Praise the Lord! - July 29, 2015

Praise the Lord!

July 29, 2015

Today as I was doing my daily reading I wondered why God’s Words were not standing out to me. What did God want me to see, hear and apply to my life? Then I felt compelled to go back to Psalm 103, specifically verses 1-5:

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
    and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

That first verse … as I read it I feel like I am not just telling myself but everyone that I will praise the Lord with every fiber of my being. That just sends shivers through me as I think about it. Every breath, every movement, every thought, every word I speak is done in praise. It doesn’t matter what mood I am in, I should be praising God. That thought can really drive how one looks at life. If I am praising God with all my heart then that changes the mood that I am in. It takes me from being down, angry, etc. to being filled with God’s love.

Have you ever noticed that when you are down nearly every thought is one that magnifies the feelings that you are having. But if we are praising God, then it is easier to forget those and concentrate on the good things that He has done for me. Think about the good things God has done for you. Some may be things that at the time you thought weren’t so great. God allows us to go through trials so we can grow. Can you imagine if He gave us everything ‘we’ wanted? We would be such spoiled brats, wait … we are. Even if you do not have very much we have more than most people in the world do.

Then on top of all that God does for us He forgives us. Notice I said forgives. It is not something that was a one and done forgiveness, it is ongoing. That does not give us a blank check to sin all we want. As Christians we need to strive to live like Christ. Now I said it before and it needs to be said again, we will all stumble over our sins. The difference comes down to being repentant or unrepentant. If we are repentant then we are working, with God and others, to overcome our sin and asking for forgiveness. Unrepentant sin runs wild and unchecked and it also grieves God’s heart.

Through God’s amazing gift, Jesus’ death on the cross, we are redeemed from death. Not the earthly one. Our earthly bodies all have expiration dates. The death that we are redeemed from is eternal separation from God. As God’s redeemed we will spend eternity with God. It is in that time that we will know what true forgiveness is like. We will be healed. We will be renewed!

Loving Father thank you so much for the gifts that you give us. So often we overlook all that You do because we are caught up in our own stuff rather than looking to You for help. I pray that in the worst of times that we are able to seek Your leading and that in the best of times we are rejoicing in all that You do. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Amen!!

False Teachers - July 28, 2015

False Teachers

2 Peter 2:1-3 NLT

¹ But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.³ In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

Peter’s statement here in verse 1 is just as true today as it was when it was written. False teachers abound. Take as an example those who preach a prosperity gospel. “If you give, you will be richly blessed.” In other words, the more you give your money, the more you will be blessed with more money and other riches. What happens if you do not get after you give? Then those who preach the prosperity gospel will tell you that you just don’t have enough faith.

It doesn’t just have to do with money. Prosperity gospel to me seems like all you have to do is ask and as long as you ask with enough faith, you will receive. That is not how it works. Does God give? Absolutely. Does God say yes? You bet. Does God withhold? If it is for our own good I believe he does. He also says no and not now or not yet. The wisdom that God has is far beyond our comprehension. As a parent would you give something to your child that would harm them? I think not!

Are those that preach prosperity gospel good at what they do? They most certainly are. Some have mega-churches. Some have million dollar jets. Some live better than most people in the world do. They can do this because they are so good at getting people to believe the lies of prosperity gospel. They are good at taking the Bible and making it say what they want it to. The scriptures are watered down, twisted, misquoted.

Yes, I am concerned about those that teach this way, but more importantly I am worried about the millions that follow their teachings. It can lead to them making idols of those pastors. They will envy what others have. They will feed into the machine that is taking in all that money. Peter tells us that “In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money.” That could very easily happen in these instances.

The question I have to ask is who are we doing it for, God or ourselves? Is it God’s will be done or our will be done? Paul and the other apostles called these people out for who they were and warned of their destruction. I cannot nor will I even begin to say that a pastor does or does not have a relationship with Christ. That is between them and God.

What I will say is that I refuse to water down God’s Word. I will do my best to make it as understandable as possible but I will not compromise His Word. People’s eternal destination is on the line. I do not want to be responsible for leading someone astray. When it is my time to leave this world I want to hear well done good and faithful servant.

