Author: Jennifer Armstrong

Today’s reading:  Isaiah 33-35, 1 Corinthians 6

Rationalize – to think about or describe something (such as bad behavior) in a way that explains it and makes it seem proper, more attractive, etc (Britannica Dictionary).

Do you ever find yourself rationalizing your actions?  It is Monday morning and your kids wouldn’t get out of bed on time, so it’s okay for you to be grumpy and late for everything.  My teenagers were always especially good at rationalizing poor grades in school.  The teacher who hadn’t taught them what they needed to know for the test was always the reason they had received a poor grade…it was never because they chose not to study!

Rationalizing behavior is nothing new.  In 1 Corinthians, the church was using their freedom in Christ to rationalize their sins.  Specifically they were claiming that 1) because Jesus had taken away all sin, they had the freedom to live their life as they pleased, and/or 2) because scripture did not strictly prohibit certain activities, they were okay to do them.

The Apostle Paul addressed the validity of this reasoning in 1 Corinthians 6, our scripture for today.  His messages are as relevant for us as they were for Christfollowers in the first century.

• Jesus takes away our sin when we put our faith in him, but that doesn’t give us the freedom to keep on doing things we know are wrong.
• While some activities are not sinful in their own right, they are in appropriate because they can control us and lead us away from God.
• Some actions hurt rather than help others, and thus, are actions we should avoid.

Freedom in Christ should be used for his glory, not to serve ourselves.

Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12).

 

Matthew 24, Jesus was talking to his disciples about the end times – foretelling what is going to happen in advance of Jesus’ return or “the second coming”.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:6-8).

Does this sounds a little like the news we read about everyday?  I’ll admit it did to me when I read it this week.  At least until I got to verse 36.

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36).

If no ones knows the day or the hour, including Jesus himself, is it reasonable to think it would be that easy for us to figure out?  We are not that smart.  Why then would we waste our time?  Rather than evaluating the “signs” and trying to predict what’s next, or worse yet, spending our time worrying about it, we should be focused on getting ready.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42, 44).

When I think about Matthew 24:42 and 44, I am energized about how glorious Jesus’ return will be.  But my mind quickly turns to thinking about what I need to be doing so that I’m ready when he gets here – what is my path to get from here to there.  The answer is pretty easy to come up with – I need to be following Jesus Christ and transforming my life to look like his.

That is much easier said than done, of course, so how do we break this bold goal into smaller, more consumable chunks on which we can make progress?  As I thought about this a little more, my mind went to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  These chapters are probably Jesus’ most complete description of what the life of a Chrisfollower should look like.  Starting with the Beatitudes (qualities that describe Christfollowers) and moving on to topics like murder, adultery, divorce, giving, prayer, worry, judging, etc, Jesus provides a playbook for how we should think about, act, and react when faced with various topics and challenges in life.  If you are like me, energized about the future when Jesus comes to take us home, yet want to make sure you are prepared for his arrival, spend some time studying the sermon on the mount and let it guide your choices.

…for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:).

Get Ready!

 

 

Today’s reading:  Amos 4-6, Psalm 55, Matthew 14

If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide.  But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers (Psalm 55:12-14).

Have you ever been betrayed by a friend?  There isn’t much that hurts more than being hurt by someone you trusted, someone with whom you had shared your soul, or someone you thought had your back.  See, true friends stick by you in times of trouble.  If they are not in your corner when things get hard, they probably weren’t really your friend in the first place.

The Bible says a few things about being a true friend:

A true friend shows love, no matter what (Proverbs 17:17).
A true friend gives heartfelt advice, bringing joy to the heart (Proverbs 27:9).
A true friend rebukes when necessary, but the correction is done in love (Proverbs 27:4-6).
A true friend influences, enlivens, and sharpens (Proverbs 27:17)
A true friend avoid gossip (Proverbs 16:28).
A true friend forgives and does not hold grudges (Proverbs 17:9).
A true friend is loyal (Proverbs 18:24).
A true friend helps in time of need (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

What kind of friend are you?

Today’s reading 2 Kings 2-3, Psalm 48, Matthew 4

After John the Baptist has spent years paving the way for the coming Messiah, at the end of Matthew 3, Jesus came and asked John to baptize him.  This is it, Jesus is finally ready to being his ministry, right?  Almost.  God sent Jesus, in the form of a man, to earth to save us from our sins.  But God knew that in order for Jesus to have credibility with us, he needed to have walked in our shoes, to experience every emotion and every temptation we experience.  So before he starts his ministry, God sends Jesus to the wilderness for 40 days of preparation.

Matthew 4, our text for today, is the account of Jesus being tempted by the Devil.  Notice that the Devil came to Jesus when he was at his weakest point.  After 40 days of fasting, Jesus was tired, alone, and hungry.   Can you relate?  The Devil often tempts us when we are at our weakest point – stressed out, tired, lonely, frustrated or scared.

