Saturday, September 23, 2006

Title: The Religious / Topic: Walking In Truth

Today’s Reading: Daniel 11; Daniel 12; Luke 6

Scripture: Luke 6:6-10
6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Observation: What a contrast: Jesus, who is God, caring and healing; vs. The Religious (Pharisees and teachers of the law), with no concern for hurting people, claiming to represent God, judging and conspiring. Notice that what they are focused on is Sabbath Violations -- they have no interest in seeing a man healed -- no their only concern is of their pet issue: "Don't do anything on the Sabbath that we wouldn't do!" Of course, since The Religious never perform healing due to their lack of true spiritual power, anyone who heals anytime is suspect. But if someone heals on the Sabbath... well, that's a Violation! When Jesus asks them to think, really think, about their Sabbath beliefs they remain silent. (See Mark 3:3-5.) Dante wrote: "The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crises maintain their neutrality." The silence of The Religious is a sign of their great personal moral wickedness. And once the man is healed, they immediately begin to conspire of "what they might do to Jesus." So let me get this straight: it is not OK to heal on the Sabbath (of course God does all healing), but it is just fine to have a meeting to conspire to kill someone you hate? Interesting values.

Application: My focus must be on Jesus. And I need to listen to the Lord to examine my beliefs, especially as they are manifested in my words and actions. It is easy to see how bad the Religious were in this story. But I can fall into similar kinds of blindness and hypocrisy without knowing it and, unless I listen to God and the people around me, I can dig in -- remaining in that place of dysfunction and wickedness, harming others and myself. And I can feel righteous and justified in the process. Evil is insidious. None of us is above the pull of it. We have to stay open and seeking -- confessing and repenting -- if we will be truly free and growing in the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You are ever calling me and that You enable me to hear Your voice above the call of evil. I choose to respond to Your call and to forsake sin and the daily temptations that are common to all humanity: lust, greed, pride, and sloth. Strengthen me in my inner being to hear You more clearly and to respond with instantaneous obedience to Your initial promptings. Keep me from entering the realm of the Religious. I want to be Yours one hundred percent.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Title: The Humbling Tie / Topic: Humility

Today’s Reading: Daniel 9; Daniel 10; Psalm 123; Luke 5

Scripture: Luke 5:27-32
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Observation: Oh the religious types! Jesus had them in His day and we have them in ours. They want religion but only the external, showy kind. They liked being around Jesus, but who wouldn't? But He often rubbed them the wrong way. They wanted Him to go with them to their "nice" gatherings with the "nice" people. Here He was at a rowdy party with "sinners"! Oh my! But I love Jesus' answer. "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Application: It's the sinners who Jesus came for. That's what I am. That is the thing that all true believers have in common -- our sin that brought us to need Jesus in the first place. Those who hide, or are unaware, or in denial, or don't admit their sin don't need saving. I had a man tell me once that he didn't need a savior and didn't need anyone to die for him. He was right. And he was wrong.

Bottom line: Remembering that it is my sin that is my first point of connection with other believers will help me keep my feet on the ground and my heart humble. I want to avoid becoming religious. Religious people tend toward pride and judgmentalism. Stay humble and keep it simple: I'm a sinner saved by grace.

Prayer: Father, thank You for saving this sinner. I am blessed to be Your child and I ask You to help me to keep my heart in the place of humility and simplicity. I just want to be open to all of Your goodness so that I can be fully transformed into the image of Jesus.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Title: Heavy Lifting / Topic: Spiritual Warfare

Today’s Reading: Daniel 7; Daniel 8; Psalm 137; Luke 4

Scripture: Daniel 7:15, 28; 8:17, 27
Daniel 7:15 "I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me...
28 "This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself..."
Daniel 8:17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate...
27 I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days... I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Observation: I love Daniel -- both the book and the man. And one of the things I love about it is the fact that Daniel is real -- he's authentic. Here he shares the emotional weight of the visions he saw. I notice how severely impacted he was, maybe even traumatized by the experiences of the visions. Check out the language: "deeply troubled," "terrified," "exhausted and lay ill for several days," etc. These visions had no small effect on Daniel. He was actually laid up physically because of the emotional drain of the experience -- he took a real emotional hit.

Application: What I take from this is that there is a level of spiritual function that has a high cost associated with it. It is intense. Spiritual warfare is probably the most appropriate term for this but there most of what we call "spiritual warfare" does not approach the level of what I see here in Daniel.

Bottom line: I must prepare myself for greater depths and dimensions of spiritual life. There are demands that Daniel was able to address that required great personal spiritual strength. That is what I want to have and that is where I want to be. It's time to grow up and step up.

Prayer: Lord, help me. I have been functioning on a level spiritually that is way below what I read here of my brother Daniel. I want to be able to be used by You to make the kind of impact that Daniel did. Help me to grow and strengthen myself to be fit and able to handle the heavy lifting of spiritual service.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Title: The Writing On My Wall / Topic: Hearing From God

Today’s Reading: Daniel 5; Daniel 6; Psalm 130; Luke 3

Scripture: Daniel 5:24-26
24 "...[God] sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
25 "This is the inscription that was written:
Mene , Mene , Tekel , Parsin
26 "This is what these words mean..."

Observation: God sent a hand to write on the wall to tell King Belshazzar what He thought of him. For Belshazzar, this was terrifying and the message grim and foreboding. As I read about this experience, I had this thought: if God wanted to write on my wall to tell me what He thinks of me, what would it say? Would it be good news or bad news? I think it would be mostly good news. (I often have a sense in my spirit (usually during intimate times of worship) that God is pleased with me.) But, there could likely also be some words of correction, disappointment, maybe even rebuke.

