October 8

Jeremiah 10-11

Colossians 3:18-4:18

Psalm 78:56-72

Proverbs 24:28-29

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.  Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.  Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.

Colossians 4:2-4

I will never stop being amazed at how Paul could write letters of encouragement to other believers while he himself was in prison. He instructed others to devote themselves to prayer with a thankful heart while he himself was in prison. He asked them to pray for him that he would make the most of every opportunity while he himself was in prison. Paul saw a purpose to his suffering and didn't dwell on it. He continued to focus on God and His plan and His purpose for everything.

I'm glad for this reminder because I often forget. When life gets difficult or I run into a bump in the road, my first thought is to focus on the problem and ask "why me" and feel sorry for myself. As we know, this is not what Paul did. He continued to do God's work the entire time he was imprisoned and God used him for His great plan despite his limitations. 

Please pray for me and my family at this time, that we would put our trust in the Lord with an alert mind and a thankful heart. My grandfather passed away last month. He had been taking care of my grandmother (who was in advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease). This past Saturday, my grandmother passed away. Please pray especially for my mom and her siblings, that despite losing both parents in about a month, that all of us will lean completely on Jesus.

Monday BlogPost - 10/07/13

Monday, October 7, 2013 [Life from HIS Perspective]

Colossians 3:1-5, MSG

 

3 ^1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.

^3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

^5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God.  (The Message)

 

In a relationship, two people walk together and share life with one another.  It is incredibly difficult – nearly impossible, even – for two people who are on completely different pages in life to do this.  "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3, NIV) 

 

I encountered this question after I had a life changing experience with Christ in college.  Having returned from Atlanta and talked to all of my friends about what Jesus had done for me, within days I had no one to talk to anymore.  No one returned my phone calls – we weren't "walking together" anymore.  It was deeply hurt and discouraged, but I began to realize that if we were going to walk together, we had to agree on where we were going.  I loved my friends, but Christ had saved my life!  My new life dictated where I would walk (where life is headed).

 

When I think about how Jesus walked on this earth, I realize that He didn't always go where He wanted to go.  Especially, when considering dying on the cross, Jesus pleaded with God, saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42, NIV).  Jesus agonized over the pain that He would have to endure, but His love for the Father, and for us, forced Him to make a decision.  If He hadn't chosen to submit Himself to death, He would no longer have been able to walk with the Father, whom He loved.  But also, had He not died, we never would have had the opportunity to walk with Him and enjoy the relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit that He enjoyed.  Like Jesus, my new life must dictate how I walk, also (how life is lived).

 

These are choices that we make each and every day.  How in the world do we do this?

"Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective" (3:2).

 

Lord, God, give us Your eyes that we might see what is going on around Christ.  Help us submit ourselves to You that we would see things from Your perspective.

 

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"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)

Kenny Sullivan

(201) 218-0751

שלום

October 5: A cry to God for our youth

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

Colossians 1:18-2:7

Psalm 77:1-20

Proverbs 24:23-25

This is a day late.  I don't know why, but yesterday was difficult in so many ways...worry, fatigue, even a tinge of hopelessness.  I could not hear what God might have wanted to say in yesterday's readings.  Today was still somewhat of a struggle, but perhaps at this point it is worth a go.  Where did my worry come from?  From the thought of the country my children were growing up in, and how it seems to have changed since I used to imagine it in my youth, halfway around the world.  Some of those who know me know how troubled I am at how much the country I knew as "the land of opportunity" seems to have changed.  But before I go too far, we should make clear - this reflection isn't about politics, it is about worry and despair.  

Yesterday's verses in some ways did not help.  Our Lord says "Why should I forgive you?  Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods.  I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes...should I not punish them for this?"  I fear my children are growing up in a world where "they have lied about the Lord; they said 'He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine."

