food court theology lesson
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 (v.28). READ: Isaiah 40:12-31 So here I am, sitting in a shopping mall food court. My body is tense, my stomach knotted. My to-do list is long and my progress [...]
I will never leave you
April 30, 2009
READ: Deuteronomy 31:1-8
I am with you always, even to the end of the age. —Matthew 28:20
One of my earliest memories of hearing good music was when a male quartet rehearsed at our home. I was about 10 years old, and I was especially attentive to my dad, who sang first tenor. One of the quartet’s favorites was titled, “I Am With You.” Even at that tender age, I not only appreciated the music but I “got the message.”
Those words of Jesus to His disciples just before He ascended—“I am with you always”—became precious to me as the quartet sang, “In the sunlight, in the shadow, I am with you where you go.”
One of the first references to God’s unfailing presence was spoken by Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6-8, when he instructed his successor about leading God’s people into the “land of promise.” And Joshua himself heard the same word from the Lord, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5).
That promise is repeated in the New Testament, where the writer of Hebrews gave this assurance: “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (13:5).
Wherever you may be today, you are not alone. If you’ve placed your trust in Jesus for your eternal salvation, you can be certain that He will never leave you. — RBC Ministries
First make sure you are with Him, then you can be sure He’ll be with you.
Source: Our Daily Bread
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Loading ...sunflowers
We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it (v.8).
READ: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
I was gawking, but I couldn’t help myself. Painted over a century ago, van Gogh’s Sunflowers lit up the museum wall in front of me. I wondered at how such a broken man could create an image brimming with beauty. Vincent suffered from mental disorders, financial difficulty, and other challenges. Yet, he produced almost 900 paintings within 10 years.
Like van Gogh, the apostle Paul endured significant lifelong struggles—but his career for Christ flourished. At one point, he wrote, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure” (2 Cor 1:8). In other words, he was pretty sure the end was near, but something kept him going.
What was Paul’s secret? He spelled it out for us when he wrote, “We . . . learned to rely only on God” (v.9). Most of us would be fine with that statement, except for one word: only. A successful life in Christ requires all of God’s wisdom, all of His love, all of His enabling power, all of His protection—not our own.
Relying only on God helps us develop confidence in Him. Paul had a bit of a spiritual swagger, but it was because of his firsthand experience with the Almighty. He announced, “We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us” (v.10). Paul was free to go on ministering because he was not pinned down by despair or frozen by fear.
My point is this: We can be productive for Christ as we deal with strain and struggles. Jesus was not naive when He said, “I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit” (John 15:16). He knew life on earth was messy. He also knew that trusting in God alone would produce the confidence necessary to go on lighting up the world around us, just as van Gogh’s sunflowers still shine brightly today. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
How have you allowed struggles to prevent you from bearing fruit for God? How will your life in Jesus look different as you rely only on Him?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...drifting away
April 29, 2009
READ: Job 1:13-22
Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? —Job 2:10
Imagine relaxing on a rubber raft along the shore, eyes closed, soaking up the sun and listening to the gentle crash of waves. You don’t have a care in the world—until you open your eyes! Suddenly the shore is alarmingly distant.
We tend to drift like that spiritually. It’s subtle yet shocking when we suddenly realize how far we’ve drifted from God. The point of departure begins when Satan steals our affection for our loving Creator by putting a deceitful twist on our experiences and causing us to suspect God instead of trust Him.
Consider Job and his wife. Both had plenty of reasons to be mad at God. Their children were dead, their fortune lost, and Job’s health destroyed. His wife told him, “Curse God and die!” But Job replied, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and . . . not accept adversity?” (Job 2:9-10).
There are many attitudes that can set us adrift: believing that we need more than God to be happy; placing meaningful relationships above loyalty to God; thinking God should live up to our expectations; resisting His reproofs; turning a deaf ear when His Word is uncomfortable.
