Quieting the Critic
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Posted:Jun 14, 2018 1:36 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:22 pm 12220 Views
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Read: Nehemiah 4:1–6
Bible in a Year: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1
Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Nehemiah 4:4
I work with a team to put on an annual community event. We spend eleven months plotting many details to ensure the event’s success. We choose the date and venue. We set ticket prices. We select everything from food vendors to sound technicians. As the event approaches, we answer public questions and provide directions. Afterward we collect feedback. Some good. Some that is hard to hear. Our team hears excitement from attendees and also fields complaints. The negative feedback can be discouraging and sometimes tempts us to give up.
Nehemiah had critics too as he led a team to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. They actually mocked Nehemiah and those working alongside him saying, “Even a fox climbing up on it would break down [your] wall of stones” (Nehemiah 4:3). His response to the critics helps me handle my own: Instead of feeling dejected or trying to refute their comments, he turned to God for help. Instead of responding directly, he asked God to hear the way His people were being treated and to defend them (v. 4). After entrusting those concerns to God, he and his co-laborers continued to work steadily on the wall “with all their heart” (v. 6).
We can learn from Nehemiah not to be distracted by criticism of our work. When we’re criticized or mocked, instead of responding to our critics out of hurt or anger, we can prayerfully ask God to defend us from discouragement so we can continue with a whole heart.
Help me to evaluate the good and bad in the criticism, to trust You, and to continue in my work wholeheartedly.
God is our best defense against criticism.
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Humble Love
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Posted:Jun 13, 2018 1:35 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:08 am 12321 Views
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Read: Philippians 2:1–11
Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21
The greatest among you will be your servant. Matthew 23:11
When Benjamin Franklin was a young man he made a list of twelve virtues he desired to grow in over the course of his life. He showed it to a friend, who suggested he add “humility” to it. Franklin liked the idea. He then added some guidelines to help him with each item on the list. Among Franklin’s thoughts about humility, he held up Jesus as an example to emulate.
Jesus shows us the ultimate example of humility. God’s Word tells us, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:5–7).
Jesus demonstrated the greatest humility of all. Though eternally with the Father, He chose to bend beneath a cross in love so that through His death He might lift any who receive Him into the joy of His presence.
We imitate Jesus’s humility when we seek to serve our heavenly Father by serving others. Jesus’s kindness helps us catch a breathtaking glimpse of the beauty of setting ourselves aside to attend to others’ needs. Aiming for humility isn’t easy in our “me first” world. But as we rest securely in our Savior’s love, He will give us everything we need to follow Him.
Beautiful Savior, I am Your servant. Please help me to live in Your love and be a blessing to someone today.
We can serve because we are loved.
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Called by Name
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Posted:Jun 12, 2018 5:27 am
Last Updated:Jun 13, 2018 1:35 am 12366 Views
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read: John 20:11–18
Bible in a Year: Ezra 3–5; John 20
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” John 20:16
Advertisers have concluded that the most attention-grabbing word that viewers react to is their own name. Thus a television channel in the UK has introduced personalized advertisements with their online streaming services.
We might enjoy hearing our name on television, but it doesn’t mean much without the intimacy that comes when someone who loves us says our name.
Mary Magdalene’s attention was arrested when, at the tomb where Jesus’s body had been laid after He was crucified on the cross, He spoke her name
(John 20:16). With that single word, she turned in recognition to the Teacher whom she loved and followed, I imagine with a rush of disbelief and joy. The familiarity with which He spoke her name confirmed for her beyond a doubt that the One who’d known her perfectly was alive and not dead.
Although Mary shared a unique and special moment with Jesus, we too are personally loved by God. Jesus told Mary that He would ascend to His Father
(v. 17), but He had also told His disciples that He would not leave them alone
(John 14:15–1. God would send the Holy Spirit to live and dwell in His (see Acts 2:1–13).
God’s story doesn’t change. Whether then or now, He knows those whom He loves (see John 10:14–15). He calls us by name.
Loving Father, living Jesus, comforting Holy Spirit, thank You that You know me completely, and that You love me unceasingly.
The God who created the cosmos also made you, and He calls you by name.
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Advice from My Father
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Posted:Jun 11, 2018 4:06 am
Last Updated:Jun 11, 2018 6:52 pm 12368 Views
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Read: Proverbs 3:1–7
Bible in a Year: Ezra 1–2; John 19:23–42
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
After being laid off from an editorial job, I prayed, asking for God to help me find a new one. But when weeks went by and nothing came of my attempts at networking and filling out applications, I began to pout. “Don’t You know how important it is that I have a job?” I asked God, my arms folded in protest at my seemingly unanswered prayer.
