Thursday, August 8

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Ezra 7:1–8:20

1 Corinthians 4:1–21

Psalm 30:1–12

Proverbs 20:28–30

 

 

“Already you have all you want!  Already you have become rich!  You have become kings – and that without us!  How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you!   For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.  We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ!  We are weak, but you are strong!  You are honored, we are dishonored!  To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.  We work hard with our own hands.  When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.  Up to this moment, we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.” (1 Corinthians 4:8–13)

 

In this highly autobiographical passage, we witness a measure of Paul’s righteous indignation at the arrogance of those Corinthians who had begun to infiltrate the church, stirring dissension and proudly boasting of their liberty as a distortion of grace.  The ironic and sarcastic tone in this chapter seeks to contrast the spiritual maturity and faithful stewardship of the apostles – “servants of Christ and… those entrusted with the secret things of God” – with the haughty immaturity of those disrupting the Corinthian church.  These unhelpful folks had begun to tear down the infrastructure that the Gospel – plus Paul’s blood, sweat, and tears – had produced.

 

Paul employs fairly graphic and symbolic language to hammer home his points.  His diligence in the service of the Gospel not only proved his love for the Corinthians, but also validated the Gospel.  If you recall, Pastor Scott has noted that a key witness for the validity of the Gospel lies in the willingness of the early church fathers to face persecution and death for their faith.

 

His first image shows the “apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena.”  This language recalls the practices of conquering Roman generals, who would take their captives in a parade, only to lead them to face the gladiators and their certain death in the grotesque theater.  Here, the “general” might refer to spiritual or worldly powers that looked to thwart or even reverse the work of the Gospel, where the “audience” may be representative of human or demonic bystanders. 

 

We also read about Paul’s deprivation for the Gospel:  “hungry and thirsty”; “in rags”; “brutally treated”; “homeless”; laboring manually; “cursed” but blessing; “persecuted” but enduring; “slandered” but kind in response; and “scum of the earth.”  These descriptors counter the Corinthians’ desire for self-aggrandizement and comfort in their backsliding.

 

In short, this cosmic battle for human hearts would continue to rage, and Paul willingly accepted the likelihood of temporal defeat for eternal victory (for himself and others).

 

 

“Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

                through love, his throne is made secure.” (Proverbs 20:28)

 

This verse calls to mind the foolishness of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.  According to 1 Kings 12, Rehoboam purposefully turned down the wise counsel of the elders:  “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”  Instead, the young king listened to his friends, who urged him to scold the people with the threat of an even heavier yoke.  Apparently, Solomon’s proverb and the wisdom therein did not penetrate his son’s hardened heart.

 

The verse also begs the question:  Does this same principle apply to non-kings?  We see plenty of worldly examples of coaxing, wheedling, bullying, manipulating, pressuring, and otherwise forcing the “weak” to serve the wishes of the “strong.”  Instead, the Bible speaks of the reverse:  motivating through a selfless, giving love (Philippians 2:1–11; Ephesians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a).

 

How may you practice Paul’s giving of himself to serve the Gospel and others?  How may you apply love in this service today?

 

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August 6

Ezra 3:1-4:23

1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4

Psalm 28:1-9

Proverbs 20:24, 25

"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"

Proverbs 20:25

I think one of the biggest obstacles to having a right relationship with God is ourselves. We get in our own way so many times, it's ridiculous! We worry and we over-analyze and we try to understand and we try to fix our own problems and we question what God is doing and we try to make things happen our own way... all this effort we put forth and what good does it do us? Much of the time, we end up worse off. 

What if we lived our lives with Proverbs 20:24 always in mind? When something happens that we don't understand, we can confidently say it doesn't matter because we know the Lord is directing our steps. How much worry and anxiety and frustration would we avoid if we just trusted that God has everything under control? 

