Tuesday December 2

Daniel 9:1-11:1

1 John 2:18-3:6

Psalms 121:1-8

Proverbs 28:27-28

"O my God, lean down and listen to me. Open your eyes and see our despair. See how your city—the city that bears your name—lies in ruins. We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy.

Daniel 9:18

This verse jumped out at me as I read it. We do not deserve help, but God gives it because of His mercy. So often, I get stuck in the mindset that I need to earn favor with God. I need to do all the right things and check everything off my list and be good enough. I just need to be good enough and then everything will be okay. But that's not how it works. That's not at all how it works. We can't be good enough. We don't deserve anything. All we have is a gift from God because He is merciful and because He loves us.

Three times in Daniel 9-10 it says that Daniel is precious to God. Remember that you are precious to Him too. 

Nov 30

1 John 1:4  We write this to make our joy complete.

Yesterday was the beginning of the Advent season. And it shows us the great contrast between a Christian's strategy for joy and the world's strategy. The world's strategy starts with Black Friday. In many ways Black Friday has become the official start of the Christmas celebration. The retailers promise that if you purchase stuff you will discover joy. The world's strategy to joy is to "consume."

But for Christians our joy strategy is very different. The weeks leading up to Christmas day are called Advent. This word comes from the Latin "adventus" which means coming. Advent is about preparing our hearts to greet our King. It is a time for both looking back to Jesus' first coming and looking forward to His second coming in glory.

The Christian's strategy for joy is to "contemplate." Our Advent begins with an honest appraisal of our need for a Savior.

The apostle John, who was an eyewitness to the life of Jesus, said He came to provide a remedy for sin. Jesus' appearance has freed us from the power of sin. And those who contemplate will find forgiveness and, ultimately, joy in life.

So I encourage you to make this Advent season special. Reject the pull of the culture to consume and make room for contemplation.  

Each day of Advent, set aside a special place to sit and read God's word for 10 minutes. Then take 4 minutes to pray on your knees. Finally write down one sentence of truth God has taught you. These 15 minutes of contemplation will change your life.

We are also setting aside Thursday as a day of prayer and fasting. This Advent, join the conspiracy and determine to prepare your heart for the true meaning of Christmas.

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"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

December 1: We have met the enemy, and he is us...

Daniel 8:1-27

1 John 2:1-17

Psalm 120:1-7

Proverbs 28:25-26

"I call on the Lord in my distress,

     and He answers me.

 Save me, Lord,

     from lying lips

     and from deceitful tongues."

It is so easy to read the psalmist's words and think of all the people who have hurt us, with their "lying lips" and "deceitful tongues".  And yet it is somewhat enlightening to realize that, often, the person whose lying lips and deceitful tongue hurts us the most, is ourself.  When I think about the distress I've experienced, while a lot of it resulted from what other people did, so much more of it was a result of what I did - the lies I told myself to rationalize sinful behavior, the deceit I permitted myself to think I wasn't necessarily hurting anyone, so I wasn't really doing anything wrong.  

See, the thing is, when I sin, I find I rarely do it without recognizing the sin; I do so likely having rationalized it somehow, in order to be able to gratify myself and make it seem right.  "Everyone's doing it - how bad could it really be?" or "I'm sure God didn't mean THIS particular situation" or even "Just this once - and never again."  As I think about this now, I realize that all this was a means to justify putting myself ahead of God - and was reflective of the quality of my relationship with Him. 

It's that relationship that John writes about - the one that involves something I've mentioned in the past: "transformative knowledge".  When my relationship with God is in right order, then I keep His commands - not because they justify me before Him, but because I want to.  Obedience to Him, putting Him first, putting my brother and sister first - all this is a result not of my own strength and effort, but of being in right relationship with Him.  It comes naturally - sort of like how, before I fell in love with my wife, I was quite happy to go on long business trips; and now, I would like nothing more than to be at home with her and the kids.  

Still, I struggle with sinfulness.  How wonderful, therefore, to read John's reassurances: "But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world."

It is because of HIs sacrifice that, despite my sinfulness, I can "call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me."  Thank You, Jesus.

Saturday 11/29/2014

Saturday, November 29, 2014

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”  (Daniel 6:16)

"People of character and integrity who take risks are most often the kind of people who see God’s power and the fullness of His blessing upon their lives and ministries.” (Martin Sanders, The Power of Mentoring)

Daniel was such a person - a man of character and integrity, on and off the job, in the eyes of God and men.  He was so favored that his jealous co-workers devised a scheme to get him thrown into a lion’s den.  They tricked the king into issuing a decree that forbade praying to any other god or human being other than the king.  In spite of the decree, Daniel continued to pray three times a day as he had always done (even at the risk of losing his life).  As a result, when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for praying to God, God made the once ferocious lions to be like kittens.  The Lord miraculously rescued Daniel from death because of Daniel’s character…and everyone in the empire heard about it.

Daniel didn’t overpower the lions and he didn’t pull a 007 escape trick.  No magic.  No frills.  Just character...especially when things got hard.  Most of us would have excused Daniel if he didn’t pray so openly after the decree was issued or if he had just prayed silently rather than aloud.  But, Daniel took the risk and God honored it, using it to glorify His Own Name.

Have you stopped praying because it just hasn’t seemed like its worth the effort anymore?

Has a particular difficulty that you’re facing intimidated you and caused you to waver in faith?

If we’ve learned anything from this passage it’s that whether things look hopeless or intimidating don’t stop praying - keep the faith.

