Love Week: Demonstrated
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Happy Valentine's Week. Or Happy Making Fun of Valentine's Week Week. Some people just can't stand the hype leading up to the biggest greeting card day of the year. Others can't wait to get some candy love!
Either way, the PW Daily Devo is here for you. Call this week's devotionals our valentine to you -- or the ultimate anti-Valentine. We're cool both ways, as long as you're cool digging into some verses about God's giant, expensive, expressive, impressive love for His children.
For starters, we're absolutely convinced that God has proved His love for us way before we could do anything to make ourselves lovable. As today's verse points out, He gave His Son to make it possible for us to live with Him forever. Do you need more evidence?
Think: Do you ever wonder if God really loves you? Are you convinced that His gift of the life of Jesus in your place is a demonstration of His forever love for you? Why or why not?
Pray: Thank God that He demonstrated His own love for us by sending Christ to die for us when we were still sinners.
Read: See how huge this idea really is when you read Romans 5:1-11.
Faith Works: Be Disciplinable
"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." (Proverbs 3:11-12)
Here's a hard idea: God disciplines His kids. That includes you and me. Listen close, though -- God does not punish His kids for their sin. Jesus has already been punished for our sin. The punishment for sin is death and hell. God has zeroed out that debt for those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation.
But God does discipline His kids -- and, yes, that is a huge difference. His discipline seems to involve allowing enough pain to come our way to get our hearts back in line with Him, to get our feet back on the path He has called us to.
Not all kids take being disciplined very well. Some get angry and resentful. Others rebel even more. Some get discouraged and want to give up at the very thought that they aren't perfect, after all.
Faith that works says, "I was wrong. God loves me and is right to correct me or discipline me. I will accept that and move closer to Him by obeying Him."
Think: How do you receive being corrected, rebuked, or disciplined? Why is it so hard to take it well? How is correction and discipline evidence of God's love for you?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to resent His discipline or correction, but to received it well because you know He loves you.
Do: Read more about God's discipline in Hebrews 12:1-13.
Faith Works: Give Him Your Stuff
"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10)
Too many people have read these verses as some kind of formula for getting rich, as if God has set Himself up as the best currency exchange system ever: "Put in $10, get out $100."
But this chapter is about trusting God's way, not using Him to get rich so we can live our way. To honor God with my "wealth" means that I understand it all comes from Him, that I refuse to use any of it to dishonor Him, and that I give part of my income back to Him somehow. Then God promised Israel to respond with abundant crops.
Jesus challenged His followers to even deeper faith, to see money as something to be used to store up wealth in heaven, not fickle fortunes on earth. He praised a poor woman who gave all she had because that showed she was trusting God to give her all she needed today and forever.
Think: How can you honor God with your wealth? Why would you do that? What would you expect to happen as a result?
Pray: Ask God to help you to show your trust in His ability to provide for you by willingly giving away some of your money and stuff to and for Him.
Do: Ask a wise Christian you trust how they decide how much is right to give to God in dollars, time, energy, and attention.
Faith Works: Trust His Eyes
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:7-8)
It's not that you and I don't have any of our own "wisdom" apart from God. We do. It is based on our unique perspective of the world. Our experiences. Our point of view. And God tells us not to trust any of that.
Wow, is that a different message from what the rest of the world tells us. "Trust yourself." "Don't let anyone tell you that what you have to offer isn't valuable." And then God says, "Don't be wise in your own eyes." Your perspective isn't reliable.
How much humility does it take to trust God's perspective instead of mine? (Hint: Lots!) That's what "fear the Lord" means. Whenever my POV doesn't line up with His -- His wins. Period. If I go my way, I go the wrong way.
The payoff here is that God's way leads to a healthy life. Mine -- when it's different from His -- leads to sin. And sin breaks things (including my mental, emotional, and physical health). Why not trust His eyes, instead?
Think: Has anyone ever given you the exact opposite advice from this, telling you to trust your own wisdom first in life? What's wrong with that idea?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to be wise in your own eyes, but to fear Him and shun evil.
Do: Ask one or more of your parents to tell you about a time with they trusted their own perspective and made a foolish choice. Or did the opposite.
Faith Works: Live Simple
". . . in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6)
Want your life to be complicated? Really confused and stressful and messy? It's easy to accomplish: Just give some of your life to the Lord. Just acknowledge Him in some of your ways. And then save the rest of your ways for yourself.
Trust me. It's like signing up for a multiple personality disorder. Why? Because God's way is not your way. If you make a commitment to trust Him in some things and not others, you'll always be trying to keep the parts of yourself a secret from the other parts of yourself.
I'm not saying it can't be done. Most of us do it every day. I'm just saying it sucks. James called it being "double minded and unstable," this trusting in God some and me some. And it leads to foolish living and giant headaches.
Want to live simple? Want to walk a straight-ahead path that's going somewhere? Trust God with 100 percent of your heart and acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Think: What would you lose if you trusted God by obeying Him in every part of your life? What would you gain?
Pray: Ask God to help you to acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Do: Make a quick list of parts of your life that you tend to keep away from God, that you'd rather not let the "God part" of your life know about.
Faith Works: Burn Your Plan B’s
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
Is there a harder thing in life to do than this?
The verse starts out like a cheesy Valentine's Day card: "I trust in You with all my heart!" In modern language, that has come to mean, "I trust in You a whole bunch."
What it really means is, "I'm not saving any part of my heart to trust something else in case you don't come through." Or, "Yeah, I just torched all my Plan B's. I've got no back-up plan. Your map is the only one I'm following."
Then the punch line: "Don't even lean on your own understanding." Ignore what "feels right" and/or "feels wrong." Ignore your math worksheet. Ignore your instinct; trust God's path instead.
Think: If you've made a commitment to live this way, how hard are you working to know God's path for you from His Word? What are some of the things we tend to want to trust instead of God?
Pray: Ask God to help you to trust in Him with your whole heart and not to lead on your own understanding.