Monday Blogpost 8/5

Monday, August 5, 2013 [Waiting on the Lord: A Life's Lesson]

Psalm 27:7-14

Proverbs 20:21, 22

Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. (Psalms 27:11, 14 NLT)

Don't say, "I will get even for this wrong." Wait for the Lord to handle the matter. (Proverbs 20:22 NLT)

The lesson of waiting on the Lord:  I'm still trying to learn this lesson.  The test of whether I've learned it or not comes with every situation that I face where I have to wait.  Sometimes I pass the test with flying colors - other times I fail miserably.  But I believe this is a lesson that LITERALLY takes one's entire life to learn.

Why is waiting so difficult?  It's all about control.  Most of the time, I think that I know how a situation is "supposed" to play out.  You know how it is, after having lived for a few decades and seen a few things we begin to think that we know a few...........well, everything!  

Here are a few typical thoughts that wage war against our waiting on the Lord.

1. I know what I would do in this situation if I were God.

2. God never said that I couldn't do this.

3. This is the same situation as before.  I already know what I should do.

Here are a few Scriptures that come to mind in response to these thoughts.

1. Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

2. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8)

3. People make plans but only God's plans will succeed. (Proverbs 19:21; 16:9)

God's ways are perfect, and He knows how to craft circumstances such that EVERYONE involved receives what they should in a way that is suitable for their good and for God's glory. The same goes for justice.  Many times (more often than not probably) our aim is to get revenge when we are wronged.  However, many times God's goal is transformation of the heart that wronged us.  That is totally God's business and only He has the power to work out circumstances so that a change of heart can occur.  This is why He says, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay" (Romans 12:19).

In today's reading, the psalmist writes, "[Teach me...Lead me...for my enemies are WAITING for me."  He follows this prayer request with strong words of encouragement for all of us - "WAIT patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous."  There is an adversary or a difficulty or a circumstance, etc. that is waiting for us.  The wisest thing that we can do, when we think we have the answers and when we know that we don't have the answers, is wait on the Lord.

Lord give us strength to wait on You!

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This link is to a song by John Waller that I first heard while watching the movie, "Fireproof."  I love the lyrics! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6X71sXagUY

And, this link is to a song by one of my favorite gospel artists, Donnie McClurkin.  It's entitled, "Wait On the Lord."  A beautiful song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zZpogp6PX8

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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

Fwd: July 27 - Before you lift a finger, bend a knee

I also wanted to give glory to God referencing last week's post.  As I write this, we are supposed to have already touched down after a 13 hour journey to start our 2 week family faction, the five of us and three of my daughter's teenage friends.  We are still in the New York area.  Equipment problems delayed our JFK flight so much we were going to miss our connection - or so we thought.  In any case, we disembarked, and struggled to get seats out to Hawaii, worried the entire time about two of our daughter's friends who had flown separately, and we're going to have to spend at least a night without us.   

Those who know me know that this would be a source of great tension and anger, which would  make me surly and intolerable,company fit for neither man nor beast.  But God graciously reminded me to look vertically at Him, not horizontally at the problem.  So He kept me relaxed through what was a repetitive and frustrating process, taking us from no flight, to painfully early flight with no seats, to seats far apart in coach, to seats getting closer together...to a better routing and first class seats for everyone all the way there (except one person who would sit in coach for one of the two legs).  

Is this a miracle?  Yes, absolutely - as will be apparent to anyone who tries to book 6 seats to Hawaii in the summer at the last minute.  Those seats are typically just not there.  But what may appear insurmountable to man is still clearly under God's control, and so I had my Jehoshaphat moment.  I just wanted to thank Him in public, and to give Him the glory.

Jon Lanuza

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jose Lanuza <jose.a.lanuza@gmail.com>
Date: July 27, 2013 9:43:35 PM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: July 27 - Before you lift a finger, bend a knee

2 Chronicles 19:1-20:37

Romans 10:14-11:12

Psalm 21:1-13

Proverbs 20:4-6

I have doing unnecessary work.  Which is why the story of the victory over the Moabites, Ammonites and some of the Meunites is amazing.  In very few other places in the Bible do we find God fighting the battle completely on His own.  The first one that comes to mind is the escape from Egypt; I confess to not having memorized the entire OT, so I am not sure...but I cannot recall any other instance besides this battle.  

