Day One, That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit; John 3:6. Everyday of our lives we move in and out of various levels of conscious thought. Sometimes this transition is made because we deliberately want or need it to happen (i.e. when we are absorbed in thoughts about our favorite team only to have to quickly shift gears because a customer or client calls or walks in. We quickly focus our minds on the business at hand and the team fades into the background.) Specifically, this text is speaking of the new birth that is accomplished through the coming of the Holy Spirit, upon our sincere profession of faith into our lives to restore us to original righteousness and set us on the path of holiness. But in a broader context it reminds us that as children of God, we have a dual consciousness—we are conscious of the things born of this world that are needful to live, but we are also conscious of the things born of the Spirit that are needful for eternal life. It behooves us to live with an elevated spiritual consciousness, even as we go about pursing the things necessary for life on this side of the eternal divide.
Day Two, …doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God… Deuteronomy 13:18. Recently I heard what was told as a true story about a minister who visited a colleague’s church in New England. After touring a sanctuary filled with sunlight streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows that composed three sides of the building, they went outside. The pastor of the church pointed out the majestic spire rising far above the building’s roofline. A simple cross crowned the spire and a few feet below it were what appeared to be windows that had been covered with plywood. The visiting minister asked about the plywood. “There used to be stained glass that was lit from the inside at night. At the insistence of the people in the town and a few members, my predecessor allowed the elders to put the plywood over the windows.” “Why” asked the visiting minister, “would people object to lighted stain glass in the tower.” “Well, folks said it made them uneasy. You see, all four windows were depictions of the all-seeing eye of God watching us.” When I was growing up, I remember an old song that said something about “Watching you, watching you. There’s an all seeing eye watching you.” We don’t hear much about that anymore, maybe because it would make us uneasy. But when we do what is right in the sight of the Lord, the idea is sort of comforting, isn’t it?
Day Three, “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations3:24. In the preceding verses the writer of Lamentations tells us that his soul is bereft of peace, that he has forgotten what happiness is, that he tends to dwell on his affliction and his bitterness which causes him to feel depressed and weighted down. The writer isn’t some great sinner, rather he is a prophet whose predicament resulted from him having done what God led him to do. More than likely, he was like most of us—we figure that if we obey God then people will respond favorably and there will be a happy ending. But this is not always so, often our best efforts are met with indifference or hostility by those whose spiritual consciousness is buried deeply under layers of selfishness and rationalizations for a life-time of bad choices. Our text follows the writer’s frank admission of his disappointment, sorrow, frustration and depression. Notice that he lifts his thinking from how he feels to what he knows to the true “The Lord is my portion.” When we’ve done our best and things haven’t turned out as we think they should, we should remind ourselves that how we feel about the situation is not nearly as vital to our long-term mental and spiritual wellbeing as knowing that we live for a higher purpose that makes God our portion of happiness and contentment. When we consistently do this, we find hope for a better tomorrow and a brighter future rekindled.
Day Four, The Lord is my light and my salvation (deliverance)…The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1; Many behavioral psychologist tells us that people need to know the way to attain a sense of dignity (sense of self-worth), to have a sense that if things don’t work out there will be a way to salvage their dignity (willingness to take a risk), and the knowledge that there is a safe place to find protection and rest. This verse provides all three of these requirements. It tells us that the Good Lord provides light to show us not only who we really are (loved of God) but light to show us the way (a sense of direction); it also reveals that we can count on him to deliver us in difficult times, and that we have a safe place (his stronghold) when things aren’t working out as we had planned. With that assurance, shouldn’t we act with confidence in every area of our lives?
