TEST MATCH
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Posted:Jul 25, 2016 6:40 am
Last Updated:Jul 25, 2016 6:41 am 14004 Views
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Read: Psalm 35:17–28
Bible in a Year: Psalms 37–39; Acts 2
How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. Psalm 35:17
A test match in the game of cricket can be grueling. Competitors play from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with lunch and tea breaks, but the games can last up to five days. It’s a test of endurance as well as skill.
The tests we face in life are sometimes intensified for a similar reason—they feel unending. The long search for a job, an unbroken season of loneliness, or a lengthy battle with cancer is made even more difficult by the fact that you wonder if it will ever end.
When your burdens overwhelm you, remember that God has His arms underneath you.
Perhaps that is why the psalmist cried out, “How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions” (Ps. 35:17). Bible commentaries say that this was speaking of the long period in David’s life when he was pursued by Saul and slandered by the king’s advisors—a time of trial that lasted for years.
Yet, in the end, David sang, “The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant” (v. 27). His testing drove him to deeper trust in God—a trust that we can also experience in our own long seasons of testing, hardship, or loss.
As time drags on and answers seem faraway, teach me, Father, to find my help in You and Your presence. Enable me to endure, and empower me to trust in You.
When your burdens overwhelm you, remember that God has His arms underneath you.
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HUMAN RACE
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Posted:Jul 22, 2016 4:54 am
Last Updated:Jul 22, 2016 4:55 am 14142 Views
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Read: Mark 6.7–13, 30–32
Bible in a Year: Psalms 31–32; Acts 23:16–35
[Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
The alarm clock goes off. Too early, it seems. But you have a long day ahead. You have work to do, appointments to keep, people to care for, or all this and more. Well, you are not alone. Each day, many of us rush from one matter to another. As someone has wittily suggested, “That’s why we are called the human race.”
When the apostles returned from their first mission trip, they had a lot to report. But Mark did not record Jesus’s evaluation of the disciples’ work; rather, he focused on His concern that they rest awhile. Jesus said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (6:31).
Lord, I thank You today for all You have given me to do.
Ultimately, we find true rest through recognizing the presence of God and trusting Him. While we take our responsibilities seriously, we also recognize that we can relax our grip on our work and careers, our families and ministry, and give them over to God in faith. We can take time each day to tune out the distractions, put away the tense restlessness, and reflect in gratitude on the wonder of God’s love and faithfulness.
So feel free to stop and take a breath. Get some real rest.
Lord, I thank You today for all You have given me to do. Help me to truly rest in You—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
We do not rest because our work is done; we rest because God commanded it and created us to have a need for it.
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TACTICAL DISTRACTIONS
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Posted:Jul 21, 2016 5:51 am
Last Updated:Jul 21, 2016 5:51 am 14118 Views
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Read: Jonah 4
Bible in a Year: Psalms 29–30; Acts 23:1–15
The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4:4
It became painfully clear the first time my wife and I collaborated on a writing project that procrastination was going to be a major obstacle. Her role was to edit my work and keep me on schedule; my role seemed to be to drive her crazy. Most times, her organization and patience outlasted my resistance to deadlines and direction.
I promised to have a certain amount of writing done by the end of one day. For the first hour, I plugged away diligently. Satisfied with what I’d accomplished so far, I decided to take a break. Before I knew it, my time was up. In trouble for sure, I thought of a way out. I set about doing a couple of chores my wife despised and which always netted me praise when I did them.
Are you dodging duties God makes clear He wants you to tackle?
My plan failed.
I sometimes play the same games with God. He brings specific people into my life He wants me to serve or tasks He wants me to accomplish. Like Jonah, who went another way when God gave Him an assignment (Jonah 4:2), I need to set aside my own feelings. I often try to impress God with good deeds or spiritual activity when what He really wants is obedience to His priorities. Inevitably, my plan fails.
Are you dodging duties God makes clear He wants you to tackle? Trust me: Real contentment comes from doing it in His strength and in His way.
Loving Father, help us to recognize our busyness and distractions for what they so often are—disobedience and inattention to the work You have given us to do.
Obedience pleases God.
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He Understand
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Posted:Jul 20, 2016 3:54 am
Last Updated:Jul 20, 2016 3:55 am 14323 Views
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Read: Psalm 27:1–8
Bible in a Year: Psalms 26–28; Acts 22
The Lord is my light and my salvation. Psalm 27:1
Some young have trouble falling asleep at night. While there may be many reasons for this, my explained one of them as I turned to leave her bedroom one evening. “I’m afraid of the dark,” she said. I tried to relieve her fear, but I left a nightlight on so she could be sure that her room was monster-free.
