Month: January 2016

Today’s reading link: Genesis 9–10; Matthew 9; Ezra 9; Acts 9

Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  A pure heart is one that is fully devoted to God; no hypocrisy; a condition in which outward actions reflect the true condition of the heart.

Always devoted? Never an impure thought or selfish motive?  We could never get here on our own.  But God gave us a guide, and a lot of grace, to help us.  God’s commandments aren’t simply a list of rules to make our lives more difficult, but a guide to help us purify our hearts and move toward full devotion to him.  This theme runs throughout today’s reading.

In Matthew 9, Jesus saw the thoughts of the scribes and affirmed his authority through a miracle:

When he saw the faith of the people who had brought him and the faith of the paralytic, Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. The scribes/teachers who were looking on said nothing, but Jesus looked at their hearts and saw their accusations of blasphemy.  He responded by also healing the paralytic’s physical disability.

In Ezra 9, Ezra mourned because the Children of Israel disobeyed God’s command to remain pure by refraining from intermarriage:

God commanded the Children of Israel to keep themselves separated from the people of the lands with their abominations. They were not to give their daughters to them in marriage, nor take non-Israelite daughters for their sons, and never seek the others’ peace or prosperity.  All these things would lead them away from full devotion to God.

In Acts 9, Ananias sought after a Saul, a known murderer of Jesus followers:

Saul’s heart, “…still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord”, sounds pretty pure.  Purely in opposition to Jesus.  We read the story of his conversion, and know he goes on to purify his heart and become a great man of God.  But the pure heart that rings through in Acts 9 is of Ananias.  When God commanded Ananias to go to Saul, Ananias gently reminded God of Saul’s reputation.  God affirmed his command, but he did not play to Ananias’ selfish desires (like I would have) to convince Ananias to go.  My line would have sounded something like, “Ananias, I realize the risk is great here, but so is the reward.  This guy will go on to write almost have of the New Testament.  You’re going to make history.  This story will be recorded in the best-selling book ever written.  Billions of copies!”  See, God didn’t have to play to Ananias’ selfishness because had a pure heart, he simply followed God’s command.

In Genesis, God punished Ham’s impure actions:

Ham commits an impure act against his father Noah. God doesn’t punish Ham directly, but punishes Ham by making his son a servant to his brothers.  As a mother, seeing my kids pay for my sin is way more painful than suffering my own consequences.  Heart-wrenching is the word that comes to mind.

Samuel 16:7 says, “…for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  What does God see when he looks at your heart today?

Today’s reading link: Genesis 8; Matthew 8; Ezra 8; Acts 8

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) closes with two of my favorite verses:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.  (Matthew 7:5-7)

Have you ever been astonished at someone’s teaching?  I am picturing jaws dropping, minds blown, tears of joy as well as tears of remorse due to hearts being convicted from this sermon.  They recognized Jesus’ authority and they were astonished because there had never been anyone like him. Still today there is no one like him, and there will never be anyone like him!

In Matthew Chapter 8, Jesus puts his authority into action and performs various miracles where he demonstrates his authority over:

1. Disease (v. 3, 13, 15-16) – healed leprosy and other diseases
2. Winds and sea (v. 26) – calms the storm
3. Demons (v. 16, 32) – cast out demons

Matthew tells the story of the centurion who demonstrated great faith. Centurions were captains in the Roman army and had authority over many soldiers.  We can learn from the centurion as a model for our own faith and prayer life (humble ourselves, honor Him, believe).  This high-powered centurion humbles himself and defines the relationship with Jesus addressing him as “Lord” and further states “I am not worthy” –  and he trusts and believes that Jesus can heal from afar.  Then the best part: kudos from Jesus.  Jesus recognizes the centurion’s approach as an act of great faith and is “marveled” by it.

I’d love to marvel Jesus today, how about you? How about right now? Today’s reading has a couple examples of urgency.

The first example is directly from Jesus and he makes it clear that following him must be on his terms, without delay:

Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:21-22)

The level of urgency in our response to the good news should match how good the news is. Our outward response indicates our true inward feeling. We’re talking about some seriously good news here – eternal life. The eunuch in Acts 8:34-39 gets it right when his immediate response to hearing the Good News is to become baptized in some water along the road and went on his way rejoicing!

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring so the time to respond is now.  Jesus has all authority.  Authority over our past and future, our illnesses, ups, downs, jobs, relationships, needs, addictions, failures, fears, families, and most importantly, our eternity.  He’s proven it and has promised it for you and for me. We just need to trust and follow him.

Lord, I am not worthy.  Forgive me for not marveling enough at your greatness and your authority. Forgive my lack of urgency in following you wholeheartedly. Thank you for this new day and the opportunity to follow you. Amen.

Family: Genesis 7; Matthew 7. Secret: Ezra 7; Acts 7.

In any given circumstance, I find that I want to be part of the selected group. Not unlike choosing teams on the playground, I’ve always striven to be either the captain, picked first and at the very least, part of the best group. In order to maintain that status, there are certain things that are expected. In my adult life, a few of the worldly traits that get you into the boardroom are intelligence, influence and often status or wealth. Ironically, I have a tendency to transfer this worldly wisdom to God’s eternal kingdom. Surely, by doing these same things, I can get, earn even, God’s favor. Today’s reading sheds some light on how we get favor by God. Let’s take a look at all four of today’s chapters.