How many of us, when problems arise, gird our loins for battle, roll up our sleeves and get to work?  How many of us, when threatened with attack, prepare to fight back?  How awesome would it be if we didn't have to do any of that, take any of our own direct initiative, and still know the problem would be resolved?  Because that's what happened to Jehoshaphat and the men of Judah.  Not only that - faced with a massive army and the threat of death and destruction, they instead went out and collected plunder, enriched themselves at the expense of the defeated enemy they did not have to fight.  

How can we get there?  We have a good instruction manual in Jehoshaphat's life.  We read in yesterday's OT reading that "The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him.  He did not consult Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel...His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah". And today we read that he not only removed the idols, he appointed people with authority over Judah, and instructed them to "serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord...you are to warn [the people] not to sin against the Lord."  And when the threat came, he cried out to God and sought His instruction.  Jehoshaphat had a relationship with God, one he sought to share with the rest of Judah.  And so he knew the God whom he was called to trust, the God who turned disaster into victory, pain into provision.  So when God said not to worry, he knew Who it was making the promise, and could trust.  And then, when He had provided for them, Jehoshaphat and Judah went to the Lord's temple "with hearts and lyres and trumpets" - presumably to give thanks.

And so we have a roadmap - get to know our God, live life in relationship with Him and according to His commands, turn to Him in all our needs, obey what He says, and trust in His deliverance, whatever form that may take.  This roadmap, this instruction manual, is laid out in similar fashion in today's Psalm.  What an amazing God we have...may we come to know Him and live by His word the way Jehoshaphat did.  In that way we might learn to bend a knee before we lift a finger.

August 3: Patience and Persistence

I have a sneaky suspicion I have used this title before. But if the shoe fits...

2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33
Romans 16:10-27
Psalm 26:1-12
Proverbs 20:19

I had to read today's OT reading more than once before it hit me: Josiah became king at age 8, but it took him 8 years before he began to seek the Lord. And it took him 4 more years before his search led him to begin to purge the idols the people had worshipped. A further six years after that is when God called him to clear up the temple, at which point God appears to have granted him an opportunity to read the Word in a manner that would lead to an overwhelming and transformative realization of Who God was. At that point, for all Josiah had done to obey God, he was overwhelmed by the unyielding stain of sin in his life, and all he could do was humble himself and repent.

It could have stopped here - but it didn't, for Josiah appears to have hungered for the people to experience the same relationship he now had with God, so he ordered the Word be read, and he renewed the people's covenant with God.

I find I am often discouraged by how poor my understanding of God is, how weak my relationship with Him is. When so discouraged,, I can take heart from Josiah's experience, and persist in my efforts to get to know Him and develop a relationship with Him. And I can continue to hope that, with patience and persistence, God will deem me ready to get to know Him more intimately, so rewardingly that I will ache with the desire to share that relationship with others.

Thank you, Father, for the encouragement of Josiah's example. Give us please the grace to persevere, even through the times of drought, that you might deem us able to develop an ever deeper relationship with You.


Jon Lanuza

8/2/13

8/2/13
Priscilla and Aquila

Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. (Romans 16:3-5 NLT)

Today we read the conclusion to Paul's letter to the Roman church. In it we read about Priscilla and Aquila. Not much there, but it was enough to spark my interest. I seem to remember several times where they were mentioned in the New Testament. So, from these verses, we know that they are in Rome, and that they once risked their lives for Paul... Here is where it all began:

Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. (Acts 18:1-3 NLT)

So...Priscilla and Aquila hit it off with Paul because of what they had in common (ie, they were tent makers, and they were Jewish) They met each other in Corinth, but God had another plan for them...in Ephesus.

Then he set sail for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. (Acts 18:18, 19 NLT)

So, Paul took Priscilla and Aquila with him to Ephesus, and he left them there. Paul moved on, and then they made the most of their opportunities.

Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos...he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John's baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately. (Acts 18:24-26 NLT)

It was part of God's plan for Priscilla and Aquila to guide Apollos to a clear understanding of who Jesus was. God was using them in a mighty way.

So, Priscilla and Aquila lived in Italy, were forced to move away to Corinth, worked with Paul, helped Apollos, and moved back to Rome. What I find so fascinating is that, while Paul was sent out on a mission trip, Priscilla and Aquila were forced on one of their own, and their trips intersected, and they played a decent size part in changing the world for Christ! And several places in Paul's letters, he recognizes them for it. They became friends, and shared in ministry together.

Sent from my iPad

Thursday, August 1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013

2 Chronicles 30:1–31:21

Romans 15:1–22

Psalm 25:1–15

Proverbs 20:13–15

 

 

“This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.  In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.  And so he prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:20,21)

 

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

                in you, I trust, O my God.

Do not let me put to shame,

                nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one whose hope is in you

                will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

                who are treacherous without excuse.” (Psalm 25:1–3)

 

Hezekiah lived out the wisdom that King David shared in today’s psalm.  We read about Hezekiah’s dedication to God’s temple and His law.  Please pay close attention to the order of his priorities and the wording in the 2 Chronicles passage.  As a footnote, we understand:  “And so he prospered.”  He did not let the pursuit of riches, prestige, or fame to come before his commitment to the Living God, but instead God allowed Hezekiah to prosper (according to God’s own standard).

 

2 Chronicles’s description for Hezekiah includes the following:  “Good and right and faithful before the Lord his God.”  These words echo the concept in 2 Samuel 16:7, spoken about David himself:  “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Hezekiah’s heart turned to God’s glory, to its rightful orientation.

 

In a similar manner, when offered a choice for blessing, Solomon had sought wisdom rather than riches or fame.  God responded: “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.  Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.  And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:11–15)

 

Jesus explains this life-plan in Matthew 6:33:  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  With the proper priorities, God will so direct His energies to provide for every need.  We will experience true joy in loving and honoring the Lord.

 

Another confirmation for the immense value of priority-setting comes from the wisdom in Psalm 90:12:  “Teach us to number our days,/ that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  By considering the brevity of life, our hearts may become aware of living for something greater, beyond ourselves.

 

According to the promise of Psalm 25:3, we will never “be put to shame.”  We may have eternal security – for this world and the next – in the value of God’s createdness in us and everything we pour out for His Kingdom and His people.  The dictionary defines shame as “a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.”  Life experience suggests that the Evil One wishes for God’s people to feel shame, starting with Adam and Eve naked in the Garden.  This sentiment of shame works to destroy confidence in our wholeness, integrity, character, and worth as God’s creation.

 

May we, like Hezekiah, “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1–4) and experience the awesome blessing of shame-free and purposeful living.

 

 

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written:  ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’  For everything that was written in the past to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

 

“May the God who gives endurance and encourage give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that, with one heart and mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:1–6)

 

From several New Testament passages, we gather God’s desire for His people to live in unity, working to preserve cohesion and enjoying the complementarity of the Body of Christ.  The Bible does not shy away from recognizing the challenge of this endeavor and the likelihood of our selfish behavior to tear us apart.

 

Paul’s words suggest a personal responsibility to look after others’ best interests ahead of our own, echoing his teaching from Philippians 2:1–11.  There, Paul cites the living example of the Lord Jesus as the pinnacle of self-sacrifice for others’ benefit.  Jesus forfeited the glory and riches of heaven to take on a broken human body and bear the physical and spiritual penalty for mankind’s sin.  In light of this gargantuan task, our refusal to cede to others does appear quite petty.

 

This concept of building unity in the Body does appear radically countercultural, both in ancient Rome and in the modern day.  Trusting in the value of unity and living for this purpose involves faith, maturity, and an eternal focus.  (As an aside, we become decidedly less flexible under stress, hunger, or fatigue.) 

 

Whom could you “build up” in your family today?  Your neighborhood?  Grace Church?  Your hometown?  Where may we join God in binding up the brokenhearted?

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