“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.”
Psalm 69:30
The season of thanksgiving that is. As I was looking for today’s verse I was struck by the idea that God has to remind his people that they need to be thankful. How well the Father knows His children, He knew that they would take the many blessings He provides either for granted or that like a spoiled child they would develop an attitude of entitlement. How easy is it for us to take our many blessings for granted or at times to feel entitled to the good things God has for us? I suspect it happens more often than we would like, I know that is the case with me.
The Hebrew word translated as thanksgiving in the Old Testament is toda and the Greek word used in the New Testament is eucharistia. Both of these words have similar meanings but something in the definition of toda really caught my eye it said: “Thanks is the speaking of the excellence of a person or object, with a focus on the personal gratitude of the speaker.” Did you catch that? When we give thanks for the people and things in our lives the attitude of how we express our gratitude is important. Do you say thank you because you are just being polite or do you give thanks from a place of sincere gratitude?
As we race toward the next “Tis the Season” may we slow down enough to truly enjoy the season of Thanksgiving and may we give thanks for the amazing God we serve, for the people in our lives who are walking on this journey with us - no matter how rough the road may get, and for the many things we have and may we give that thanks out of hearts overflowing with gratitude.
What are you thankful for? Today, as I have written this, the list of things I have to be thankful for is growing longer by the second. In fact that list is so long that I think today I am even thankful for the not so good things in life.
Tis the season for giving thanks - do so with an attitude of extreme gratitude.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you, thank you for every good thing You have given to us. Thank you for the people who have given us to share life with. Thank you for the struggles and hard times that make us stronger and make us turn to You. Thank you that you hear our prayers and long to give us good things. Thank you that You loved us so much that you sent Your Son to take away our sins and restore our relationship with you. Help us to live from a place of gratitude all year long. In the name of Jesus, who gives us a reason to be thankful we pray - Amen
Monday, November 5, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
What a Difference a Day Makes
"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
Lamentations 3:22-24
An old song popped into my head this morning, songs don’t normally do that so I realized there must be a reason. The song has the same title as this week’s devotion “What a Difference a Day Makes.” The first verse says: “What a difference a day makes. Twenty-four little hours brought the sun and the flowers where there used to be rain.” As I thought about that I realized that sometimes twenty-four hours can make a big difference in our lives.
Today as I write this I have completed the first day on a new, second part-time job - answer to prayer really. While I celebrate today - the past twenty-four hours haven’t been so pleasant for millions of people on the other side of the country. In the past twenty-four hours some of us have gained victory and others have literally been in the midst of a storm of historic magnitude.
The book of Lamentations most likely written by the prophet Jeremiah is a heart wrenching poem that expresses the pain, suffering and incredible loss the prophet experienced. All things we can all relate to whether we are experiencing them now in this moment or have in the past. There is however a message of hope in the midst of Jeremiah’s pain. The tone of his poem changes really with the verses above. The LORD’s great love, unfailing compassion and faithfulness are not only constant they can be experienced new every day. Those truths allowed Jeremiah to have hope while he waited for the Lord’s healing and restoration. Those truths allow us to have hope as well.
Storms come and go - whether they are literal storms or personal storms, they leave behind a mess. The mess can take time to clean up, sometimes we are forever changed by them. But one day you’ll wake up and realize that you were not consumed by it because His love, compassion and faithfulness did not fail.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you that in the midst of the storm Jeremiah found himself in, he also found you. May we look for You in the midst of whatever we face - good or bad. Thank you for the hope we have because of Your love, compassion and faithfulness. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Lamentations 3:22-24
An old song popped into my head this morning, songs don’t normally do that so I realized there must be a reason. The song has the same title as this week’s devotion “What a Difference a Day Makes.” The first verse says: “What a difference a day makes. Twenty-four little hours brought the sun and the flowers where there used to be rain.” As I thought about that I realized that sometimes twenty-four hours can make a big difference in our lives.
Today as I write this I have completed the first day on a new, second part-time job - answer to prayer really. While I celebrate today - the past twenty-four hours haven’t been so pleasant for millions of people on the other side of the country. In the past twenty-four hours some of us have gained victory and others have literally been in the midst of a storm of historic magnitude.