First, God’s favor was clearly on Noah. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I would have been working desperately to be chosen for that 40 day voyage! How did Noah get chosen? The answer lies in Genesis 7:1, where God acknowledges the righteousness that Noah displays. Where exactly did he become righteous? Turn back for a moment to Genesis 6:9, and see that Noah, “walked with God.” What we learn from Noah is that God does not choose his people willy-nilly. He puts out the invitation, makes himself known and allows us to choose Him.

Second, Ezra was also favored by God. Check out Ezra 7:9. It says, “ The good hand of God was upon him.” Wow, when I read that, I want to have it too! As with Noah, God did not choose Ezra randomly. Verse 10 describes Ezra’s passion for God. “Ezra set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.” Again, God set out the invitation, with the law in this case; it was up to Ezra to respond.

Third, look back at Acts 7. Stephen was chosen to be a leader back in chapter 6. Once again, it was not a random selection but based on his heart. Acts 6:3 records that he was “of good repute [and] full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Now, We may not get a description of how Stephen achieved his wisdom and fullness, but chapter 7 definitely gives us an indication. Most of the chapter consists of him reciting scripture to the men in the synagogue. How do you suppose that information landed in his head? More importantly, the information permeated his heart resulting in transformation. This is evident by the intensity of the Holy Spirit working in his life. (Acts 6:10)

Finally, turning to Matthew 7, we hear directly from Jesus about how we can be part of his chosen. God has sent us an invitation, in his son Jesus Christ. We must now choose him, or not. Our choosing Jesus starts with seeking. Verse 7 says that we should “seek and find, knock and it will be opened.” These are the activities that lead to a renewed heart. The benefit, you ask? “The good gifts.” (v11) While I cannot quantify what they are, history says that being chosen and favored by God are among them.

Seven days into our journey, I am praying that Gods wisdom is working its way into our hearts and minds. As it does, I know that we will find opportunities to be obedient to it. Noah, Ezra and Stephen are all great examples of how God’s word, when accepted whole-heartedly and personally, transforms us. I can think of no better favor from God than seeing for myself “the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)

January 4, 2016

Today’s reading link: Genesis 4; Matthew 4; Ezra 4; Acts 4

What does sacrifice mean to me? Every thing belongs to God, even our pride. How do I put all that on the alter? How do I make my life a living sacrifice?

Why is the history of man about the struggle to give to God what is God’s?

Cain wanted God’s approval for his sacrifice. He wanted it so bad he killed his own brother in the rage of his disappointment. How could God favor Abel’s sacrifice more than his?

We all face the temptation to seek our glory over God’s. Even Jesus, as God among us, dwelling in the flesh, faced this very temptation in the desert.

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” (Matthew 4: 8-10).

We are not meant to serve ourselves; for we belong to God, and any gifts or possessions we might claim, are all from God.

I am often reminded that everything I am and all I have is God’s. The sooner I am able to return these gifts to the rightful owner, the sooner God is able to bless them to his service.

The words, “it’s not about us” are so simple, so true, and yet very hard to live by, especially in our own power. It seems, we always get in some sort of trouble, when we forget that everything belongs to God, especially all glory, and praise, and reverence.

We were made to build God’s Kingdom, not ours!  What are you building?

Today’s reading: Genesis 3; Matthew 3; Ezra 3; Acts 3

Seven months after returning from captivity to build the temple, the Children of Israel built an altar. At this time, the foundation for the temple was not yet laid.  It wasn’t until two years and two months after their return that the Children of Israel got around to defining roles and finally beginning to work on the temple structure.  We know from Ezra 2 that a ton of people returned from captivity.  A lot had to be done to settle and re-assimilate to their homeland.  But two years from the start seems like a long time to finally get started on the task for which you came!  Contrasting this to the seven-day account of creation we read over the last two days, I personally expect this should have happened a lot faster.

Today, we also read the account of The Fall in Genesis 3. How familiar this story sounded.  The serpent capitalized on Eve’s desire for wisdom, she brought Adam along to eat with her.  When questioned by God, Adam tried to shift the blame to anyone but himself.  “It wasn’t me, it was the woman you gave to me”, he said.  In other words…”not my fault God”!

Now back to Ezra 3. I can only imagine how much of this “blame shifting” was going on as the Children of Israel all moved back, settled and began to organize to make progress on the task at hand.  These folks were all sinners just like me.  I am positive they were grumbling, fighting and trying to be better than / gain a better position than their neighbors. But God still worked with each of their in adequacies and selfish desires to move them to accomplish his work.

Bottom line, God’s timing is perfect. I often forget this and lose sight of the goal.  God’s goal in Ezra 3 was not really about getting the temple built.  His objective in this passage is the same as it is in every other passage, relationship with the people he created.  Always using a variety of means, including the circumstances at hand, to help shape our hearts to look like his.