I didn’t think much more about my ’s fear until a few weeks later when my husband went on an overnight business trip. After I settled into bed, the dark seemed to press in around me. I heard a tiny noise and jumped up to investigate. It turned out to be nothing, but I finally understood my ’s fear when I experienced it myself.
Jesus understands our fears and problems because He lived on the earth as a human and endured the same types of trouble we face. “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isa. 53:3). When we describe our struggles to Him, He doesn’t brush us aside, minimize our feelings, or tell us to snap out of it—He relates to our distress. Somehow, knowing that He understands can dispel the loneliness that often accompanies suffering. In our darkest times, He is our light and our salvation.
Dear Jesus, I believe that You hear my prayers and that You understand my situation. You are the One who lights my darkness.
Jesus is our light in the darkest night.
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MARKING TIME
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Posted:Jul 19, 2016 3:16 am
Last Updated:Jul 19, 2016 3:18 am 14434 Views
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Read: Psalm 25:1–15
Bible in a Year: Psalms 23–25; Acts 21:18–40
Let no one who waits on You be ashamed. Psalm 25:3
The military command, “Mark Time, March” means to march in place without moving forward. It is an active pause in forward motion while remaining mentally prepared and expectantly waiting the next command.
In everyday language, the term marking time has come to mean “motion without progress, not getting anywhere, not doing anything important while you wait.” It conveys a feeling of idle, meaningless waiting.
In contrast, the word wait in the Bible often means “to look eagerly for, to hope, and to expect.” The psalmist, when facing great difficulties, wrote: “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed” (Ps. 25:2–3 ).
We often have no choice about the things we must wait for—a medical diagnosis, a job interview result, the return of a loved one—but we can decide how we wait. Rather than giving in to fear or apathy, we can continue to “march in place,” actively seeking God’s strength and direction each day.
“Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day” (vv. 4–5 ).
Lord, give me grace to embrace the pauses in my life, and to be prepared to follow Your next command.
Waiting on God is active trust in Him.
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MISPLACED TRUST
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Posted:Jul 18, 2016 3:18 am
Last Updated:Jul 19, 2016 3:16 am 14683 Views
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Read: Psalm 20
Bible in a Year: Psalms 20–22; Acts 21:1–17
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20.7
I like watching birds, an activity I developed while growing up in a forest village in Ghana where there were many different species of birds. In the city suburb where I now live, I recently observed the behavior of some crows that interested me. Flying toward a tree that had shed most of its leaves, the crows decided to take a rest. But instead of settling on the sturdy branches, they lighted on the dry and weak limbs that quickly gave way. They flapped their way out of danger—only to repeat the useless effort. Apparently their bird-sense didn't tell them that the solid branches were more trustworthy and secure resting places.
How about us? Where do we place our trust? David observes in Psalm 20.7: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Chariots and horses represent material and human assets. While these represent things that are useful in daily life, they don’t give us security in times of trouble. If we place our trust in things or possessions or wealth, we will find that they eventually give way beneath us, as the branches gave way beneath the crows.
"We trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:.7
Those who trust in their chariots and horses can be “brought to their knees and fall,” but those who trust in God will “rise up and stand firm” (v. 8.
Have you ever trusted someone or something and been disappointed or let down? Who or what was it? What do you trust in the most?
In a world of change, we can trust our unchanging God.
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UNEXPECTED?
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Posted:Jul 15, 2016 4:28 am
Last Updated:May 9, 2024 4:33 pm 14187 Views
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Read: Matthew 10:35–42
Bible in a Year: Psalms 13–15; Acts 19:41
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39
In the midday heat of summer, while traveling in the American South, my wife and I stopped for ice cream. On the wall behind the counter we saw a sign reading, “Absolutely No Snowmobiling.” The humor worked because it was so unexpected.
Sometimes saying the unexpected has the most effect. Think of this in regard to a statement by Jesus: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). In a kingdom where the King is a servant (Mark 10:45), losing your life becomes the only way to find it. This is a startling message to a world focused on self-promotion and self-protection.
Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice.
In practical terms, how can we “lose our life”? The answer is summed up in the word sacrifice. When we sacrifice, we put into practice Jesus’s way of living. Instead of grasping for our own wants and needs, we esteem the needs and well-being of others.