Father, guide and direct us. If a teaching is not from You then I pray that it would be blown away like dust blows with the wind. I know that you will say yes, no and not now. It is in my own best interest. You have a lesson for me to learn. I pray that I hear that message and learn that lesson. Amen!

Pay Attention

Pay Attention

Ephesians 5:25-30 NLT

²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.

Notice that this passage tells husbands to love their wives, not lord over them. Paul’s example of that love is the sacrificial love that Christ has for the church. That is a pretty tall order. It is also a responsibility.

We as husbands should be about taking care of our wives. That means put down the phone, the tablet, the computer and the remote right after turning off the TV. Men, outside of our relationship with God, nothing is more important than our relationship with our wives. Jesus showed us how to have a relationship with others. He did that by talking to people. That’s right, face to face, one on one conversations. If your wife is saying “we don’t talk enough” that means you’re not paying attention. Put down what you are doing, make eye contact and don’t just hear what she is saying, listen.

Note to self … practice this daily!

When Paul tells us that we “ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies” the first thought I had was of guys hitting the weights and drinking protein shakes. It could easily say that men ought to love their wives as much as they do:

•        Sports
•        Video games
•        Hunting and fishing

That list could go on and on. It still boils down to the fact that after God, we need to love our wives more than anything else. We must take care of the things we love. With God that means reading (listening) to His Word and praying (talking) to Him. With our wives that means listening and talking with them.

It is easy to get so engrossed in something that you are completely oblivious to anything else. I have been an expert at this since I was a kid. I have a love of reading. As a kid I would be sitting in my bean bag chair reading a book and I would be so into the book that I was completely oblivious to what was going on around me. I didn’t hear the TV. I didn’t see anything outside of the bubble I was in. I didn’t hear my parents tell me it was time to eat supper let alone smell the food that was only a room away. So is it any wonder that if I am not giving my complete attention to my wife that I often times don’t even hear her. The troublesome part about it is that I could have just been talking to her seconds before that.

This can lead to all kinds of problems. Worse yet, because I am the one that drifted off into my own little world, it is my fault. That is not loving my wife like Christ loves the church. Now sometimes it might appear that I am not paying attention but then I can repeat verbatim what was said to me. That is hearing, it is not listening.

It might sound like I am talking to myself and trying to convince myself that I need to change. That is exactly what it is. Tonight after Diane fell asleep God convicted me with this passage from Ephesians 5. I have a lot of work to do. Fortunately God blessed me with a compassionate and understanding wife. It also helps that we are doing devotions together. Currently we are going through Renewing Your Love and just completed the chapter called Getting the Message. Yep, you guessed it, it is about communication. The information, history, opinions and beliefs part was easy. It was the feelings and desires section that I felt completely unprepared. Looks like I have some work to do.

How about you? How are you doing at loving your spouse the way that Christ loves the church? Feeling a little inadequate like me? The good news is the Good News. Christ has already showed us and continues to show us how to love and communicate. Get into devotional time like the book I have linked above. Have those hard conversations. If you do, they get easier. If you don’t, you can take my word for it, they will get harder and harder.

“A husband can love his wife best when he loves God first!” – Unknown

Loving Father help us to communicate better with our spouses. Help me to love, listen and talk to my wife in a deeper way. The way that Christ loves the church. Walk us through those hard conversations. Teach us to be more intimate in our talks. Help me to lead with grace, truth and love in my marriage and in life. Amen!

Commissioned by God

Commissioned by God

Isaiah 49:5-7 NLT

⁵ And now the Lord speaks—
    the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
    who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
    and my God has given me strength.
⁶ He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
    I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
    and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

⁷ The Lord, the Redeemer
    and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
    to the one who is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
    Princes will also bow low
because of the Lord, the faithful one,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

In Isaiah 49, the first seven verses is titled in the NLT “The Lord’s Servant Commissioned. In verses 5 – 6 there are three purposes for the Lord’s Servant. The first is to reconcile the Jews to God. The second is to bring the gospel to all nations. The third is to be the servant of rulers.