If you’re beginning to drift, remember to stay close to the One who is the sole source of satisfaction. — Joe Stowell
To avoid drifting away from God, stay anchored to the Rock.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...the prayer of the forgotten
O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever? (v.1)
READ: Psalm 13
In places like Darfur, the western region of Sudan, where genocide and starvation run rampant, human crises move far beyond the theoretical. Recent UN estimates suggested that hundreds of thousands of people have perished due to disease and war. Tribal warfare exacerbated by competing national political interests has laid this province to waste (literally).
The most incomprehensible part of this travesty has been, by and large, that the international community has not intervened. There have been a few censures and resolutions, but no resolve to move beyond merely flexing muscle. It seems the world has forgotten Darfur’s nightmare.
I imagine Darfurians feel emotions similar to the psalmist: “O Lord, how long will You forget me? Forever?” (Psalm 13:1) When our distress and abandonment continue endlessly, our most difficult reality might be something other than the unrelenting pain. We may find that the hardship most difficult to bear is the stinging sense that, in it all, God is nowhere to be found.
“How long will You look the other way?” the psalmist pleads, pressing a devastating accusation. He is pleading for God’s help—and God looks away (v.1). Four times in this short prayer, the writer forces the question, “How long?” (vv.1-2). His raw query echoes: God, are You remotely interested in my despair? This long nightmare is killing me. How long?
Prayer is not a tame, safe, meek affair. Prayer is the courageous act of honestly giving our full self, our full emotions (whatever we have within us, noble or not) to God. Somehow, the prayerful act itself offers a balm. With little indication of change in circumstances, the psalmist concludes: God “is good to me” (v.6).
The God-encounter experienced in honest prayer reorients us to the truth that our God has never forgotten us, not for a single moment. —Winn Collier
What are your darkest questions for (or fears about) God? What keeps you from having the courage to speak to Him about them?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...slapton sands
April 28, 2009
READ: 1 Peter 5:1-11
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. —1 Peter 5:8
On the southern shores of England is Slapton Sands. This beautiful beach area carries a tragic memory from its past.
On April 28, 1944, during World War II, Allied soldiers were engaged in Operation Tiger, a training exercise in amphibious beach landings in preparation for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Suddenly, enemy gunboats appeared and killed over 700 American servicemen in a surprise attack. Today, a monument stands on Slapton Sands to commemorate the sacrifice of those young men who died while training for battle but were never able to enter the conflict.
This tragedy is a metaphor that warns the believer in Christ. We too are involved in combat with an enemy who is powerful and deceptive. That is why the apostle Peter warned: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Like the soldiers on Slapton Sands, we face an enemy who desires our undoing. In the service of our King, we must be on the alert. The call to be effective in battle (2 Tim. 2:3-4) challenges us to be ready for the surprise attacks of our spiritual enemy—so that we can endure to serve another day. — Bill Crowder
Satan’s ploys are no match for the Savior’s power.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...first things first
April 27, 2009
READ: Matthew 6:25-34
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. —Matthew 6:33
A seminar leader wanted to make an important point, so he took a wide-mouth jar and filled it with rocks. “Is the jar full?” he asked. “Yes,” came a reply. “Oh, really?” he said. Then he poured smaller pebbles into the jar to fill the spaces between the rocks. “Is it full now?” “Yes,” said someone else. “Oh, really?” He then filled the remaining spaces between the rocks and stones with sand. “Is it full now?” he asked. “Probably not,” said another, to the amusement of the audience. Then he took a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar.
“What’s the lesson we learn from this?” he asked. An eager participant spoke up, “No matter how full the jar is, there’s always room for more.” “Not quite,” said the leader. “The lesson is: to get everything in the jar, you must always put the big things in first.”
Jesus proclaimed a similar principle in the Sermon on the Mount. He knew that we waste our time worrying about the little things that seem so urgent but crowd out the big things of eternal value. “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” Jesus reminded His hearers. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:32-33).
What are you putting first in your life? — Dennis J. De Haan
Those who lay up treasures in heaven are the richest people on earth.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...tofu buildings
Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done (vv.12-13).
READ: 1 Corinthians 3:9-15
A massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake rocked China’s southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008. It was felt as far away as northern Pakistan and caused destruction in an area three times the size of Belgium. More than 70,000 people died and another 365,000 were injured.
