Jeremiah 2 - National Adultery

In this chapter there are so many verses that connect to me and convict me.


The one I want to land on today is verse 13,  “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." 


Wow what an amazing illustration!! Israel had not only completely forgotten God, but they had built gods that were worthless and EMPTY, like a broken cistern.


How many times have I consciously done that to God? How many times have I tried to fill my life with things that were small "g" gods, and they led to emptiness? To be open and real, I have made sports, relationships, popularity, music, money, and leading worship all a god at some point in my life. 


What is so strange to me is how easily Israel forgot God. How they completely forgot how he delivered them from Egypt. How He parted the Red Sea for their freedom.  How He gave them the Promise Land. How he made their country the most powerful nation under King David and King Solomon. And yet, in this nation's entire existence they have always found excuses to build false gods.


What is so strange to me is how easily WE forget about God. How we completely forget how he delivers us from sin and bondage. How He tore away the veil for our freedom. How He gives us a Promise Land, called the church. That we live in the most powerful nation on earth. And yet, most of our existence we have found excuses to build false gods.


It maybe too late for Israel, but it's not too late for you and I. Let's cast down our idols at his feet, and let's surrender to a God that can make our cisterns full and overflowing!!


John

Zephaniah 3 – Rotten Ruling Class

Here, tucked away in the 3rd chapter of an obscure book called Zephaniah, we stumble onto verse 17—which has to be one of the most surprising and comforting statements God has made to his people up to this point.  The Creator of the universe sings over us?

Artwork from collage artist Erin Leigh.

Today, may you feel God's delight in you.

May His love be so totally sufficient that it makes you quieter in His presence.

May the Words of His song teach your soul to rejoice.

Reuben Smith

Nahum 1: Enemy Justice

About a 100 years after the time of Jonah and here is Nineveh in the news again.  And once again, the news is not good.  The first go around they were so wicked that Jonah tried to run away from God so he wouldn't have to go and be a prophet to them.  And here we go again, wicked to the core and now once again according to Nahum, the Lords anger is against Nineveh.  As you read this chapter it becomes vividly clear, the new is not good for Nineveh!  God is angry and is planning the "end" of Nineveh.  Nahum's description of this anger stirs up some healthy fear in myself that is for sure.  It is not really the way we like to think about God (all warm and fuzzy and cuddly), but clearly God feels like something significant needs to happen for as far from God as they fallen, and that something sounds very unpleasant.  And in the midst of this description Nahum throws in verse 7 (which seems out of place in this particular chapter of anger).  "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble, He cares for those who trust in him."  An amazing contrast of his anger and his goodness.  It's "he cares for those who trust him" compared to“although they have allies and are numerous, they will be destroyed and pass away."


Maybe if I could keep the words from Nahum 1 in my mind more often, when I am faced with a situation to walk in God's ways or rebel against it, maybe that will become more of a "no brainer" decision instead of the struggle it far to often is.  I pray the same for us all!


Mathew M

2 Chronicles 32: Battlefield Lessons

As the curtain goes up on today’s chapter, the people of Judah are facing another crisis. The ruthless and virtually undefeatable army of Assyria is on their way to conquer Judah. It is against this backdrop that we see Judah’s king Hezekiah exhibit tremendous leadership.

Confronted with the terrifying prospect of an Assyrian invasion, Hezekiah personifies the old adage about ‘working as if everything depends on you and praying as if everything depends on God.’ His people desperately needed godly leadership, and Hezekiah provides it. Observe the things that he does to deal with the impending crisis:

• Verse 3: “he consulted with his officials and military staff…” He sought the counsel and help of others. He literally rallied the troops. He had lots of “buy in” from the men he was leading.

• Verse 5: “he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall…” Hezekiah did not lead from far above the people; he did not tell them to do things that he would never be willing to do personally. He worked hard right alongside the people he was leading. Imagine the impact that this had on his followers.

• Verse 7, 8: “And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah said…”  Hezekiah defined reality for those that were following him. They were afraid because of all that they were hearing and seeing, but Hezekiah reminded them that there was a “greater power with us than with him." 
  

• Verse 20: “King Hezekiah… cried out in prayer to heaven about this…” Even with everything that he had done for his people, Hezekiah knew that they were still in over their heads. They needed God to act – so he cried out and asked him to act.

Great stuff! Is there anything that you are facing in your life right now that feels overwhelming? Follow Hezekiah’s example – do everything that you can do to deal with the situation and trust God for the outcome.

Ken Jackson

Isaiah 25 – Eloquent Hope

“LORD, you are my God;

   I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

   you have done wonderful things,

   things planned long ago.” (v.1)

In the midst of chapters focused on judgment and destruction, chapter 25 is like an oasis in the desert. It moves into rescue and salvation. I love the picture these verses paint – God is a refuge for the poor and needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm, and shade from the heat. Death will be swallowed up forever, grief will be no more, and a banquet will await those who trust in the Lord. And though none of these wonderful things had happened historically, Isaiah had seen them prophetically and responded with an outburst of praise. His song was one of faith.

