GOD´S RADIANT BEAUTY
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Posted:Aug 31, 2017 4:13 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 20816 Views
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Read: Romans 1:18–25
Bible in a Year: Psalms 132–134; 1 Corinthians 11:17–34
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Romans 1:20
Lord Howe Island is a small paradise of white sands and crystal waters off Australia’s east coast. When I visited some years ago, I was struck by its beauty. Here, one could swim with turtles and with fish like the shimmering trevally, while moon wrasses drifted nearby, flashing their neon colors like a billboard. In its lagoon I found coral reefs full of bright orange clownfish and yellow-striped butterfly fish that rushed to kiss my hand. Overwhelmed by such splendor, I couldn’t help but worship God.
The apostle Paul gives the reason for my response. Creation at its best reveals something of God’s nature (Rom. 1:20). The wonders of Lord Howe Island were giving me a glimpse of His own power and beauty.
Creation reflects God’s beauty the way a piece of art reflects its artist.
When the prophet Ezekiel encountered God, he was shown a radiant Being seated on a blue throne surrounded by glorious colors (Ezek. 1:25–28. The apostle John saw something similar: God sparkling like precious stones, encircled by an emerald rainbow (Rev. 4:2–3). When God reveals Himself, He is found to be not only good and powerful but beautiful too. Creation reflects this beauty the way a piece of art reflects its artist.
Nature often gets worshiped instead of God (Rom. 1:25). What a tragedy. Instead, may earth’s crystal waters and shimmering creatures point us to the One standing behind them who is more powerful and beautiful than anything in this world.
The beauty of creation reflects the beauty of our Creator
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MADE CLEAN
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Posted:Aug 30, 2017 5:37 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 20945 Views
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Read: Ezekiel 36:24–32
Bible in a Year: Psalms 129–131; 1 Corinthians 11:1–16
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Ezekiel 36:25
When I opened our dishwasher, I wondered what went wrong. Instead of seeing sparkling clean dishes, I removed plates and glasses that were covered in a chalky dust. I wondered if the hard water in our area was wreaking havoc, or if the machine was broken.
God’s cleansing, unlike that faulty dishwasher, washes away all of our impurities. We see in the book of Ezekiel that God is calling His people back to Himself as Ezekiel shared God’s message of love and forgiveness. The Israelites had sinned as they proclaimed their allegiance to other gods and other nations. The Lord, however, was merciful in welcoming them back to Himself. He promised to cleanse them “from all [their] impurities and all [their] idols” (36:25). As He put His Spirit in them (v. 27), He would bring them to a place of fruitfulness, not famine (v. 30).
God, teach me to submit to You daily that I might grow more and more closely into the likeness of Jesus.
As in the days of the prophet Ezekiel, today the Lord welcomes us back to Him if we go astray. When we submit ourselves to His will and His ways, He transforms us as He washes us clean from our sins. With His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, He helps us to follow Him day by day.
Lord God, the feeling of being cleansed and forgiven is like no other. Thank You for transforming me into a new person. Teach me to submit to You daily that I might grow more and more closely into the likeness of Jesus.
The Lord makes us clean.
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OVERFLOWING FRUIT
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Posted:Aug 29, 2017 5:06 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 21076 Views
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Read: Galatians 5:16–25
Bible in a Year: Psalms 126–128, 1 Corinthians 10:19–33
I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. John 15:16
During the spring and summer, I admire the fruit growing in our neighbor’s yard. Their cultivated vines climb a shared fence to produce large bunches of grapes. Branches dotted with purple plums and plump oranges dangle just within our reach.
Although we don’t till the soil, plant the seeds, or water and weed the garden, the couple next door shares their bounty with us. They take responsibility for nurturing their crops and allow us to delight in a portion of their harvest.
The fruit of the Spirit changes us so we can impact the lives of those around us.
The produce from the trees and vines on the other side of our fence reminds me of another harvest that benefits me and the people God places in my life. That harvest is the fruit of the Spirit.
Christ-followers are commissioned to claim the benefits of living by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16–21). As God’s seeds of truth flourish in our hearts, the Spirit produces an increase in our ability to express “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (vv. 22–23).
Once we surrender our lives to Jesus, we no longer have to be controlled by our self-centered inclinations (v. 24). Over time, the Holy Spirit can change our thinking, our attitudes, and our actions. As we grow and mature in Christ, we can have the added joy of loving our neighbors by sharing the benefits of His generous harvest.
Lord, please cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts and minds so our neighbors can enjoy Your sweet fragrance in and through our lives.
The fruit of the Spirit changes us so we can impact the lives of those around us.
