Archive for the ‘Bible in a Year’ Category
Bible in a Year… Day 116
May 28th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Obviously, I’m quite a bit behind in posting thoughts from daily Bible in a Year readings… quite a bit behind even in my readings. As I was playing a bit of catch-up this morning, I came across these verses from Psalm 46. I don’t know specifically why, but they seemed to jump right off the page at me.
Psalm 46:1-3 (NIV)
1God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:7 (NIV)
7The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
God… our refuge and strength. God… with us.
Coming Tomorrow Night…
May 20th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year, My Life, Site News...
You’ve missed my Bible in a Year posts of late, haven’t you?
There’s a reason behind that, as you might imagine.
First… the burden of blogging every day was taking a pretty heavy toll on me. I wasn’t finding joy in simply spending time in God’s word, but instead finding it a chore to decide what I should write about each passage. And that’s not to mention the time commitment that only could be met by staying up late after everyone else went to bed, or neglecting another form of worship of God I thoroughly enjoy… playing guitar.
Second? Of late, I’ve felt compelled to put together a formalized discipleship program for my church, and I’d really rather study that topic and put some thoughts together instead of blogging about a daily Bible reading.
Anyway, here’s the deal… Bible in a Year has been sporadic for quite a while now. Expect that to continue for a while. But tomorrow night is where I want your focus (if you’d be so kind).
Tomorrow night, I have a post scheduled on the topic of discipleship that I want you to read, think about, pray about, dissect, comment upon, etc. In a nutshell, if you feel led to say something, I want it said. I think it will be worth your time!
See you back tomorrow night!
Bible in a Year… Day 101 (Psalm 42-44)
May 13th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Don’t you just love Psalms? I look forward to Tuesdays every week…
Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)
1As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
When is the last time you were thirsty? I mean, REALLY thirsty? Remember what it felt like to finally get a drink? To have your thirst quenched?
When is the last time you thirsted for God? When you needed to connect with Him so badly it almost was physically painful?
If you haven’t, is your lack of thirst for God arising from your thirst constantly being quenched by an ongoing close relationship with Him, or is it simply that you no longer care?
Bible in a Year… Day 97 (Mark 7-8)
May 9th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Back to the gospel of Mark today…
Mark 8:34-37 (NIV)
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
I don’t know what you think, but it’s my viewpoint that this is one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus. Deny myself. Take up my cross. Follow Jesus. Be willing to lose my life for Him. Forget about the things of the world, because they can stand in the way of eternity.
Basically… put Jesus first in all things.
It’s anything but easy.
How do you, personally, implement these teachings? How do we go about developing a heart that’s so devoted to Jesus that we’re not only able, but willing to our own desires second? How do you keep yourself aware of where your heart truly lies, that you might refocus when you begin to stray from God’s will to your own?
Tough questions arising from a difficult teaching!
Bible in a Year… Day 95 (Job 27-28)
May 7th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
More from Job today…
Job 27:5-6 (NIV)
5I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.6I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
Let’s recap a bit. God has allowed Job to be tested by Satan, and he has suffered severely because of it, losing possessions, family… even his health. Despite this, Job continues to worship God. Things get interesting when Job is confronted by his friends, who assume that because of his predicament, that God must be punishing him for some sort of sin.
It’s in that context that we get these statements… “I will never admit you are in the right”, “till I die, I will not deny my integrity”, “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it”, “my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.”
Talk about intestinal fortitude!
Imagine yourself in Job’s shoes for a minute, and tell me how YOU would respond.
Me? I would have admitted some sort of generic fault by this point… whether guilty or not, I’d have been questioning myself enough that doubt would have crept in about my standing before God. I would have believed myself unrighteous, whether true or not.
Ever encounter someone like Job? Wholly committed to a task they know is right… never swaying from their cause no matter how difficult the circumstances or how great the pressure to change course?
How did you respond to them? Admiration? Contempt? Anything but indifference, right?
People like Job tend to be polarizing figures… we either love them or hate them… even when their cause is 100% right and they are following God wholeheartedly. We simply see truth in too many shades of grey nowadays, and this kind of black and white certainty of commitment is, well… almost shocking.
The path to popularity certainly does not lie in being a person wholly committed to God, never swaying from His way.
Bible in a Year… Day 94 (Psalm 39-41)
May 6th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Back to Psalms today.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)
1I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.2He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.3He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
Ever have the experience of the Psalmist? Crushed by your sin, crying out to God… having Him answer your prayer and change your outlook overnight?
It’s awesome how God does that. We tend to go from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows… and back again. The fall is pretty clearly something we do ourselves… but the rise? All God.
Are you in that place right now? Knowing your sin, feeling completely isolated from God… hurting deeply? God’s waiting for you to cry out to Him. He longs to restore you and give you peace… to give you a new song to sing… one of praise for the Savior who rescues and restores us.