Day Five, Though a host encamp against me…though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. Psalm 27:3; Life can often bring not only hardships but a feeling that everyone and everything is against us. These situations can range from losing a job to being betrayed or forsaken by friends and even family. When those times come (and come they will) it is easy to just want to crawl up in a ball and give up hope. But the testimony of this Psalmist (and countless Christians through the ages) is that when we feel besieged by the problems of life or it seems that everyone is at war against us, we can be confident because of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Day Six, I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Psalm 27:13; Over 36 years ago, I got my first position as a salesman, it was with a major insurance company. I wasn’t doing too well when my sales manager left to become General Agent for another company, after he got settled I was invited to become a member of his team. Although I didn’t stay in the insurance business very long, the fact that he believed in me helped me discover that I had what it took to succeed if I learned to believe in my own God given abilities and that God had good in store for me. Today’s text deals with believing in the ultimate good that will come to those who persevere through the bad times and learn the lessons of self-discipline. No matter how “badly” you may be doing remember that God believes in your capacity to handle it with his help, so join this Psalmist and affirm I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
Day Seven, Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14; This verse contains a three step formula for overcoming any difficulty or solving any problem. It is one that is familiar to anyone who reads the Bible regularly, but it bears repeating so that it becomes an automatic response in times of trial or difficulty. We are to realize that God’s timing isn’t always our timing (he knows the right time to bring things together for our good), therefore we are to wait for God’s timing. In order to do this we need to be strong; waiting involves patience, which is a mental attitude. In order to be patient means we have to have a strong mental resolve that can overcome those thoughts of fear that might make us “leap before we look”. In order to bolster that resolve we need to allow ourselves to think courageous, faith-filled thoughts.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
February 15 through 21, 2010
Sunday was Valentine’s Day, so I thought we might spend some time this week on the subject of love.
Day One, For love is strong as death… Song of Solomon 8:6; Today’s text provides a clear idea of the effect of real, lasting love on people. The beginning of a successful marriage or the healing of a wounded one comes when we realize that real love means the death of a prior life, as well as our self interest and the birth of a new focus and direction. Successful marriages often require dying to old single friends in order to form new friendships with other couples (no more “my friends” and “your friends”, just OUR Friends). It means dying to always having your way (successful marriages require each party give in 60% of the time). It requires letting old hurts and wounds die so that love can continue to grow. It requires dying to one lifestyle in order that a new one can be born.
Day Two, Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. Song of Solomon 8:7; Several years ago I counseled with a couple who were having major marital problems. After listening to his litany of complaints, I asked, “Don, if she’s that bad why did you marry her in the first place?” I then rephrased everything bad he said about her in the most unflattering terms possible. He immediately became hostile and started defending his wife. This was a breakthrough moment for them as both discovered that in spite of the bad things that had happened in their marriage and the hurtful words and deeds, love was much deeper than the wounds they had inflicted on each other.
Day Three, Your head crowns you like (Mount) Carmel, your flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses. Song of Solomon 7:5; One of the biggest killers of “love” in marriage is negative thinking. It is easy to focus on our partner’s shortcomings (having been married for over 35 years, I speak from experience). The husband leaves for work thinking “she burned the toast again, the house is a mess, she looks like she’s gained 10 pounds overnight…” The wife, who is running late trips over his underwear (which he thoughtfully left in the middle of the floor) and begins thinking “That moron can’t pick anything up, he doesn’t lift a finger to help me, didn’t even appreciate breakfast…” These thoughts set the theme for the way we think about each other all day long. Is it any wonder that by the end of the day the stage is set for an evening of either snipping at one another or icy silence? Countering negative thoughts immediately with positive ones can go a long way to creating a more peaceful, happy home life.4
Day Four, Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. First Corinthians 13:4-7; In it’s context, Paul is contrasting the type of love that should be found among Christians to the way certain people in the Corinthian church were acting toward one another. But beyond that is found a very sound definition of the type of love we should model before our family, coworkers and friends. In its essence, love is really a lifestyle that we choose to adopt. It is a manifestation of the image we hold of ourselves and mirrors our real personality to all around us. The lifestyle of love is one that doesn’t allow problems to cause us to quickly become angry or irritable, it doesn’t allow us to dwell on minor slights until we become resentful, nor does it always seek for the hidden agenda of others or personal advantage in the situations of life.
Day Five, The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 138:8; Everyone has some principle that dictates the way they prioritize activities, shapes their thinking and forms their values. As children of God our ultimate principle should be to live in awareness of God’s goodness and discover, develop and dedicate our natural abilities for His glory and not just our own benefit. When we live by this principle we find that circumstances evolve in ways that enable us to become instruments of His love, grace and salvation.
Day Six, They left everything and followed him. Luke
Monday, February 8, 2010
February 8 through 14, 2010
Day One Psalm 138:7, Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies…your right hand delivers me; Someone once said that faith begins when we understand our limitations and dare to move beyond them. To that we might add that trust begins when we place our lives in God’s hands and refuse to quit even though we understand that there are many events in life that are unfair, problems that are undeserved and that troubles come our way in spite of our best efforts.
