When Others Won´t Forgive
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Posted:Jan 23, 2015 1:46 am
Last Updated:Jan 24, 2015 5:34 am 16082 Views
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Forgetting those things which are behind . . . I press toward the goal. Philippians 3:13-14
Read: Philippians 3:12-16
Bible in a Year: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20
I was having lunch with two men who had opened their lives to Christ while they were in prison. The younger man had been discouraged by the fact that the family from whom he had stolen would not forgive him.
My crime was violent, the older man said. It continues to haunt and affect the family to this day. They have not forgiven me, . . . the pain is just too great. At first, I found myself paralyzed by this longing for their forgiveness. He continued his story: Then one day I realized I was adding selfishness to my brokenness. It´s a lot to expect that the family forgive me. I was focused on what I felt I needed to heal from my past. It took some time to realize that their forgiveness of me was a matter between them and God.
How can you stand it? the younger man asked.
t do: He died for our sins, and He keeps His promise to move our sins as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103.12 and will not remember [our] sins Isa. 43.25.
In the face of such great love, we honor Him by accepting His forgiveness as sufficient. We must forget what lies behind and keep pressing forward Phil. 313-14.
Thank You, Father, for the work of Christ on the
cross. Help me to understand and accept what
it means for me, and to be a messenger of that
forgiveness to those I meet along the way.
The work of Christ is sufficient for every sin.
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A Wonderful Explosion
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Posted:Jan 22, 2015 1:46 am
Last Updated:Jan 24, 2015 5:34 am 16197 Views
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As I have loved you, . . . you also love one another. John 13:34
Read: John 13:31-35
Bible in a Year: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36
In the book Kisses from Katie, Katie Davis recounts the joy of moving to Uganda and adopting several Ugandan girls. One day, one of her daughters asked, Mommy, if I let Jesus come into my heart, will I explode? At first, Katie said no. When Jesus enters our heart, it is a spiritual event.
However, after she thought more about the question, Katie explained that when we decide to give our lives and hearts to Jesus we will explode with love, with compassion, with hurt for those who are hurting, and with joy for those who rejoice. In essence, knowing Christ results in a deep care for the people in our world.
The Bible challenges us to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15. We can consistently display this loving response because of the Holy Spirit work in our hearts. When we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. The apostle Paul described it this way, Having believed [in Christ,] you were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13.
Caring for otherswith Godâs supernatural assistance shows the world that we are His followers (John 13:35). It also reminds us of His love for us. Jesus said, As I have loved you, . . . you also love one another (v.34).
Dear Jesus, help me to experience Your
love more deeply so that I can share it
with others. Empower me through Your
Holy Spirit so that I can glorify You.
Love given reflects love received.
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Pointing To God
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Posted:Jan 21, 2015 1:09 am
Last Updated:Jan 25, 2015 2:35 pm 16196 Views
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Remember now your Creator . . . before the difficult days come. Ecclesiastes 12:1
Read: Deuteronomy 8:11-18
Bible in a Year: Exodus 1-3;
Matthew 14.1-21
God bless our homeland, Ghana is the first line of Ghana´s national anthem. Other African anthems include: O Uganda, may God uphold thee,Lord, bless our nation (South Africa), and O God of creation, direct our noble cause (Nigeria). Using the anthems as prayers, founding fathers called on God to bless their land and its people. Many national anthems in Africa and others from around the world point to God as Creator and Provider. Other lines of anthems call for reconciliation, transformation, and hope for a people often divided along ethnic, political, and social lines.
Yet today, many national leaders and citizens tend to forget God and do not live by these statements especially when life is going well. But why wait until war, disease, storms, terrorist attacks, or election violence occurs before we remember to seek God? Moses warned the ancient Israelites not to forget God and not to stop following His ways when life was good Deut. 8.11. Ecclesiastes 12:1 urges us to remember now your Creator . . . before the difficult days come.
Getting close to God while we are strong and healthy prepares us to lean on Him for support and hope when those difficult days in life come.
Father, I always need You. Forgive me for
thinking I am sufficient in myself. Help me to
follow You and Your ways whether life is easy
or difficult. Thank You for caring for me.
Remembering our Creator can be our personal anthem
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When God Is Quiet
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Posted:Jan 20, 2015 4:38 am
Last Updated:Jan 20, 2015 4:43 am 16111 Views
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As [Elijah] lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.1 Kings 19:5
1 Kings 19:1-12 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58
I love to take pictures of sunsets at Lake Michigan. Some are subtle shades of pastel. Others are bold strokes of bright color. Sometimes the sun sinks quietly behind the lake. Other times it goes down in what looks like a fiery explosion.