Bible in a Year… Day 93
May 5th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Once again, I’m playing a bit of catch up, reading 1 Samuel 11-20 tonight. Interesting stuff, how God rejects Saul and chooses David to be king of the Israelites.
A couple of passages I find interesting…
1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV)
6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
In this passage, we find Samuel believing he’s found Israel’s new king amongst the sons of Jesse. Judging by outward appearances, Eliab seems to fit the bill… but God makes clear this is not His plan.
Isn’t it interesting how some things seem to be so clearly of God sometimes? We look at individuals, and think, “Now THAT’s what a Christian should be.” Or we look at circumstances in our lives that seem to lead us in a certain direction, and think, “this MUST be of God.”
Yet God works in ways that are often totally contrary to how we think He should. Often, it’s the ones we overlook that God wants to use, or in the difficult tasks where nothing seems to be laid out.
Definitely emphasizes the importance of discernment, doesn’t it?
1 Samuel 17:32-37 (NIV)
32David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”33Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”
34But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
I know you’re familiar with the account of David and Goliath. I can’t help but be amazed when I read it though… David comes before Saul and tells him with complete confidence that God will provide victory. What faith!
I wonder, when is the last time you heard from God in such a manner that you were completely certain He would do something amazing… maybe even through you? Have you ever experienced this?
I know that God doesn’t present a giant for all of His servants to slay, but I am fairly confident that He expects us to step out in faith and trust Him in big things from time to time. If you can’t recall ever doing that, I wonder, is it because God has never placed the expectation before you, or is it simply that you’ve shunned the opportunity?
Worth thinking about.
Bible in a Year… Day 90 (Mark 5-6)
May 2nd, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Back to the gospel of Mark tonight…
Mark 5:1-20 (NIV)
1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”
9Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man — and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Read this passage and see if you find anything interesting.
Did you catch it?
Here we have Jesus, healing a demon-possessed man… a person with a very obvious and serious need. In the process, Jesus casts out the demons into a herd of pigs, who throw themselves into a lake and drown.
As you might imagine, the people are amazed at what Jesus has done, and the man is overwhelmed with gratitude. You’d think this would result in everyone wanting more of Jesus… for Him to stay, teach, and perform more miracles… right?
That’s the interesting part to me… the answer is a resounding no.
Check out verse 17. “The people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”
Apparently, the people were more concerned about their financial well-being (after all, the herd of pigs was surely someone’s livelihood, maybe multiple people’s) than the amazing things Jesus could do in their lives. They preferred their security over their spiritual well-being.
Sad, isn’t it?
Are we really all that different, though? How do we respond when Jesus does something amazing? With increased faith, gratitude, and commitment?
Maybe for a time. But when the normalcy of life sets back in, we question things again. We decide we’d rather do things on our own, rather than trusting God’s divine provision. We turn to our plans instead of God’s. The mountaintop experiences fade so quickly.
What is it about this aspect of our human existence? Why is faith so fleeting sometimes? How do we go about growing our faith and trust in God so that we can see lives of sustained faith?
As much as I’d like to, I still don’t have answers to these questions.
Bible in a Year… Day 88 (Job 25-26)
April 30th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Back to Job tonight…
Job 25 (NIV)
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:2“Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.3Can his forces be numbered?
Upon whom does his light not rise?4How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?5If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,6how much less man, who is but a maggot —
a son of man, who is only a worm!”
While hardly the encouragement Job needed, Bildad the Shuhite speaks truth about who men are as compared to God. He’s almighty, in control of the entire universe… we’re barely able to get through a single day without everything spinning out of control. He’s omniscient, knowing all… the limitations of our knowledge are often painfully clear. He’s eternal and unchanging… our earthly lives are painfully short, with the only constant being change. He’s perfect and sinless… we’re plagued by our imperfections and sinful rebellion.
Why God would want anything to do with us is beyond me.
But He does.
In fact, He desperately loves us and wants us to love Him. So much so that He provided a way for us to be made righteous and pure, in spite of cost to which we can’t begin to relate… by pouring our the blood of His son as payment for our sin.
A debt we can’t pay, paid in full by the grace of God, at the simple cost to us of childlike faith and trust in Jesus.
God is good indeed.
Bible in a Year… Day 87 (Psalm 36-38)
April 29th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year
Apologies to everyone for the hit and miss Bible in a Year blogging. I don’t know about you, but I go through times where I simply just don’t feel like spending the time I need to at night in God’s word… where it feels more a struggle than a joy. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Anyway, back to Psalms today.
Psalm 38:1-4 (NIV)
1O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.2For your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down upon me.3Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
my bones have no soundness because of my sin.4My guilt has overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
This Psalm presents another powerful testimony of brokenness over sin, and causes me to reflect… how often am I utterly broken over my sin? Does a lack of brokenness cause me to delay seeking forgiveness? Once I do turn to God, do I really exhibit true repentance afterwards?
The bottom line, of course, is that sin is serious business, necessitating the crucifixion of our Lord.
Do we give it the weighty consideration we should?
