4

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 John 4:16-18
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Observation:
Love is what binds us to God. The love we have for Him, the love He has for us, and the love we have for each other. True love overcomes fear- if we have love, if we have God, there is no need to fear anything. Jesus had real love- he didn’t like what a lot of people were doing, but He loved them enough to sit and talk with them, explain things to them, and die for them.

Application:
I think of all different kinds of love- the love I have for my family, for my friends, for things (and yes, don’t we say “I love my car” or “I love french fries” and such?) Much of that love is conditional. We love our friends until they say something nasty about us, or until they betray us, and then we hate them instead. We love our family, but as my cousin pointed out yesterday, there are some unlovable people in our family, too. And even french fries let me down! What we should have is true love for each other. The kind that doesn’t fear- or doesn’t care- if we are loved in return (because we are loved by God!) The kind of love that uplifts those around us. And this is hard, because I’ve been hurt many times by people I love, and there is a real tendency to not stick my heart out there again to get it crushed. But real love doesn’t fear. Real love just loves because it can’t do anything else.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to love others, and You, with a real love that isn’t scared. And help me include people who have hurt me and people I don’t like very much. Amen.

August 19, 2009- Love is a Verb

Scripture to read today:

Jeremiah 45; Jeremiah 46; Jeremiah 47; Psalm 105; John 21

Scripture that spoke to me:
John 21:16
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

Observation:
Peter loved Jesus. No matter if he denied Him three times, Peter was a devoted disciple. Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves Him (maybe as a way for Peter to make up for the denial) and commands Peter to take care of His sheep. If Peter loves Jesus, he will care for those around him, not as proof that he loves, but because he loves.

Application:
Love is a verb- it cannot sit still. Love requires action. If you love someone, you want to do things for them. You want to make their life easier. So because we love Jesus, we should want to care for those around us, too. Sometimes that is hard- I know I want to pick and choose who I think is worthy of help- but Jesus asked that we take care of His sheep. Feed my lambs- take care of my sheep.

Prayer:
Lord, let me do a better job at taking care of Your sheep. Help my love have action. Amen.