The book of Lamentations most likely written by the prophet Jeremiah is a heart wrenching poem that expresses the pain, suffering and incredible loss the prophet experienced. All things we can all relate to whether we are experiencing them now in this moment or have in the past. There is however a message of hope in the midst of Jeremiah’s pain. The tone of his poem changes really with the verses above. The LORD’s great love, unfailing compassion and faithfulness are not only constant they can be experienced new every day. Those truths allowed Jeremiah to have hope while he waited for the Lord’s healing and restoration. Those truths allow us to have hope as well.
Storms come and go - whether they are literal storms or personal storms, they leave behind a mess. The mess can take time to clean up, sometimes we are forever changed by them. But one day you’ll wake up and realize that you were not consumed by it because His love, compassion and faithfulness did not fail.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you that in the midst of the storm Jeremiah found himself in, he also found you. May we look for You in the midst of whatever we face - good or bad. Thank you for the hope we have because of Your love, compassion and faithfulness. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, October 22, 2012
The Language of We and Us
“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.’”
Nehemiah 2:17
As I write this Cornerstone Fellowship is working its way through the book of Nehemiah, not just on the weekends but throughout the week in hundreds of small groups. We are being called to rebuild the brokenness we see in our families, neighborhoods, cities, and beyond. How exactly does one go about mobilizing that kind action? Use the language of “we” and “us”. Nehemiah was a stranger to Jerusalem and yet when he addressed the people using “we” and “us” the people responded with a positive “Let us start building” (v. 18).
Now we may not all be leaders like Nehemiah, but we all lead in some way great or small. What language do you use, with your friends, your children, your co-workers? If you are a “boss” what kind of language do you use with your subordinates?
Husbands and wives you are stronger as “we and us” than as “you and I”. Neighborhoods would be better as we and us. Imagine what our country and world would be like if we could stand together as we and us, instead of nations of you and I.
The New Testament speaks often of the unity of the body - the church is not supposed to be you and I rather it is called to be we and us.
This week if there are walls that need to be rebuilt in your life, time sometime to think about the language you have been using to gain the cooperation of others. If you find yourself demanding change with you and I language I want to encourage you to stop, pray and then from heart of love try using we and us language.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for the example your servant Nehemiah set for us as we work to rebuild the broken walls in our lives. Help us to use the language of understanding and cooperation, the language of we and us. Show us favor this week in all You call us to. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Nehemiah 2:17
As I write this Cornerstone Fellowship is working its way through the book of Nehemiah, not just on the weekends but throughout the week in hundreds of small groups. We are being called to rebuild the brokenness we see in our families, neighborhoods, cities, and beyond. How exactly does one go about mobilizing that kind action? Use the language of “we” and “us”. Nehemiah was a stranger to Jerusalem and yet when he addressed the people using “we” and “us” the people responded with a positive “Let us start building” (v. 18).
Now we may not all be leaders like Nehemiah, but we all lead in some way great or small. What language do you use, with your friends, your children, your co-workers? If you are a “boss” what kind of language do you use with your subordinates?
Husbands and wives you are stronger as “we and us” than as “you and I”. Neighborhoods would be better as we and us. Imagine what our country and world would be like if we could stand together as we and us, instead of nations of you and I.
The New Testament speaks often of the unity of the body - the church is not supposed to be you and I rather it is called to be we and us.
This week if there are walls that need to be rebuilt in your life, time sometime to think about the language you have been using to gain the cooperation of others. If you find yourself demanding change with you and I language I want to encourage you to stop, pray and then from heart of love try using we and us language.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for the example your servant Nehemiah set for us as we work to rebuild the broken walls in our lives. Help us to use the language of understanding and cooperation, the language of we and us. Show us favor this week in all You call us to. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Life is Not a Freeway
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:14
I have been thinking a lot lately about this journey we are on called life and it is definitely not a smooth, easy traveling freeway. Many have heard the saying “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” no doubt there is some truth to that, but I suspect looking forward to the destination help make the journey bearable when the going gets rough.
Joshua, who would finally lead the Israelites across the Jordan and into the land that had been promised to them, had seen the land forty years earlier - during a scouting mission. He and Caleb had been the only returning spies who said let us take the land. Because they believed and stood ready to be obedient Joshua and Caleb were the only ones from that generation to step onto the land God had promised his people. For forty years Joshua and Caleb wandered in the wilderness with everyone else but remembering the land they had seen. Did that keep them going? I think it did.
Paul, after his Damascus Road experience knew that his ultimate destination would be heaven, but he would also travel the world sharing the Gospel. He knew that his earthly destination was Rome and that his life would be spared until he got there. It was not an easy journey by any stretch of our imaginations.