Do: If you have memorized Proverbs 3:5-6 (or not), write them out on a piece of paper without looking. Peek if you have to, then start again.
Faith Works: Tattoo Your Heart
"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." (Proverbs 3:3-4)
It's too easy to just nod along with your youth leader, Sunday School teacher, pastor -- and especially your parents -- when they're breaking down truth from God's Word: "Yup, I believe that. What's for lunch?"
It's much harder to cross over to, "Now what am I going to do about it?"
In today's passage, the Father tells his son -- and God tells us -- to make an absolute, unbreakable commitment to "love and faithfulness," to remembering and obeying God's instructions because you love Him and you've promised.
How committed? He tells us to tie love and faithfulness around our necks and tattoo them on our hearts. In other words, make them your permanent attitude and motivation.
The payoff for living that way: You'll gain the respect of God and the people in your life.
Think: You can't really tattoo your heart, but how could you make your commitment to love God and to follow Him faithfully in Christ more permanent in your life? What would keep you from doing that?
Pray: Ask God to help you to make your love for Him and faithfulness to follow His direction more and more permanent.
Do: Make a quick list of three things you could do this week to keep God's Word (maybe Proverbs 3:5-6?) right in front of you as much as possible so you can't forget it.
Faith Works: Remember & Obey
"My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity." (Proverbs 3:1-2)
Do you ever wonder what it means to "trust God" or "have faith"? Those are kind of squishy words that can mean all kinds of things to lots of different people. You can say to yourself, "I will start trusting God . . . now." And then what?
We're going to spend this next week getting practical with Proverbs 3. It is full of wisdom from a father to a son (and from God to us) about what we should do to trust God. How do we put faith into action?
Step one, says the wise father (and God), is to remember. Remember His teachings. Remember the words and commands of God. And then store them permanently in your heart so you can obey them. That's bottom line wisdom: "Remember and obey God's Word; it leads to good things!"
Want to get practical about your faith? Find a way to keep from forgetting what God teaches and to do it. More tomorrow.
Think: Do you do anything on purpose to try to get God's teaching into your head so you never forget it? Practically speaking, what could you do to make that happen?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to forget His teaching and to keep His commands in your heart.
Do: Install a couple of God's commands in your heart right now by memorizing (or brushing up on) Proverbs 3:5-6.
Pray Big: Worship Big
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
We've spent this last week listening in on Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Christians, a huge prayer for huge power so they could understand and live in the reality of a huge idea -- that the God of the universe loves them and will never, ever stop.
To understand that truth about God's commitment to us in Jesus changes a person. In fact, it changes everything. Ultimately, if the all-powerful God is for you -- and will be always -- how could you future be any better?
In these final verses, Paul responds in the only way that makes sense: worship. "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Amen.
Think: Are you convinced that God is all-powerful and that He loves you unconditionally in Jesus -- and that He will love you forever? If so, how does believing that change the way you live? How does it motivate you to respond to God in worship?
Pray: Say to God, "To you be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Do: Make a point this next week to remember God's love for you in Christ and to worship Him for it.
Pray Big: Can’t Even Imagine
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us . . ." (Ephesians 3:20)
Okay, yes, this is not even a whole thought -- but Paul squeezed a huge idea or two into this sentence fragment.
In a way, it makes sense that we tend to pray small, because God can do so much more than we could ever even dream up. He's got the power to do good for us that we do not have the power to think of to ask for.
Bottom line: You will never be able to ask God for something that is beyond His ability to do -- because you'll never be able to think of anything that is beyond His ability to do.
This verse is not a promise that God will do whatever you ask Him to (no matter what your motives). Sometimes He says no because that is what is best for us -- but He never says no because He cannot do what we ask. We don't have to be afraid to pray bigger.
Think: Have you ever limited what you asked God for because you were limited in your understanding of what God can do? Are you able to hear a "no" or "not now" from God as His love for you, trusting that what you asked for would not ultimately be for the good?
Pray: Ask God to help you to pray like He is really able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine -- and to trust Him to respond to our prayers out of His love for us.
Do: Ask an older, wiser Christian you know if they have ever asked God for something they desperately wanted at the time -- but are now glad that He said no to.
Pray Big: Filled Up with God
"And I pray that you . . . may have power . . . to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19)
The last line of Paul's huge prayer for the Ephesians may be the biggest request, yet. To boil it down, we left out a lot of important stuff with those ". . ." things -- stuff you'll need to really understand the whole idea.
Still, here's the bottom line: Paul prays that they will know the "beyond-knowing" love of Christ. In other words, he wants them to know in their lives -- to experience for real -- something they cannot understand with their brains alone. Do you want to experience Christ's love in a way that can't be understood? Do you want to feel and be loved by God like that?
I hope so, because the last phrase of Paul's prayer is that knowing that love is the path to being filled all the way up -- to your maximum capacity -- with God.
So you are rooted in this love immense love. You grow in it. You know it. It lives in your heart through Christ. And it is the way to be full -- all the way to the top -- of God. That's a big prayer.
Think: Has thinking about this prayer this week made you feel like you need to know and understand more about God's love for you in Jesus? If so, do you think there's a way to know God's love better (in addition to praying about it)?
Pray: For yourself and a Christian friend, ask God for the power to know His love that surpasses knowledge--that you may both be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God.
Do: Remind yourself of some of the aspects of God's love for you in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Pray Big: Power to Grasp
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Ephesians 3:17-18)
The whole idea of these verses is profound and beautiful . . . and odd. Since when do you need power to "grasp" or understand something? We would usually say that you need intelligence or wisdom to grasp a big idea. But Paul prays for power -- enormous power directly from God Himself.
That (and tomorrow's verse) tells us that the immense "love of Christ" is beyond our ability to understand with our minds, no matter how smart or wise we are. It's like asking the plant, rooted in the earth, to understand how vast the earth is.