Application: I need to be giving more thoughtful consideration to what God would say, and then purpose to actually look for the writing on the wall and listen for His voice. I think God does communicate to me directly more than I know. He is sending more than I am receiving. I think I don't tune in sometimes because I mainly expect judgment from God, and I forget that, as my Father, He also wants to give me praise, encouragement, and comfort. That sounds odd to say that God wants to give me praise, but I think it's true. I know I like to praise my own children and grandchildren -- and they don't have to be perfect for me to want to praise them. I believe God is the same with me.

Prayer: So, Father, help me to read the writing on my wall. Help me to hear Your voice, to know just what it is that You think of me. I want and need to know. And I want to please You and make You proud of me. You are my Father. Thank You for adopting me as Your own child. Help me to stop striving to be perfect and to rest in Your encouraging and nurturing love.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Title: The Night Crew / Topic: The Invisible Realm

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 47; Ezekiel 48; Luke 2

Scripture: Luke 2:8-9
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Observation: These shepherds are out at work, minding their sheep and minding their own business. Then God shows up -- an impressive angelic image and the glow of God appear out of the darkness -- and they are freaked out. The text tells us "they were terrified." Of course, we now know that the angels were there to announce the birth of Jesus. But the shepherds first response was fear.

Application:
#1 You never know when God will show up. These shepherds were the night crew. They were the last ones hired, or they drew the short straw. In any event, all the preferred shepherds had gone home for the night to be with their families and these guys were stuck watching the sheep all night long out in the fields. The last thing they expected was an angel to show up. You never know when God will show up.

#2 "...and they were terrified." I often think how great it would be to see the Lord or to see an angel, but the first reaction would inevitably be shock -- terrifying and overwhelming. That's pretty much the universal reaction I find in the Bible whenever someone sees and angel: people are afraid. The truth is that while I believe in the invisible realm, with angels and demons and all, I have only a vague idea of what is actually going on. And were I to actually be in the middle it, it would be a real shock. I will see it and I will be shocked, but I will adjust and eventually get comfortable with it. In fact, I will be able to operate in that realm as will all of God's people. (The truth is, we are supposed to be operating in that realm through spiritual warfare now.)

Prayer: Lord, You and Your forces are working behind the scenes on behalf of Your children. Thank You. Help me to function with positive power in the spiritual realm. Help all Your people to get the vision for interacting with the spiritual realm to make things happen. Show me how -- teach me, Lord. And help me to be ready whenever You show up.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Title: Righteous Standards / Topic: Weights And Measures

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 45; Ezekiel 46; Luke 1

Scripture: Ezekiel 45:9-12
9 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. 10 You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah and an accurate bath. 11 The ephah and the bath are to be the same size, the bath containing a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer is to be the standard measure for both. 12 The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.' "

Observation: God speaks through Ezekiel to the "princes of Israel," that is, those who have the wealth and power at the highest levels. And in this passage He warns them to use weights and measures that are honest and fair. One of the means that can be used to oppress and keep people poor is unfair or dishonest business practices, such as weights and measures that change depending on whether one is buying or selling, exorbitant interest rates, excessive fees and charges, etc. God cares about these matters. He wants His people to not only have righteous standards in their lives, but also in the weights and measures and business practices.

Application: If I want to live in a way that pleases God, it is more than a commitment to study of the Bible and worship . It is a commitment to live in justice and righteousness in every area of my life. I believe that Christians often neglect to consider how their business dealings reflect on their faith. It matters to God that I am totally honest and above board with how I do business with others. Paying my bills, dealing with honesty and integrity in whatever I do, being truthful and not deceptive in my business dealings and communication -- these are all aspects of my life that God cares about. And I need to care about them as well, giving careful thought and effort to uphold the highest standards of integrity and honesty in all business interactions. To do less is to dishonor and displease God.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You want Your people to reflect righteousness and excellence in every area of our lives. You want to show Yourself through me as a God of truth and justice. Help me to never compromise or act selfishly or unfairly in the way I do business with others. May I "do unto others as I would have them do unto me" in my business dealings as well as every other area of my life. I want to live in a way that pleases You.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Title: Free, Fresh Water / Topic: Refresh

Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 42; Ezekiel 43; Ezekiel 44; Revelation 22

Scripture: Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

Observation: Come! The invitation goes out to everyone. "Anyone thirsty out there? Come! Take the free gift of the water of life." That is the message and method of God. "If you want it, come and get it. If you have a need, seek to have it met." I love the openness and ready availability of God's provision. I also notice that this invitation is coming from "The Spirit and the bride." The Spirit is, of course, the Holy Spirit of God. Who is the bride? It's us, the church. We, in agreement with the spirit say, "come and get refreshed."

Application: I better have something that refreshes when they come. Tired old clichés, worn out religious language, even my own moldy testimonies won't refresh. I have to have something new, fresh, and alive. I am supposed to be dispensing the water of life -- living water. I need to be immersed in Jesus and overflowing so that when the thirsty come in, I'm not dry myself, but I have something fresh and refreshing to give to them.

Prayer: Lord, help me live in the fresh now with You. Thank You for Your openhanded, gracious, giving nature. Thank You that You offer the water of life to all who are thirsty. Help me and all Your people to be filled and overflowing so that we can deliver the goods to those who are seeking.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.