GETTING AWAY WITH IT
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Posted:Jul 10, 2017 4:07 am
Last Updated:Jul 10, 2017 4:08 am 14150 Views
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Read: Genesis 4:1–12
Bible in a Year: Job 41–42; Acts 16:22–40
By faith Abel still speaks. Hebrews 11:4
In June 2004, at a Vancouver art gallery, Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott received an Olympic gold medal. That’s interesting, because the Winter Olympics had been held in 2002—in Utah. Scott had won bronze behind two athletes who were disqualified months later when it was learned they had used banned substances.
It’s good that Scott eventually received her gold, but gone forever is the moment when she should have stood on the podium to hear her country’s national anthem. That injustice couldn’t be remedied.
God cares deeply about justice, about righting wrongs, and about defending the powerless.
Injustice of any kind disturbs us, and surely there are far greater wrongs than being denied a hard-won medal. The story of Cain and Abel shows an ultimate act of injustice (Gen. 4:8. And at first glance, it might look like Cain got away with murdering his brother. After all, he lived a long, full life, eventually building a city
(v. 17
But God Himself confronted Cain. “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground,” He said (v. 10). The New Testament later recorded Cain as an example to avoid (1 John 3:12; Jude 1:11). But of Abel we read, “By faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead” (Heb. 11:4).
God cares deeply about justice, about righting wrongs, and about defending the powerless. In the end, no one gets away with any act of injustice. Nor does God leave unrewarded our work done in faith for Him.
Father, as Your taught us to pray, we ask that Your kingdom will come, Your will be done to change this broken world. Thank You for redeeming us.
Sin will not ultimately be judged by the way we see it, but by the way God sees it.
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THE ULTIMATE GOOD
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Posted:Jul 7, 2017 3:55 am
Last Updated:Jul 7, 2017 3:56 am 14305 Views
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Read: Philippians 3:1–11
Bible in a Year: Job 34–35; Acts 15:1–21
I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Philippians 3:8
As I was growing up in Jamaica, my parents raised my sister and me to be “good people.” In our home, good meant obeying our parents, telling the truth, being successful in school and work, and going to church . . . at least Easter and Christmas. I imagine this definition of being a good person is familiar to many people, regardless of culture. In fact, the apostle Paul, in Philippians 3, used his culture’s definition of being good to make a greater point.
Paul, being a devout first-century Jew, followed the letter of the moral law in his culture. He was born into the “right” family, had the “right” education, and practiced the “right” religion. He was the real deal in terms of being a good person according to Jewish custom. In verse 4, Paul writes that he could boast in all of his goodness if he wanted to. But, as good as he was, Paul told his readers (and us) that there is something more than being good. He knew that being good, while good, was not the same as pleasing God.
God, help me remember that knowing Jesus is the way to ultimate goodness.
Pleasing God, Paul writes in verses 7–8, involves knowing Jesus. Paul considered his own goodness as “garbage” when compared to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.” We are good—and we please God—when our hope and faith are in Christ alone, not in our goodness.
Dear God, as I seek to live a good life, help me remember that knowing Jesus is the way to ultimate goodness.
We are good—and we please God—when our hope and faith are in Christ alone, not in our goodness.
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GOING FIRST
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Posted:Jul 6, 2017 4:03 am
Last Updated:Jul 6, 2017 4:03 am 14205 Views
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Read: 1 John 4.7–21
Bible in a Year: Job 32–33; Acts 14
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
We worked patiently to help our heal and adjust to his new life with our family. Trauma from his early days in an orphanage was fueling some negative behaviors. While I had enormous compassion for the hardships he experienced in his early days, I felt myself begin to withdraw from him emotionally because of those behaviors. Ashamed, I shared my struggle with his therapist. Her gentle reply hit home: “He needs you to go first . . . to show him he’s worthy of love before he’ll be able to act like it.”
John pushes the recipients of his letter to an incredible depth of love, citing God’s love as both the source and the reason for loving one another (1 John 4.7, 11). I admit I often fail to show such love to others, whether strangers, friends, or my own . Yet John’s words spark in me renewed desire and ability to do so: God went first. He sent His to demonstrate the fullness of His love for each of us. I’m so thankful He doesn’t respond as we all are prone to do by withdrawing His heart from us.
God loved us first so we can love others.
Though our sinful actions don’t invite God’s love, He is unwavering in offering it to us (Rom. 5:8. His “go-first” love compels us to love one another in response to, and as a reflection of, that love.
Thank You, Lord, for loving me in spite of my sin. Help me to “go first” in loving others.
God loved us first so we can love others.
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COULD I SAY THAT?
