Quest For Stolen Treasure
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Posted:May 29, 2014 3:33 am
Last Updated:May 29, 2014 3:35 am 7603 Views
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Read: Matthew 4:18-22
[Jesus] said to them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19
Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 7-9; John 11:1-29
In J. R. R. Tolkiens The Hobbit, the dwarfs gathered to go up against Smaug, the fierce dragon, to retrieve their stolen treasure. In spite of the dangerously frightening quest, Balin, the dwarfs second-in-command, expressed confidence in Thorin: There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King. His commitment to the mission, as dangerous as it was, was empowered by his confidence in his leader.
At the beginning of Jesus earthly ministry, He gathered a group around Him that would join Him in the kingdom task of rescuing the treasure of lost souls from our enemy, Satan. When He called them, He said, Follow Me (Matt. 4:19). For them, following Jesus would mean a radical transition from catching fish to the enterprise of being fishers of men and women who were lost in the grip of sin. But the task would not always be easy; Jesus referred to the quest as taking up our cross to follow Him (see Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).
How do we stay engaged in the battle to reclaim Christ's lost treasures when it seems intimidating or awkward? By keeping our eye on our Leader. He indeed is worthy One we can follow, the One we call King!
Lord, in the face of intimidation and fear when
seeking to engage others with the gospel, remind
me that they are Your lost treasures. I count it
a privilege to follow You into others lives.
Follow your Leader into the lives of those around you.
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The Crash
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Posted:May 28, 2014 4:05 am
Last Updated:May 28, 2014 4:07 am 7613 Views
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Read: Micah 7:8-9,18-20
He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. âMicah 7:9
Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42
For years after the Great Depression, the stock market struggled to win back investorsâ confidence. Then, in 1952, Harry Markowitz suggested that investors spread their stock holdings over several companies and industries. He developed a theory for portfolio selection that helped investors in uncertain times. In 1990, Markowitz and two others won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their theory.
Like those jittery investors, we followers of Jesus may also find ourselves frozen in fear after a âcrashâ in our personal lives, unsure how to pick up the pieces and move on. We might even spend our remaining lives waiting for a âMarkowitz moment,â when one big idea or action can help us recover from a previous failure.
We forget that Jesus has already done that on our behalf. He covered our shame, and He set us free to fellowship with God and serve Him daily. Because He gave His life, and rose from the dead, when we âfall,â we can âariseâ with Him, for âHe delights in mercyâ
(Micah 7.8,18.
The moment we find Jesus, our eternity with Him begins. He walks alongside us so He can change us into the people we long to be and were created to be.
Father, my actions arenât adequate to fix my
failures. Thank You for doing that through
Your Jesus who gave Himself for us.
Help me to look up and walk with You.
Look up from your failure, and youâll find God standing ready to receive you.
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Blessed Forgetfulness
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Posted:May 27, 2014 9:23 am
Last Updated:May 27, 2014 9:25 am 7583 Views
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Read: John 10:1-10
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. John 10:9
Bible in a Year:
2 Chronicles 1-3; John 10:1-23
My office is downstairs, but I make frequent trips upstairs to various rooms in my house for one thing or another. Unfortunately, by the time I get upstairs I often forget what I was planning to do when I got there. Researcher Gabriel Radvansky has come up with an explanation for this phenomenon. He proposes that a doorway serves as an event boundary.
After conducting three different experiments, he theorized that a doorway signals the brain that the information held in memory can be filed away but it's frustrating when I'm standing there trying to remember why I came upstairs. However, forgetfulness can be a blessing. When I shut the door to our bedroom at night and settle down to sleep, it's a blessing to forget the worries of the day.
When I think of the fact that Jesus called Himself âthe door
(John 10.7,9, I gain a new appreciation for this metaphor. When sheep enter the pen, they enter a safe place protected from thieves and predators. For believers, the Great Shepherd is the door between us and our enemies. Once we enter the sheepfold, we can forget all dangers and threats. We can enjoy divine forgetfulness and rest in the protection of the Great Shepherd.
Thank You, Father, for the peace of mind
that comes from knowing You are standing
watch over the events of our lives. Help us
to rest securely in Your protection.
Christ is the door that keeps us in and keeps the dangers out.