We are each on a journey and for those of us who identify ourselves as followers of Jesus; our ultimate destination is eternity in His presence. Until we get there, we will travel all kinds of roads - some smooth, some steep, and some filled with ruts. We will face obstacles - some that God has or will allow and some that we have placed there. We will spend time in the mountains and time in the desert. Sometimes we will have to wade through the flood and other times the waters may part. Sometimes we will have just the right number of travel companions, sometimes we will be caught in a traffic jam and other times we will travel the road seemingly alone.
The journey is intended to mold us into who we are meant to be - the destination will keep us going when we would rather not take another step. This week keep your eyes on the road and your heart on the destination.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for the journey each one who reads this is on. You know where they are at and what they are facing. Some are on a rough road, some are on a steep mountain road, some are feeling alone - even though You are with them. Help us Lord, especially when the road is not easy to remember where You are leading us and may we find strength in the destination. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Philippians 3:14
I have been thinking a lot lately about this journey we are on called life and it is definitely not a smooth, easy traveling freeway. Many have heard the saying “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” no doubt there is some truth to that, but I suspect looking forward to the destination help make the journey bearable when the going gets rough.
Joshua, who would finally lead the Israelites across the Jordan and into the land that had been promised to them, had seen the land forty years earlier - during a scouting mission. He and Caleb had been the only returning spies who said let us take the land. Because they believed and stood ready to be obedient Joshua and Caleb were the only ones from that generation to step onto the land God had promised his people. For forty years Joshua and Caleb wandered in the wilderness with everyone else but remembering the land they had seen. Did that keep them going? I think it did.
Paul, after his Damascus Road experience knew that his ultimate destination would be heaven, but he would also travel the world sharing the Gospel. He knew that his earthly destination was Rome and that his life would be spared until he got there. It was not an easy journey by any stretch of our imaginations.
We are each on a journey and for those of us who identify ourselves as followers of Jesus; our ultimate destination is eternity in His presence. Until we get there, we will travel all kinds of roads - some smooth, some steep, and some filled with ruts. We will face obstacles - some that God has or will allow and some that we have placed there. We will spend time in the mountains and time in the desert. Sometimes we will have to wade through the flood and other times the waters may part. Sometimes we will have just the right number of travel companions, sometimes we will be caught in a traffic jam and other times we will travel the road seemingly alone.
The journey is intended to mold us into who we are meant to be - the destination will keep us going when we would rather not take another step. This week keep your eyes on the road and your heart on the destination.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for the journey each one who reads this is on. You know where they are at and what they are facing. Some are on a rough road, some are on a steep mountain road, some are feeling alone - even though You are with them. Help us Lord, especially when the road is not easy to remember where You are leading us and may we find strength in the destination. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Believe it or Don't
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.”
John 1:1-3
The Bible is an incredible book. Taken simply as literature it contains some fantastic stories, many of which could fall into other genres of literature like: fairy tales and fables, myths and maybe even a little science fiction. Consider just few of these stories. A boy kills a giant and becomes the king. A man lives for three days in the belly of a big fish. Three slaves survive a fiery finance. A peasant girl becomes the queen of Persia and saves her people from total destruction. Another peasant girl is told she will give birth to the messiah and gets pregnant without - well you know. A man named Phillip disappears from one location and appears in another. Then there are the amazing creatures described in its pages as well. Amazing stuff right?
Now if the Bible was just any book we could decide which of the many stories it contains we wanted to believe and not to believe. But, the Bible is not just any book it is the very word of God and he took great care in preparing it and protecting it so that people could get to know him. It seems to me that He intended for us to believe all of it, but not everyone - including some Christians - do not believe it all.
For instance a 2009 poll revealed that among weekly church goers: 24% believed in evolution; 41% did not believe in evolution and 35% had no opinion on the matter at all.
The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is one of the most fantastical stories in the Bible. God become a man - born into this world like the average human is. He grows up and chases out demons, brings people back to life, heals with a touch or a word. Then he dies a brutal death and come back to life himself. I believe that story is true, that it happened the way it is related in the Bible - all of the Christians I know believe it too. So how can some say they believe that and then turn around and say that same God could not possibly have made the universe and everything in it in six days?
Do you pick and choose what you believe when you are reading the Bible? Do you believe in Jesus but not in God’s creation of the world? Do you believe there is more than one way to heaven even though Jesus says he is THE way?
