Author: BJ Armstrong

Isaiah 41-44, 1 Cor 12

It’s easier to recognize someone else’s gift than it is to see my own

I’m often more envious of others’ gifts than I am thankful for my own

I’m disappointed when someone out-gifts me

People with developed spiritual gifts make it look easy

Discovering our spiritual gifts is incredibly exciting and simultaneously terrifying

Spiritual gifts are planned to meet a need in the world, somewhere

Spiritual gifts need to be developed

Developing one gift might reveal a new one

If your gift feels like a burden, you’re not using it appropriately

Using your gifts is worship.  It’s also pleasurable.

Spiritual gifts are designed to be used in conjunction with others

Spiritual gifts don’t retire, only people do

Sometimes, I want the gift someone else has

What am I missing?

 

 

Isaiah 30-35, 1 Corinthians 5-6

I grow weary of waiting. To be honest, I’m not even sure what I’m waiting for. God promises a life “to the full,” but I’m not feeling it. Worse yet, I see trouble on the horizon. The economy is unstable, health issues arise, relationships are strained, and I can’t sleep anymore. What do I do? I rush ahead, just like the Israelites.

The Israelites had their struggles. Constantly threatened by invasion, they were a small nation, vulnerable to being overpowered by neighboring armies. Exhausted from living in fear, they turned to Egypt for a solution. Egypt was powerful, with a vast army and a mighty Pharaoh. So, Israel sought an alliance.

They believed this alliance would protect them. Once the threat from their neighbors was gone, they could live freely. Better yet, they thought they’d thrive. After all, a good alliance brings new opportunities. But this wasn’t true. The Israelites had forgotten what happened before. Their previous alliance with Egypt didn’t bring protection and provision; it led to oppression and slavery. This is the prophet Isaiah’s warning: if they proceed with this alliance, they will face shame and humiliation (Isaiah 30:3).

Thankfully, Isaiah doesn’t leave Israel without a solution. He reminds them of the grace that awaits them—grace that is freely given and abundantly provided by God. This grace, Isaiah says, is beyond what they can imagine. It dispels darkness, heals wounds, and binds brokenness (Isaiah 30:26). More than that, it fills hearts with gladness and strikes fear into their enemies (Isaiah 30:29-31).

Isaiah’s words are just as relevant today. We see all kinds of alliances and quick fixes to our problems—money, medicine, and more. But none of them truly work. It is only through the love and grace of Jesus Christ that we find what we’re searching for if we remember Isaiah’s precious words:

“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 30:18)

Isaiah 20-22, 1 Corinthians 2

Today promised to be a great day.  I had fun meetings scheduled with plenty of time in between to accomplish some much needed paperwork.  I was looking forward to it, until I opened my email.  There, I was greeted by two tough conversations.  My day was quickly derailed.  That’s when I heard the honking of a car alarm down the street.  ‘Someone,’ I thought ‘set off their alarm.’  I gave it a passing thought and soon enough, it disappeared.

I set out, as I always do, walking the dog ready to enjoy the sunrise.  Down the street, I saw the car with the hood up.  Standing close by was a young woman in tears.  It was her alarm.  “I was just trying to go to work,” she said innocently, “but I don’t have my fob and tried to unlock the door with my key and now the whole neighborhood is awake.”  She had to disconnect the battery.  Now, she is stranded.  Helpless.

Once I satisfied myself that she was safe and had a plan, I set back out for my walk.  But, my heart was not satisfied.  With tears filling my eyes I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could have – should have – done more.  ‘What, on earth, is going on?’ I asked silently.  Why is this bothering me so much?

Fredrich Buechner explains it.  He says that “Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.”

In that moment I understood the love of Jesus just a little bit better.  He did the unthinkable, for me.  He gave it all.  He held nothing back, so that I could have could have life. He did it not because I deserve it, but because he loves me.

What if God was giving me an opportunity to think like him?  To have, as 1 Corinthians 1:16 says, “the mind of Christ.”  That means that these tears, this pain in my heart, may well be Him calling me to do the unthinkable.  To serve my neighbor in a ridiculous way and to respond to my horrible emails the same way Christ responds to my irreverent and rebellious behavior.  With ridiculous love.

It’s odd that when I adopt His mindset, I am filled with peace, compassion and love.  It makes sense to me now why Buechner uses the words, “if your soul is to be saved.”  And I was clear on where I should go next. He is calling me to become more like Him.

“We understand these things, because we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16

Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life: Daily Meditations with Frederick Buechner (p. 237). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

 

Isaiah 4-6, Matt 23

Do you remember Jim Jones? How about David Koresh, Harold Camping, or Marshall Applewhite? These men have something in common: each was a religious leader who claimed to have a direct line to God.  They also caused anxiety, distress, and destruction among their followers. Looking back, it’s easy to label them as “false prophets,” as Jesus describes in Matthew 23.

“Obviously,” you might think. “I could spot that a mile away.” After all, anyone amassing weapons, controlling people, or mistreating children while claiming divine authority is clearly at odds with Jesus.