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A Call Of Comfort
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Posted:May 26, 2014 2:54 am
Last Updated:May 26, 2014 2:57 am 7514 Views
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Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41
In their book Dear Mrs. Kennedy, Jay Mulvaney and Paul De Angelis note that during the weeks following the assassination of US President John Kennedy, his widow, Jacqueline, received nearly one million letters from people in every part of the world. Some came from heads of state, celebrities, and close friends. Others were sent by ordinary people who addressed them to Madame Kennedy, Washington and Mrs. President, America.â All wrote to express their grief and sympathy for her great loss.
When people suffer and we long to help, it's good to recall Paul's word-picture of âthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). Our heavenly Father is the ultimate source of every tender mercy, kind word, and helpful act that brings encouragement and healing. Bible scholar W. E. Vine says that paraklesis the Greek word translated comfort means a calling to one's side. The words comfort and consolation appear repeatedly in today's Bible reading as a reminder that the Lord holds us close and invites us to cling to Him.
As the Lord wraps His loving arms around us, we are able to embrace others with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (v.4).
Father, thank You for letting us share with You
our worries and cares. We're grateful that You
stand beside us to comfort and guide. Help us
to console others as You look out for Your own.
God comforts us so that we can comfort others.
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More Than We Deserve
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Posted:May 23, 2014 4:49 am
Last Updated:May 23, 2014 4:52 am 7396 Views
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Read: Psalm 103:6-18
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
Psalm 103:10
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 19-21; John 8:1-27
Sometimes when people ask how I'm doing, I reply, Better than I deserve. I remember a well-meaning person responding, Oh no, Joe, you deserve a lot, to which I replied, Not really. I was thinking about what I truly deserve God's judgment.
We easily forget how sinful we are at the core of our being. Thinking of ourselves more highly than we should diminishes our sense of deep indebtedness to God for His grace. It discounts the price He paid to rescue us.
Time for a reality check! As the psalmist reminds us, God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities (Ps. 103:10). Considering who we are in light of a holy and just God, the only thing we truly deserve is hell. And heaven is an absolute impossibility except for the gift of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. If God never does anything more than redeem us, He has already done far more than we deserve. No wonder the psalmist says, As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him (v.11).
Knowing ourselves for what we are, we can't help but say, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! He gives us so much more than we deserve.
Lord, thank You for not dealing with me according
to my sins. I am indebted to You for the love and
grace that You demonstrated on the cross to
purchase my pardon and forgiveness far beyond what I deserve!
If God never does anything more than redeem us, He has already done far more than we deserve.
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Listening
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Posted:May 22, 2014 3:58 am
Last Updated:May 22, 2014 4:00 am 7260 Views
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Read: Job 2:11-13
Oh, that I had one to hear me! âJob 31:35
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 16-18; John 7:28-53
In her book Listening to Others, Joyce Huggett writes about the importance of learning to listen and respond effectively to those in difficult situations. As she relates some of her own experiences of listening to suffering people, she mentions that they often thank her for all she's done for them. On many occasions, she writes, âI have not done anything. I have just listened. I quickly came to the conclusion that just listening was indeed an effective way of helping others.
This was the help Job sought from his friends. While it is true that they sat with him for 7 days in silence, for they saw that his grief was very great (2:13), they didn't listen when Job started talking. Instead, they talked and talked but failed to comfort him (16:2). Oh, that I had one to hear me! Job cried (31:35).
Listening says, What matters to you matters to me. Sometimes people do want advice. But often they just want to be listened to by someone who loves and cares about them.
Listening is hard work, and it takes time. It takes time to listen long enough to hear the other person's true heart, so that if we do speak, we speak with gentle wisdom.
Oh, Lord, give us a loving heart and a listening ear.
I cried, and from His holy hill
He bowed a listening ear;
I called my Father, and my God,
And He subdued my fear.
When I'm thinking about an answer while others are talking I'm not listening.
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Anchors In The Storm
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Posted:May 21, 2014 5:33 am
Last Updated:May 21, 2014 5:36 am 7396 Views
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Read: Joshua 1:1-9
The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 13-15; John 7:1-27
When Matt and Jessica tried to navigate their sailboat into a Florida inlet during Hurricane Sandy, the craft ran aground. As the waves crashed around them, they quickly dropped anchor. It held the sailboat in place until they could be rescued. They said that if they had not put down the anchor, âWe would have lost our boat for sure.Without the anchor, the relentless waves would have smashed the vessel onto the shore.