Day Two, Exodus 2:24, God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant…; The most comforting thought we can hold when we are facing adversities is that Almighty God is mindful of what we are going through. It is easy to forget this fact when we are struggling under some burden, but we must keep reminding ourselves of it lest we become cynical and negative. And we must remember that God knows how much we can endure (often more than we think we are capable of). Like a good parent, our Heavenly Father wants us to become stronger, so he doesn’t always come flying to our rescue at the first hint of trouble. But come to our aid he will, and when he does it is always at the right time and in a way that will lead us into what is best for us. He will not forget us, nor will he forget the promises he has made in his word.
Day Three, Luke 5:8,10, Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man…Do not be afraid, from now on you will be…; The simple truth contained in today’s verses is that God often blesses us in spite of ourselves. When we receive a visitation of God’s goodness, grace and glory instead of assuming it was a result of how good we’ve been, wouldn’t a more appropriate response be that of Peter? When such a response is made we are then ready to hear what God has to say to us about what we can be.
Day Four, Isaiah 6:8, Here am I! Send me; Isaiah’s vision of the “Lord high and lifted up” evoked a realization of his own inadequacies, leading him to confess Woe is me! For I am lost…”. But God never leaves us with these feelings, once we come clean he cleans us up and offers us not only his companionship but an opportunity to more fully experience the fulfillment that comes from giving ourselves in service. When we experience the vision of God that leads us to realize that we are victims of our own “unclean lips” it is because God wants to give us the victory over our weaknesses and limitations. God doesn’t provide this vision and victory just to make us feel better, he does so to enable us to hear his voice asking Whom shall I send?. This week as we go about our daily lives, may we hear that voice and always be ready to respond Here am I! Send me.
Day Five, Psalm 138:1, I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise; Living in the 21st century can be both frustrating and complicated due to the countless demands of life from church activities, family, earning a living and dealing with everyday problems. It is easy to allow these things to become “little gods” in our lives. The writer of this Psalm seems to have discovered a simple secret for dealing with these little gods and keeping a sense of balance in his life. His secret was twofold. First he looked for reasons to be thankful no matter what demands were made on him. Second, when the little gods began to crowd out his commitment to his Heaven Father he affirmed his commitment to God.
Day Six, Psalm 138:3, On the day I called, you answered me, you increased the strength of my soul; Over the years, I’ve had many people tell me that God doesn’t answer their prayers. I always feel sorry for such people because they obviously don’t recall what they have prayed for or they are so self-absorbed that they don’t recognize that sometimes God doesn’t give us what we asked for, but what we need. The psalmist not only affirms that God answers prayer, but that he begins to answer immediately; and more importantly he testifies that the Good Lord gave him what he needed to solve the problem or face the test.
Day Seven, , Isaiah 6:3, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory; I have often heard the protestation “I don’t get anything out of church.” This avowal begs the question as to why people go to church. If it is to see our friends or catch up on the latest gossip, then we fail to get something out of attending if our friend is absent or there’s nothing new to talk about. Our verse for today should remind us of the reason we go to church—to catch a clear and fresh vision of God and realize how fortunate we are to have his love and awesome presence with us all the way.
Day Two, Exodus 2:24, God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant…; The most comforting thought we can hold when we are facing adversities is that Almighty God is mindful of what we are going through. It is easy to forget this fact when we are struggling under some burden, but we must keep reminding ourselves of it lest we become cynical and negative. And we must remember that God knows how much we can endure (often more than we think we are capable of). Like a good parent, our Heavenly Father wants us to become stronger, so he doesn’t always come flying to our rescue at the first hint of trouble. But come to our aid he will, and when he does it is always at the right time and in a way that will lead us into what is best for us. He will not forget us, nor will he forget the promises he has made in his word.
Day Three, Luke 5:8,10, Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man…Do not be afraid, from now on you will be…; The simple truth contained in today’s verses is that God often blesses us in spite of ourselves. When we receive a visitation of God’s goodness, grace and glory instead of assuming it was a result of how good we’ve been, wouldn’t a more appropriate response be that of Peter? When such a response is made we are then ready to hear what God has to say to us about what we can be.
Day Four, Isaiah 6:8, Here am I! Send me; Isaiah’s vision of the “Lord high and lifted up” evoked a realization of his own inadequacies, leading him to confess Woe is me! For I am lost…”. But God never leaves us with these feelings, once we come clean he cleans us up and offers us not only his companionship but an opportunity to more fully experience the fulfillment that comes from giving ourselves in service. When we experience the vision of God that leads us to realize that we are victims of our own “unclean lips” it is because God wants to give us the victory over our weaknesses and limitations. God doesn’t provide this vision and victory just to make us feel better, he does so to enable us to hear his voice asking Whom shall I send?. This week as we go about our daily lives, may we hear that voice and always be ready to respond Here am I! Send me.
