December 29: Of Sundays, Christmas and Rabid Fans

Zecharaiah 14:1-21

Revelation 20:1-15

Psalm 148:1-14

Proverbs 31:8-9

The holidays have been great for sports fans.  College football is coming to a close and the bowl games have been very exciting.  Not to be outdone, the NFL completed its playoff lineup with some pretty hotly contested games yesterday.  And the NBA even had five games on Christmas Day (and alright, I admit I did watch Lebron return to Miami.  It was so uplifting to see how Miami welcomed him back, grateful for all he'd done for the team - cheers, video tribute, hugs all around).  Through it all, there were cheering, adoring, sometimes rabid fans - live, on TV, on the radio, even on the internet for highlights; fans who'd pledged their allegiance, and who now painted their faces, screamed their adulation, even got into fights for their team.  Such commitment!  And to whom?  Well, admittedly, to people who are capable of doing some pretty amazing things (check out 32 year old Dwayne Wade's putback dunk in the Cavs game, or Antonio Brown's 70 yard punt return for a touchdown against the Bengals).  

Today's readings describe some even more amazing things.  In the psalm, we are reminded of what God did in creation - "praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.  Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at His command they were created, and He established them for ever and ever - He issued a decree that will never pass away."  You want to talk amazing?  Consider the totality of Michael Jordan's career against this: that Someone created each and every single heavenly body, established the rules by which they would exist and interact, and by His will continued enforce those rules.  In the reading from Revelation, we are reminded of His complete dominion - you know the devil who has so consistently and constantly plagued the world, inexorably turning it to its image as we sit helpless however much we try to fight sin in our lives?  Revelation describes the battle almost matter-of-factly, in one and a half verses: "But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.  And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beat and the false prophet had been thrown.  And they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."  So quickly, so easily, so completely, victory won - no suspense, no doubt about the outcome.   Complete domination, blink and you miss it.  Or how about the OT reading, where Zecharaiah describes how "the Lord will strike all nations that fought against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths."  And it gets better - Israel doesn't have to lift a finger, because God will cause them to "seize each other by the hand and attach one another".  

You want to talk amazing?  You can have your Joe Montana, your Michael Jordan and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, your Derek Jeter and your Randy Johnson, your MIchael Phelps.  They do not come anywhere near what the Bible tells us God has done.  And yet..and yet...there seem to be more people, with intensely more passion, at football stadiums around the country on Saturdays and Sundays than can be seen in churches.  There appear to be more people raving about the great play and arguing the bad call around water coolers Monday morning than there are people talking about the miracles God has, and continues to work, in their lives.  And there appear to be more people pushing and shoving to get player autographs, more people bidding at auction for time with their sports idols, more people celebrating the occasional contact with a sports celebrity than there are pushing and shoving to get into church, finding time to spend time with God in the morning, talking about the God sightings in their lives.  

I think the problem isn't complicated.  When one doesn't know Joe Montana, it is difficult to appreciate the 49ers comeback he led against the Bengals with less than 2 minutes to go in the 1987 Superbowl.  When one doesn't know Bill Russell, it is impossible to comprehend the magnitude of his dominance and, consequently, the dominance of that era of the Boston Celtics.  And when one doesn't know Mariano Rivera, of course they wouldn't know anything about his ironman resilience as the best closer ever in baseball.  And if we don't know our Lord, it is impossible to understand His dominion and power.  It is impossible for us to be like the angels who, rightly, spend all their days circling His throne crying "Holy!  Holy!  Holy!"  

What then the answer?  If you are reading this, then you've been part of our Biblical journey this year.  In 3 days, we are going to start over.  Even better than reading old sports page articles, looking over old box scores and watching old footage, we are going to re-read our Lord's living Word, to try and get to know Him better.  Perhaps then we - no, perhaps at the end of next year, I will have gotten to know Him better, and will consequently be closer to being as passionate, as rabid a fan of our Lord as I once was of Joe Montana and Julius Erving.  

Join us.

Dec 28

Revelation 19

 

Have you ever heard the line, "It's not what you know, but it's who you know?" I heard of a lady who carried that truth to the bitter end. This lady wanted to marry four different men in her lifetime. She said each one would help her with the four things she needed most. First, she wanted to marry a banker, second, a movie star, next a clergyman, and finally, a funeral director. When asked why, she answered, "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and four to go."