If we're going to carry around any understanding of the long, high, deep, wide love of Christ, we'll need a power source beyond that of our own minds that will allow us to get a handle on it
Why does it matter? Because the fact that God loves us in Christ is what matters most of all. Because it's a love that never runs out and looms infinitely larger than anything we can imagine that might separate us from it.
Think: Can you think of any other examples of ideas or concepts that require an external power to understand? Does it bother you that there are truths in God's universe that we can't figure out with mere human intelligence and reason?
Pray: Pray for yourself and a friend that you would have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ
Do: Read more about this powerful love in Romans 8:31-39.
Pray Big: Whose Heart?
". . . so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love . . ." (Ephesians 3:17)
Yes, today's verse is basically a couple of sentence fragments -- but both fragments contain huge ideas to pray about.
The first has to do with what we need God's power for: to keep Christ "dwelling" in our hearts. Don't panic: This is not talking about keeping our salvation; Paul teaches over and over again that God doesn't "lose" His children.
Paul's prayer here has to do with asking God to give his readers the power to keep Christ the first priority in their lives -- making Him "at home" in the very center of their hearts.
The second idea is this: While Christ lives in our hearts, we live -- like plants in dirt with a deep, established root system -- in God's love. Tomorrow we'll see why we need those deep roots in His love.
Think: How have you been doing at demonstrating your trust in God by keeping Christ the first priority in your life, making your heart His home? Do you need more of God's power to be able to do that? Do you believe God can give you the power to do that?
Pray: Ask God to strengthen you with His power so Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.
Do: If your parent or parents are Christians, ask them sometime what kinds of things they pray for you -- and what they might like you to pray for them.
Pray Big: Ask for Power
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being." (Ephesians 3:16)
My five year old son is going through a phase lately where he's continually impressed by how powerful I am. I like that. He will try his hardest to pick up a heavy box and won't be able to budge it. Then I'll scoop it up without even grunting (much), and he'll actually say, "Whoa, dad, you're really strong."
I say it's a phase, because I know he's only going to get stronger as he grows -- and I'm not. Someday, he'll know I'm just a very averagely strong guy, but I hope he's always impressed by how strong and powerful God is. And I hope he asks God for some of that power.
We're talking about big prayers this week, and what Paul asks today is a doozy. He knows God has an unlimited bank account of "power," and he asks God to give some of "that" power -- limitless God power -- and install it in the "inner being" of the Ephesians. Paul knew they would need that power to do some heavy lifting when it came to understanding and living in the love of Christ.
How often do you ask God to put His "whoa, dad" power in yours or someone else's inner being -- to make them stronger with His strength? That's a big prayer.
Think: How strong are we in our inner being -- in our hearts and minds and souls -- as compared to God? Would you say you are impressed with His power? Would you say that you need His power to do anything worthwhile?
Pray: Pick another Christian you know. Ask God to do this for both of you, to "strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being."
Do: Read David's prayer to see the impressive power of God in Psalm 68:28.
Pray Big: Kneel to the Father
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name." (Ephesians 3:14-15)
Most of the Christians I know -- including me -- have a prayer problem. Not only is prayer hard work and easy to skip, we're often only half-convinced that it even matters. We believe God hears and answers prayer, generally speaking; we're just not sure sometimes that our prayers are worth putting out there.
Sound harsh? If you and I really believed we were talking to the God of the universe -- the God with unlimited power and unlimited patience and love and forgiveness for us in Christ -- how often would we talk to Him?
Our small faith leads to small prayers. When we do pray, we usually ask for little things that have to do with money and health and travel and relationships. Yes, God cares about all of those things with us -- but we can also pray much, much bigger.
This week, we're going to try to "kneel to the Father" along with Paul and copycat his giant prayers for his Ephesian readers. What he asks God for is, frankly, a little startling. I hope we're not afraid to ask the same things for ourselves and those we care most about.
Think: Do you think it matters what position your body is in when you pray? Why do you think Paul made a point to say he kneels when praying here? How does kneeling or bowing or closing our eyes help us to pray more meaningfully?
Pray: Ask God to help you to approach Him respectfully when you pray and to be glad to call Him Father.
Do: Paul offers another great-to-copy prayer for the Ephesians in 1:15-23. Check it out.
Sad by Stubborn: Even in Pain
"My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:10-11)
Have you ever been so sick or injured or sad that you thought you were going to die -- or felt like maybe you wanted to? The writer of Psalm 42 seems to be describing severe physical pain on top of all of his emotional suffering -- on top of being mocked along with his God.
Once more, though, he refuses to give up. After asking God the hard "why" questions in the previous verse, he turns the questions on himself again: "Why am I so downcast? This is not the end. My hope is in the God who saves -- I will not stop praising Him."
Job made a similar declaration when in physical and emotional agony -- at no fault of his own. He said about the God He was convinced could end His suffering, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." (See Job 13:15.)
For those who trust in God, life's worst days call for the best kind of stubbornness to keep hoping in the God who saves, to keep trusting and praising the God who comforts and rescues and will one day bring us home.
Think: How much harder is it to trust and hope in God when you are hurting physically as well as emotionally? How much difference does it make to know that God is for us and that Christ understands our physical and emotional pain after what He experienced on the cross?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be stubborn even when your sad, to keep praising, trusting and hoping in Him even on your hardest days.
Do: If you know a Christian who lives with ongoing physical pain and still seems to trust God and live joyfully, think about asking how they do that.
Sad but Stubborn: Real Praise Hard Questions
"By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?' " (Psalm 42:8-9)
There's something heartbreaking about these two verses together. The writer -- in deep despair -- still stubbornly refuses to allow his sadness over his circumstances to turn him against God.
Just the opposite: He admits that God loves him. He sings his prayerful night song to the "God of my life." Instead of shaking an angry fist at God, he is trusting, almost sweetly submissive in his attitude.
But that doesn't keep him from asking God the hard questions: "God, my Rock, why have you forgotten me? Why in the enemy winning? Why must I feel this way?"