We need anchors that hold us secure in our spiritual lives as well. When God called Joshua to lead His people after Moses death, He gave him anchors of promise he could rely on in troubled times. The Lord said to him, I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. . . . The Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Josh. 1:5,9). God also gave Joshua and His people the Book of the Law to study and observe (vv.7-8. That, and God's presence, were anchors the Israelites could rely on as they faced many challenges.
When we're in the middle of suffering or when doubts start threatening our faith, what are our anchors? We could start with Joshua 1:5. Although our faith may feel weak, if it's anchored in God's promises and presence, He will safely hold us.
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.
When we feel the stress of the storm we learn the strength of the anchor.
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Once Upon A Time
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Posted:May 20, 2014 5:28 am
Last Updated:May 20, 2014 5:30 am 7387 Views
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Read: Matthew 24:32-44
The Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 10-12; John 6:45-71
Some people say that the Bible is just a collection of fairy tales. A boy slaying a giant. A man swallowed by a big fish. Noah's boat-building experience. Even some religious people think that these events are just nice stories with a good moral.
Jesus Himself, however, spoke of Jonah and the giant fish, and Noah and the flood, as actual events: As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the of Man be (Matt. 24:37-39). His return will happen when we're not expecting it.
Jesus compared Jonah's 3 days inside the big fish to the 3 days He would experience in the grave before His resurrection (Matt. 12:40). And Peter talked about Noah and the flood when he equated it to a future day when Jesus comes back (2 Peter 2:4-9).
God gave us His Word; itâs a book that is filled with truth not fairy tales. And one day, we will live happily ever after with Him when Jesus comes again and receives His to Himself.
We're waiting for You, Lord, to come
And take us home to be with You;
Your promise to return for us
Gives hope because we know it's true.
We have reason for optimism if weâre looking for Christ's return.
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Interruptions
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Posted:May 19, 2014 4:50 am
Last Updated:May 19, 2014 4:52 am 7354 Views
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Read: Mark 5:21-34
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Psalm 33:11
Bible in a Year:
1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44
My sister and I were looking forward to our holiday in Taiwan. We had purchased our plane tickets and booked our hotel rooms. But 2 weeks before the trip, my sister learned she had to stay at home in Singapore to handle an emergency. We were disappointed that our plans were interrupted.
Jesus disciples were accompanying Him on an urgent mission when their trip was interrupted (Mark 5:21-42). The of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, was dying. Time was of the essence, and Jesus was on His way to their home. Then, suddenly, Jesus stopped and said, Who touched My clothes? (v.30).
The disciples seemed irritated by this and said, You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, Who touched Me? (v.31). But Jesus saw it as an opportunity to minister to a suffering woman. Her illness had made her ceremonially unclean and unable to participate in community life for 12 years! (see Lev. 15:25-27).
While Jesus was talking to this woman, Jairus died. It was too lateâor so it seemed. But the delay allowed Jairus to experience an even deeper knowledge of Jesus and His power even power over death!
Sometimes our disappointment can be God's appointment.
Disappointment His appointment
No good thing will He withhold;
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold.
Look for God's purpose in your next interruption.
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Many Advisors
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Posted:May 16, 2014 3:53 am
Last Updated:May 16, 2014 3:58 am 7372 Views
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Read: Proverbs 15:16-23
Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established. âProverbs 15:22
Bible in a Year:
2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24
The fifteenth-century theologian Thomas Kempis said, Who is so wise as to have perfect knowledge of all things? Therefore, trust not too much to your own opinion, but be ready also to hear the opinions of others. Though your own opinion be good, yet if for the love of God you forego it and follow that of another, you shall the more profit thereby. Thomas recognized the importance of seeking the opinions of trusted advisors when making plans for life.
In order to determine God's course for life, the wise person should open up to several avenues of counsel, through which God will bring His guiding wisdom. When a person seeks the wise counsel of others, he shows his realization that he might be overlooking some important factors in his decisions.
Solomon, the wisest man in Israel, wrote about how important it is to have counsel from others: Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established
(Prov. 15:22).
The Lord is the Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6), and He desires to protect us through wise advisors. Seek them out and thank God for them. Let them help you discover a clearer picture of His plan for your life.
If you seek wise counsel, you multiply your chances for sound decisions.
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