In pictures and in person, I prefer the latter. But both show the handiwork of God. When it comes to Godâs work in the world, my preferences are the same. I would rather see dramatic answers to prayer than ordinary provisions of daily bread. But both are the work of God.
Elijah may have had similar preferences. He had grown accustomed to being the center of God´s grand displays of power. When he prayed, God showed up in dramatic ways first in a miraculous defeat against the prophets of Baal and then in the end to a long and devastating drought
1 Kings 18. But then Elijah felt afraid and started to run. God sent an angel to feed him to strengthen him for his journey. After 40 days he arrived in Horeb. God showed him that He was now communicating in a still small voice, not in flashy miracles 19:11-12.
If you´re discouraged because God hasnt shown up in a blaze of glory, perhaps He´s revealing Himself with His quiet presence.
Lord, may we see You today in the small
details of life in ways that we hadnât noticed
before. Thank You for the gift of Your quiet
presence, wherever we may find it today.
God is in the small things as well as the great.
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You Had To Act
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Posted:Jan 19, 2015 4:12 am
Last Updated:Jan 19, 2015 4:15 am 16218 Views
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No man ever spoke like this Man! John 7:46
Read: John 7:37-46 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30
A US congressman, John Lewis, was 23 years old when he participated in the historic 1963 civil rights March on Washington led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Half a century later, journalist Bill Moyers asked Lewis how he was affected by Dr. Kings I Have A Dream speech that day. Mr. Lewis replied, You couldn't leave after hearing him speak and go back to business as usual. You had to do something, you had to act. You had to move. You had to go out and spread the good news.
Many who encountered Jesus found it impossible to remain neutral about Him. John 7:25-46 records two different reactions to Jesus. While many of the people believed in Him (v.31), the religious leaders tried to silence Him by sending temple guards to arrest Him (v.32). The guards were likely present when Jesus said, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water vv.37-38. The guards returned without Jesus and were asked, Why have you not brought Him? (v.45). They answered, No man ever spoke like this Man! (v.46).
The words of Jesus compel us to act, and to move, beyond business as usual.
So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To prove the doctrine all divine.
Jesus death forgave my past sins and inspires my present obedience.
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Leaving It Behind
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Posted:Jan 17, 2015 2:21 am
Last Updated:Jan 19, 2015 4:12 am 15870 Views
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The woman then left her waterpot [and said,] Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? John 4:28-29
Read: John 4:9-14,27-29 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23
In the year or so after our teenage got his driverâs license and started carrying a wallet, we got several calls from people who had found it somewhere. We cautioned him to be more careful and not leave it behind.
Leaving things behind, though, is not always a bad thing. In John 4, we read about a woman who had come to draw water at a well. But after she encountered Jesus that day, her intent suddenly changed. Leaving her water jar behind, she hurried back to tell others what Jesus had said to her (vv.28-29). Even her physical need for water paled in comparison to telling others about the Man she had just met.
Peter and Andrew did something similar when Jesus called them. They left their fishing nets (which was the way they earned their living) to follow Jesus (Matt. 4:18-20). And James and John left their nets, boat, and even their father when Jesus called them (vv.21-22).
Our new life of following Jesus Christ may mean that we have to leave things behind, including those that donât bring lasting satisfaction. What we once craved cannot compare with the life and âliving waterâ that Jesus offers.
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
None other name for me;
Thereâs love and life and lasting joy,
Lord Jesus, found in Thee.
Christ showed His love by dying for us; we show ours by living for Him.
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God´s Refreshing Word
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Posted:Jan 16, 2015 2:27 am
Last Updated:Jan 17, 2015 3:23 am 15981 Views
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My word . . . shall not return to Me void. Isaiah 55:11
Read: Isaiah 55:8-11 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11
When I was a boy, our family would occasionally travel across Nevada. We loved the desert thunderstorms. Accompanied by lightning bolts and claps of thunder, huge sheets of rain would blanket the hot sand as far as the eye could see. The cooling water refreshed the earthâand us.
Water produces marvelous changes in arid regions. For example, the pincushion cactus is completely dormant during the dry season. But after the first summer rains, cactuses burst into bloom, displaying delicate petals of pink, gold, and white.
Likewise, in the Holy Land after a rainstorm, dry ground can seemingly sprout vegetation overnight. Isaiah used rain´s renewal to illustrate Godâs refreshing Word: As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent itâ Isa. 55.10-11
Scripture carries spiritual vitality. That´s why it doesn´t return void. Wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life.