 

Everyone has a view about the future and how to prepare for it. The Apostle John teaches that the only person you need to know to get ahead is the King of Kings Jesus. And there is no getting ahead without him.

 

Over the past days, we have seen the final chapters of human history. They are incredibly dark and violent. This is what happens when a culture abandons God. During this period of time, a lot of bad things are going to happen to God's people. It would be easy to lose hope and despair. But then comes chapter 19, and we see the return of the King.

 

Make no mistake about it. This portrait of Jesus the King changes everything. At Christmas, we see Jesus as a helpless, vulnerable infant. Here we see him as the King, the Lion, the invincible conqueror. Behold his blazing wrath over injustice, evil, violence and the CEO's at Sony. (sorry just couldn't resist taking a shot).

 

When we see Him as the one who will come in the role of our champion it gives us hope to persevere. So, no matter how dark the situation you find yourself in today, no matter how beat up you are by the circumstances of life, here is the Good News…   Jesus Wins!!!

 

I hope you will take the journey through the Bible again in 2015. Fifteen minutes in a chair with Jesus each day reminds us of who wins the battle.

 

 

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Saturday 12/27/14

Saturday, December 27, 2014 

" Do not put your trust in princes in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever." (Psalm 146:3-6)

When I thought about this verse, I had to ask myself the question, "Why have I, at times, put all my trust in people and things rather than in God?"  My answer was quick and piercing.  I have trusted others rather than God because I believed that I could control the outcome.  I've trusted doctors because their aim is to heal.  I've trusted financiers because their aim is to make the most money possible.  In my heart, I believe that Jesus' desire for me is "life, [even life] to the full," but I don't know how He's going to do it.  The road that Jesus takes me on can often bring me to the end of my faith.

But, when I am faithless he remains faithful! (2 Timothy 2:13)

At our last Young Life of the semester we spoke to the kids about the story of Lazarus (John 11).  Lazarus was sick and even died before Jesus showed up in Bethany.  Jesus knew what was happening, he could have healed Lazarus once He heard of the sickness, but He waited.  He waited because He wanted to show His friends and others that He alone had the power over life and death - that death, even the death of Lazarus, was not the end.  This was all for the glory of God, so that people would believe.

Trusting God in difficult times is difficult. Trusting God in painful times is painful. The circumstances may look different, but Our God remains the same - faithful forever.  The end may not look like what we want it to look like, but it is all for His glory.  We have no idea what God is doing, but we trust Him because we know He's up to something good.

December 26th

December 26th

Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey's colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon. Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. (‭Zechariah‬ ‭9‬:‭9-12‬ NLT)

In the middle of all the destruction and evil schemes of our readings today, there is hope. Hope proclaimed about a Savior. This prophesy was fulfilled by the one that gives hope, Jesus Christ. What kind of a King rides in to town on a donkey? Where are the trumpets? Where is the fanfare? Where is the pomp? Isn't that what kings do? We see in Jesus a different kind of a king. Here is the fulfillment of that prophesy:
So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on. As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. "Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!" But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!" He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!" (‭Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭35-40‬ NLT)
The praise that day was different than you might imagine. It seems as though it was almost involuntary. People lined the streets with palm branches and their outer garments. The King of Glory was coming into Jerusalem. Jesus himself says, that if the people stopped praising, then the rocks would cry out! Jesus knew the significance of this entry, and a lot of other people thought they did as well, but the next week would be confusing. This King would do something that no other king before or since, or will ever, do for his people. Did he defeat the Romans? No! He laid his life down on a Roman cross. He defeated the very thing that held us all captive. Sin. Death. The power of sin and death no longer has rule or dominion. Jesus conquered it once for all. That is the hope. We can live forever with our King. He rose from the dead so that death and the grave have no victory. He died and rose so that we might have life. As you gather with your families and celebrate a baby, think on a 33 year old that entered into Jerusalem, and freed us from the worst bondage, Sin and death!

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Thursday, December 25

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2014

Zechariah 8:1–23

Revelation 16:1–21

Psalm 144:1–15

Proverbs 30:29–31

 

 

Merry Christmas!  May we all celebrate the wonder of the Incarnation with great joy and renewed hope today.

 

In today’s passage of Zechariah 8, God provides some snapshots of His blessings to Jerusalem, where He would sit enthroned in His temple.  He marks this restoration by His firm decree:  “… So now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah.  Do not be afraid.” (8:15)

 

In the following verses, God lays out some characteristics of His redeemed people, how they may best represent His character and turn their hearts in a similar restoration.  While primarily intended for this specific audience, these prescriptions hold value for us today in our relationships with God.