The Devil also tempted Jesus where he was strong.  Jesus knew he had power over the stones, the angels and all the kingdoms of this world.  So, the Devil was trying to get Jesus to rely on his own strength, to focus on and elevate himself.  Again, can you relate?  By tempting us through our strengths, the Devil often chooses times we are most susceptible to pride.

How was Jesus able to combat the Devil’s temptations?  With God’s word.  He responded to every temptation the Devil threw out with a Biblical truth.   Did you notice that the Devil also knew scripture?  The difference with Jesus was not just that he knew scripture, but that he also obeyed it.  Ephesians 6:17 calls God’s word a sword to be used in spiritual battle.  Matthew 4 illustrates for us how effective knowledge of God’s word can be in resisting the Devil’s temptations.

As the saying goes, knowing is half the battle.  The other half, which is far more difficult, is obeying.  We must know and obey God’s work in order to keep the Devil at bay.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

 

Today’s reading: Ecclesiastes 7-9, Psalm 46, 2 Timothy 3

I’ve spent the last twenty years of my career in some type of risk management role.  I know that different types of risk manifest themselves in different ways, have different impacts on people and organizations, and can be appropriately treated in many different ways.  Yet, options for treating risk can always be summarized into four basic actions – avoid, transfer, mitigate or accept the risk.  What action is the best choice in each situation depends on your risk appetite.  How likely is the event to actually occur, and how much of the downside impact (or consequences) can you handle?

Paul begins 2 Timothy 3 by describing the last days.  Things are going to be bad.  People are going to be bad.  This badness greatly increases the risk that we, as Christfollowers, won’t achieve our goal of living a life that glorifies God.  The more ungodly the world gets, and the more we are surrounded by people who love themselves more than they love God, the greater our risk of adopting their ways and turning from God.

Paul’s recommended treatment for this risk is to avoid it all together.  Remember back in Deuteronomy when God was guiding his people how they were to take over the land he had promised to their ancestors?  When they took over a city, they were to eliminate everyone and everything.  Why?  So the pagan culture didn’t influence their practices and pull them away from God.

Same theory here.  If you surround yourself with people who love themselves more than they love God and others, love money, are proud, ungrateful, and lack self-control, their practices will start to infiltrate your life.   Eventually you will look and sounds just like them.

If Paul’s guidance is to avoid these people, you know the likelihood of them influencing you must be high.  The consequences of this type of behavior that separates us from God is also severe.  The downside risk is just too great for us to handle.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 11-13, Psalm 8, Romans 13

Do you remember the teacher that introduced you to the acrostic KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid?  I honestly don’t remember who taught it to me, but I use it with my staff often.  In my world, keeping it simple means focusing on what the audience wants to know rather than what my staff wants to tell them (hint, hint…they usually don’t care how you negotiated the price down, just that you saved them 20%)!

Our text in Romans is a great example of keeping it simple.  In chapter 12 and 13 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he provides godly direction on a number of subjects – serving others in the church, practicing hospitality, living in peace and harmony with others, submitting to governing authorities and paying taxes.  Mid-way through chapter 13 he pulls out the KISS card and boils everything down to one simple principle – love your neighbor as yourself.

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:9-10).

Wow, this was simple.  Was it new theology with Paul?  Of course not.  Paul was just summarizing Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 22.  If you truly love God and love people, everything else falls into place.  Keep it simple stupid.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Today’s reading:  1 Kings 1, 1 Chronicles 26-28, Romans 6

Sanctify:  (v) to set apart as or declare holy; consecrate (Dictionary.com).

Romans 6-8 is all about sanctification, or how God changes our life as we mature in our faith.  Chapter 6, our text for today, focuses on how we as followers of Jesus Christ are free from the slavery of sin.  Wonder what that looks and feels like?  Honestly, it is a little hard for me to wrap my head around.  I still live in this sinful world and, despite my desire to avoid it, I still sin pretty often.  Romans chapter 6, however, is a great reminder of the specific things God has done for me.  I am a child of God, yes I am.

• He has given me new life.

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:3-4).

• He has given me a new nature.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness (Romans 11-13).

• He has given me freedom.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:22-23).

Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God
Yes I am
In my Father’s house
There’s a place for me
I’m a child of God
Yes I am

(Hillsong Worship, 2018)

Today’s reading;  2 Samuel 21-23, Psalm 18, Romans 3

I spent last week in Miami at a Commercial Negotiations training course.  The session was 40 hours of material over 3.5 days.  It was intense, and I was exhausted by the time I got home midday Friday.  Application of the key principles, however, will be game changing for my organization.  Without revealing any of my new found strategies, a couple important concepts I learned were:

• Right and wrong – there is not absolute right or wrong in a negotiation, only what is appropriate for the set of facts presented in particular circumstance.
• Power – who holds the power in a negotiation is dictated by time and circumstance, not who has the most money.
• Approach/Tactics – the best approach/tactics for the situation are determined by the longevity of the relationship, dependency of the parties, trust between the parties, and complexity of the deal.  If you use a relational approach in tactical negotiation, you will be exploited.  On the other hand, if you treat a highly dependent/mutual problem solving negotiation as tactical, you are likely to hurt the relationship.