I want to encourage you this week to spend some time thinking and praying about what you believe about the Bible and what it says. It is my prayer that you will go closer to God as a result.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for giving us Your book. Help us as we read it to really understand what you are saying to us. Help us to believe what it says and may that realization draw us closer to you even as we are overwhelmed by your immenseness. You hold our world and everything in it in your hands and still you came to be with us for a time - to save us. Thank you for loving us so much. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
John 1:1-3
The Bible is an incredible book. Taken simply as literature it contains some fantastic stories, many of which could fall into other genres of literature like: fairy tales and fables, myths and maybe even a little science fiction. Consider just few of these stories. A boy kills a giant and becomes the king. A man lives for three days in the belly of a big fish. Three slaves survive a fiery finance. A peasant girl becomes the queen of Persia and saves her people from total destruction. Another peasant girl is told she will give birth to the messiah and gets pregnant without - well you know. A man named Phillip disappears from one location and appears in another. Then there are the amazing creatures described in its pages as well. Amazing stuff right?
Now if the Bible was just any book we could decide which of the many stories it contains we wanted to believe and not to believe. But, the Bible is not just any book it is the very word of God and he took great care in preparing it and protecting it so that people could get to know him. It seems to me that He intended for us to believe all of it, but not everyone - including some Christians - do not believe it all.
For instance a 2009 poll revealed that among weekly church goers: 24% believed in evolution; 41% did not believe in evolution and 35% had no opinion on the matter at all.
The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is one of the most fantastical stories in the Bible. God become a man - born into this world like the average human is. He grows up and chases out demons, brings people back to life, heals with a touch or a word. Then he dies a brutal death and come back to life himself. I believe that story is true, that it happened the way it is related in the Bible - all of the Christians I know believe it too. So how can some say they believe that and then turn around and say that same God could not possibly have made the universe and everything in it in six days?
Do you pick and choose what you believe when you are reading the Bible? Do you believe in Jesus but not in God’s creation of the world? Do you believe there is more than one way to heaven even though Jesus says he is THE way?
I want to encourage you this week to spend some time thinking and praying about what you believe about the Bible and what it says. It is my prayer that you will go closer to God as a result.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for giving us Your book. Help us as we read it to really understand what you are saying to us. Help us to believe what it says and may that realization draw us closer to you even as we are overwhelmed by your immenseness. You hold our world and everything in it in your hands and still you came to be with us for a time - to save us. Thank you for loving us so much. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Careful What You Say
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19
The word translated as detestable in the verse above can also be translated as the word abomination. On occasion I have heard or read about Christians who describe certain groups of people as detestable or as abominations. I often wonder how many of the people who talk like that about people who have been made in the image of God, might also be considered detestable in the eyes of God.
How many of us would consider pride or lying an abomination. If we catch our sons or daughters in a lie do we call them detestable? Of course not. If we act prideful, would we expect some to call us an abomination? No we would not and we would be offended if someone did.
Every member of the human race is made in the image of God and also falls short of the standard of God. Sin is real; we all at times act in selfish disobedience and disappoint God with our behavior and our words.
I know this is a tough subject, none of us want to be considered detestable and yet perhaps there are time when we are. I want to encourage you that when you may feel tempted to use the harshest language to describe someone struggling with the bonds of sin, that you stop for a moment and consider what those words would feel like if they were aimed at you.
Jesus came - for the whole of mankind; He desires that not one be lost. He has the power to heal and save all of us if we will let Him. Consider this; if someone claiming to be a follower of Christ called you detestable - how likely would it be that you would feel as if God hated you and that there was no hope for you?
There are of course times when we need to hold one another accountable for our actions I want to encourage you to seek words of love and compassion in those instances - words that will draw people to the cross.
A Prayer
Father - Forgive us for the times when we over look our own detestable behavior and call someone detestable. Make our hearts like the heart of Your Son - filled with compassion for the brokenness around us. Help us to see the face of Jesus in every person we meet and help us speak words that will draw people to the cross where healing, restoration and your great love can be found. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Proverbs 6:16-19
The word translated as detestable in the verse above can also be translated as the word abomination. On occasion I have heard or read about Christians who describe certain groups of people as detestable or as abominations. I often wonder how many of the people who talk like that about people who have been made in the image of God, might also be considered detestable in the eyes of God.
How many of us would consider pride or lying an abomination. If we catch our sons or daughters in a lie do we call them detestable? Of course not. If we act prideful, would we expect some to call us an abomination? No we would not and we would be offended if someone did.