We recognize these signs because of one simple principle: love. We know that God is love, and we understand how love behaves. Therefore, the real test of a prophet’s connection with God is love—are they cultivating it, or diminishing it?

If you follow the news, you’ve likely encountered another prophetic claim: that “God ordained Trump.”  Is that true? Let’s apply the test that Jesus provides in Matthew 23: Is he growing God’s love, or diminishing it?

I’ll be watching closely, and I’ll be praying for the former.

 

Hosea 14, 2 Chron 26-27, Ps 61, Matt 20

When was the last time you wanted something that bad?  So bad that you were willing to stand in the middle of the isle, screaming as loud as you can just so someone might hear you?  It’s been a long time, for me.

Maybe that’s the problem.  Ive been whispering my prayers and asking for things.  Perhaps God’s first response is like mine in the grocery isle.  “Not today, son.”  What do I do now?  Keep being polite?  Ask again, but nicer?There were two blind men sitting along the road in Jericho.  They heard Jesus coming, so they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Jesus didn’t respond.

They kept shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!  Lord, Have mercy!  Please!  Have Mercy.”  Now, they were getting attention, but not from Jesus.  The crowd around them was upset.  “Shut up!” they demanded.  The response was easy.  The blind men shouted louder.  (Matthew 20:29-33).

Now, what do you want?  Is it important enough to shout for?  Why aren’t you shouting?

Joel, Matthew 10

There is an exercise that shows up often in self-help books.  It asks you to rate yourself in seven categories

• Health
• Spiritual
• Financial/Money
• Career/Job
• Physical
• Relationships
• Fun/Recreation

Go ahead.  On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself in each category.

Now, consider this.  How does your ranking reflect your relationship with Jesus?  Matthew 10:32 says that when we acknowledge Him, He will acknowledge us to the Father.  But, Jesus warns, if you do not acknowledge me, I will not acknowledge you.

A more effective approach to this exercise incorporates Jesus.

Using the same scale of 1 to 10, how well do you acknowledge him with:

• Your health
• Your spiritually
• Your Money
• Your career/Job
• Your physical self
• Your relationships
• Your fun and recreation

If your responses correlate, as mine do, the solution is obvious.

2 Kings 2-3, Psalm 48, Matthew 4

I really enjoy podcasts.  Huberman Lab, Morgan Housel and Seth Godin are a few of my favorites.  They are great for a long walk in the morning with my young dog, Louise.  I’ll eagerly pop in my ear-pods, ready to be entertained, enlightened, and encouraged.  I do this most days.

Guess what?

Instead of peaceful I am stressed

Instead of motivated I am discouraged

Instead of encouraged, I am disappointed.

What gives?  These guys are experts, right?  If I can think like them, work like them, exercise the right way, eat well, sleep appropriately and get the right amount of vitamin D, my life will go well.  Nope.  Truth is, I can’t do more and maybe I can do what I do better, but sometimes I just need to be.

This week I’ve done it different.   Rather than listen to voices through earphones, I talked to God.  I was mesmerized by the fog and entertaned by the singing birds.  I felt the cool breeze on my face and the summer dew on my feet.  I watched ducklings following their mama and geese protecting their young from this unexpected predator named Louise.  I enjoyed my reflection in the calm pond and marveled at the extraordinary honking of bullfrogs.  Peace.

Psalm 48:9-10 revealed the Truth for me.  Peace comes not from who I can be, or who I want to be.  Peace comes from Who God is.  Who He was and who He always will be.  That, my friends, never fails.

O God, we meditate on your unfailing love

as we worship in your Temple.

As your name deserves, O God,

you will be praised to the ends of the earth.

Your strong right hand is filled with victory.

Ecclesiastes 7-9, Psalm 46, 2 Timothy 3

Ive listened to many sermons about 2 timothy 3:16.  The focus is on Scripture.  “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”  That verse rightfully sets up God’s word as a special gift to us.  But it’s, verse 17 that gives us the reason.

What is the benefit of having God’s ordained and infallible word at our fingertips?  In a word; complete.  2 Timothy 3:17 says that the word is breathed out so that we can be “complete.”  What does that mean, exactly?  Let’s first consider the Greek translation.  In his book, Shaped by the Word, M. Robert Mulloholand Jr. describes it this way.

The Greek word is a beautiful one it is the word artios, meaning that which is perfectly suited to its nature. If you when to a fruit bowl and found what you considered to be a perfect apple, you would call it artios.  It would be everything an apple ought to be.  it would possess the essence of “appleness.”  

 “Everything that an apple ought to be.”  You know what that is, right?  When you choose that apple, it has just the right color.  When you hold it, it has a certain firmness, such that you can almost taste it before you bite it.  When you do bite it, there is a crispiness to it and it’s juice pours from the corner of your mouth.  It’s perfect and complete, living out its life exactly the way that it was created to do.

That is our calling in 2 Timothy.  To allow God’s word into our heart so that we can be formed, fitted and equipped to do exactly what God created us to do.