Although the buildings in the quake zone were supposed to be constructed to withstand a 7.0-magnitude quake, more than 4.7 million houses and buildings collapsed. Authorities warned that those responsible for these “tofu” buildings would be severely punished (tofu = bean curd; meaning shoddy construction).
Solid construction is important in buildings and in our spiritual life too. Paul likened the Christian life to a building (1 Corinthians 3:9) and he gave two safety checks for a safe and enduring structure.
First, check the substructures. Every building rests on a foundation. Jesus Christ alone is our foundation (v.11, also Acts 4:11-12). If He is the eternal Rock (Isaiah 26:4) upon which we build, we are indeed safe and secure (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Secnd, check the superstructure. Are we building a permanent or a temporary superstructure? The gold, silver, and jewels mentioned in verse 12 refer to the enduring quality of the builder’s work, and the wood, hay, or straw refer to the work that is temporary and inferior.
When we come before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), our works will be tested by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). Of this judgment, one Bible teacher writes, “It is not a question of salvation, which is a gift (Rom. 6:23) . . . but of service, which is judged on the basis of quality, not quantity.” Another writes, “We aren’t saved by good works (Eph. 2:8-9) but we are saved for good works (v.10).” Our reward (1 Cor. 3:14) or loss of reward (v.15) depends on how we build. — K.T. Sim
What is the foundation of your faith? What “materials” have you been using to build on this foundation? Why?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...lip service
April 26, 2009
READ: Mark 7:5-15
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. —Mark 7:6
Smile,” said Jay as we drove to church. “You look so unhappy.” I wasn’t; I was just thinking, and I can’t do two things at once. But to make him happy, I smiled. “Not like that,” he said. “I mean a real smile.”
His comment got me thinking even more intently. Is it reasonable to expect a real smile from someone who’s being issued a command? A real smile comes from inside; it’s an expression of the heart, not of the face.
We settle for phony smiles in photographs. We’re happy when everyone cooperates at the photographer’s studio and we get at least one picture with everyone smiling. After all, we’re creating an icon of happiness, so it doesn’t have to be genuine.
But phoniness before God is unacceptable. Whether we’re happy or sad or mad, honesty is essential. God doesn’t want false expressions of worship any more than He wants false statements about people or circumstances (Mark 7:6).
Changing our facial expression is easier than changing our attitude, but true worship requires that all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength agree that God is worthy of praise. Even when our circumstances are sad, we can be grateful for God’s mercy and compassion, which are worth more than the “lip service” of a phony smile. — Julie Ackerman Link
A song in the heart puts a smile on the face.
Source: Our Daily Bread
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...what God hates
There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things He detests (Proverbs 6:16).
READ: 2 Timothy 2:15-26
Shortly after moving to Uganda, I learned of a volunteer who contributed significantly on behalf of the East African people he came to serve. Yet despite all he accomplished on the field, he also caused harm by speaking falsehoods that caused rifts among his mission team members.
God’s Word firmly addresses such conduct, saying, “There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things He detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
What enters your mind as you read these things? Do you find yourself thinking of times, perhaps even recently, that you have done the very things that God detests? It’s interesting and convicting that God places “hands that kill the innocent” and “a false witness who pours out lies” in the same list of sins. One act clearly seems more heinous than the other.
The revelation that God’s scale equally weighs both behaviors should serve as strong motivation for us to speak truthfully. We should use discernment when we speak in order to prevent discord or strife among our brothers and sisters in Christ and among the other people we encounter each day (Ephesians 4:15).
In the workplace, for example, we should avoid talking in a manner that might turn colleagues against one another (4:25). If an argument or hard feelings exist between you and another person, everyone on your team might feel the tension. Subsequently, strife could spread throughout your organization.
Consider how you are treating your friends, family members, colleagues, and the other people in your life. If you are creating disunity with your words, ask the Lord for wisdom to behave differently and then act on the guidance He gives you. —Roxanne Robbins
What are some difficult relationships you have? How can you use words of truth and love to improve them?
(Check out Our Daily Journey website!)
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