When I talked to my father, who had often reminded me about believing God’s promises, about my job situation, he said, “I want you to get to the point where you trust what God says.”
My father’s advice reminds me of Proverbs 3, which includes wise advice from a parent to a beloved . This familiar passage was especially applicable to my situation: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6). To “make . . . paths straight” means God will guide us toward His goals for our growth. His ultimate goal is that I become more like Him.
This does not mean that the paths He chooses will be easy. But I can choose to trust that His direction and timing are ultimately for my good.
Are you waiting on God for an answer? Choose to draw near to Him and trust that He will guide you.
Lord, thank You for guiding and caring for us every step of the way. Help us to trust in You daily.
Your Father in heaven knows what’s best for you.
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The Perfect Father
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Posted:Jun 9, 2018 8:01 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:23 pm 12548 Views
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Read: Psalm 27 | Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 32–33; John 18:19–40
Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.
Psalm 27:10
Standing in the crowded store aisle, I struggled to find the perfect Father’s Day card. Although we had reconciled after years of a strained connection, I had never felt close to my dad.
The woman next to me groaned and shoved the card she’d been reading back into the display. “Why can’t they make cards for people who don’t have good relationships with their fathers, but are trying to do the right thing?”
She stormed off before I could respond, so I prayed for her. Thanking God for affirming only He could be a perfect Father, I asked Him to strengthen my relationship with my dad.
I long for deeper intimacy with my heavenly Father too. I want David’s confidence in God’s constant presence, power, and protection (Psalm 27:1–6).
When David cried out for help, he expected God’s answers (vv. 7–9). Though earthly parents could reject, abandon, or neglect their , David declared God’s unconditional acceptance (v. 10). He lived with assurance in the Lord’s goodness (vv. 11–13). Like most of us, David sometimes struggled, but the Holy Spirit helped him persevere in trust and dependence on the Lord (v. 14).
We will encounter difficult relationships on this side of eternity. But even when people fall short, fail us, or hurt us, we’re still completely loved and protected by the only Perfect Father.
Lord, thank You for being a Father we can always count on.
God—the Perfect Father—will never let us down, leave us, or stop loving us.
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FACES
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Posted:Jun 8, 2018 3:54 am
Last Updated:May 18, 2024 9:27 am 12776 Views
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Read: Galatians 5:22–26
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 30–31; John 18:1–18
We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18
When our granddaughter Sarah was very young, she explained to me what happens when you die: “Only your face goes to heaven, not your body. You get a new body, but keep the same face.”
Sarah’s concept of our eternal state was a ’s understanding, of course, but she did grasp an essential truth. In a sense, our faces are a visible reflection of the invisible soul.
My mother used to say that an angry look might someday freeze on my face. She was wiser than she knew. A worried brow, an angry set to our mouths, a sly look in our eyes may reveal a miserable soul. On the other hand, kind eyes, a gentle look, a warm and welcoming smile—despite wrinkles, blemishes, and other disfigurements—become the marks of inner transformation.
We can’t do much about the faces we were born with, but we can do something about the kind of person we’re growing into. We can pray for humility, patience, kindness, tolerance, gratefulness, forgiveness, peace, and love
(Galatians 5:22–26).
By God’s grace, and in His time, may you and I grow toward an inner resemblance to our Lord, a likeness reflected in a kind, old face. Thus, as English poet John Donne (1572–1631) said, age becomes “loveliest at the latest day.”
Lord Jesus, I want to be more like You each day. Help me to cooperate with the work You want to do in my heart.
There’s nothing like the beauty of a loving heart.
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And in Truth
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Posted:Jun 7, 2018 3:17 am
Last Updated:Jun 7, 2018 10:42 am 12476 Views
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Read: Zephaniah 1:1–6; 2:1–3
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 28–29; John 17
In his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Years ago, I attended a wedding where two people from different countries got married. Such a blending of cultures can be beautiful, but this ceremony included Christian traditions mixed with rituals from a faith that worshiped many gods.
Zephaniah the prophet pointedly condemned the mixing of other religions with faith in the one true God (sometimes called syncretism). Judah had become a people who bowed in worship to the true God but who also relied on the god Molek (Zephaniah 1:5). Zephaniah described their adoption of pagan culture
v. 8 and warned that as a result God would drive the people of Judah from their homeland.
Yet God never stopped loving His people. His judgment was to show them their need to turn to Him. So Zephaniah encouraged Judah to “Seek righteousness, seek humility” (2:3). Then the Lord gave them tender words promising future restoration: “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home” (3:20).