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PAYING ATTENTION
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Posted:Aug 28, 2017 4:41 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 21129 Views
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Read: Psalm 41:1–3
Bible in a Year: Psalms 123–125; 1 Corinthians 10:1–18
Blessed is he who considers the poor. Psalm 41:1
John Newton wrote, “If, as I go home, a has dropped a halfpenny, and if, by giving it another, I can wipe away its tears, I feel I have done something. I should be glad to do greater things; but I will not neglect this.”
These days, it’s not hard to find someone in need of comfort: A care-worn cashier in a grocery store working a second job to make ends meet; a refugee longing for home; a single mother whose flood of worries has washed away her hope; a lonely old man who fears he has outlived his usefulness.
Father, as we go through our day, show us the people who need our attention.
But what are we to do? “Blessed is he who considers the poor,” wrote David
(Ps. 41:1 ). Even if we can’t alleviate the poverty of those we meet along the way we can consider them—a verb that means “to pay attention.”
We can let people know we care. We can treat them with courtesy and respect, though they may be testy or tiresome. We can listen with interest to their stories. And we can pray for them or with them—the most helpful and healing act of all.
Remember the old paradox Jesus gave us when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Paying attention pays off, for we're happiest when we give ourselves away. Consider the poor.
Father, as we go through our day, show us the everyday folks who need our attention. Grant us the love and the patience to truly consider them, as You have so patiently loved us.
Only a life given away for love’s sake is worth living.
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LURED AWAY
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Posted:Aug 25, 2017 2:29 am
Last Updated:Aug 28, 2017 4:41 am 20829 Views
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Read: James 1:5–6, 12–15
Bible in a Year: Psalm 119:1–88; 1 Corinthians 7.20–40
Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. James 1:14
In the summer of 2016, my niece convinced me to play Pokémon Go—a game played on a smartphone, using the phone’s camera. The object of the game is to capture little creatures called Pokémon. When one appears in the game, a red and white ball also appears on the phone’s screen. To capture a Pokémon, the player has to flick the ball toward it with the movement of a finger. Pokémon are more easily caught, however, by using a lure to attract them.
Pokémon characters aren’t the only ones who can be lured away. In his New Testament letter to believers, James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that we “are dragged away by [our] own evil desire” (1:14, emphasis added). In other words, our desires work with temptation to lure us down a wrong path. Though we may be tempted to blame God or even Satan for our problems, our real danger lies within.
We can escape the lure of temptation by talking to God about the things that tempt us.
But there is good news. We can escape the lure of temptation by talking to God about the things that tempt us. Though “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone,” as James explains in 1:13, He understands our human desire to do what’s wrong. We have only to ask for the wisdom God promised to provide
(1:1–6).
Lord, when I’m tempted, show me the door of escape.
Pray your way past the urge to do wrong.
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THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS
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Posted:Aug 24, 2017 4:45 am
Last Updated:Aug 25, 2017 2:29 am 20664 Views
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Read: Philippians 2:1–11
Bible in a Year: Psalms 116–118; 1 Corinthians 7.1–19
In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests. Philippians 2:3–4
My friend Jaime works for a huge international corporation. In his early days with the company, a man came by his desk, struck up a conversation, and asked Jaime what he did there. After telling the man about his work, Jaime asked the man his name. “My name is Rich,” he replied.
“Nice to meet you,” Jaime answered. “And what do you do around here?”
In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests. Philippians 2:3–4
“Oh, I am the owner.”
Jaime suddenly realized that this casual, humble conversation was his introduction to one of the richest men in the world.
In this day of self-glorification and the celebration of “me,” this little story can serve as a reminder of Paul’s important words in the book of Philippians: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit” (2:3). People who turn their attention to others and not on themselves have the characteristics Paul mentions.
When we “value others above [ourselves],” we demonstrate Christlike humility (v. 3). We mirror Jesus, who came not “to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). When we take “the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2.7, we have the mindset of Jesus (v. 5).
As we interact with others today, let’s not look on our own interests alone but also “to the interests of the others” (v. 4).
Jesus, You gave us the model of humility when You left heaven’s splendors to become a humble servant on earth. Help us practice Christlike humility in everything we do.
Serve God by serving others.
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OUR GUILT IS GONE
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Posted:Aug 23, 2017 4:36 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 18487 Views
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Read: Psalm 32:1–11
Bible in a Year: Psalms 113–115; 1 Corinthians 6
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5
As a young girl, I invited a friend to browse with me through a gift shop near my home. She shocked me, though, by shoving a handful of colorful crayon-shaped barrettes into my pocket and yanking me out the door of the shop without paying for them. Guilt gnawed at me for a week before I approached my mom—my confession pouring out as quickly as my tears.