 

1.       “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.  I hate all this.” (8:16,17)

2.       “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.  Therefore love truth and peace.”

 

God desires that the people “love truth and peace,” both in their relationships with one another (horizontal) and with God Himself (vertical).

 

When falsehood and deception dominate human interactions, we may soon find oppression and dominance.  Pursuing the truth and peace in human relationships means that we will seek justice, rooted in the reality that all people are created equal in value by a loving and sovereign God.  Bringing peace to human relationships sometimes means forfeiting our rights or desires for the greater good:  being willing to humbly take on another’s burden so that he or she may more fully experience God’s love.  In our human spirits, we always wish to be “right,” but true peacemaking bears fruit in love, joy, changed lives, and an extension of God’s glory.

 

The second reference to truth and peace here refers to our interactions with God and His commands.  Many times, we shuffle through the motions in our walk with Christ.  We read the Bible to “get through it” and pray out of a nagging obligation.  Our vocabulary – or at least internal conversation – rings with a “I have to” instead of “I get to” or “I have the privilege to.”  This thinking breeds a resentment to God’s commands and a distance from His heart.  Instead, God calls His people to worship – in this case, through a fast – with a spirit of joy and gladness.  This spirit requires a fresh approach of appreciation and wow!, as Pastors Scott and Kenny phrased it for this Christmastime.

 

 

3.       “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty.  I myself am going.’  And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”

4.       “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

 

These verses speak about the growing renown of God Almighty.  This exciting proposition involves the whole world rushing to “seek the Lord Almighty and entreat him.”  This turning of hearts towards God will become a community event, and neighbors will call neighbors to the throne of grace.  Even those who had previously seemed far off will beg for the opportunity to approach Jerusalem “because we have heard that God is with you.”  This God-seeking path started with Judah and spread outward.

 

These verses seem antithetical to our culture, where few people wish to exalt and seek God and obey His commands.  How may we react to these verses today and see their fulfillment in our day?  It seems that we may begin with encouraging one another as brothers and sisters in Christ to follow Jesus more closely and to exalt Him in our lives.  We may embrace Him fully and live out “Trust and Obey.”  Practically, we may commit to making 2015 our best year (offering) to God and encouraging our friends to do the same.  May God then use this spirit of restoration and God-seeking as a sweet aroma for those desiring joy, intimacy, purpose, and fulfillment in their lives, which the world can never offer.

 

 

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your nearness on this Christmas Day.  Thank You for leaving Your throne in heaven, Your rightful place of awesome splendor, to spend 30 years in a humble life with the purpose of sacrificing for us.  Help us to embrace truth, peace, and joy in our relationships with one another and with You.  Draw us closer, Lord Jesus, in 2015 so that Your Name might receive all the renown and glory.  Give us hearts of anticipation and joy at the privilege of approaching Your throne.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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December 21

Bible Readers 2014 Year End Summary

In Charles Dickens' story, "The Christmas Carol", the spirit of Christmas Present is drawing near to the end of his visitation. Scrooge observes that there are strange movements in the folds of the spirit's robe. When the spirit opens his robe, he reveals two hideous children. Scrooge is startled by their sighting and inquires, "Are they yours?"  "They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want.  Beware of both of them, but most of all, beware of this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom."

Ignorance is on the march in our culture. It is advancing very quickly because truth is disappearing. As the drama presented in church last Sunday illustrated, we are having a difficult time agreeing on even the most basic things.

The prophet Amos said in chapter 8, "The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord."

We are living during this famine. All around us we see the lives of people crashing and burning. We have become a nation of people walking in ignorance. Ironically, the Bible will still be the best-selling book this year. The problem is people aren't reading it. They read emails, blogs, and the latest news on the Kardashians, but very few are reading the Bible.  Yet if every Christ follower would become radically committed to reading and obeying the truth of God's Word, ignorance would be defeated.  

So as we end our year of Bible reading I would like to congratulate you for finishing the journey. I would also like to challenge you to stop the advance of the enemy "Ignorance" by being a champion of Bible reading in 2015.

Would you prayerfully consider asking several people to join you on the Bible Reading journey next year?  All you need to do is invite them. The worst they can say is, "no, thank you." I would encourage inviting even unchurched people to read with you. The best way to insure a successful journey is to build in some accountability. Ask each of your partners to email you just one sentence of what they read that day. This small effort will pay off in eternal dividends.