I believe this is exactly the right response to God during the worst times of our life. Sadness with stubborn trust. Praise with brutally honest questions. Seeking comfort while being honest from your gut. Respect. Sincere prayer. And the determined choice to keep trusting even when the answers don't come right away.
Think: Which is harder for you when life is hard -- to keep your heart soft and close to God or to ask Him your hardest "why" questions? Is it possible to ask God "why" while still being convinced that He is acting in love for you?
Pray: Ask God to help you not to harden your heart toward Him when life is hard, but also to be honest with Him about what's hard about life while trusting Him with the outcome.
Do: Read what Paul wrote to Christians about what God is doing for and feeling about us while we're going through hard times.
Sad but Stubborn: Don’t Wait
"My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me." (Psalm 42:6-7)
Those who have never faced a serious depression have trouble getting this idea of having a "downcast soul." The writer here isn't just bummed out because he's having a bad day. He describes a deep sadness that won't quickly pass.
Still, he refuses to wait for a better day to "remember" God. He describes his location. If he had been on Twitter, some scholars tells us that his GPS locator would have likely put him in the mountains north of the Sea of Galilee -- far from where he wanted to be worshipping God at the sanctuary in Jerusalem.
If it had been me, I might have decided to let my sadness pull me under for a while until I was in a better place to get my head on straight with God. But the writer was stubborn. He remembered God right where he was. He remembered that God controls the waves -- even the ones that had swept over him. He would keep trusting.
Think: Have you been putting off getting closer to God because you're not in the "best place" right now? What's wrong with that idea? What would it take, really, for you to remember God wherever you're at right now?
Pray: Ask God to help you to remember Him even when your circumstances aren't what you wish that they were.
Do: David's song in Psalm 63 sounds similar to this one in some ways. Check it out.
Sad but Stubborn: Talk to Your Soul
"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:5)
Do you ever talk to yourself? I don't mean muttering incoherently while you walk around downtown in your bathrobe. I mean really talking to your "soul," as the writer of this song so eloquently describes it.
I took up the habit of intentionally talking to myself a few years ago after thinking through this psalm. It's not a new-agey kind of thing where I'm trying to get in touch with my lost inner child or something. It's just an exercise in self-control -- one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It's a technique for saying to my emotions, my desires, my wandering heart, "Look, I refuse to slip all of the way into despair (or lust or distraction); this is how it's going to be. Remember what's true."
And that led this writer back to worship. He said to himself, "Why are you so upset? Hope in God! You're not done praising Him. He is the Savior. He will save you."
Think: What do you need to remind your soul about today? What will keep you from taking control of your heart and trusting it to God?
Pray: Ask God for the self-control to put your hope in Him, to remind yourself of the truth.
Do: Ask a friend or two if they ever tell themselves what to do as a way of taking control of their emotions. Does it work for them?
Sad but Stubborn: Pour Out and Remember
"My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng." (Psalm 42:3-4)
The writer of this song is about to get stubborn in his sadness, but first he pours out his soul to God. It's the right approach for all of us when locked in a battle with sadness or depression or even just feeling down. You can't make the best use of your sadness if you can't tell yourself the truth about it.
"Why isn't your God doing anything good to help you?" That's what is implied by the taunts of the unbelievers in the writer's life. They noticed his sadness and challenged his faith in God.
But the songwriter refuses to give in completely to despair; he refuses to give up on God even though he is overwhelmed by loneliness and sorrow. He makes a stubborn choice to remember a happy moment of being caught up in the worship of God (probably at the temple in Jerusalem).
That choice of what to dwell on with his mind seems to lead to the determination we'll see in the next verse tomorrow.
Think: What do you choose to dwell on when you're sad? Have you noticed that choosing to think about happier moments and worshipping God helps you to keep from giving up completely?
Pray: Ask God to help you when you're feeling sad or overwhelmed or depressed to have the self-control to dwell on worshipping Him and on some joyful moments He has given to you.
Do: Write a quick two or three sentences about one of your most joyful memories that included worshipping God.
Sad but Stubborn: Homesick
"My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (Psalm 42:2)
It's a vivid memory. I was in college at the time and sitting in my car in a Wendy's parking lot and listening to Rich Mullins sing "Be With You." And out of nowhere I felt like crying.
I'd been thinking a lot about what was missing in my life. I'd been a Christian since kindergarten. I'd pretty much done everything I knew to do as a Jesus follower. Why didn't it feel like enough? Why was I wondering if I'd been wasting my time? Wasn't following Jesus supposed to take away all the emptiness?
Then I heard Rich sing that song and it hit me: "I'm not home, yet." I'm not with God, yet. Not in the way I will be. What I was missing was being with my Father -- and that loneliness made perfect sense.
The writer of this psalm is probably describing getting "home" to the temple and his worship of God there, but the emotion resonates. Paul described it, too. We were made for the Father and we won't be fully satisfied until that moment comes.
Think: Have you ever had that sense that something was missing even though you had done everything a "good Christian" should do? Have you ever connected that feeling with being lonely to be with God?
Pray: Ask God to help your loneliness for Him to draw you closer and to deepen your love and worship for Him.
Do: If you haven't, yet, read Paul's description of this feeling in Romans 8:22-25 -- and how the Spirit helps us turn that healthy sadness into prayer in verses 26-27.
Sad but Stubborn: Thirsty for God
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Psalm 42:1)
How often do you feel sad? Sadness can be a fleeting feeling in the middle of a busy day, or it can overwhelm us for weeks and months. We're going to talk about sadness (or depression or "feeling down") this week -- but we're not going to talk about how to fix it.
Psalm 42 is a song about sadness apparently intended to be sung in public. The writer admits to being deeply "downcast," but he responds to his sadness in a weird way. More on that later in the week.
He starts the song with the picture of a thirsty deer looking for a stream. It might be easier for us to imagine a dog coming in from a long walk and making a bee line for it's water dish. The writer's point is that he was thirsty for God like that -- needy, eager, desperate.
More tomorrow about feeling lonely for God.