November 28th

November 28th

"You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! So God has sent this hand to write this message. "This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is what these words mean: Mene means 'numbered'—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means 'weighed'—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin means 'divided'—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." (‭Daniel‬ ‭5‬:‭22-28‬ NLT)

So, Nebuchadnezzar was called "God's instrument" in some of our readings. Belshazzar was not, and God did not love anything that was going on. Belshazzar took idolatry to another level, and God took offense to it. He wrote on the wall, and that writing was final. Belshazzar's doom was finalized. And quick it was. The teaching that I think we can get out of today is that when God warns of certain doom, we need to repent. If King Belshazzar turned his life around after this warning, we would have seen a different result. God gives us opportunity to turn around, and when He does that we need to NOT sit on a decision. Our life could be taken that very night. God wants to see change, it is our duty to change.

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Thursday, November 27

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Daniel 4:1–37

2 Peter 1:1–21

Psalm 119:97–112

Proverbs 28:17,18

 

 

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 

“For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance; godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:3–9)

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!  May you rejoice in the blessings of God’s Word and His presence and the fellowship of your loved ones.

 

Today’s passage discusses the concept of progressive sanctification or, more simply, growth or maturation as a Christian.  From the moment of our receiving Christ into our lives through faith, we become part of God’s family, but each day thereafter represents an opportunity to mature more into the likeness of Christ.  This process involves the empowerment and guidance of the Holy Spirit and our willingness to be refined.

 

In his book Respectable Sins, author Jerry Bridges explains that, as believers, we typically should find contentment for the material and experiential situations in which we find ourselves.  This contentment speaks to our welcome acceptance of God’s sovereignty and goodness in our lives.  Discontentment with our life situations expresses doubt towards God’s purposes in our lives, which the Scriptures describe as intended for our transformation into Christlikeness.

 

Bridges notes, however, that we may rightly be discontented with our progress and growth in Christ.  Bridges terms this sentiment “holy discontentment,” reasoning that, if we became complacent with our growth, we will stagnate.  Athletic training follows the same principle.

 

Peter starts by noting that His “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him.”  God has provided His “very great and precious promises,” which enable us to “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”  Our transformation into Christlikeness therefore comes primarily through His provision.

 

In the second paragraph above, Peter turns to discussing how we play an active role in this transformation.  He explains that we should “make every effort” to pursue these great characteristics of a transformed believer.  He does not suggest that we may develop these characteristics through our own effort.  Rather, they emerge primarily through our participation in the divine nature through our knowledge of God.

 

Through his text, Peter indicates that these characteristics become more fully grown through time.  Each of the characteristics holds merit in its own right, but there appears to be a pattern for growth, heading towards love.  Speaking realistically, we cannot expect to develop one characteristic fully and then move on the next.  Instead, the sense here is of progressively growing in each, recognizing that our character development in one area will impact and strengthen our growth in another.

 

While God may use us as raw, unrefined newborns, He does desire our progressive growth in character to be used for His glory and fame.  A quick self-inventory helps us to recognize that we have many areas in which to “make every effort.”  Disappointment and crisis provide a great crucible for witnessing our character development.  I have a long, long way to go, but I am not alone in the journey.

 

 

Lord God, thank You for giving us Your very great and precious promises and for allowing us to participate in the divine nature.  Help us to grow in character this day and to more fully embrace Your work in our lives.  Help us not to be impediments towards Your purposes, but rather change our perspective towards Yours.  We love You and worship You.  You are our great Provider.  You alone deserve the glory.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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November 24: A Prayer for Ferguson

Ezekiel 47:1-48:35

1 Peter 2:11-3:7

Psalm 119:49-64

Proverbs 28:12-13

It is 8:30 PM on the east coast as I write this, and in a half hour, we expect to hear whether or not a grand jury has indicted Officer Darren Wilson in the matter of the shooting death of Michael Brown.  It seems so timely that we read 1 Peter 2:11-19.  Peter seems to be relaying to us the way in which Christians are to respond to authority, even the authority over slaves.  

For those who do not know, three and  a half months ago, an encounter between Officer Wilson and Mr. Brown led to injuries to the former, and the death of the latter, in the town of Ferguson, MIssouri, which has since been flooded by protestors demanding Officer Wilson's arrest and indictment, accompanied by many who have seen fit to destroy and deface property, and to intimidate those who do not share their views.  I am not weighing in on whether or not the grand jury ought to indict - either way, there are going to be some very angry, very frustrated people.  My question is, how should we respond?  

1 Peter 2:13 is something I have tremendous difficulty with.  Almost 30 years ago, I was involved in the EDSA revolution, a peaceful revolt against 14 years of martial rule and the dictator who ran the country.  And those who know me know how frustrated I am with the current administration.  And yet today I read that we are to "submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors , who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."  The only way this makes sense to me is if I go back to last week's reflection on "good and perfect gifts" - these authorities have been permitted by our all knowing, all powerful and all loving God out of the perfection of His plan for our welfare.  

In that context, one would think we should be able to respect the authorities God permits, and the decisions they make.  In fact, it is pretty amazing, because in verse 18, Peter says that even slaves should show such respect - "in reverent fear of God, submit yourselves to your masters, not only those who are good and considerate, but also those who are harsh".  And we should then be able to "live such good lives among the pagans that, though they may accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."  The good thing is that we do not do this without guidance and direction - we have Christ's example, Who suffered for us, leaving us an example.  He didn't retaliate, He made no threats....instead He entrusted Himself to His Father, Whom He knew would judge justly.

The Psalm today alludes to this as well, where the psalmist begs God to give him comfort in his suffering.  He cites how even when mocked unmercifully by the people of the world, he does not stray from the Lord's laws.  May we be blessed with such a relationship with our Father that we too will find His strength to stay the course even amidst difficulty and injustice.  It is then, in Ferguson, Missouri and in our own personal Fergusons, that we will be able to find His peace.