Day Five, Psalm 138:1, I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise; Living in the 21st century can be both frustrating and complicated due to the countless demands of life from church activities, family, earning a living and dealing with everyday problems. It is easy to allow these things to become “little gods” in our lives. The writer of this Psalm seems to have discovered a simple secret for dealing with these little gods and keeping a sense of balance in his life. His secret was twofold. First he looked for reasons to be thankful no matter what demands were made on him. Second, when the little gods began to crowd out his commitment to his Heaven Father he affirmed his commitment to God.
Day Six, Psalm 138:3, On the day I called, you answered me, you increased the strength of my soul; Over the years, I’ve had many people tell me that God doesn’t answer their prayers. I always feel sorry for such people because they obviously don’t recall what they have prayed for or they are so self-absorbed that they don’t recognize that sometimes God doesn’t give us what we asked for, but what we need. The psalmist not only affirms that God answers prayer, but that he begins to answer immediately; and more importantly he testifies that the Good Lord gave him what he needed to solve the problem or face the test.
Day Seven, , Isaiah 6:3, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory; I have often heard the protestation “I don’t get anything out of church.” This avowal begs the question as to why people go to church. If it is to see our friends or catch up on the latest gossip, then we fail to get something out of attending if our friend is absent or there’s nothing new to talk about. Our verse for today should remind us of the reason we go to church—to catch a clear and fresh vision of God and realize how fortunate we are to have his love and awesome presence with us all the way.
Monday, February 1, 2010
February 1 through 7, 2010
Day One, Micah 7:7, As for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me; This verse offers us many things to reflect upon. It centers on the individual who is feeling pressured, afraid, alone, confused by conflicts and problems. But it moves beyond the “me” to the attitude and trust that this individual has developed. His attitude is that God is the ultimate source of his salvation (meaning deliverance) therefore he will look to Him. In my mind this means that he will pray and meditate about the things bothering him realizing that the Good Lord will provide the guidance, insight and mental toughness needed to handle what he is facing. But despite wanting immediate relief from his woes, he also realizes that God brings things together for the best outcome and this often takes time, therefore he adopts an attitude of waiting for God to work. Out of this positive attitude comes his assertion that “God will hear me.”
Day Two, Habakkuk 2:4, Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith. While these are the words of a prophet, this passage is not so much prophetic as it is common sense. All we need to do is look around and discover the truth of this saying. It may appear that those “whose soul is not upright” are succeeding but in most cases they ultimately fail, they may loose what they’ve acquired, or their reputation is ruined as skeletons come out of the closets. On the other hand, the person who lives right and tries to follow God’s ways in their career and personal lives, as well as their spiritual life rise above what most consider failure; their faith in God, His ultimate purposes for them and his Love toward them gives them power to keep prodding along until eventually they achieve the dream that God has given them.
Day Three, Jeremiah 1:11, The word of the Lord came to me and said…WHAT DO YOU SEE?; Not everyone is called to some lofty mission for God, but we are all called to take advantage of the opportunities to live out our faith in word and deed. The question that God posed to Jeremiah is the same question that should echo through our minds every hour of the day. When we live in an awareness of this question and open our mind’s eye in response to it then we will seldom find ourselves wondering how to serve God at any given time. The word of the Lord came to me and said…WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Day Four, Job 38:36, Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?; Many times we feel overwhelmed because of heavy schedules, pending problems and a myriad of routine things that need attention. I once asked a highly successful executive how he was able to move so confidently through his pressure packed daily schedule making decisions that literally affected the lives of hundreds of employees. His response was to take out his wallet and pull out a business card on which he had written the words of today’s text. “I could not do it on my own, if I tried I’d be a nervous wreck” he told me, “but by looking at this verse several times a day I’m reminded that there is One who will give me both the wisdom and understanding I need.”
Day Five, Daniel 11:32b, But the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take (appropriate) action; In our hectic world it seems that almost everyday presents some ethical dilemma. We have all known people who have faced these dilemmas and failed to live up their better instincts because it was more convenient to take the easier road. Of course, nothing that starts out wrong ends up right, so eventually these lapses in ethical judgment end with personal or professional disaster. That’s why we should never become so short-sighted as to loose sight of the long-term effects of our decisions, nor should we compromise our core values for short-term gain. If our convictions are rooted in God and we remain loyal to those convictions no matter what then we are empowered both mentally and spiritually to take the appropriate actions that will lead to good outcomes.