It’s easy to condemn examples of obvious syncretism like the wedding I attended. But in reality, all of us easily blend God’s truth with the assumptions of our culture. We need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to test our beliefs against the truth of God’s Word and then to stand for that truth confidently and lovingly. Our Father warmly embraces anyone who worships Him in the Spirit and in truth (see John 4:23–24).
When I am in trouble, where do I turn? A crisis reveals where I put my trust. Is my faith completely in God? What do I need to give over to Him today?
God is always ready to forgive and restore.
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Side by Side
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Posted:Jun 6, 2018 2:59 am
Last Updated:Jun 6, 2018 11:23 am 12922 Views
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Read: Nehemiah 3:1–12
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 25–27; John 16
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. Ecclesiastes 4:9
In ancient times, a city with broken walls revealed a defeated people, exposed to danger and shame. That is why the Jews rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. How? By working side by side, an expression that can well describe Nehemiah 3.
At first glance, chapter 3 might appear to be a boring account of who did what in the reconstruction. However, a closer look highlights how people worked together. Priests were working alongside rulers. Perfume-makers were helping as well as goldsmiths. There were some who lived in nearby towns and came to give a hand. Others made repairs opposite their houses. Shallum’s daughters, for example, worked alongside the men (3:12), and some people repaired two sections, like the men of Tekoa (vv. 5, 27).
Two things stand out from this chapter. First, they all worked together for a common goal. Second, all of them are commended for being part of the work, not for how much or little they did as compared to others.
Today we see damaged families and a broken society. But Jesus came to build the kingdom of God through the transformation of lives. We can help to rebuild our neighborhoods by showing others they can find hope and new life in Jesus. All of us have something to do. So let us work side by side and do our part—whether big or small—to create a community of love where people can find Jesus.
Dear Lord, help me to work with others, side by side, by showing love and pointing others to Jesus.
Let’s work together to build the kingdom of God.
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A Blind Man’s Plea
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Posted:Jun 5, 2018 3:08 am
Last Updated:Jun 5, 2018 3:10 am 13279 Views
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Read: Luke 18.35–43
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 23–24; John 15
Jesus, of David, have mercy on me! Luke 18.38
Some years ago a traveling companion noticed I was straining to see objects at a distance. What he did next was simple but life changing. He took off his glasses and said, “Try these.” When I put his glasses on, surprisingly my blurred vision cleared up. Eventually I went to an optometrist who prescribed glasses to correct my vision problem.
Today’s reading in Luke 18 features a man with no vision at all, and living in total darkness had forced him to beg for a living. News about Jesus, the popular teacher and miracle worker, had reached the blind beggar’s ears. So when Jesus’s travel route took Him by where the blind man was sitting, hope was ignited in his heart. “Jesus, of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 38 he called. Though without sight physically, the man possessed spiritual insight into Jesus’s true identity and faith in Him to meet his need. Compelled by this faith, “He shouted all the more, ‘ of David, have mercy on me!’” v. 39 The result? His blindness was banished, and he went from begging for his living to blessing God because he could see (v. 43).
In moments or seasons of darkness, where do you turn? Upon what or to whom do you call? Eyeglass prescriptions help improve vision, but it’s the merciful touch of Jesus, God’s , that brings people from spiritual darkness to light.
Father, open the eyes of my heart to clearly see who Jesus is and what He can do.
The Father’s delight is to give sight to those who ask Him.
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Open My Eyes
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Posted:Jun 4, 2018 4:36 am
Last Updated:Jun 14, 2018 6:23 pm 13035 Views
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Read: John 14:23–31
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 21–22; John 14
The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things. John 14:26
The first time I went to the gorgeous Chora Church in Istanbul, I was able to figure out some Bible stories from the Byzantine frescos and mosaics on the ceiling. But there was much I missed. The second time, however, I had a guide. He pointed to all the details I had previously missed, and suddenly everything made perfect sense! The first aisle, for instance, depicted the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospel of Luke.
Sometimes when we read the Bible we understand the basic stories, but what about the connections—those details that weave Scripture into the one perfect story? We have Bible commentaries and study tools, yes, but we also need a guide—someone to open our eyes and help us see the wonders of God’s written revelation. Our guide is the Holy Spirit who teaches us “all things”
(John 14:26). Paul wrote that He explains “spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:13).
How wonderful to have the Author of the Book to show us the wonders of it! God has not only given us His written Word and His revelation but He also helps us to understand it and learn from it. So let us pray with the psalmist, saying, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law”
(Psalm 119:18
Dear Lord, as I read Your Word, open my eyes that I may discover the wonders of Your revelation.
We need God in order to understand Scripture.
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