Godâs Word is like refreshing rain
That waters crops and seed;
It brings new life to open hearts,
And meets us in our need.
The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.
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Kindness Gone Viral
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Posted:Jan 15, 2015 3:31 am
Last Updated:Jan 15, 2015 3:35 am 15977 Views
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Let the little come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14
Read: Mark 10:13-16 | Bible in a Year: Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42
News of a simple act of kindness on a New York subway has gone around the world. A young man, head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger. When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, He must have had a long day. Let him sleep. We´ve all been there. Then he let the tired fellow rider sleep on his shoulder for the better part of the next hour, until the older man gently eased away to get up for his stop. In the meantime, another passenger snapped a photograph and posted it on social media, and it went viral.
The man´s kindness seems to resonate with what we all long for the kindness that reflects the heart of God. We see this gentleness in Jesus when His friends tried to protect Him from the noise and bother of little . Instead, Jesus insisted on taking the little ones in His arms and blessing them Mark 10.16. In the process, He invited all of us to trust Him like a little vv.13-16.
Jesus lets us know that all of us are safe in His presence. Whether awake or asleep, we can lean on Him. When we´re exhausted, He provides a safe place for us to rest.
Under His wings, I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild;
Still I can trust Him I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me and I am His .
God is a safe resting place.
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It´s Worth It
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Posted:Jan 14, 2015 2:32 am
Last Updated:Jan 15, 2015 3:32 am 15950 Views
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Read: 2 Corinthians 11.24-33
If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.
2 Corinthians 11.30
Bible in a Year:
Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20
I can´t do it, Robert said, throwing his pencil down in despair. It´s just too hard! Reading, writing, and spelling seemed impossible to our dyslexic 9-year-old. At last, a solution was offered. But it was tough. We had to do reading and spelling practice with him for 20 minutes every evening without exception. Sometimes we just didn´t feel like doing it, and at times we despaired of seeing progress. But we were committed to getting Robert´s reading age and his chronological age to match, so we battled on.
After 2 1/2 years, all the tears and struggles seemed infinitely worthwhile. Robert learned to read and spell. And we all learned patient endurance.
The apostle Paul suffered all sorts of hardships as he pursued his goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with those who had never heard. Persecuted, beaten, imprisoned, and misunderstood, sometimes he faced death itself 2 Cor. 11.25 But the joy of seeing people respond to his message made it all worthwh). ile.
If you feel that the task God has called you to is too hard, remember that the spiritual lessons and joy that are wrapped up in the journey may seem hidden at first, but they are certainly there! God will help you find them.
Sometimes we learn that hardships
Were blessings in disguise,
That earnest work and faith in God
Were proven to be wise.
The journey is as important as the destination.
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Out Of The Darkness
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Posted:Jan 13, 2015 3:19 am
Last Updated:Jan 14, 2015 2:33 am 16076 Views
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Read: Psalm 77.1-15
I cried out to God . . . . Who is so great a God as our God?
Psalm 77.1,13
Bible in a Year:
Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9.18-38
I don´t know what desperate situation gripped Asaph, the writer of
Psalm 77, but I´ve heard, and made, similar laments. Over the past dozen years since I lost my , many others who have experienced the loss of a loved one have shared with me heartbreaking sentiments like these:
Crying out to God (v.1. Stretching empty arms heavenward (v.2. Experiencing troubling thoughts about God because of horrible circumstances (v.3. Enduring unspeakable trouble (v.4. Cowering under the feeling of being cast aside (v.7. Fearing failed promises (v.8. Fearing a lack of mercy (v.8.
But a turnaround occurs for Asaph in verse 10 through a recollection of God´s great works. Thoughts turn to God´s love. To memories of what He has done. To His marvelous deeds of old. To the comfort of God´s faithfulness and mercy. To reminders of God´s wonders and greatness. To His strength and redemption.
Despair is real in this life, and answers do not come easily. Yet in the darkness as we remember God´s glory, majesty, power, and love our despair can slowly subside. Like Asaph, we can rehearse God´s acts, especially the salvation He brought through Jesus, and we can return to where we once were resting gratefully in His mighty love.
Lord, we cannot fathom the depth of Your character
or the wisdom of Your actions when trouble visits us.
Help us to inch our way back into Your arms through
a rehearsal of Your goodness and a recollection of Your glorious love.
Remembering the past can bring hope to the present.
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