Think: Do you ever feel so lonely for God that it feels like a thirst, like you're desperate? Would it be weird to feel sad because you can't be with God?
Pray: Ask God to help you to increase your thirstiness for Him.
Do: Think about being needy for God in your soul next time you feel physically thirsty.
Grace for Sinners: Now What?
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17)
How can you possibly respond to the grace of God? Once you really understand what it is -- that what seems way too good to be true really really is true -- what is the only logical response to the God who gives love and forgiveness to those who have earned rejection and hell?
One response makes sense: Worship. That's it. You can't "pay God back" for saving you. You can't get busy "earning" His gift of eternal life. He doesn't want you to spend the rest of your life focused on yourself, anyway, feeling guilty for what's been forgiven or feeling determined to prove yourself to Him.
The only logical thing for the grace-receivers to do is to spend our lives focused on Him. That's what worship is, and it's what Paul turns to in today's verse after telling his story of grace.
Honor and glory to the forever King, the only God, forevermore.
Think: What are some lousy ways that Christians might be tempted to respond to God's grace? How have you participated in the worship of our good God this week?
Pray: Tell God about His greatness and about your love and appreciation for Him.
Do: Make a quick list of three things you could do during this next week to express worship to God.
Grace for Sinners: Unlimited Patience
"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:16)
"If God can save that guy, He can save anyone." Maybe you've heard that idea applied to a murderer or a rapist or a drug dealer. But that's not quite what Paul was saying here. He wasn't talking about who God "can" save -- God can save anyone He wants to, right? -- Paul is talking about who God is willing to save.
If God is willing to save even a guy who rejected faith in Jesus, a guy who participated in killing Christians, a guy thirsty for the blood of Jesus-followers, then the grace of God must be huge. It must be bigger than we imagined. His patience must be "unlimited," outlasting even the worst of all my repeated sins.
Paul's salvation was a billboard for the grace of God. His message was his life: "Believe on Jesus and receive eternal life -- no matter what you've done. God forgives it all."
Think: Is your life a billboard for the grace of God? If you are a Christian, how could your life NOT be a billboard for the grace of God?
Pray: Thank Jesus for His mercy, for His unlimited patience, and for the gift of eternal life for all who believe on Him.
Do: Write 2 or 3 sentences describing how your life is evidence of the grace of God.
Grace for Sinners: Even the Worst
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst." (1 Timothy 1:15)
Think Paul wanted to make sure his readers where paying attention? He did everything but underline and circle this statement. And since every statement Paul wrote as Scripture was "trustworthy" and deserved "full acceptance," this one must be huge.
"Jesus came here to save sinners." He didn't come condemn sinners. He didn't come to evaluate sinners for potential. He didn't come to give sinners a little help so they could maybe stop sinning and make it to heaven eventually. He came to save sinners, from the "best" to the "worst" of us.
Paul said, "I am the worst." Not "was" the worst, even though he had been a Christ-follower for quite a while when he wrote this. Jesus didn't wait for Paul to stop sinning -- or become less of a sinner -- before saving him. Jesus saved Paul while he was still a sinner.
That's grace; it's what Jesus does for every believer.
Think: Why did Paul call himself the worst sinner? Does being less of a sinner make anyone more or less likely to be saved by God? Why?
Pray: Thank God for sending Jesus into the world to save sinners like you and Paul.
Do: Read what Jesus said about why He came into the world in John 3:16-21.
Grace for Sinners: Poured
"The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 1:14)
Paul just got done listing what He had to offer Christ: blasphemy, persecution, violence, ignorance, and unbelief. Now he describes what Christ gave to him: "superabundant" grace, faith, and love.
If you are in Christ, He has done the same for you. The best of your goodness was worthless, evil, impotent. You had nothing to trade for God's help. You had nothing of value to offer in exchange for even a little, tiny taste of His love.
So He gave you the ocean of His acceptance and forgiveness as a gift through faith in Christ. For free. Because He loves you. Anyway. He took your unbelief and gave you faith. He took your love of violence and gave you an unlikely love for Him and His people.
He is rebuilding you not to make you acceptable to Him, but to make you who you were alway intended to be. And that looks a lot like Jesus.
Think: Why is it so hard for some of us to believe we have no goodness in ourselves to make us acceptable to God? Why is it so hard to believe that He pours out His grace on us for free?
Pray: Thank God that He pours out His abundant grace on believers, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Do: Think about memorizing this short verse and kicking it around your head for the next week or two.
Grace for Sinners: Villains Wanted
"Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." (1 Timothy 1:13)
For Paul, grace wasn't just about theology and doctrine and getting the words in the right order in Sunday School. It was the rock bottom reality of his life. Paul was the villain of Acts. He was "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples." He was the Bad Guy.
He was a blasphemer -- denying that Jesus is the Son of God. He was a persecutor -- sneering near the coat pile at the execution of Stephen for believing in Jesus. Paul was a violent man; he wanted blood.
Instead, God gave him mercy. Why? Because he wasn't really that bad? No! Because he didn't believe, yet. So God helped Him believe and set him on a new path.
Why would God do that for someone so sinful? That's the question of grace. We'll find out more about the answer the rest of this week.
Think: What have you earned from God for the worst of your sinful choices? What has God given to you? Why?
Pray: Thank God for His mercy for sinners like you.
Do: Read about Paul's transition from villain to one of the good guys in Acts 9:20-31.
Grace for Sinners: Harsh?
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service." (1 Timothy 1:12)
Paul is about to tell us how God gave him grace, how Paul personally experienced receiving good from God in spite of NOT having done nothing good himself.
Remember how Paul came to Christ? You can read the whole story in Acts 9. Paul was on his way to arrest some people for believing in Jesus when Jesus showed up, knocked him down, blinded him, and told him to stop persecuting Christians -- then made him the official "instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel."
That's not a gentle story of God wooing Paul to faith in Jesus. That's grace -- God's good for Paul's evil, but it sounds like a harsh grace. It's abrupt and absolute. And it probably didn't feel good at first.
