THE GIFT OF GIVING
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Posted:Apr 21, 2017 5:59 am
Last Updated:Apr 21, 2017 6:00 am 13421 Views
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Read: Luke 3.7–14
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 12–13; Luke 16
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion. 2 Corinthians 9.7
A pastor breathed life into the phrase “He’d give you the shirt off his back” when he gave this unsettling challenge to his church: “What would happen if we took the coats off our backs and gave them to the needy?” Then he took his own coat and laid it at the front of the church. Dozens of others followed his example. This was during the winter, so the trip home was less comfortable that day. But for dozens of people in need, the season warmed up just a bit.
When John the Baptist roamed the Judean wilderness, he had a stern warning for the crowd that came to hear him. “You brood of vipers!” he said. “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3.7–8. Startled, they asked him, “What should we do then?” He responded with this advice: “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same”
(vv. 10–11). True repentance produces a generous heart.
Lord, show us what we have that we might use to bless someone else today.
Because “God loves a person who gives cheerfully” ), giving should never be guilt-based or pressured (2 Cor. 9.7). But when we give freely and generously, we find that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.
Lord, thank You for the many ways You bless us. Forgive us for so often taking Your goodness for granted. Show us what we have that we might use to bless someone else today.
Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
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LETTING GO
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Posted:Apr 20, 2017 5:52 am
Last Updated:Apr 20, 2017 5:53 am 13598 Views
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Read: Genesis 12:1–9
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 9–11; Luke 15:11–32
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go . . . to the land I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
For our wedding anniversary, my husband borrowed a tandem bike so we could enjoy a romantic adventure together. As we began to pedal on our way, I quickly realized that as the rider on the back my vision of the road ahead was eclipsed by my husband’s broad shoulders. Also, my handlebars were fixed; they didn’t affect the steering of our bike. Only the front handlebars determined our direction; mine served merely as support for my upper body. I had the choice to either be frustrated by my lack of control or to embrace the journey and trust Mike would guide us safely on our route.
When God asked Abram to leave his homeland and family, He didn’t offer much information concerning the destination. No geographic coordinates. No description of the new land or its natural resources. Not even an indication of how long it would take to get there. God simply gave the instruction to “go” to the land He would show him. Abram’s obedience to God’s instruction, despite lacking the details most humans crave, is credited to him as faith (Heb. 11:8.
God can be trusted to guide us.
If we find ourselves grappling with uncertainty or a lack of control in our lives, let’s seek to adopt Abram’s example of following and trusting God. The Lord will steer us well.
Help me, Lord, to trust You with the uncertainty in my life.
God can be trusted to guide us.
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SWEET SCENT
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Posted:Apr 19, 2017 4:03 am
Last Updated:Apr 19, 2017 4:04 am 13486 Views
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Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14–16
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 6–8; Luke 15:1–10
Thanks be to God, who . . . uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Corinthians 2:14
Author Rita Snowden tells a delightful story about visiting a small village in Dover, England. Sitting outside a café one afternoon enjoying a cup of tea, she became aware of a beautiful scent. Rita asked a waiter where it was coming from, and was told it was the people she could see passing by. Most of the villagers were employed at a nearby perfume factory. As they walked home, they carried the fragrance that permeated their clothes out into the street.
What a beautiful image of the Christian life! As the apostle Paul says, we are the aroma of Christ, spreading His fragrance everywhere (2 Cor. 2:15). Paul uses the image of a king returning from battle, his soldiers and captives in tow, wafting the smell of celebratory incense in the air, declaring the king’s greatness (v. 14).
Lord Jesus, make us carriers and communicators of Your beauty.
We spread the aroma of Christ in two ways. First, through our words: telling others about the One who is beautiful. Second, through our lives: doing deeds of Christlike sacrifice (Eph. 5:1–2). While not everyone will appreciate the divine fragrance we share, it will bring life to many.
Rita Snowden caught a scent and was driven to seek its source. As we follow Jesus we too become permeated with His fragrance, and we carry His aroma into the streets through our words and deeds.
Lord Jesus, make us carriers and communicators of Your beauty to the people in our homes, offices, and neighborhoods.
We are the aroma of Christ to others.
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ENJOY THE VIEW
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Posted:Apr 18, 2017 4:38 am
Last Updated:Apr 18, 2017 4:39 am 13557 Views
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Read: Psalm 148:1–6
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 3–5; Luke 14:25–35
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Psalm 148.3
Sunsets. People tend to stop what they are doing to watch them . . . snap pictures of them . . . enjoy the beautiful view.