Coming out of that intensive training, I naturally tuned in to Paul’s approach as I studied our text for today in Romans 3.  Paul had been a Pharisee (religious leader).  After his conversion to Christianity, he had been commissioned by God to take the gospel message to the Gentiles.  In addition to his missionary journeys to Asia Minor, Greece, Macedonia, Cyprus , Judea and Syria, he authored at least 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament.  We know from reading the New Testament that he was very articulate and extremely influential.  But I can’t tell if he was a good negotiator or not, because in our relationship with God…

• • There is absolute truth; right and wrong are clearly defined by God.
  • God holds all the power.
  • The best approach/tactics to use in dealing with others are the same in every situation.  They are what the Bible calls the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Fortunately our salvation does not depend on our ability to develop or execute the right strategy.  There is no need for us to negotiate with God.  He understands us and, in spite of our wrongdoings, sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin.  Our part is choosing to place our faith in him.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith (Romans 3:23-25a).

 

 

Today’s reading:  2 Samuel 1-2, 1 Chronicles 11, Psalm 96 and 106, Acts 21

The book of 2 Samuel is the story of King David.  David was born half way between Abraham and Jesus, and is described as “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 12:14).  We can learn a lot from his life.

With God’s help, David accomplished much as he led God’s people to complete their conquest of the Promised Land.  His devotion to God and his record of success made him a leader people wanted to follow.  These things also made David a threat to other leaders, especially Saul (who, by the way, was also his father in law).

Samuel anointed David King when David was 15 years old.  But he didn’t take over the throne until he was 30 because King Saul was still in power.  As we’ve seen in our study of 1 Samuel, those 15 years were some tumultuous times as Saul plotted against David at every turn.  Our reading for today, 1 Samuel 1-2, records the end of Saul’s life and David’s takeover as King of Judah.

Chapter 1 opens with a man, who identified himself as an Amalekite from Saul’s camp, informing David of Saul’s death.  As David probed for more detail, the man indicated that he had killed Saul (at Saul’s request to help him avoid capture by the enemy).  By comparing this man’s story to our text from Tuesday in 1 Samuel 31, we know this man was lying.  Why?  Likely he was trying to gain some personal reward from David for killing David’s nemesis (Saul).

Let’s stop here.  If someone had been plotting against you and trying to kill you for years, and someone else came and took them out, how would you treat the person who had “done you a favor”?  Even if I totally didn’t agree with their action, my natural instinct would have been to thank them or at least acknowledge that they were trying to help me.  But that is not at all what David did.  This man totally misread David’s character.  David knew that God anointed Saul, and only God could remove him from power.  It was God’s job, not David’s job, to judge Saul’s sins.  In the end, this person who was trying to get a reward from David for killing Saul only received justice for taking the life of God’s appointed leader.

As we journey through the book of 2 Samuel, we will see that David’s successful and prosperous reign as King of Israel lasted until he fell into sin.  It is very common for successful leaders to end up down the road of self-centeredness and pride.  Even David, a man after God’s own heart, fell into this trap.

Again, we can learn a lot from David’s life.  My takeaway from today’s text is this.  Everything good and perfect comes from God.  His ways are higher than ours.  Stay faithful.

 

 

Today’s reading:  1 Samuel 15-16, 1 Chronicles 1, Psalm 39, Acts 11

On the window ledge in my office at work sit four die cast Caterpillar machine replicas – two track type tractors, a large mining truck and a motor grader.  Each of these was given to me by different groups of co-workers throughout my Caterpillar career.  They evoke fond memories.  To this day, it is not uncommon for my office visitors to ask me what the machines are for.  My response is always, “I spent some of the most formative years of my career at Caterpillar.  These machines remind me that in order to know where you are going, you often need to remember where you’ve been.”

Today, we start the book of 1 Chronicles.  The first chapter is a genealogy…53 verses of names. (Spoiler alert, the genealogy continues all the way though chapter 8.)  These names trace the lineage of God’s people all the way back to Adam.  Their purpose was to remind the Israelites of their spiritual heritage and inspire them to renew their relationship with God.  For the Israelites to know where they needed to go, they needed to remember where they’d been.

Some of these names represent stories of great faith, others represent tragic failure, and some of them aren’t known to us at all.  Whether we recognize the names or not, they are known by God.  He used them all to accomplish his purpose throughout history.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

What is your story of faith?  How is God using you to accomplish his purposes?  Are you open to his leading?  Today I challenge you to remember where you’ve come from, and make sure you are on the path of where God needs you to go.