Archive for the ‘Devotions / Bible Studies’ Category
Lean Not…
July 3rd, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies
Ever have a Scripture passage you needed to hear or read just kind of presented to you out of the blue? Cool how God works sometimes, isn’t it?
In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a random selection of Scriptures that are displayed by a plug-in in the upper right corner of my site. Every time you visit, you’ll get a new Scripture there. Anyway, it’s a cool feature, that turned out to be especially helpful to me today… I needed to be reminded of the verse that came up.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
You see, I’ve been in a bit of a spiritual rut recently, 
and I haven’t really been able to put my finger on the reason why. It’s frustrating… I’d like to think that if I knew exactly what was going on, I could fix it. Given that, I’m sure you can see why these particular verses were meaningful to me.
Lean not on my own understanding. Trust in the LORD with all my heart. Acknowledge him (in all my ways), and HE will make my paths straight.
The message of Proverbs 3:5-6 is an encouraging one for sure. When we struggle with our faith… when we’re confused by life’s circumstances… when our prayers seem to go unanswered… when the world crashes down around us… we don’t have to worry about the why. We don’t have to understand it all to fix it.
We just trust in the Lord with everything we’ve got and follow Him intently. And He’ll take care of the mess we’re dealing with and put us back on the path He intends us to follow.
Cool stuff.
My Yoke is Easy…
June 30th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies
Matthew 11:28-30
28Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
I don’t know about you, but these verses are music to my ears. I’m weary. I’m burdened. And I need rest.
Eternally, yeah… I’m good with that. Faith in Christ assures of forgiveness for our sins, escape from the just punishment for them we deserve, a right relationship with a holy and perfect God, and eternity in heaven. This life has nothing for us that compares to the glory of that which awaits us afterward.
But I wonder, despite this kind of assurance in eternal matters, why is peace and rest so difficult to find in the here and now? Our daily lives are jam-packed with frustrating moments and circumstances. The struggle with sin wears us out. And God? Well, oftentimes he seems quite distant and uninterested in what we’re dealing with (that’s hardly true, of course, but it sure seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it?).
Perhaps we’ve only ourselves to blame? Do we often struggle against Christ’s yoke, and end up carrying more of life’s burdens than God intends for us to? Or are we simply so weak that even a light burden seems unbearable?
I don’t know what you think, but here’s what I know… life isn’t easy. Satan is real, and he wants us to struggle. Even when you’ve been faithful, the arrows he fires at us still land from time to time, and they hurt. And when we’re out in front of Christ, rather than walking in step with Him as intended… well, we’re a pretty easy target, and we’ll take a lot of hits from enemy fire.
When you’re hurting… remember that yoke of His. It’s got two sides, and you can’t wear the portion designed for Him. Stop trying, and let Christ give you the rest you need.
Why Me?
April 8th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
“Why Me?”
How many of us have asked that question? Yeah… just about everyone. Generally when we’re down and out about something… lamenting our circumstance or situation… when we’re wallowing in self-pity.
It’s really not a bad question though… when applied in a healthy manner.
I wonder… have you ever asked that question of God in regard to your salvation? “Why me, God?” “Why would you save me?”
In a way, it’s kind of a dangerous question, because I don’t think we can ever really know precisely why God chose us or allowed us to be saved… we’re bound to end up a bit frustrated if we’re looking for a specific reason why us. Romans 9:18 answers it generically…
18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
Who can know the mind of God? Certainly not you and I.
But there’s another angle to the “why me?” question that all of us need to seek an answer to. Not why God chose us, but the practical implication of His choice.
For what purpose have I been saved?
That’s a question I came face to face with yesterday while enjoying the solitude of a still cove of Lake Taneycomo. Why me? Why would God save me? For what purpose has He chosen to rescue me from sin? What specifically should I do with my life to follow God’s direction rather than my own? What areas of my life am I holding back from Him?
I’ll be honest, I only have a few answers to those questions. Most likely, that’s all you’ll have too. God rarely shows us everything at once.
But we’ve got to ask anyway, even knowing that we may not get the full picture.
You see, God didn’t save us from sin so we could sit on our rear ends and wait for Him to take us to heaven one day. He didn’t save us so we could sit in a church, safe from everything in the world. He has a unique plan and purpose for each of us… a unique role in this world He wants us to assume… a marvelous adventure in store for each of us as we play our part in the story He’s writing.
Go ahead… ask Him. Find a place of peace and solitude, open your heart, and ask…
Why me?
Bible in a Year — Anyone Interested?
January 28th, 2008 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Bible in a Year, Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
I don’t know about all of you, but I struggle with my daily quiet time… specifically, time reading the Bible. I’m better about prayer, simply because I can do that during my commute to (or from) work each day.