My wife and I watched the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico recently. A crowd of people surrounded us, mostly strangers who had gathered at the beach to watch this nightly phenomenon. At the moment the sun fully slipped below the horizon, the crowd broke out with applause.
You and what You have made are awesome, Lord!
Why do people respond like that? The book of Psalms offers a clue. The psalmist wrote of God ordering the sun to praise its Creator (Ps. 148:3). And wherever the rays of the sun shine across the earth, people are moved to praise along with them.
The beauty that comes to us through nature speaks to our souls like few things do. It not only has the capacity to stop us in our tracks and captivate our attention, it also has the power to turn our focus to the Maker of beauty itself.
The wonder of God’s vast creation can cause us to pause and remember what’s truly important. Ultimately, it reminds us that there is a Creator behind the stunning entrance and exit of the day, One who so loved the world He made that He entered it in order to redeem and restore it.
I enjoy the world You have created with its variety and color. You and what You have made are awesome, Lord!
Join God in taking delight in all that He has made.
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AT HOME WITH JESUS
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Posted:Apr 17, 2017 4:48 am
Last Updated:May 5, 2024 5:55 am 13749 Views
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Read: John 14:1–4
Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 1–2; Luke 14:1–24
I go and prepare a place for you. John 14:3
“There’s no place like home.” The phrase reflects a deeply rooted yearning within us to have a place to rest, be, and belong. Jesus addressed this desire for rootedness when, after He and His friends had their last supper together, He spoke about His impending death and resurrection. He promised that although He would go away, He would come back for them. And He would prepare a room for them. A dwelling-place. A home.
He made this place for them—and us—through fulfilling the requirements of God’s law when He died on the cross as the sinless man. He assured His disciples that if He went to the trouble of creating this home, that of course He would come back for them and not leave them alone. They didn’t need to fear or be worried about their lives, whether on earth or in heaven.
We belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace.
We can take comfort and assurance from Jesus’s words, for we believe and trust that He makes a home for us; that He makes His home within us (see John 14:23); and that He has gone ahead of us to prepare our heavenly home. Whatever sort of physical place we live in, we belong with Jesus, upheld by His love and surrounded in His peace. With Him, there’s no place like home.
Lord Jesus Christ, if and when we feel homeless, remind us that You are our home. May we share this sense of belonging with those we meet.
Jesus prepares a place for us to live forever.
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REMEMBER THE CROSS
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Posted:Apr 14, 2017 6:14 am
Last Updated:Apr 17, 2017 4:48 am 13605 Views
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Read: Mark 15:19–20, 33–39
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 25–26; Luke 12:32–59
“Surely this man was the of God!” Mark 15:39
In the church I attend, a large cross stands at the front of the sanctuary. It represents the original cross where Jesus died—the place where our sin intersected with His holiness. There God allowed His perfect to die for the sake of every wrong thing we have ever done, said, or thought. On the cross, Jesus finished the work that was required to save us from the death we deserve (Rom. 6:23).
The sight of a cross causes me to consider what Jesus endured for us. Before being crucified, He was flogged and spit on. The soldiers hit Him in the head with sticks and got down on their knees in mock worship. They tried to make Him carry His own cross to the place where He would die, but He was too weak from the brutal flogging. At Golgotha, they hammered nails through His flesh to keep Him on the cross when they turned it upright. Those wounds bore the weight of His body as He hung there. Six hours later, Jesus took His final breath (Mark 15:37). A centurion who witnessed Jesus’s death declared, “Surely this man was the of God!” (v. 39).
Jesus, thank You for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross.
The next time you see the symbol of the cross, consider what it means to you. God’s suffered and died there and then rose again to make eternal life possible.
Dear Jesus, I can’t begin to thank You enough for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross. I acknowledge Your sacrifice, and I believe in the power of Your resurrection.
The cross of Christ reveals our sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
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FORSAKEN FOR OUR SAKE
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Posted:Apr 13, 2017 5:56 am
Last Updated:Apr 13, 2017 5:56 am 13262 Views
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Read: Matthew 26:36–46
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 22–24; Luke 12:1–31
God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Does having a friend nearby make pain more bearable? Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a fascinating study to answer that question. They wanted to see how the brain reacted to the prospect of pain, and whether it behaved differently if a person faced the threat of pain alone, holding a stranger’s hand, or holding the hand of a close friend.
Researchers ran the test on dozens of pairs, and found consistent results. When a person was alone or holding a stranger's hand while anticipating a shock, the regions of the brain that process danger lit up. But when holding the hand of a trusted person, the brain relaxed. The comfort of a friend’s presence made the pain seem more bearable.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
Jesus needed comfort as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He was about to face: betrayal, arrest, and death. He asked His closest friends to stay and pray with Him, telling them that His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (Matt. 26:38. But Peter, James, and John kept falling asleep.