The first one, to reconcile the Jews to God, now seems like a given since we know that God had chosen the Jewish people to be His. Still, for one to bring an entire people group back to God is a huge task, a task that we now know only Jesus could do. For us to think that we could bring an entire people back to God is crazy. We cannot even get everyone to agree on something as simple as what to have for dinner.

Next is the one that struck me the most. “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” This is the fulfilment of what God had promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

I believe that it was God’s original intent for the Jews, His people, to not become an exclusive club but to share God’s message of salvation to all the people on earth. They were to be His messengers. It is almost like what we talk about at Relevant Life, that we are preparing God’s people to go out and share His Word with others. People making relevant relationships with other people and earning the right to speak into their lives. Once we have done that we can speak to the about God’s relevant Word. This will bring others into a relevant relationship with God. Then they can live a relevant life.

Finally in the third purpose we learn is that the servant is truly be a servant. Jesus teaches us this in John 13 when He washes the disciple’s feet. He teaches us to humbly serve each other. This in no way means that we earn God’s acceptance. It is simply evidence of our true faith. James emphasizes this when he says that faith with works isn’t.

This should be our inspiration to act. To get active in your local church. God called us to Himself. He called us to spread His Word. He called us to serve. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get busy!

Father, thank you for Your call on not only my life but all Your children’s lives. Teach us Your Word so that it is written on our hearts. Give us the courage to go out and be involved in other people’s lives. Give us the words that once we have earned the trust and the right to speak truth into other’s lives that we know what to say. Help us to humbly serve others which in turn will show our faith. All praise, honor and glory to You Father. In Jesus name we ask this, amen!

You Know My Heart

You Know My Heart

Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

How often do we trust someone enough to invite them so deeply into our lives that they would truly know us? What are the things that you hide from you family and friends? What do you try to hide from God?

Hiding things from people takes a lot of work. Often times this leads to not telling the whole truth about something or just flat out lying. Either way it is lying. Maybe you just stretched the truth a little bit. Again, that is lying. Then there comes the task of keeping all of the half-truths and lies straight. And what if you get caught, then what? Do you make up another lie to cover it up? That has to be exhausting!

Guess what? God knows. There is nothing about us that God doesn’t know. How could He not, He created us. So why do we need to invite Him to search us and know our hearts? Being a parent makes this a little easier to understand. As parents we want our children to come to us with what is going on in their lives. We want to know their hurts, their joys and their pain. We want to celebrate with them. We want to hold them and just love them.

When reading these two verses I was struck with the thought that it is more for us than for God. We are opening up to God by asking Him to search us, to know our hearts, to test us and point out what offends Him so that He can lead us down a better path. By opening up like this we are letting God, who has always been right there, into our lives. We are saying let the Holy Spirit guide and direct our hearts and actions. It also allows us to then truly live out the greatest commandments that Jesus teaches us in Matthew 22 and Mark 12:

Matthew 22:37-40 – ³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Mark 12:29-31 – ²⁹ Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. ³⁰ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

When we live out these two commandments then all the others fall into place without having to work at it. It is when we work at it that we fail because we are trying to do it under out own power instead of God’s. Then and only then will we be able to put behind us lust, fear, greed, hatred, selfishness … sin. It is then that we will be on the ‘path of everlasting life.’

Father thank you that You want a relationship with us. Thank you for always being there with us and for us. It is with a truly repentant heart that we come to you. That we ask You to search our hearts and point out the things that offend You. Holy Spirit come and give us a heart like Christ’s. Thank you Jesus for taking our sins so that we can spend eternity in heaven. Amen!

Let’s Soar

Let’s Soar

Isaiah 40:28-31 NLT

²⁸ Have you never heard?
    Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
    No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
²⁹ He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

Many have heard, not all listen. Not all care to understand. Yet God is eternal. He’s always existed and always will. We cannot even begin to understand God. It would be arrogant to think that we could. I struggle with algebra, how on earth do I think I could understand God. That is where faith comes in.

For someone like me that wants to know how things are put together, how they work, one would think that I would have a hard time with faith. One of the disciples, Thomas was having a hard time believing the others that they had been with Jesus after He had been crucified. In fact he said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” (John 20:25) Imagine his shock when Jesus showed up 8 days later and said to Thomas “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (John 20:27)

I most certainly would have been in complete shock. Jesus goes on to define faith in verse 29 when He says “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” This is where we can come back to verse 29 from Isaiah 40. It is because of faith that He gives power and strength.