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Saturday 12/20

Saturday, December 20, 2014 [by Keesha Sullivan]

"'For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear’" (Haggai 2: 4-5).

     Do we truly believe God’s powerful, comforting Words? Do we live in perfect peace day in and day out? Do we truly believe Romans 8: 31, “With God on our side like this, how can we lose?” (MSG).

 Unfortunately, when I look back upon my life, I see all the many times that I forfeit God’s peace and accepted the enemy’s lies. I remember creating a list in high school of the traits I wanted in a future husband. I wanted a man that loved God more than anyone else in his life. I wanted a man that would open up and share his heart with me. I wanted a man that would truly listen to me and that I too could share my heart with. I wanted a man that was passionate about God and that would lead our future family into a more intimate relationship with Jesus. 

     As I shared my list with some of my friends back then, every single one of them grinned and said, “When you find him, if you ever do, tell me if he has a brother.” I couldn’t help, but laugh. After a while though, I began to believe the lies the enemy told my friends. God doesn’t have the best for you. He can’t provide the perfect husband for you. You need to seek him out and settle for something other than what you desire. 

     In October 2005, God sent me the man that I had written all these things about. He sent me the man I had desired and dreamed of since high school. I spent all those years worrying, when I could’ve just taken a leap of faith and trusted God. My high school friends that have met Kenny can’t help but tell him that he is exactly all I hoped for and that they are amazed we met. They know and I know that he is a testimony of God’s goodness. God sent Kenny. I couldn’t have found him on my own in a million years.

     Even though I’ve read this verse a thousand times, in the last few years it has become really special to me. In Numbers 23:19 it says, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” God definitely fulfills His promises. He is with us. We do not need to fear. If He puts a deep-seated desire upon our hearts, He will fulfill that desire.

     Lord, we trust you. Help us surrender the enemy’s lies for Your Truth. Lord, help us to remain in Your perfect peace. Help us to remember that “With God on our side like this, how can we lose?” (MSG). We love You so much Lord. We thank You that You can protect us. We thank You that You are a God that we can trust and that will always fulfill Your promises that You speak to us in Your Word. In Jesus name, we pray.  Amen

Thursday, December 18

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014

Habakkuk 1:1–3:19

Revelation 9:1–21

Psalm 137:1–9

Proverbs 30:10

 

 

Habakkuk wrestles with God in the first two chapters of his prophecy through dialogue, echoing Jonah’s struggle that played out in narrative form.  While Habakkuk views the coming Babylonian forces as almost unjust, he ultimately comes to a clarion confession of faith in the third chapter.

 

Commentators argue that Habakkuk spoke on behalf of the godly remnant in Judah.  He grew perplexed at God’s insertion of the Babylonians as the means of executing judgment on the people of Judah, who were “more righteous” than the “ruthless” Babylonians (1:6,13).  How could God, who is “too pure to look on evil” promote such an outcome? (1:13)

 

God then communicates to Habakkuk that these Babylonian destroyers will meet their own destruction.  The book balances on Habakkuk’s consideration of God’s sovereign guide over history and the prophet’s development of a spirit of faith and worship.  In the end, he learns that “the righteous will live by his faith” (2:4) and that God’s glory will overtake the earth:

 

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

                as the waters cover the sea.” (2:14)

 

 

Having studied and appreciated God’s once-perplexing plan, Habbakuk turns in Chapter 3 towards a corporate and personal request for God’s faithful presence and a declaration of trust in the midst of challenging circumstances.  These words speak effortlessly to God’s servants throughout time and provide a model of humbly rooting ourselves in God’s sovereign care during times of uncertainty.

 

First, please consider 3:2:

 

“Lord, I heard of your fame;

                I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.

Renew them in our day,

                in our time make them known

                in wrath remember mercy.”

 

 

This section of Habakkuk’s prayer highlights the worshipper’s keen desire to understand God’s great works to His people in the past and to see His goodness today.  This movement from the historical and corporate to the present and personal speaks to the desire to become more aware of God’s character and presence.  By His grace, God draws those who sincerely desire Him and rewards them for their seeking faith.