And so I cry out to God for help, to hear me; I stretched out untiring hands and I would not be comforted...I prayed that my children should get to know Him enough to learn to fear Him, to tremble in His presence.  I pray that they learn how "God was pleased to have all fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile Himself to all things..by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross."  That they realize He "has reconciled [them] by Christ's physical body through death, to present [them] holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation", and that they "continue in [their] faith, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel."

"Your ways, God, are holy.  What god is as great as our God?  You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples."  Please keep my children, please keep the youth of our church in your care.  Lead them as You "led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron."

10/4/13

10/4/13

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:13-17 NLT)

What do you think it means here when Paul writes that Christ "holds all creation together"? We know that Christ was present at the creation of the world, one with the Father, but do we ever think that maybe it goes deeper than that? Do we think that perhaps there is a part of our DNA, that IS Christ? That Christ is actually interwoven into our double-helix, like the security thread that shows the bill's denomination is woven into our money? What if it goes much deeper than accepting Christ into our lives? What if He was already there, and we just need to accept the realization of that? What if Christ is the glue that holds every cell in our body together, and we just need to believe? What if all we have to do is convince our minds to get wrapped around that idea? What if Christ is actually IN us, a part of us?

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Thursday, October 3

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013

Jeremiah 1:1–2:30

Philippians 4:1–23

Psalm 75:1–10

Proverbs 24:17–20

 

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but, in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7)

 

Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians with the encouragement to follow the pathway that God has indicated for him:  to find joy in God’s provision and presence.  These verses highlight the calming effects of prayer:  not in the act itself as a ritual, but rather in the awesome worthiness of the Recipient Himself.  Experience demonstrates to us that God rarely answers our prayers in the straightforward fashion that we would imagine.  Sometimes, it appears that prayers offered on behalf of others seem more effectual than those offered personally.  Yet, in all cases, prayer enables us to rest, “leaning on the everlasting Arms.”

 

Interestingly, Paul urges the Philippian believers to present their requests “with thanksgiving,” echoing the truth of 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18:  “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  This crucial attitude adjustment aids us to 1) remember God’s sovereignty and 2) prepare our hearts for the loving response.  Prayers offered without gratitude may emerge from a heart of self-sufficiency or pride.  When we come before God’s throne as empty vessels (in mind and heart), we have become ready to receive His blessings, even if the response should involve periods of refining struggle or seeming detours.

 

On a similar note, have you ever noticed that attitude may shift our perceptions of any circumstance from “pure drudgery” to “pure joy”?  Compare the attitude inherent to “I have to ____” vs. “I get to ____.”

 

 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8,9)

 

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength [or Christ who strengthens me].” (Philippians 4:12,13)

 

A. W. Tozer starts The Knowledge of the Holy with this excellent observation:

 

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

 

“The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.

 

“For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.  This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church.  Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech.  She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God.

 

From these verses and Tozer’s rumination, we gather that we share a personal and corporate responsibility to think rightly about God and His world.  This project involves retraining the mind and guarding our hearts – an active striving to fill ourselves with the goodness of His Word and welcoming the filling of the Holy Spirit while rejecting the falsehoods and distractions coming from the world and the evil one.  How may you encourage “high” thoughts of God in your life today?  How may you bring forth these thoughts in others?

 

For me, today, I will reflect on the truth that joy comes from trust.  The world teaches that joy results from positive circumstances, luck, money, or sensual pleasure.  Yet, the Word explains that the “joy of the Lord is my strength” and that love and others-mindedness unlock joy for a group.  I am grateful for a loving Father Who remains steady in the howling winds of change and Who never leaves us or forsakes us.  His ear listens for our humble cries, and He comes running to us as to the Prodigal Son.  Praise You, Father, that You are so incredibly good to us!

 

How about you?