Grieved over my bad choice of not resisting my friend, I returned the stolen items, apologized, and vowed never to steal again. The owner told me never to come back. But because my mom forgave me and assured me that I had done my best to make things right, I slept peacefully that night.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5
King David also rested in forgiveness through confession (Ps. 32:1–2). He had hidden his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Sam. 11–12) until his “strength was sapped”
(Ps. 32:3–4). But once David refused to “cover up” his wrongs, the Lord erased his guilt (v. 5). God protected him “from trouble” and wrapped him in “songs of deliverance” (v. 7. David rejoiced because the “Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10).
We can’t choose the consequences of our sins or control people’s responses when we confess and seek forgiveness. But the Lord can empower us to enjoy freedom from the bondage of sin and peace through confession, as He confirms that our guilt is gone—forever.
Lord, when we confess our sins and receive Your forgiveness, please help us believe our guilt is completely and forever wiped away.
When God forgives, our guilt is gone.
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RIPE FOR HARVEST
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Posted:Aug 22, 2017 4:39 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 17745 Views
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Read: John 4:35–38
Bible in a Year: Psalms 110–112; 1 Corinthians 5
Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35
In late summer, we went for a walk in the New Forest in England and had fun picking the blackberries that grew in the wild while watching the horses frolicking nearby. As I enjoyed the bounty of the sweet fruit planted by others perhaps many years before, I thought of Jesus’s words to His disciples: “I sent you to reap what you have not worked for” (John 4:38.
I love the generosity of God’s kingdom reflected in those words. He lets us enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labors, such as when we share our love for Jesus with a friend whose family—unbeknown to us—has been praying for her for years. I also love the implied limits of Jesus’s words, for we may plant seeds that we will never harvest but someone else may. Therefore, we can rest in the tasks before us, not being hoodwinked into thinking that we are responsible for the outcomes. God’s work, after all, doesn’t depend on us. He has all of the resources for a bountiful harvest, and we are privileged to play a role in it.
God, may I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.
I wonder what fields ready for harvest are before you? Before me? May we heed Jesus’s loving instruction: “Open your eyes and look at the fields!” (v. 35).
Creator God, thank You for Your great generosity in entrusting us to do Your work. May I be alert to the opportunities to share Your good news.
We can reap what others have sown.
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BE STILL
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Posted:Aug 21, 2017 4:59 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 17965 Views
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Read: Psalm 46:1–11
Bible in a Year: Psalms 107–109; 1 Corinthians 4
The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:11
“We’ve created more information in the last five years than in all of human history before it, and it’s coming at us all the time” (Daniel Levitin, author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload). “In a sense,” Levitin says, “we become addicted to the hyperstimulation.” The constant barrage of news and knowledge can dominate our minds. In today’s environment of media bombardment, it becomes increasingly difficult to find time to be quiet, to think, and to pray.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” reminding us of the necessity to take time to focus on the Lord. Many people find that a “quiet time” is an essential part of each day—a time to read the Bible, pray, and consider the goodness and greatness of God.
Each day we need to be still and listen to the Lord.
When we, like the writer of Psalm 46, experience the reality that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (v. 1), it drives our fear away (v. 2), shifts our focus from the world’s turmoil to God’s peace, and creates a quiet confidence that our Lord is in control (v. 10).
No matter how chaotic the world may become around us, we can find quietness and strength in our heavenly Father’s love and power.
Heavenly Father, we bring our noisy lives and our cluttered minds to You so that we can learn to be still and know that You are God.
Each day we need to be still and listen to the Lord.
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YOU´RE AN ORIGINAL
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Posted:Aug 18, 2017 4:38 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2024 8:50 am 17860 Views
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Read: Psalm 100
Bible in a Year: Psalms 100–102; 1 Corinthians 1
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his. Psalm 100:3
Each of us is an original from God’s hand. There are no self-made men or women. No one ever became talented, buffed, or bright all by himself or herself. God made each of us all by Himself. He thought of us and formed us out of His unspeakable love.
God made your body, mind, and soul. And He isn’t done with you; He is still making you. His single-minded purpose is our maturity: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). God is making you braver, stronger, purer, more peaceful, more loving, less selfish—the kind of person you’ve perhaps always wanted to be.
Spiritual growth occurs when faith is cultivated.
“[God’s] unfailing love continues forever and his faithfulness continues to each generation” (Ps. 100:5 nlt). God has always loved you (“forever” goes both ways), and He will be faithful to you to the end.
You’ve been given a love that lasts forever and a God who will never give up on you. That’s a good reason to have joy and to “come before him with joyful songs”! (v. 2).
If you can't carry a tune, just give Him a shout-out: “Shout for joy to the Lord” (v. 1).
I’m grateful, Father, that You are at work in me. I find it difficult to change and I wonder sometimes how or if I ever will. Yet I know that You are continuing Your work in me and as I look back I will see the growth You are producing. Thank You!
Spiritual growth occurs when faith is cultivated.
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