Day Six; First Peter 4:10, Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received; One of the great things about the way the Good Lord made us is that each of us have certain abilities in which others lack proficiency. This is the principle that all of society revolves around, that we each have the ability to compensate for what others lack. People come together for the mutual benefit of each other as they apply their diverse gifts and abilities toward a common good. But for this principle to really work, whether in business, a marriage, society or the church we must be willing to use our gifts and abilities for other people and not just to further our own agenda
Day Seven, Genesis 24:12, Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham; Many times we disconnect ourselves from the characters we read about in the Bible because we elevate and spiritualize them to the point that they become more than mere mortals. When we do this, we miss the fact that just like us they didn’t always understand the situation they were in or that they experienced the same uncertainties and anxieties. Like us, most of the people in the Bible were just trying to do the best they could based on their understanding of their faith. Our text for today is the record of a man’s prayer who had been given a difficult, if not impossible assignment. But more than a historical record, it shows us how to approach every area of our lives.
Day Two, Habakkuk 2:4, Behold, he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by his faith. While these are the words of a prophet, this passage is not so much prophetic as it is common sense. All we need to do is look around and discover the truth of this saying. It may appear that those “whose soul is not upright” are succeeding but in most cases they ultimately fail, they may loose what they’ve acquired, or their reputation is ruined as skeletons come out of the closets. On the other hand, the person who lives right and tries to follow God’s ways in their career and personal lives, as well as their spiritual life rise above what most consider failure; their faith in God, His ultimate purposes for them and his Love toward them gives them power to keep prodding along until eventually they achieve the dream that God has given them.
Day Three, Jeremiah 1:11, The word of the Lord came to me and said…WHAT DO YOU SEE?; Not everyone is called to some lofty mission for God, but we are all called to take advantage of the opportunities to live out our faith in word and deed. The question that God posed to Jeremiah is the same question that should echo through our minds every hour of the day. When we live in an awareness of this question and open our mind’s eye in response to it then we will seldom find ourselves wondering how to serve God at any given time. The word of the Lord came to me and said…WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Day Four, Job 38:36, Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?; Many times we feel overwhelmed because of heavy schedules, pending problems and a myriad of routine things that need attention. I once asked a highly successful executive how he was able to move so confidently through his pressure packed daily schedule making decisions that literally affected the lives of hundreds of employees. His response was to take out his wallet and pull out a business card on which he had written the words of today’s text. “I could not do it on my own, if I tried I’d be a nervous wreck” he told me, “but by looking at this verse several times a day I’m reminded that there is One who will give me both the wisdom and understanding I need.”
Day Five, Daniel 11:32b, But the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take (appropriate) action; In our hectic world it seems that almost everyday presents some ethical dilemma. We have all known people who have faced these dilemmas and failed to live up their better instincts because it was more convenient to take the easier road. Of course, nothing that starts out wrong ends up right, so eventually these lapses in ethical judgment end with personal or professional disaster. That’s why we should never become so short-sighted as to loose sight of the long-term effects of our decisions, nor should we compromise our core values for short-term gain. If our convictions are rooted in God and we remain loyal to those convictions no matter what then we are empowered both mentally and spiritually to take the appropriate actions that will lead to good outcomes.
Day Six; First Peter 4:10, Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received; One of the great things about the way the Good Lord made us is that each of us have certain abilities in which others lack proficiency. This is the principle that all of society revolves around, that we each have the ability to compensate for what others lack. People come together for the mutual benefit of each other as they apply their diverse gifts and abilities toward a common good. But for this principle to really work, whether in business, a marriage, society or the church we must be willing to use our gifts and abilities for other people and not just to further our own agenda
Day Seven, Genesis 24:12, Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham; Many times we disconnect ourselves from the characters we read about in the Bible because we elevate and spiritualize them to the point that they become more than mere mortals. When we do this, we miss the fact that just like us they didn’t always understand the situation they were in or that they experienced the same uncertainties and anxieties. Like us, most of the people in the Bible were just trying to do the best they could based on their understanding of their faith. Our text for today is the record of a man’s prayer who had been given a difficult, if not impossible assignment. But more than a historical record, it shows us how to approach every area of our lives.
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