 

Habakkuk then continues to recount God’s protection and deliverance of His people from Egypt and other Old Testament enemies.  In the last several verses, he turns towards reflection on these present trying conditions.  Spurred by memory of faithfulness in times past and a real Presence in His own day, Habakkuk’s concluding verses provide a universally applicable discussion of choosing a victorious path:

 

“I heard and my heart pounded,

my lips quivered at the sound;

decay crept into my bones,

and my legs trembled.

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity

to come on the nation invading us.

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

 

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to tread on the heights.” (3:16–19)

 

 

Crucially, in spite of circumstantial evidence to the contrary, Habakkuk chooses joy.  This turn highlights our will as our contribution to finding joy.  This joy emerges from Habakkuk’s connection with God and consideration of His salvation.  Since God does not change and remains ever-faithful and –loving, we may continually experience this type of joy.  This joy and reflection on God Himself brings strength to Habakkuk, which allows him to tread the road less traveled and to take to the heights in God’s service.

 

Over the past couple of weeks, I have reflected quite a bit on the lie that the world gives:  Success and achievement or “good circumstances” will bring us joy.  For a perfectionist, the reality of life means that joy will never be fully complete because the actual never meet idealized expectations.  Instead, God calls us to give our best efforts for Him, trusting Him for His provision and for grace and strength to proceed with joy, in spite of the circumstances.  How I need to re-learn this lesson every day!

 

 

Lord God, thank You for inspiring Habakkuk’s song and for giving us this insight on living joyfully.  Lift our eyes above our problems to Your amazing and steadfast character.  Strengthen our feet to preserve in spite of the rocky road.  Help us to understand Your grace and provision for today.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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Tuesday December 16, 2014

Micah 5-7

Revelation 7

Psalm 135:1-21

Proverbs 30:5-6

Micah 6:6-8

"What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

These verses here are so important and I think they do a great job of summing up what it means to be a Christian. There are certain things that we tend to think as important. Doing all the right things. Following all the right rules. Being the most religious and sacrificial and holy. Don't get me wrong. These are good things, but not in the way that we often think. In verse 8, it says that we need to love mercy and walk humbly with our God. To God, this is worth so much more than if we were to offer Him ten thousand rivers of olive oil or a thousand rams. He doesn't want us to just follow the rules. He wants our hearts to belong to Him. He wants us to be merciful to those around us and to be humble and to walk with Him. This is what the Lord wants from us, more so than any burnt offering.

December 15: The clothing-impaired emperor and the insensitive child...

Micah 1:1-4:13

Revelation 6:1-17

Psalm 134:1-3

Proverbs 30:1-4

"Do not prophesy," their prophets say.

  "Do not prophesy about these things; 

    disgrace will not overtake us."

Clearly, denial wasn't just a river in Egypt, even during the time of Micah.  This is the 50th Monday I am writing this blog, and I thought I had to get some bad humor into it before year end.

Ok, I admit, it isn't funny.  But neither is sin - worse, the denial of the basis for sin- God's law.  I don't know when I realized it - that sin was difficult when one acknowledged God and His dominion, so the easiest way to justify sin was to deny God and His dominion in the first place.  And while the denial of God is the basis for all individual sin, it is frightening how much that has permeated a culture that once provided the external motivation and incentive for good behavior.  The question of right and wrong appears to have disappeared - or become that much easier to ignore, in favor of "if it feels good, do it".  Today, the little child who observed that the emperor had no clothes would have been called bigoted, intolerant, insensitive to the clothing-impaired and shushed.  Not that that would have put a stitch of clothing on the emperor, mind you.

The world makes it increasingly difficult to be true to one's beliefs.  How then to stand firm?  I struggle with that quite a bit, quite frankly - and, interestingly enough, not when faced with failure, but when bathed in success.  It is then that gratification becomes so much more appealing, and the temptation to deny God's existence and His law much greater.

So how then to overcome?  Not by our own strength, certainly.  Thankfully, further down the reading, we see that "as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin."  Thankfully, we have a God who "will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations."

Come, Lord Jesus.

Blog_Saturday 12/13

Saturday, December 13, 2014 [by Keesha Sullivan]

"You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelations 4:11, NIV). According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary the word will means "choice, desire, or willingness." The 24 elders in Revelations chapter 4, verse 11, were stating, "God, you deserve glory because You created all things because you desired to create them."

Personally, when I think about God desiring to create me, my heart swells with joy. My cup is filled in ways that are inexplicable. God created each of us simply because He wanted to create us. In Psalm 139:13, it says, "For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb." 