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Posted:Jul 5, 2017 4:10 am
Last Updated:Jul 5, 2017 4:11 am 14337 Views
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Read: Genesis 45:1–11
Bible in a Year: Job 30–31; Acts 13:26–52
It was not you who sent me here, but God. Genesis 45.8
“The perception of favoritism is one of the biggest factors in sibling rivalry,” said Dr. Barbara Howard, a developmental behavioral pediatrician (“When Parents Have a Favorite ” nytimes.com). An example would be the Old Testament character Joseph, who was his father’s favorite , which made his older brothers furious (Gen. 37:3–4). So they sold Joseph to merchants traveling to Egypt and made it appear that a wild animal had killed him (37.12–36). His dreams had been shattered and his future appeared hopeless.
Yet, along Joseph’s journey of life, he chose to be true to his God and rely on Him even when it seemed to make his situation worse. After being falsely accused by his employer’s wife and imprisoned for something he didn’t do, Joseph struggled with the injustice of his situation but kept trusting the Lord.
In the darkest hours of life, only through the eyes of faith can we see the loving hand of God.
Years later his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain during a famine and were terrified to discover that their despised younger brother was now the Prime Minister. But Joseph told them, “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you . . . . It was not you who sent me here, but God” (45:5, 8
Joseph’s kind words cause me to wonder if I would be ready for revenge. Or would I be gracious because my heart had confidence in the Lord?
Dear Father, give us the faith to trust You today and the ability to see Your hand of good along our road of life.
In the darkest hours of life, only through the eyes of faith can we see the loving hand of God.
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CELEBRATE FREEDOM
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Posted:Jul 4, 2017 3:52 am
Last Updated:Jul 4, 2017 3:53 am 14261 Views
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Read: Romans 6:15–23
Bible in a Year: Job 28–29; Acts 13:1–25
The law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2
After being kidnapped, held hostage for thirteen days, and released, New Zealand news cameraman Olaf Wiig, with a broad smile on his face, announced, “I feel more alive now than I have in my entire life.”
For reasons difficult to understand, being freed is more exhilarating than being free.
The law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8.2
For those who enjoy freedom every day, Olaf’s joy was a good reminder of how easily we forget how blessed we are. This is also true spiritually. Those of us who have been Christians for a long time often forget what it’s like to be held hostage by sin. We can become complacent and even ungrateful. But then God sends a reminder in the form of a new believer who gives an exuberant testimony of what God has done in his or her life, and once again we see the joy that is ours when we are “free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8.2).
If freedom has become boring to you, or if you tend to focus on what you can’t do, consider this: Not only are you no longer a slave to sin, but you are freed to be holy and to enjoy eternal life with Christ Jesus! (6:22).
Celebrate your freedom in Christ by taking the time to thank God for the things you are able and free to do as His servant.
What are you thankful for?
Living for Christ brings true freedom.
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DESTROYING THE DIVIDES
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Posted:Jul 3, 2017 5:19 am
Last Updated:Jul 3, 2017 5:19 am 14215 Views
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Joshua 7.1–12
Bible in a Year: Job 25–27. Acts 12
I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. Joshua 7.12
A writing deadline loomed over me, while the argument I had with my husband earlier that morning swirled through my mind. I stared at the blinking cursor, fingertips resting on the keyboard. He was wrong too, Lord.
When the computer screen went black, my reflection scowled. My unacknowledged wrongs were doing more than hindering the work before me. They were straining my relationship with my husband and my God.
By submitting to our loving Creator and Sustainer daily, we can serve Him and enjoy His presence.
I grabbed my cell phone, swallowed my pride, and asked for forgiveness. Savoring the peace of reconciliation when my spouse apologized as well, I thanked God and finished my article on time.
The Israelites experienced the pain of personal sin and joy of restoration. Joshua warned God’s people not to enrich themselves in the battle for Jericho (Josh. 6:18, but Achan stole captured items and hid them in his tent (7.1). Only after his sin was exposed and dealt with (vv. 4–12) did the nation enjoy reconciliation with their God.
Like Achan, we don’t always consider how “tucking sin into our tents” turns our hearts from God and impacts those around us. Acknowledging Jesus as Lord, admitting our sin, and seeking forgiveness provides the foundation for healthy and faithful relationships with God and others. By submitting to our loving Creator and Sustainer daily, we can serve Him and enjoy His presence—together.
Lord, please help us recognize, confess, and turn away from our sin, so that we can nurture loving relationships with You and others.
God can purge our hearts of the sin that destroys our intimacy with Him and others.
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TIME TO FLOURISH
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Posted:Jun 30, 2017 3:31 am
Last Updated:Jun 30, 2017 3:32 am 14209 Views
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Read: Luke 13:1–9
Bible in a Year: Job 17–19; Acts 10:1–23
“Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.”
Luke 13.8
Last spring I decided to cut down the rose bush by our back door. In the three years we’d lived in our home, it hadn’t produced many flowers, and its ugly, fruitless branches were now creeping in all directions.