Jesus faced the agony of the garden without the comfort of a hand to hold. But because He bore that pain, we can be confident that God will never leave or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). Jesus suffered so that we will never have to experience separation from the love of God (Rom. 8.39). His companionship makes anything we endure more bearable.
Jesus, thank You for bearing the pain and isolation of the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross for us. Thank You for giving us a way to live in communion with the Father.
Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.
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LET DOWN YOUR HAIR
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Posted:Apr 12, 2017 7:11 am
Last Updated:Apr 12, 2017 7:12 am 13477 Views
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Read: John 12:1–8
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 19–21; Luke 11:29–54
Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. John 12:3
Shortly before Jesus was crucified, a woman named Mary poured a bottle of expensive perfume on His feet. Then, in what may have been an even more daring act, she wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). Not only did Mary sacrifice what may have been her life’s savings, she also sacrificed her reputation. In first-century Middle Eastern culture, respectable women never let down their hair in public. But true worship is not concerned about what others think of us (2 Sam. 6:21–22). To worship Jesus, Mary was willing to be thought of as immodest, perhaps even immoral.
Some of us may feel pressured to be perfect when we go to church so that people will think well of us. Metaphorically speaking, we work hard to make sure we have every hair in place. But a healthy church is a place where we can let down our hair and not hide our flaws behind a façade of perfection. In church, we should be able to reveal our weaknesses to find strength rather than conceal our faults to appear strong.
Lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24
Worship doesn’t involve behaving as if nothing is wrong; it’s making sure everything is right—right with God and with one another. When our greatest fear is letting down our hair, perhaps our greatest sin is keeping it up.
Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23–24.
Our worship is right when we are right with God.
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WHY FORGIVE
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Posted:Apr 11, 2017 3:31 am
Last Updated:Apr 17, 2017 4:49 am 13438 Views
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Read: Luke 23:32–34
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 17–18; Luke 11:1–28
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34
When a friend betrayed me, I knew I would need to forgive her, but I wasn’t sure that I could. Her words pierced deeply inside me, and I felt stunned with pain and anger. Although we talked about it and I told her I forgave her, for a long time whenever I’d see her I felt tinges of hurt, so I knew I still clung to some resentment. One day, however, God answered my prayers and gave me the ability to let go completely. I was finally free.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith, with our Savior extending forgiveness even when He was dying on the cross. Jesus loved those who had nailed Him there, uttering a prayer asking His Father to forgive them. He didn’t hang on to bitterness or anger, but showed grace and love to those who had wronged Him.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
This is a fitting time to consider before the Lord any people we might need to forgive as we follow Jesus’s example in extending His love to those who hurt us. When we ask God through His Spirit to help us forgive, He will come to our aid—even if we take what we think is a long time to forgive. When we do, we are freed from the prison of unforgiveness.
Lord Jesus Christ, through Your grace and power as You dwell in me, help me to forgive, that Your love will set me free.
Even on the cross, Jesus forgave those who hurt Him.
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OUR BEST FRIEND
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Posted:Apr 10, 2017 5:02 am
Last Updated:Apr 17, 2017 4:49 am 13603 Views
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Read: Hebrews 10:19–23
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 15–16; Luke 10:25–42
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become of God. John 1:12
When I was twelve years old our family moved to a town in the desert. After gym classes in the hot air at my new school, we rushed for the drinking fountain. Being skinny and young for my grade, I sometimes got pushed out of the way while waiting in line. One day my friend Jose, who was big and strong for his age, saw this happening. He stepped in and stuck out a strong arm to clear my way. “Hey!” he exclaimed, “You let Banks get a drink first!” I never had trouble at the drinking fountain again.
Jesus understood what it was like to face the ultimate unkindness of others. The Bible tells us, “He was despised and rejected by mankind” (Isa. 53:3). But Jesus was not just a victim of suffering, He also became our advocate. By giving His life, Jesus opened a “new and living way” for us to enter into a relationship with God (Heb. 10:20). He did for us what we could never do for ourselves, offering us the free gift of salvation when we repent of our sins and trust in Him.
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
Jesus is the best friend we could ever have. He said, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). Others may hold us at arm’s length or even push us away, but God has opened His arms to us through the cross. How strong is our Savior!
Love’s redeeming work is done, fought the fight, the battle won. Death in vain forbids him rise; Christ has opened paradise. Charles Wesley
God’s free gift to us cost Him dearly.
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