And in today's passage, Paul says, "Thank you, Jesus."
Think: Why do you think Paul thanked Jesus for appointing him to service? Has God ever used a harsh experience in your life to give you a good thing, even if it didn't feel really good at the time?
Pray: If you are a Christian, thank Jesus for giving you strength and appointing you to serve Him.
Do: If you haven't recently, read through the story of Paul's conversion in Acts 9:1-22.
Grace for Sinners: Unearned
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We're digging into the impossibly simple and gigantic idea of grace this week. Specifically, we're going to listen to Paul tell us about God's saving grace in his own life, but we're starting with today's famous passage to put a handle on the concept.
Boiled down, grace is "unearned good." In the case of our relationship with God, that good thing is the most impossibly fantastic thing ever in the universe -- eternal life in heaven finally living as we were meant to with God and with meaning and without any death or mourning or crying or pain.
Today's verses tell us three key things about that grace:
1) It's how we are saved.
2) It is a gift from God.
3) It is not worked for or earned by us in any way. At all. Period.
Think: Do you believe in God's grace in your head? Do you believe in your heart that He saved you for free and not as a result of anything you have done or ever will do? Why would someone have trouble believing in God's grace to sinners?
Pray: Thank God for the gift of His saving grace because you could never have saved yourself.
Do: Read Ephesians 2:1-10 to see how these verses fit into Paul's longer thought.
Jesus Above All: The Conquering King
"To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:13-14)
Angels serve humans? What a wild idea that those awesome, powerful, fiery creatures of the wind who worship Jesus and obey His commands would be sent to serve the humans who will "inherit salvation."
That tells us something about the purpose of angels, but it also tells us something about Jesus and the humans who are trusting in Him for their salvation.
First, we see again -- once more -- that Jesus is above the angels. He sits in the seat of power and victory at God's right hand. But what does He do with that commanding position? How does He put His angel army to use?
He sends them to minister to the people He loves, the people He died for -- including those being persecuted for their faith in Him. He spends His power, in part, to serve His people.
Think: Have you expanded your picture of powerful King Jesus as God this week? Has that changed in any way how you feel about Him, how you might choose to worship Him?
Pray: Praise Jesus that He sits in the victory seat at the right hand of God.
Do: Today's passage quotes from Psalm 110. Check it out to see the picture it paints of conquering King Jesus.
Jesus Above All: Because of His Love/Hate
"But about the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.' " (Hebrews 1:8-9)
Who is Jesus? How much do you know about Him beyond the stories of His life on earth, beyond the manger and the miracles and the cross and the empty tomb? The writer of Hebrews is helping us to get to know Jesus better as God this week.
In this passage He quotes two verses from Psalm 45 to make sure we know they are about Jesus. Did you notice that God calls Jesus "God"? Our God is one God -- in three persons.
Here, Jesus, the Son, gets credit for what He loves and what He hates -- and that results in joy. What do you love and hate? Do you love when right wins? Do you love when you do right? Do you hate wrong or wicked actions, motivations, choices (including your own)?
The angels are called Jesus' companions, and Jesus called His followers friends. The friends of Jesus learn to love and hate as He does.
Think: Does it feel wrong to you to think of Jesus as hating things? What are some of the things you hate? Do you hate anything for being "wicked" or against God and what is good?
Pray: Praise Jesus because He has loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Do: Read the wedding song that these verses quote from in Psalm 45.
Jesus Above All: Angels Worship Him
"And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.' In speaking of the angels he says, 'He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.' " (Hebrews 1:6-7)
Angels are awesome beings. In showing us this week all the ways that Jesus is above all, including the angels, the writer is not trying to diminish the angels. He's showing just how truly great Jesus is. Those awesome angels worship Him!
Elsewhere in the Bible, Paul describes the moment when God will finally execute His justice and rescue His people: "This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels." (2 Thessalonians 1:7)
Can you imagine that scene? Jesus returning to earth in fire with an army of mighty angelic beings. Nobody will want to be on the wrong side -- though many will be. And the angels will obey the commands of Jesus as they accomplish His mission of judgment.
To be on the side of the angels, you must put your faith in Jesus -- and nobody else.
Think: If someone asked you how to be sure they were ready for the day described in 2 Thessalonians 1, what would you tell them?
Pray: Priase Jesus that the angels worship Him and obey His commands.
Do: Read more about the day Jesus and the angels will arrive in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12.
Jesus Above All: He’s the Son
"For to which of the angels did God ever say, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father'? Or again, 'I will be his Father, and he will be my Son'?" (Hebrews 1:5)
Why is Jesus above all, including the angels? The writer of Hebrews continues to spell it out for us this week. Why does it matter? Because understanding what makes Jesus who He is helps us to understand and worship Him more fully.
Most of us aren't used to thinking of life and power in terms of royalty. We expect power to be gained through votes or violence. But especially in ancient times, power was understood to come through the bloodline; it was handed down from your parents. If your dad was the king, you had serious power.
Jesus alone is the Son of God, which makes Him the King of Kings. Even though angels are fantastic, powerful creatures, they don't hold the official title -- handed down both from God Himself and on the human side through King David -- of King Forever.
Think: Why does it matter so much that Jesus holds both the position of "Son of God," as well as having God's power and glory?
Pray: Praise Jesus that He alone is the Son of God.
Do: If you go to church this week, listen to hear how often Jesus is referred to as the Son of God.
Jesus Above All: Better Than Angels
"So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs." (Hebrews 1:4)
It is not surprising that some people want to worship angels or see them or touch them. Apparently, angels are magnificent creatures. When they appear to humans in the Bible, they often start by saying, "Don't be afraid." Or sometimes, "Don't worship me."
On the night Jesus was born, the shepherds' sky-rending experience of the angels must have been far more impressive than the experience of looking at a newborn baby in a barn. And that's the point of this chapter: Experience is not what matters. The Who is more important than the What in any given moment.