That power and strength can come in many different ways. For example, in 328 A.D. a group of 40 Roman soldiers refused to bow down to the emperor. He then had them stand naked all night on a frozen pond. Only one gave up and went to warm himself by the fires on the shore. One of the guards standing on the shore was overcome and would strip down, declare his faith in Jesus and walked out onto the frozen pond. These men were given the power and strength to stand for Christ. They lived and died for Him.

Verse 31 is my favorite. The words of this verse depict the transformation that can only come through faith. Through faith we will find new strength and soar high. We are transformed. People will see a difference in us. Life becomes more. It is a feeling that is hard to describe. Nothing is lost except sin and for those who think that all their fun is taken away, that is nonsense. That is what Satan wants us to believe. With God there is so much more. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and let the Holy Spirit live in us we do not get weary or faint. We do soar high like eagles. Life is better in more ways than can be counted.

Gracious and loving Father, thank you for the strength that you give us each day. Living for You is so much more than I could have ever imagined. Let others see how amazing it is to live for You and not for the world. Let others see that no matter what circumstance we are in or going through that doing it with You is so much better. Let us soar with you, amen!

Following Jesus’ example

Following Jesus’ example

1 Peter 2:21 NLT
²¹ For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

²² He never sinned,
    nor ever deceived anyone.
²³ He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
    nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
    who always judges fairly.
²⁴ He personally carried our sins
    in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
    and live for what is right.
By his wounds
    you are healed.
²⁵ Once you were like sheep
    who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
    the Guardian of your souls.

Jesus never said that being a Christian in the world was going to be easy. In fact He tells us the opposite. In John we hear Jesus say, “¹⁸ “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ¹⁹ The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.”

Seven years ago Alex and Brett Harris published “Do Hard Things.” When they wrote the book they were still teenagers reaching out to other teens. Their message? Choose to do hard things for God, especially when the world says to do something different. Now as young adults they are continuing their message of “rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to “do hard things” for the glory of God.”

They are following the example that Jesus gave us and that Peter wrote about in verses 22-25. From a worldly view Jesus did hard things. We need to follow this example too. Will it be difficult? You bet it will. There are many who believe that Christianity in the United States is coming under attack. Understand that I am in no way comparing this to the persecution that Christians are under in other parts of the world. There is no comparison. Around the world Christians are daily living out their faith and dying for it. What I am saying is that Christians are more and more coming under attack for being intolerant because of our beliefs.

Let’s go back to verse 1 where we are called to do good and that by doing good it could mean suffering. We have to remember that we live in the world but not of it. We are going to suffer. We are going to be hated. This is nothing new. It has already been going on around the world for a very long time. It just seems new because we are starting to feel some of that hatred and intolerance.

I cannot talk about hatred and intolerance without being reminded of what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5 and Luke 6 about revenge and loving our enemies. He does not tell us to attack them. He tells us not take revenge and that we need to love them, do good to them, bless them and pray for them. This is just another example of living the way that Christ taught us to live. Strive with me to live this way every day!

Gracious and loving Father we thank you that even though we live in this world that we are not of it. Give us the strength we need daily to love, to bless, to do good and to pray for everyone. Let us be your light in world. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

A Call to Holy Living

1 Peter 1:13-16

A Call to Holy Living

¹³So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.¹⁴So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. ¹⁵But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. ¹⁶For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Leading up to these verses Peter is talking about the hope with have of eternal life through Jesus’ death on the cross. Reminds me of a credit card commercial:

Car $25,000 – House 150,000 – Eternal life with God, Priceless

Here he is talking about getting ourselves ready. You don’t exercise without stretching out first. You don’t stop exercising. If you do you lose out on all the work that you’ve done.