Recently, I’ve been feeling more and more convicted about righting that issue. Given that I’ve also felt that I ought to blog more regularly to share whatever God lays on my heart, coupling the two seems pretty logical.
So… I’m opening an invitation to anyone interested in participating. Starting next Sunday, February 3rd, I’m going to embark on the yearly Bible reading plan found here. I hope to share a few thoughts every day from the reading, so the deal is this… agree to read along each day on the same Scripture, then blog about a couple thoughts you had in response to the Scripture passage that day. If you’re not a blogger, but just read along? You can still participate by commenting on any of the blogs that do. I would also ask that participating bloggers link to each other initially, and again from time to time throughout the year.
Anyone interested?
Small Beginnings…
January 21st, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
Just a few quick thoughts tonight before bed, all arising from our Sunday School lesson yesterday.
First, a couple Scriptures, both from the New Living Translation.
Zechariah 4:10
10Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
Matthew 13:31-32
31Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”
I don’t know about you, but often times when God has laid things on my heart to do, the task has seemed so large that I haven’t really known where to begin. It’s not necessarily even that the task itself is necessarily huge, but sometimes simply because I see that the task has huge potential. Either way, I often find myself a bit overwhelmed… finding it hard to eat the proverbial entire elephant.
What to do?
Too often, I simply put off the task for a while, trying to figure out not only how to get my arms around the entire thing, but how to swallow the whole thing in one ginormous bite. The result? You’ve probably already guessed… I either become tired and frustrated with the amount of chewing required, and eventually spit it out in failure, or, in some cases… I struggle through to the end to find success. It’s not a futile effort ALL of the time, thankfully!
So what am I getting at? Certainly not that mode of attack for tackling God-given tasks.
Check out Matthew 13:31-32 and Zechariah 4:10 and be encouraged.
For God to be pleased, we don’t have to do everything all at once! Sometimes, we just have to start the work, tackling small items, bit by bit. We don’t have to do BIG things for God to be pleased. Moreso… often the little things in which we are faithful grow into something far bigger than we’d ever imagine!
Think about it. What events in your life have been most meaningful to your walk with Christ?
Odds are, they’re not big items. Maybe it’s simple words or notes of encouragement offered to you by a friend. Maybe it’s those few minutes spent in prayer each morning. Maybe it’s a single Scripture passage God has laid on your heart to remember. You tell me… what has it been in your life?
Little things make a huge difference. Be faithful in tiny tasks or small beginnings, and let God take care of the big stuff.
Circumstantial Faith
January 10th, 2008 | 1 Comment | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
I was listening the radio the other day, captivated by the testimony of a Christian musician who was sharing the story of a time in their life when they felt distanced from God due to a number of things, primarily due to an inability to “feel” God’s presence, probably driven by difficult situations they were going through in life. As you might suspect, they captured the time and their struggle with music. I don’t recall all the details, but they’re not terribly important to the topic at hand… circumstantial faith.
All of us go through difficult times in our lives… sickness, financial troubles, difficulties at work, deaths of those close to us, marriage problems, frustrations with our children… need I go on? Suffering is an unavoidable part of life.
In those times, God doesn’t always “feel” so close at hand. Our mountaintop faith experiences, ones where God’s presence is so real we can almost reach out and touch Him… well, they’re temporary. Back in the “real world”, those valleys in our faith journey where we commonly live, God often seems distant… even almost non-existent or completely unreachable sometimes.
John writes in his gospel of this in the account of Thomas:
John 20:24-31
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Circumstantial faith is like that of Thomas… having to see the marks and feel the holes… needing to experience God first-hand on a regular basis… dying slowly when those experiences simply aren’t present.
While it’s natural for our faith to wax and wane some related to our personal experience with God, what kind of faith do we have if it’s wholly based on our experiences? Is circumstantial faith real faith? What happens when we rely on feeling to determine our level of faith?
The answers to those questions aren’t all that pleasant, if you ask me.
So how can we grow our faith beyond the circumstantial, that we might remain strong when God does seem distant? We know that it’s almost a certainty that difficult times in our lives will come and that God won’t always feel right there beside us. How do we cope?
Perhaps belief is simply a matter of will sometimes… trusting what you know to be true, and remaining determined to stick with it to the end?
Any thoughts?
Out of the Overflow…
January 8th, 2008 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
I was looking back over some of the things I’d written from various times of Bible study over the years, and ran across a devotion on Luke 6:43-45 I’d written almost five years back. In thinking over what I’d written, it occurred to me that this passage might be somewhat applicable to much of the rhetoric, debate, and conflict in Baptist life recently. Or, maybe it’s just applicable to me.
Regardless… here’s the passage:
Luke 6:43-45
43No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
I’d originally written the following:
I don’t think this passage needs much explanation. Think about it a bit, then ask yourself the following:
- What’s coming out of my mouth?
- What are my most frequent topics of discussion?