The Creator of the universe created us, because He loved us and had a plan for us. It is absolutely amazing to look around at our family members, colleagues, friends, and even strangers and to think to ourselves, "God created you with a purpose and a plan." In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Like the Elders in the book of Revelation, I marvel and give glory, honor, and praise to a God that created all things for His will. It says in Colossians 1:16, "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."

Lord, thank You so much for creating us for Your great and mighty purposes. Thank You for being such a wonderful God that continues to put awe in our hearts and minds. Help us to realize our significance and to submit our wills to You, so that You can use us in the way that You desire. You had a plan for us before we were even born; please help us to fulfill your plan. Help us to make sure that Your will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus' mighty name, we pray. Amen.

December 12th

December 12th

"Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's new creation: "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! (Revelation 3:14-16 NLT)

I fear the outcome of this passage. I think we all, at times become lukewarm for Christ. God detests this. The only thing that I never understood about this passage, is why it would say that he would rather us be cold? How can this be? I have heard quite a bit about the location of Laodicea and the aqueduct, but I have never truly understood it. A message to casual Christians: stop it! God wants us to be on fire for Him. He wants our full attention and our hard work. He wants us to be digging into His word and being excited about who we are in Him. Christ is out all in all. But we don't always act like it. We don't always seem like Christ is our number 1 priority. He gets swept to the back of our list. This is especially important this time of the year. As Christmas approaches, a celebration of Christ's birth, let's make sure we don't get too wrapped up in family, and gifts and holiday cheer that we forget about Christ, who is the reason for it all anyway. Let's pray to God to light the fire again!

Thursday, December 11

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014

Amos 4:1–6:14

Revelation 2:8–3:6

Psalm 130:1–8

Proverbs 29:21,22

 

 

Amos’s prophecy, especially its focus on indulging in luxury at the expense of the poor, presages the New Testament’s insistence on servanthood as the only pathway to godly leadership.  Jesus explains that our service to others actually flows to Him:  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

 

Please consider three key phrases from Amos’s words:

 

1. “Seek me and live.”  In Chapter Five, the Lord speaks to Israel through Amos, urging them to avoid their religious formalism and to instead seek God.  If the Israelites, who have turned “justice into bitterness,” do not repent, God will bring down His righteous sentence.  Amos testifies to God’s power by acknowledging His creation of and command over the forces of nature.  The leaders have “trample[d] on the poor,” exploiting them for their own gain and denying them justice.  Throughout history, God has desired a living, breathing relationship with man, and He sent His Son to guarantee His forgiveness to those who truly sought Him:

 

1. Deuteronomy 4:29:  “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

 

2. 1 Chronicles 28:9:  “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

 

3. John 17:3:  “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

 

4. Hebrews 11:6:  “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

 

 

2. “Let justice roll on like a river.”  The pride of the spiritual leaders had reached such great heights that God has become thoroughly disgusted with Israel’s religious practice.  Their rituals belied their evil, prideful hearts and motives.  In contrast, God shows great concern for the poor and needy, whom He had urged the Israelites to love.  In Israel, God provided for the poor by leaving sections of the fields unpicked.  God declared His concern for the poor through the Mosaic law and in the Psalms:

 

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

       maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

       deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (82:3,4)

 

 

As God’s representatives, the spiritual leaders had neglected their responsibility to the poor.  Beyond neglect, however, they had enriched themselves at the poor’s expense, while luxuriating in their palaces.  While these foolish leaders had “built stone mansions,/ you will not live in them;/ though you have planted lush vineyards,/ you will not drink their wine.”  (Amos 5:11)  Those who engage in temporal pleasures, particularly at the expense of the poor, will enjoy fleeting glory – like the grass of the fields (Isaiah 40:6–8; Matthew 6:30).

 

 

3. “The day of the Lord.”  While the Israelites see this event as bringing them (beneficial) justice, they will instead face “darkness, not light./  It will be as though a man fled from a lion/ only to meet a bear... “  While God would spare some judgment, Amos’s several visions point to a certain punishment.  He would destroy the “high places” but also would deny the people His presence:

 

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

                “when I will send a famine through the land—

Not a famine of food or a thirst for water,

                but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Men will stagger from sea to seas

                and wander from north to east,

Searching for the word of the Lord,

                but they will not find it.”