Ever heard anyone talk about the fact that they are saved so they can continue to sin because they are covered. Peter is saying that is not the way this works. We have to continue to live the way that God called us to live. God knows we are going to slip up and make mistakes, that is not what I am talking about. If we are living like Jesus taught us. If we are letting the Holy Spirit guide us, then we will lived changed lives. We will not want to do the sinful things we once did. Peter says “You didn’t know any better then.”

Now that we know better we need to strive to live as God’s obedient children. God tells us You must be holy because I am holy.

I don’t know about you but I can remember being all over the place with how I felt about this. Now that I am doing my best to live as one of God’s obedient children I can see and feel a difference in myself. My wife sees the difference. God is so amazing that He puts people in your life that will help you with this. I’ve experienced it. I’ve watched the change in others. In this I rejoice! How awesome is this – God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our since and knowing that this would not be enough, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in and guide us. On top of that He gave us people in our lives to reinforce this way of living.

THANK YOU GOD for all the precious gifts You have given us. Thank you for Your Word, Your Son, the Holy Spirit and all the believers that you have put in my life. Thank you that we are Holy because You are Holy. Father, You know how full and excited my heart is right now, help me to show that to others. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Amen!!

July 21, 2015 SOAPing

Be careful of idol worship

2 Kings 18:1-4 NLT

¹ Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. ⁴ He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.

This morning I was reading and this passage of 2 Kings 18 hit me how easily we can take something and make it an idol. Because Hezekiah “did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done” he was removing the pagan shrines and other idol worship items. These were all items that were used in pagan worship, but he also destroyed the bronze serpent (snake) that Moses had made.

Now without some background that does sound odd that Moses would have created an idol like this. The thing is, that was not why he made it. We have to go to Numbers 21:4-9 to see why it was made. The Israelites were once again speaking out against God and Moses so God sent poisonous snakes. Many died because of the snakes. When they repented, God had Moses create the bronze snake and anyone that looked at it was healed.

The bronze snake in and of itself was not evil, in fact the reason it was made was because God told Moses to make it. Over time the people forgot what the meaning behind it was and they were offering sacrifices to it. Things are not idols until we make them that way.

So what can we take away from this? We have heard it said that money is not the root of all evil, but the love of it is. The love of something can make it an idol. We should not love anything or anyone more than we love God.

God, help us to not to be idol worshippers. Help us to remember to rely on you and not things or stuff. Just as Your Son taught us that you take care of every living thing, we need to be mindful of this. Thank you Father for providing all that we need each and every day. Amen.

July 20, 2015 SOAPing

Joshua 1:6-9

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

In this passage we have God’s charge to Joshua as he prepares to lead them across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. God tells Joshua three times to be strong and courageous in everything that he does. God also reminds him not to forget the instructions that Moses gave them and that they should study those instructions all the time.

Later, Joshua would present these same instructions to the Israelites (chapter 23). That tells me that these instructions are also for us. We need to study the ‘Book of Instruction,’ the Bible, continually. It provides us with the instructions that we need to live each day while we are still here. But as I think about this passage more and more I am led to what Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40 about what the greatest commandment is:

³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

If we live these two commandments, then all the others will fall into place. What I mean is that to love like Jesus did and commands us to, then we just naturally will follow what the Bible teaches. We do not have to work at it. If we had to work at it then we would fail, but by loving the way Jesus says to, it all falls into place.

So, what do we do with this? We study the Bible daily. We pray daily – in other words, just talk to God. In studying we hear God and in praying He hears us. That’s what we call communication and it is what makes relationships work. This will help us from ‘turning either to the right or to the left’ and keeps us on the path that God has for us.

As we continue to study Your Word each day Lord, help us to understand what you are saying to us. Show us through Your Word how to be strong and courageous so that we can love the way that Jesus teaches us to. Help us to overcome whatever obstacles are in our way to reading the Bible and hearing what You have to say to us. Thank you Father for giving us Your Word and Your Instruction so we can grow our relationship with you. Amen

July 15, 2015 SOAPing

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

¹ Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
³ He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

Observation: It is hard to read this chapter of Isaiah without being filled with wonder and amazement. This prophecy was spoken nearly 700 years before it was fulfilled by Jesus. This chapter talks about how we (when I say we, I mean the human race from Adam and Eve to the present and into the future) have either chosen to believe God’s message or not to believe it. It talks of a humble man that God sent to us. A man that by all appearances was no different than anyone else. Yet He was very different from everyone else.