Jesus not only taught about sacrifice but He also lived it by giving Himself for us. His death on the cross became the ultimate expression of the heart of the King who lived up to His own words: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Loving Father, teach me the heart of Christ, that I might more fully appreciate the sacrifice He has made for me and be willing to sacrifice myself for others.
Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice.
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UNEXPECTED?
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Posted:Jul 15, 2016 4:27 am
Last Updated:Jul 15, 2016 4:28 am 14342 Views
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Read: Matthew 10:35–42
Bible in a Year: Psalms 13–15; Acts 19:41
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39
In the midday heat of summer, while traveling in the American South, my wife and I stopped for ice cream. On the wall behind the counter we saw a sign reading, “Absolutely No Snowmobiling.” The humor worked because it was so unexpected.
Sometimes saying the unexpected has the most effect. Think of this in regard to a statement by Jesus: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). In a kingdom where the King is a servant (Mark 10:45), losing your life becomes the only way to find it. This is a startling message to a world focused on self-promotion and self-protection.
Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice.
In practical terms, how can we “lose our life”? The answer is summed up in the word sacrifice. When we sacrifice, we put into practice Jesus’s way of living. Instead of grasping for our own wants and needs, we esteem the needs and well-being of others.
Jesus not only taught about sacrifice but He also lived it by giving Himself for us. His death on the cross became the ultimate expression of the heart of the King who lived up to His own words: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Loving Father, teach me the heart of Christ, that I might more fully appreciate the sacrifice He has made for me and be willing to sacrifice myself for others.
Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice.
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FROM MOURNING TO DANCING
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Posted:Jul 14, 2016 3:09 am
Last Updated:Jul 15, 2016 4:28 am 14467 Views
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Read: Isaiah 61:1–41
| Bible in a Year: Psalms 10–12; Acts 19:1–20
He has sent me . . . to bestow on [those who grieve] a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning. Isaiah 61:1, 3
“We’re cutting your job.” A decade ago those words sent me reeling when the company I worked for eliminated my position. At the time, I felt shattered, partly because my identity was so intertwined with my role as editor. Recently I felt a similar sadness when I heard that my freelance job was ending. But this time I didn’t feel rocked at my foundation, because over the years I have seen God’s faithfulness and how He can turn my mourning to joy.
Though we live in a fallen world where we experience pain and disappointment, the Lord can move us from despair to rejoicing, as we see in Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming of Jesus (Isa. 61:1–3). The Lord gives us hope when we feel hopeless; He helps us to forgive when we think we can’t; He teaches us that our identity is in Him and not in what we do. He gives us courage to face an unknown future. When we wear the rags of “ashes,” He gently gives us a coat of praise.
When we face loss, we shouldn’t run from the sadness, but neither do we want to become bitter or hardened. When we think about God’s faithfulness over the years, we know that He’s willing and able to turn our grief to dancing once again—to give us sufficient grace in this life and full joy in heaven.
Father God, You turned Jesus’s pain on the cross into our best gift ever. Deepen my faith that I may welcome Your life-changing love into my life.
God can bring times of growth out of our times of heartache.
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SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW?
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Posted:Jul 13, 2016 4:05 am
Last Updated:Jul 14, 2016 3:10 am 14415 Views
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Read: Matthew 14:22–36
Bible in a Year: Psalms 7–9; Acts 18
He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Matthew 14:23
During a concert, singer-songwriter David Wilcox responded to a question from the audience about how he composes songs. He said there are three aspects to his process: a quiet room, an empty page, and the question, “Is there something I should know?” It struck me as a wonderful approach for followers of Jesus as we seek the Lord’s plan for our lives each day.
Throughout Jesus’s public ministry, He took time to be alone in prayer. After feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, He sent His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee by boat while He dismissed the crowd (Matt. 14:22). “After [Jesus] had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone” (v. 23).
Lord, speak to me by Your Spirit and Your written Word
If the Lord Jesus saw the need to be alone with His Father, how much more do we need a daily time of solitude to pour out our hearts to God, ponder His Word, and prepare to follow His directions. A quiet room—anywhere we can focus on the Lord without distractions. An empty page—a receptive mind, a blank sheet of paper, a willingness to listen. Is there something I should know? “Lord, speak to me by Your Spirit, Your written Word, and the assurance of Your direction.”
From that quiet hillside, Jesus descended into a violent storm, knowing exactly what His Father wanted Him to do (vv. 24–27).
Taking time to be with God is the best place to find strength.
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