 

 

Yet, in His great compassion, God still promises that He will not totally destroy Israel.  He will “restore/ David’s fallen tent” and bring the people back to the land He had given them.  Here, we have a beautiful picture of redemption:  while the people deserve complete destruction as a sentence of God’s justice, He instead shows mercy.  In a similar vein for us, our sin bears severe consequences, but God does restore us daily so that we may live for Him.  Seek Him and live in reverent fear.  May He give us a great hunger for His Word and His presence!

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Tuesday December 9

Joel 1-3

Revelation 1

Psalms 128:1-6

Proverbs 29:18

Revelation 1:17-18

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."

I don't usually have very positive feelings about the book of Revelation. I can remember times when I've read it or studied it or learned about it and feeling very uneasy. For one thing, it can be difficult to understand. There's a lot of imagery that may not make sense to the reader. Also, there's some pretty scary stuff in it. The events that are foretold are not pleasant and when they unfold there were will be a lot of confusion and suffering. 

But we have no reason to be afraid. Even though we don't understand everything about this book, even though the future is unknown and scary, we have no reason to fear. And it's obvious from Rev 1:17-18. Jesus tells us not to be afraid. He is the First and the Last. He is the living one. He died once but now He is alive forever. He conquered death and has power over the grave. 

So if you're like me and you often find yourself worried over things you don't understand or things that are to come, remember that you have Jesus on your side and you have no reason to be afraid.

December 8: Parenting and Authority

Hosea 10:1-14:9

Jude 1:1-25

Psalm 127:1-5

Proverbs 29:15-17

As I read today's readings, I was still in the throes of celebration and regret, as two days prior my daughter turned 17 but I was half way around the world and unable to celebrate with her.  The readings were particularly interesting from the standpoint of two things: 

1. a news article that discussed the concept of "parent shaming" - how some children would take their smartphones and record video of their parents reprimanding and correcting them, and would then post those videos to the internet with very disrespectful comments - "parent shaming" - in hopes of teaching their parents a lesson not to reprimand them that way again.  The commentary was interesting - the reputation of liberal media suggests the discussion would encourage acceptance and understanding, but the commentators were pretty firm about the need for discipline.
   
2. ongoing reports about violent protest following the shooting death of an unarmed man months ago - a man who, by most credible accounts, died because he disobeyed and attacked authority.  Legally he was a man, but I cannot help but recognize he was less than two years older than my daughter.

Hosea discusses such children - "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.  But the more they were called, the more they went away from me."  These children would seem to be the fruit of those who, "on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings", of "scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires" that Jude writes about, the ones Enoch meant when he talked about "grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires".  Jude further writes "these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct - as irrational animals do - will destroy them."

Sadly, the reading in Proverbs makes it clear what causes this - "a rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother...discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire."  And the OT reading from Hosea discussing the consequences of disobedience makes it clear the example the Lord gives us, Who teaches us to walk in His ways, and hopes we obey.  

My parents were excellent examples of the diligent and disciplining love our God has for us - examples I did not appreciate until I had children of my own; and I learn from more and more, each day I am privileged to be a parent to my own children.  I know how difficult I made it for them to want to keep up the effort to discipline me, how much and how often I must have been cause for despair.  The secret my parents had, however, is a relationship with God.  As they raised me, they were the epitome of "unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain."  They surrendered their parenting to God.  I pray I show the same good sense to surrender my parenting to Him, and the same resolve and diligence with my children, particularly my daughter with whom we probably have only a few more months together before she goes off to college.  

Saturday 12/06/14

Saturday, December 6, 2014 [by Keesha Sullivan] 

Randy Clark’s conference got me excited about the Lord’s power to heal. He told us that when he prayed for people’s healing that he expected God to work. He said sometimes he felt God’s presence, sometimes he didn’t, but he always prayed in expectancy that God would touch. He encouraged us to begin praying in the same way. His teaching a few weeks ago fell in line with author Mark Batterson’s beliefs. In his book, Draw the Circle, Batterson writes, “We can’t perform miracles. All we can do is pray for them” (Batterson, 25).

In one of the bible studies that I lead, I stepped out in faith. Although the members of the study weren’t use to laying their hands on the sick, that is exactly what we did last week. One of our members broke her toe. She was in a considerable amount of pain. I asked everyone to get up and lay hands on her. With butterflies in my stomach from excitement, anticipation, and a little bit of trepidation, I touched foot with the broken toe. I prayed God’s healing and commanded the pain to leave, as Randy Clark taught us. We asked her to begin walking on her foot and to tell us how it felt. She got up and walked on her foot. A warm smile spread across her face as she began to walk around the room. She began to do things with her foot that she couldn’t do before. Her grin grew and her eyes danced with delight. “It doesn’t hurt. I feel better!” she exclaimed. We immediately began praising God. I called her just yesterday which was two days later. “I still feel no pain!” she cried out. My faith was bolstered, and I am ready to pray for everyone and anyone.