Much like the Old Testament prophets He and His message were rejected. The message that Jesus was teaching and preaching went against the grain and was tested time and again by the Jewish leaders. In today’s terms we could really say that He was bullied. Those of us who have been bullied can attest that you feel alone. Sure there are those around you like friends and family, but it is an internal loneliness. Unlike us I would think that this cause Jesus great pain as He listened to and watched what the people were saying and doing.

We turned our backs on Him. Most of us know what that feels like. A feeling like nobody cares about us or what happens to us. Jesus would have felt the full effect of this. Even His disciples would abandon and deny Him. That is a weight that is impossible for us to bare. He could and did bare that weight and did so willingly. Not something anyone I know could do.

How frustrating this must have been, especially knowing that He would carry this along with our sins to the cross. When He was whipped with a whip that was designed to break and rip skin and then crucified it was believed that He was being punished by God for His sins. And for the treatment that He received they had to think that Jesus’ sins were really bad. Jesus’ punishment was extremely severe and undeserved.

Unlike us, Jesus had no sin. He lived the way that God wants us to live. Jesus took a punishment that we should get for our sins. A punishment that if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we do not have to endure. He took it all. Even to the point that God left Him on the cross.

Application: The question now is, would I take the punishment for someone else. Would I die for someone I didn’t know? I can tell you that for a time when my brother was little I did take the punishment for him. That is until he took advantage of it. But seriously, how far are we willing to go for each other?

Am I living a life worthy of the punishment that Jesus took for me on the cross? Am I striving every day to be more like Jesus?

Just because He took the punishment for me does not mean that I have a blank check to do whatever I want to. It does not give us a license to keep sinning. If we do, we are turning our backs on Him. We are doing exactly what is described in verse 3, “³ He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

Prayer: Father, I don’t want to live life constantly turning my back on you and Jesus. I don’t want to look away from you. What Jesus did for me and everyone else should not be in vain. Help me to live a life worthy of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. I pray that my example would let others see You in me. Amen.

July 13, 2015 SOAPing - Our words

Scripture:
James 3:5
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

Observation:
There is more to this passage from James than just the destruction that the tongue can create.  He also talks about how powerful it can be. In verses 3-4 he uses the analogies of moving a horse with a "small bit in it mouth" and how "a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go." For now let's concentrate on the destructive power of the tongue.

Have you ever said or written something you wish you could take back? I know I have. I like the example Chris used a couple years ago at youth group. He had the kids squeeze a small tube of toothpaste on a plate. Then after he talked about words he gave them a fork and told them to try to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Sounds a little crazy but it made the point. Once our words are out there we can't take them back.

Our words speak volumes. Speak, post and comment wisely whether online or in person. If not, one word, one sentence, one thought can cause a lifetime of hurt. Think about some of the news articles over the past few years.  People get bullied. In some cases those that are bullied are making permanent decisions and taking their lives. I don't want my words to be the ones that are like a single match that light a dry forest on fire. The effects are so much bigger than we can imagine. I don't know what started the fires in Northern Canada, but I do know that the resulting smoke was affecting people all over. Here in Iowa we were warned to stay inside if we had breathing troubles. Our words, written or spoken can have long lasting consequences.

Application:
Just like the article below I am relying on God's Word to guide how I not only post and comment online, but also how I speak to others. I know if I don't, well, let's just say I know some of things I would have like to have said. Those words. Those comments. Those posts. They would have been like a small match starting a huge forest fire. So, what do I do with those thoughts? Those words? I tell God how I'm feeling and ask Him to release me from them. I know alone I can't deal with them but He can.

The article I have linked here has more on how we can apply this to our lives every day: www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-should-christians-comment-online

Prayer:
Thank you God for giving us Your Word to teach us.  Your Son Jesus to show us. And the Holy Spirit to guide us. I pray the my words would encourage and not destroy. That my actions would shine Your love and not hate. I pray that in everything I do that You would get the glory. Thank you for using me with all my faults and failures to show and speak so that people would see You in me. Amen