 

 

Lord Jesus, thank You that You do strengthen us as we lean upon You.  Help us to grow in humility and trust in Your awesome provision and concern for Your sheep.  Help us not to look upon our circumstances as a reflection of Your attitude towards us, but change our hearts to an air of gratitude and moment-by-moment dependence.  Please meet us where we are, walking beside us and guiding us through the Holy Spirit.  Help us not to despair but to rejoice.  Place Your peace in our hearts that we might provide a living testimony of Your presence.  In Your Name, we pray.  Amen.

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Monday BlogPost - 9/30/13

Monday, September 30, 2013

Philippians 2:3-5; 12-13

 

³ Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had… (NLT)

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (NIV)

 

            One of the things that frustrate me when I am in a groove (either working, thinking, etc.) is an interruption or a shift in my plans by someone else.  This is where I notice how amazingly sinful and selfish I can be.  These are times when someone may need me but I struggle committing to help because of my own agenda.  It's an issue that I need to keep in front of Jesus. 

            However, not everyone has this problem.  Paul says that some spend themselves for others because they wish to impress.  There is a sense of satisfaction that is won when they are acknowledged for having done something good – another notch on the belt, so to speak.

Neither of these attitudes is good because neither of them reflect Christ.  The Son of God's one goal was to please His Father.

 

We work out…God works in.

            If we do our part in striving to be like Christ (the work out: blessing when cursed; loving when hated; giving when it hurts; stopping along the way to help and pray) with our eyes focused on God being pleased with us, God will work in us and give us the desire and the power to do what is honoring Him.  He does this because He knows that we are in a fight against ourselves, and this world, to live the life He designed for us.  He's more than willing to help if we would only submit, like Christ did, and take on a different attitude.  Christ's attitude was not one of obligation or self-gratification.  Christ's attitude was love.

 

Jesus, today I ask Your help to put away selfish thoughts and be more like You.  I submit to You, Holy Spirit, and stand on the promise that You will give me the desire and the power to do the Father's will.

 

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"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." – C.S. Lewis

 

"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?' " – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

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"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)

Kenny Sullivan

(201) 218-0751

שלום

October 1

Isaiah 62-65
Philippians 2:19-3:3
Psalm 73:1-28
Proverbs 24:13,14

From Psalm 73:
"Look at these wicked people - enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply
Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?
Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
I get nothing but trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain....
Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside...
My health my fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever."

Earlier this year, a word stuck in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The word was bitter. Bitter, bitter. bitter. This kept going through my mind and it took me a little while to figure out that God put it there. God gave me this word because He wanted me to learn something from Psalm 73.

The first part of Psalm 73, there are complaints about the wicked and how they seem to prosper despite doing what is wrong. Doesn't God see what they're doing? Why is He allowing them to get away with it? Why am I suffering even though I'm doing the right thing? This isn't fair.

Then there is verse 21. This is the reason that God put the word bitter in my head. This is what He wanted me to learn. "Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside." I was that person in the beginning of Psalm 73 who was complaining about other people. Why hadn't they gotten what they deserve? Why don't they understand what they've done wrong to me? I was holding on to things in the past, times when other people had hurt me and I felt that the outcome was unfair to me.

God was trying to warn me: "If you continue to focus on other people and on what you think they deserve and on what you think you deserve, then your heart will turn bitter. Is that what you want?"

I could hear myself arguing with God. "But God, what about what they've done that's wrong? What about what they've done to me?"

And God answered me: "It doesn't matter. You have to let it go. I will take care of it and I will take care of you. I am enough for you. You have to let it go or your heart will turn bitter."

This has been a hard lesson for me to learn because I don't easily let go of things. I can remember an argument I had with someone and be right back in the same emotions that I was feeling then... even if it was years ago. God was warning me that if I continue to hold on to past hurts and things I think are not fair, I will do nothing except hurt myself. He doesn't need me to worry about other people's outcome. He has is all worked out and He doesn't need my help in dealing with other people. He has it all under control. All I need is Him because His strength is enough for me. Again, this has not been easy, but I am learning.

Let it go because God is enough for me.