The lesson I learned over these last several weeks is the same lesson Hosea was trying to teach the Israelites in our reading today. In Hosea 5:13 it says, “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, or to cure you of your wound.” Ephraim and Judah looked to the powerful nation of Assyria to rescue them and heal them instead of God. Hosea let them know that people can’t heal people. Running to Assyria was not the answer for Ephraim or Judah. Whether spiritual, emotional, or physical healing was in order, they needed to run to our all powerful, all knowing God. He alone has the power to heal. He is not a man that He should lie. He is a God that can do the impossible.  We along with the Israelites “need to trust [God] for the little things, like healing our cancer, getting us out of debt, helping us conceive,” or saving us from our sinful nature (Batterson, 22).

Lord, thank You for being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Thank You that we can trust in You for our healing. Thank You Lord for being the same God todayas You were for the Israelites. Thank You for bolstering our faith and helping us to grow as children that desire to pray and see Your hand at work. We love you, and we pray for more faith. We pray for more of You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

--

Kenny Sullivan

Grace EFC | Stamford, CT

C: 203-803-7478

O: 203-323-6737 ext. 12

soli Deo gloria

December 5th

December 5th

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. (‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ NLT)

I love how this verse perfectly sums up the book of 1 John. It is the simplest of conclusions, but it is so true. There is a God-shaped hole in every one of our hearts, and we all try to fill it with other things at times, but there is only one true match. I like to think of it in worship terms. Like the holy of holies had the ark with the "mercy seat" on it: God's throne in the place of His presence, so too our hearts have a place for God. God wants to be seated on the throne of our hearts, but we keep trying to fill his seat with other things. It's the age old story. Maybe we are trying to sit on that throne and control our own lives, but it is God's rightful place. We will only find fulfillment when we give God his rightful place in our hearts!

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Thursday, December 4

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

Daniel 11:36–12:13

1 John 4:1–21

Psalm 123:1–4

Proverbs 29:2–4

 

 

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.   This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

 

 

According to 1 John 4, Christ-followers should model the self-sacrificing love of the Lord Jesus Christ and exalt the truth, starting with an unreserved confession in the reality of Christ’s Incarnation, His taking on flesh. 

 

God Himself is love.  Looking at 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a, we understand that love represents the opposite of pride.  Love seeks the truth and blessing for God and others.  It is both patient and kind and does not keep a record of wrongs.  Love breeds forgiveness and mercy.  It calls forth compassionate care and a willingness to abandon self.  As missionary Dr. David Thompson explained in a sermon we heard over Thanksgiving, following Jesus wholeheartedly means giving ourselves away.  On the Cross and through His day-to-day ministry, Jesus consistently modeled this principle.

 

Neither of these traits arises from the believer’s own goodness.  This chapter argues that, like the moon, we reflect the sun of God’s love and righteousness.  Love should so characterize the believer that we may question whether we have the love of God in us if we struggle to love our brothers and sisters.  Being re-made in His image after salvation, “in this world we are like Jesus.”  Principally, we must welcome the love of God into our hearts to fulfill Jesus’s commands in John 15:9–13:

 

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this:  to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

 

 

We progressively come to live out this self-abnegating life by drawing closer to Jesus and becoming more completely filled with His love.  This growth process involves a daily confession of our sin and shortcomings and seeking to have the Spirit fill our empty and humble vessels.  Yet, we know that God may accomplish great things through ordinary people, as Acts 4:13 tells of the Sanhedrin’s surprise at Peter and John, who they viewed as “mere” fishermen:  “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

 

 

Lord Jesus, take our lives and transform them each day more into Your likeness.  We seek to honor You and to reflect the love that You have always shown.  Your love is matchless in its purity and intensity.  Help us to become so overwhelmed with Your love that we pass into the background.  Use us to effect change in our community and families and allow us to turn our focus from ourselves to all those in need of Your care and intervention.  Thank You that You answer prayer and that, by Your Spirit, You may grow us into oaks of righteousness.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

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