Jesus is the Son of God. That's why He is superior to the angels. He created them, and He rules over them. They worship and serve Him. Basing the value of whom we worship based on the impressiveness of that experience in the now is always a deception.
Paul warns us to beware of angel-worshippers or those who care more about experience than truth: "Do not let anyone who delights in . . . the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." (Colossians 2:18)
Think: What's the danger of caring more about having big experiences in worship than the God you are worshipping?
Pray: Praise Jesus that He far superior to even the angels.
Do: To prepare for the rest of this week's study, read ahead through the end of Hebrews 1 and make sure to notice verse 14.
Jesus Above All: Exactly God
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Hebrews 1:3)
Jesus is so much more than the baby in the manger and the Lamb suffering on the cross -- though we would all be lost if He had not done those things. It's how He provided "purification for sins" (our only hope of forgiveness and helllessness).
Jesus also told His followers, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." He is the face -- and the indescribable glow ("radiance") -- of God.
But He's not merely the poster boy for the Trinity. He is also unfathomably powerful, "sustaining" or "holding together" . . . everything. Without Him doing that right now, we would all be lost, scattered molecules in the memory of a cosmic wind.
And He does all of it from His seat right now in heaven, at the right hand of "the Majesty," perfect in power, full of love, and endless.
Think: Do you tend to think of Jesus more as man or as God? Is it possible to think of Him as being fully both of those at the same time? How could you make more room in your mind to picture Him as God?
Pray: Praise Jesus for being the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of His being, and for sustaining all things by His powerful word.
Do: This verse says Jesus is right now at the right hand of the Father. Ask a few of your Christian friends where they think Jesus is right now.
Jesus Above All: His Universe
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe." (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Christmas can sometimes leave us with a limited impression of Jesus. Yes, He's the "reason for the season," but who plays Him in the Christmas pageant? Usually a doll or some nervous mom's tiny baby. And, yes, we say over and over that He grew up and that He came to die for our sins -- but that's still only part of His story.
So we're going to listen in this week as the writer of Hebrews reminds us again that Jesus is far above everything and everyone. And He always has been. And He always will be. All of life is His story, not just Christmas and Easter.
For starters, today's passage tells us that Jesus' name is on everything -- twice. First, He is the "heir," or the one who gets everything in the end. (That includes you and me and everything we can think of.) But He is also the one through whom everything was made in the first place. Turn us over, and you'll see, "Made through Jesus."
It literally is His universe.
Think: Could any person or being be more important than the one through whom everything was made and who will inherit everything in the end? Does thinking about Jesus' power make you feel smaller?
Pray: Praise Jesus as the heir of all things and the one through whom the universe was made.
Do: Read more about Jesus' above-allness in Colossians 1:15-19.
Telling Time: Permanent Seasons
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8)
On this last of day of our New Year's week study of this famous biblical poem, we come to some of the best and worst seasons of all.
The good news is that being a Christian means it is always time for love and time for peace. That season never ends for those who are powered by God's Spirit. Galatians 5:22 lists both of those emotions as parts of the fruit of the Spirit. And we're commanded to love -- and keep loving -- both God and our neighbors.
But we're also called to ongoing seasons of hate and war. Romans 12:9 tells us to hate what is evil -- and there's a lot of evil, including the evil of our own sin. And Ephesians 6 describes how we must arm ourselves for the spiritual battle we fight against Satan and his demons. That season of spiritual warfare is one far too many of us are trying to sit out -- because we don't really know what time it is.
Think: How are you participating in these four different seasons that will always be part of the Christian life until we're in heaven? Are you hating evil? Prepared for battle with a spiritual enemy? Finding ways to love God and your neighbors? Living in the peace of Christ that is beyond understanding?
Pray: Ask God to help you to love Him and hate evil. Ask Him to help you to live in peace while preparing yourself for spiritual warfare.
Do: Read more about arming yourself for war in Ephesians 6:10-18.
Telling Time: To Speak or Not
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7)
Do you know what time it is? Do you know what season you're in right now? If not, it's hard to know how to live wisely. That's what we're thinking about this New Year's Week as we read through the poem in Ecclesiastes 3.
Most of us have spent more time than usual this last few weeks hanging out with our extended families. How did you do with knowing when it was time to be silent and time to speak? I think that's one of the hardest times to tell. It requires both the wisdom to know and the courage to act (or not).
Here is one guideline for making that choice: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Ephesians 4:29)
If the words you have to say will not benefit or build up those who hear you, recognize the moment as one to be silent. But if you have words that will help or encourage, don't waste your speaking season. It would be unkind not to say something.
Think: How much do you think about whether you should speak or not before you talk? How much do you think about whether you should have spoken after you talk? If you think about it, how do decide when to speak and what to say?
Pray: Ask God to give you the wisdom to know when to speak and when to stay silent.
Do: If you're looking for verses to memorize this new year, Ephesians 4:29 is a great one to start with.
Telling Time: Keep or Toss?
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6)
Happy New Years! Happy New Decade, I guess. We're glad you're breaking them both in with us here at PlanetWisdom.com. We're more glad you're kicking them off by thinking about God's Word for a few minutes.
And what inspiring words to get your year started: "a time to give up," "a time to throw away." Well, that's the problem with seasons. They don't always follow the calendar. No matter how badly we'd like to start everything fresh and new and perfect on January 1 -- and keep it that way -- sometimes life isn't that tidy.
Maybe God still has you in a season of searching for the right friends, the right college, the right major -- or maybe the deadline has passed and it's time to settle in to where He has you today.
Maybe God wants you to try again to make an old relationship work -- or maybe the best way you could possibly start this new year is to get as far away from a destructive boy/girlfriend or other friends as possible.
Whatever your season, resolve to live wisely in 2010. The times are always right for wisdom.
Think: Have you experienced seasons of searching for something? How did you know when it was time to stop looking? How do you know when it's time to throw away an unhelpful habit or relationship?
Pray: Ask God to help you to have the wisdom to know when it's time to search or to stop searching. Then ask Him for the wisdom to know when it's time to hold on to something or to throw it away.