But life got busy, and my gardening plan got delayed. It was just as well—only a few weeks later that rose bush burst into bloom like I’d never seen before. Hundreds of big white flowers, rich in perfume, hung over the back door, flowed into our yard, and showered the ground with beautiful petals.
God's patience is good news for all of us.
My rose bush’s revival reminded me of Jesus’s parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6–9. In Israel, it was customary to give fig trees three years to produce fruit. If they didn’t, they were cut down so the soil could be better used. In Jesus’s story, a gardener asks his boss to give one particular tree a fourth year to produce. In context
(vv. 1–5), the parable implies this: The Israelites hadn’t lived as they should, and God could justly judge them. But God is patient and had given extra time for them to turn to Him, be forgiven, and bloom.
God wants all people to flourish and has given extra time so that they can. Whether we are still journeying toward faith or are praying for unbelieving family and friends, His patience is good news for all of us.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5).
God has given the world extra time to respond to His offer of forgiveness.
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FAITH IN ACTION
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Posted:Jun 29, 2017 3:48 am
Last Updated:Jun 29, 2017 3:49 am 14054 Views
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Read: James 2:14–26
Bible in a Year: Job 14–16; Acts 9.22–43
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
James 2:18
As a friend drove to the grocery store, she noticed a woman walking along the side of the road and felt she should turn the car around and offer her a ride. When she did, she was saddened to hear that the woman didn’t have money for the bus so was walking home many miles in the hot and humid weather. Not only was she making the long journey home, but she had also walked several hours that morning to arrive at work by 4 a.m.
By offering a ride, my friend put into practice in a modern setting James’s instruction for Christians to live out their faith with their deeds: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”
(v. 17). He was concerned that the church take care of the widows and the orphans (James 1:27), and he also wanted them to rely not on empty words but to act on their faith with deeds of love.
Lord, may I never forget the sacrifice that gives me life.
We are saved by faith, not works, but we live out our faith by loving others and caring for their needs. May we, like my friend who offered the ride, keep our eyes open for those who might need our help as we walk together in this journey of life.
Lord Jesus Christ, You did the ultimate deed by dying on the cross for me. May I never forget the sacrifice that gives me life.
We live out our faith through our good deeds.
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UNFINISHED WORK
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Posted:Jun 28, 2017 5:35 am
Last Updated:Jun 28, 2017 5:35 am 13197 Views
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Read: Romans 7.14–25
Bible in a Year: Job 11–13; Acts 9.1–21
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7.24–25
At his death, the great artist Michelangelo left many unfinished projects. But four of his sculptures were never meant to be completed. The Bearded Slave, the Atlas Slave, the Awakening Slave, and the Young Slave, though they appear unfinished, are just as Michelangelo intended them to be. The artist wanted to show what it might feel like to be forever enslaved.
Rather than sculpting figures in chains, Michelangelo made figures stuck in the very marble out of which they are carved. Bodies emerge from the stone, but not completely. Muscles flex, but the figures are never able to free themselves.
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7.25
My empathy with the slave sculptures is immediate. Their plight is not unlike my struggle with sin. I am unable to free myself: like the sculptures I am stuck, “a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me” (Rom 7:23). No matter how hard I try, I cannot change myself. But thanks be to God, you and I will not remain unfinished works. We won’t be complete until heaven, but in the meantime as we welcome the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, He changes us. God promises to finish the good work He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6).
God, thank You that You make us new creatures through the work of Your Jesus Christ, freeing us from our slavery to sin.
He is the potter; we are the clay.
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FIVE -FINGER PRAYER
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Posted:Jun 27, 2017 4:13 am
Last Updated:Jun 27, 2017 4:13 am 12951 Views
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Read: James 5:13–18
Bible in a Year: Job 8–10; Acts 8:26–40
Pray for each other. James 5:16
Prayer is a conversation with God, not a formula. Yet sometimes we might need to use a “method” to freshen up our prayer time. We can pray the Psalms or other Scriptures (such as The Lord’s Prayer), or use the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). I recently came across this “Five-Finger Prayer” to use as a guide when praying for others:
• When you fold your hands, the thumb is nearest you. So begin by praying for those closest to you—your loved ones (Phil. 1:3–5).
Father, give me the wisdom to know how to pray for others.
• The index finger is the pointer. Pray for those who teach—Bible teachers and preachers, and those who teach (1 Thess. 5:25).
• The next finger is the tallest. It reminds you to pray for those in authority over you—national and local leaders, and your supervisor at work (1 Tim. 2:1–2).
• The fourth finger is usually the weakest. Pray for those who are in trouble or who are suffering (James 5:13–16).
• Then comes your little finger. It reminds you of your smallness in relation to God’s greatness. Ask Him to supply your needs (Phil. 4:6, 19).
Whatever method you use, just talk with your Father. He wants to hear what’s on your heart.
Father, give me the wisdom to know how to pray for others.
It’s not the words we pray that matter; it’s the condition of our heart.
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