- What do these things reveal about my heart and what’s most important to me?
These questions are still applicable for self-evaluation… it’s clear, beyond a doubt, that what we talk (or write) about reveals a lot about what’s important to us.
The question I find myself asking tonight is simply this:
If a blog primarily focuses on the conflict in Baptist life, what does it reveal about the author?
If you look at the categories in my left sidebar, you’ll notice pretty quickly that “Baptist Issues” is my number one topic. Worse, were you to look at my bloglines feeds, you’d find the majority of blogs I read deal with Baptist conflict.
While I feel I’ve been civil (for the most part) in the discussions in which I’ve partaken, and I’ve moved away from this almost completely in the last couple months, tonight I simply find myself ashamed of the fact that this has been what has consumed my blogging interests in the past… foolish and stupid arguments (2 Tim. 2:22-26).
No more.
Work and Worship
January 6th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
This morning during Sunday School, we had an interesting discussion on the relationship between work and worship. They’re two topics we don’t generally link, but in light of Colossians 3:23-24 and other Scripture passages, it’s clear that work is ordained and valued by God:
23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Statistics tell us 1 out of every 3 people hate their jobs, and that 2 out of every 3 people feel they work in the wrong field. People commonly complain about their bosses, company policies, benefits, co-workers, pay rates, hours worked… you name it. Christians respond similiarly to non-Christians.
So how do we respond to this? If, according to Scripture, we’re supposed to work at whatever we do with all of our hearts… as if working for the Lord, no less… should we consider our work a form of worship?
How does this change the way we go about our daily tasks? How does this change our outlook toward work? How does this play out? What does it look like?
Any thoughts?
Favorite Christmas Verse?
December 19th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies, My Life
Just out of curiosity… does anyone have a favorite Scripture passage about Christmas?
This Christmas season, I find myself kind of partial to Luke 2:11-12:
11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Maybe it’s just that I have three kids, and that I’ve held each of them many many hours while they were infants, but there’s just something very real to me envisioning the newborn Savior, Jesus. Lying there in a manger or being held by Mary… the tiny, sweet, innocent, and perfect Christ-child. Born to save the world, Jesus, our precious gift from God… there with all His earthly life ahead of Him.
I don’t know what it is about the image I have in my head as I read the passage, nor can I really put it into words… it’s just, well… Christmas. Perfect as God intends.
How about you? What passage or verse sticks out in your mind as you consider Christmas? Why is it so special to you?
Pondering Prayer… Part 3.
December 4th, 2007 | No Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
Well, this series of posts seems to continue to stretch itself out further and further. It’s been almost two weeks since part 2. At this rate, I may still be writing on this topic next year at this time!
I don’t suppose that would be all that bad. Prayer is an integral part of the Christian life, and continual meditation and reflection upon it almost certainly helps in one’s walk with Christ.
The second of the Scripture passages I posted originally comes from Proverbs 15:29.
Proverbs 15:29
29The LORD is far from the wicked
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
This Scripture passage about prayer makes a lot of sense to me, taken at face value, from my own experience as a relatively normal person in my response to those who have wants or needs (note I did say, “relatively”).
What determines our response to a plea for help from someone?
Their standing with you?
Their relation to you?
How “deserving” they are of assistance?
If they’re a “good” person?
If we have pity for them?
Other factors?
To be perfectly honest, I think most of us go with #3… if they’re “deserving”. That’s probably a pretty natural response… We pass by the homeless, the beggars, the broken down travellers, the door-to-door salesmen… yes, even the telemarketers. We might have pity on them to the point we’ll acknowledge them… but to listen to their needs and respond?
It’s a rare thing for most of us.
Who do we respond to? Generally those whose needs or wants are right… whose needs or wants are meaningful… whose needs or wants are pleasing to us to meet.
Put simply, in parallel to the Scripture passage… if needs or wants are “righteous”… we respond, just as God does.
Here’s where this gets troubling though… when I think about my standing before God.
Am I righteous that he would hear my prayer?
Hardly.
Not of myself, at least.
Romans 3:10-18 describes our predicament:
10As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
13“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
14“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know.”
18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
In and of ourselves, outside of Christ, we have nothing of value to offer God. Our sin stains us with dark, disgusting, gunk that a holy, pure, and righteous God will have nothing to do with.
Why would he listen to us, much less respond? We wouldn’t.
Therein lies the rub.
We ARE righteous… at least once we have placed our faith in Christ.
Romans 3:22-24 explains:
22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
The very righteousness we need for God to hear our prayers comes from God Himself… through faith in Jesus.
Prayer is a gift from God: enabled by God, conveyed by God, heard by God, and answered by God.
Amazing.
Remind me again, why do some of us struggle with seeing prayer as mundane, pointless, or the like?
It’s clearly anything but.