Every member of the human race is made in the image of God and also falls short of the standard of God. Sin is real; we all at times act in selfish disobedience and disappoint God with our behavior and our words.
I know this is a tough subject, none of us want to be considered detestable and yet perhaps there are time when we are. I want to encourage you that when you may feel tempted to use the harshest language to describe someone struggling with the bonds of sin, that you stop for a moment and consider what those words would feel like if they were aimed at you.
Jesus came - for the whole of mankind; He desires that not one be lost. He has the power to heal and save all of us if we will let Him. Consider this; if someone claiming to be a follower of Christ called you detestable - how likely would it be that you would feel as if God hated you and that there was no hope for you?
There are of course times when we need to hold one another accountable for our actions I want to encourage you to seek words of love and compassion in those instances - words that will draw people to the cross.
A Prayer
Father - Forgive us for the times when we over look our own detestable behavior and call someone detestable. Make our hearts like the heart of Your Son - filled with compassion for the brokenness around us. Help us to see the face of Jesus in every person we meet and help us speak words that will draw people to the cross where healing, restoration and your great love can be found. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Monday, September 24, 2012
A Heart that Sees
“I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’”
Nehemiah 1:1b-2
Nehemiah, cup bearer to the king of Persia had been deeply troubled for months following a report he had received about the city of Jerusalem. For months he had been serving the king with this pain on his heart and either Nehemiah was very good about putting on the “everything is fine” mask or the king just didn’t pay that much attention. But on this day the king noticed and asked Nehemiah what was causing such distress.
Nehemiah had been praying and fasting over this matter of Jerusalem since he learned of it - his heart was broken for a city he had never seen. God has broken his heart to prepare him for what He was about to have him do. But in order for Nehemiah to accomplish his task the king would have to be involved. God opened the king’s heart so he could see Nehemiah’s pain and because he could see it he responded with compassion.
Jesus was intentional about looking for the pain in the lives of the people he encountered, the woman at the well, the one caught in adultery, the tax collectors who were despised, the sick, lonely and abandoned. His Father had given him a heart that sees a heart that responded with compassion.
Are you in pain, needing someone to see your distress and respond with compassion? Is there someone in your life who could help but doesn’t seem to see what you are going through? Pray that God would open the heart of that person to see. Maybe life is good for you right now - maybe you are that person that might be able to help. Allow God to open your heart so that it can see the pain surrounding you.
As followers of Christ we are called to do the things that Christ did. He acted because He had a heart that could see the brokenness of the lives around Him. Ask that the Holy Spirit grant you a heart that can see and then respond the way Jesus would have with compassion and love.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for having a heart that sees us. Put people in our lives who have hearts that see us when we hurt, when we are broken and who will respond with compassion and love. Give us hearts that can see the brokenness around us and help us to act with compassion and love. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Nehemiah 1:1b-2
Nehemiah, cup bearer to the king of Persia had been deeply troubled for months following a report he had received about the city of Jerusalem. For months he had been serving the king with this pain on his heart and either Nehemiah was very good about putting on the “everything is fine” mask or the king just didn’t pay that much attention. But on this day the king noticed and asked Nehemiah what was causing such distress.
Nehemiah had been praying and fasting over this matter of Jerusalem since he learned of it - his heart was broken for a city he had never seen. God has broken his heart to prepare him for what He was about to have him do. But in order for Nehemiah to accomplish his task the king would have to be involved. God opened the king’s heart so he could see Nehemiah’s pain and because he could see it he responded with compassion.
Jesus was intentional about looking for the pain in the lives of the people he encountered, the woman at the well, the one caught in adultery, the tax collectors who were despised, the sick, lonely and abandoned. His Father had given him a heart that sees a heart that responded with compassion.
Are you in pain, needing someone to see your distress and respond with compassion? Is there someone in your life who could help but doesn’t seem to see what you are going through? Pray that God would open the heart of that person to see. Maybe life is good for you right now - maybe you are that person that might be able to help. Allow God to open your heart so that it can see the pain surrounding you.
As followers of Christ we are called to do the things that Christ did. He acted because He had a heart that could see the brokenness of the lives around Him. Ask that the Holy Spirit grant you a heart that can see and then respond the way Jesus would have with compassion and love.
A Prayer
Father - Thank you for having a heart that sees us. Put people in our lives who have hearts that see us when we hurt, when we are broken and who will respond with compassion and love. Give us hearts that can see the brokenness around us and help us to act with compassion and love. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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