Do: Ask one or more of your parents to tell you about a season of searching and how they knew when it was time to stop looking. Or ask how they have decided to end relationships that were unhealthy or maybe hurting their relationship with God.
Telling Time: Sex Out of Season?
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain." (Ecclesiastes 3:5)
What better week that this one to talk about recognizing the times you're living in. We're in the middle of a famous poem describing some of the different seasons we experience during our lives. Understanding our particular times helps us to live wisely and make the most of them.
Today's line deals with times of "embracing" or not. The writer may have been talking about having sex, saying that sex is right for some times and wrong for others. If you're a Christian who believes the Bible is God's Word to you, that seasonal difference has everything to do with being married or not.
It's not just that sex out of season is wrong, it's that it's foolish. It still feels great, of course, and it creates a kind of closeness between two people -- but it's a false and destructive closeness when it happens without the commitment of marriage. The negative consequences linger far beyond the moments of pleasure.
But the creator of sex intended for sex in season to be the norm, providing connection and excitement within the commitment of marriage. And it's just as important to participate in "embracing" when the time is right as it is to skip it when the time is wrong.
Think: If someone asked, what would you say are some of the negative consequences of participating in sex out of season? What's the point of sex as part of marriage?
Pray: Ask God to give you the wisdom and courage to avoid the destruction that comes from having sex out of season.
Do: Read 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 to hear how Paul spells out God's teaching on sex and marriage in our times.
Telling Time: The Crying Season
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)
We're working this New Year's week on learning to recognize the seasons God has lead us into -- so we can live wisely during those seasons.
Nobody wants to live in a season of crying or mourning. Usually, that means something bad has happened -- we lost the big game or got betrayed by a friend or watched a loved one die. But that season matters. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7 tells us it's better to go to a funeral than a party because it reminds us again that this life isn't permanent -- and we'd better get ready for the one that is.
Many of us just try to go numb during the crying seasons and hope it goes away quickly. But that's a waste of the season God has lead us into. Instead, He wants us to turn to Him for comfort and learn from Him how to comfort others during their sad times. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.)
The season for laughing and dancing will return. It always does, thank God! But it will be much, much sweeter if we have made the most of the crying season by using it to learn how comforting the arms of our Father can be.
Think: How can a person turn to God for comfort during a season of sadness? Have you ever been comforted by God through another person who has experienced the same kind of loss you are going through?
Pray: Ask God to help you to turn to Him for comfort during seasons of sadness and to include Him in your times of laughing and dancing.
Do: Read Romans 12:15 and think about what you can do to participate with others in their sad and happy seasons.
Telling Time: The Killing Season
"There is a time for everything . . . a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,3)
We're working this New Year's week on learning the wisdom of recognizing the seasons God has lead us into. Why? So we can live wisely during those seasons.
These words were likely written by Solomon, whose father King David lived in a time of killing. Israel was at war with several enemies, and David defended Israel by killing tens of thousands. But Solomon's season as king was a time of healing, and he used that era wisely to make peace with Israel's neighbors and make the nation stronger still.
We're called to kill in season, as well. In Colossians 3, Paul tells us to "put to death" whatever belongs to our earthly nature, to literally kill (or execute) our sin. Wisdom demands we tear down whatever plans or dreams we have built on the selfish foundations of sinful desires.
It takes courage to be the destroyer of the worthless things in your life, but if you sit the season out you won't make room to build -- with His power tools -- the new life God wants for you.
Think: Do you think God is leading you into a season of tearing down, a time of forcefully removing from your life sinful and worthless things that are getting in the way of living for Him? How can you make the most of that season?
Pray: Ask God to give you the courage to tear down anything in your life standing in the way of living for Him.
Do: Make a quick list of things in your life that might need to be torn down to make room to continue building your commitment to Christ.
Telling Time: What’s Your Season?
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
People love to say at Christmastime that "Jesus is the reason for the season." It's a good line, and it rhymes. But this New Year's week, we're going to look at a famous poem from Ecclesiastes 3 and see that God is the reason for every season (not just Christmas).
David said this to God in Psalm 31:15: "My times are in your hands." That's true for all of us. God controls our seasons. You and I cannot turn winter to summer any more than we could have scheduled our own birth -- or the day of our death. Every season belongs to God.
What we can control is how we live in whatever season God brings along. Will we be wise or foolish this season? Will we plant in planting season -- by investing our time and work and energy in whatever opportunity God gives us for the future? Or will we waste our planting season and have nothing to "uproot" or harvest when the payoff season comes along?
We'll see this week that learning to tell what season you are in right now will help you to have the wisdom to know how best to live. Come back tomorrow.
Think: Does it bother you that God controls what season or time you are in? Do you trust Him to bring you in and out of the seasons of your life? Why or why not?
Pray: Thank God that your times are in His hands and that He has made a time for everything in your life.
Do: Read the whole poem we'll be studying this week in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
Wild Night: What Next?
"The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." (Luke 2:20)
I wonder sometimes what happened to those shepherds. How did their lives change after that wild night? After seeing all those angels? After worshipping the Creator of the universe in the body of an infant? What next? Do you just go back to living in the field, keeping watch over the flock at night?
I guess what you do for a living after meeting the Messiah isn't as important as what you do with your heart and your mind. The shepherds response that night was to go back to the sheep -- while giving praise and glory to God.
Christmas Day has passed for us, and soon we will all go back to school and work and regular life. But what we celebrate at Christmas has changed everything forever. Hopefully, we'll go back glorifying and praising God even more than we normally do because our King was born and lived and died and then came to life again forever.
Think: Does the Christmas season help you to refocus on praising and glorifying God? Do you tend to return to your everyday life with that worship fresh in your heart and mind? Why or why not?
Pray: Ask God to help you to respond to the true story of Christmas with praise and glory for Him.
Do: Read the rest of Luke 2 to catch two rare glimpses of Jesus as a child.