I’m not sure I can remember the last time I responded to the Lord with an outburst of praise, but this morning seems like a good time for one.

-Gina G.

Isaiah 6 - Power Behind the Throne

As a kid I loved the Wizard of Oz. I mean who didn't. It had everything you could ask for in a movie. It had a great heroine, Dorothy, the lovable sidekicks, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion, a great bad guy, the Wicked Witch, and of course the all "powerful" Wizard of Oz. I will admit the flying monkeys scared the jeepers out of me!! You all know the story, and shame on you if you don't. Dorothy travels to Oz to get help from the wizard, and once they finally get to Oz, the Wizard uses them to defeat the Wicked Witch. When they return to get their wishes granted they find out that the "wizard" is just a strange short man with an awesome mustache behind a curtain.

Fortunately it was all a dream.

When I read the chapter I thought of the Wizard of Oz. I thought to myself, Isaiah wasn't seeing a God that was made up or make believe. He wasn't seeing this short guy behind a curtain creating special effects to arouse this emotion in Isaiah. No, Isaiah was in the presence of God Almighty. In these times a Kings train of his robe was a sign of his power. Isaiah says in verse 1, that the train of His robe filled the temple!! Isaiah was witnessing the awe inspiring power of a real God!

So, when God asked, "Whom shal I send?" in verse 8, God wasn't asking Isaiah to do something that He himself couldn't take care of or didn't have the power to change on His own. In fact it's just the opposite. Isaiah was witnessing a God so powerful that the angels cried, "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" What God was doing in verse 8 was engaging Isaiah to be apart of His story, and Isaiah accepted the challenge.

What the 180 has done for me is reinforced the fact that God a) is in control and b) He wants to engage in His story. He wants us as Christ followers is to get in the game and be apart of this bigger picture called the Kingdom of God. As Christ followers we have the reassurance that we will be lead by a Holy and powerful King who sits on a powerful throne, and not some make believe false god that sits behind a curtain and blow smoke.

John


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2 Chronicles 30 – Party!

The setting: Hezekiah became king at age 25, coming to the throne at a crucial time in Judah’s history.  Assyria had recently conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and threatened Judah in the south.  With the encouragement of the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah began to undo decades of Judah neglecting the God who is there.  He tore down altars to pagan gods, cleansed the Temple, and restored the Levites to their Temple duties.   Hezekiah set things right.

The party: once all this was done, Hezekiah called the people to celebrate Passover.  Passover was critical, reminding God’s people of their national deliverance from slavery in Egypt and of their continuing personal need for repentance and forgiveness.  But he didn’t just invite his own people, he sent letters to Israel in the north, inviting them to join too.   Most didn’t come, but some did.  And what a party they had.  It says Jerusalem hadn’t seen a worship celebration like that since the days of King Solomon.

What’s odd: even though Hezekiah was all about setting things right, in celebrating Passover he bent the rules, not once, but twice.  Passover was supposed to be celebrated in the first month of the year, but not enough priests could be purified in time, and the people couldn’t get to Jerusalem that quickly so they celebrated a month late.  And some of the folks who came from up north hadn’t taken the proper steps to purify themselves for the occasion; they were apparently out of practice, maybe didn’t even know exactly what to do.  But they were allowed to join the party anyway.

“May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).

The point: God looks not so much at the rules and regs as at my heart; and he is good.  We see this most clearly in Jesus who kept inviting all the “wrong people” to join the party anyway.

- paul abbott

Micah 6 – Pollution Spreads

Finally God states his thesis statement for mankind.

It is both crisp and poetic, yet layered with rich meaning and application.

God’s case was building against his beloved; the One80 readings up to this point tally up the offenses he‘s had to endure from a nation prone to wander.  And he lays it all out here.  Their actions have testified against them.  The evidence is overwhelming.  The verdict is at hand.

A last cry of protest rises to the judge’s ear—one that echoes through the ages of humanity’s great struggle with its Creator: “Who can show us any good?” (Psalm 4:6) and “With what shall I come before the LORD?” (Micah 6:6) Along with the rest of us, God’s people want to know: “Lord, what do you want from us?”

And then the comes answer.  Crisp and poetic; rich with meaning:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8

Reuben Smith

2 Chronicles 20: Meanwhile in Jerusalem

Much of the time in the history of Israel as a divided nation is pretty tough reading, as evidenced from yesterday's reading about the exile of northern tribes by Israel because they just could not listen and get back on track.  All the prophets warnings...to no avail.
But there were moments of awakening, moments where they came to their senses.  The deck was stacked against the nation of Judah.  Armies amassing against them, ready to take them down.  King Jehoshaphat learns of this and calls the nation to a day of fasting and praying.  A king calling his people back to the Lord!  And the result?  They didn't even have to fight the armies.  The marched out singing "Give thanks to the Lord, His love endures forever".  The result was the surrounding nations were afraid to mess with the people of God.  Jehoshaphat and Judah were at peace.

Is the deck stacked against you?  Not sure how you are going to navigate the "things" that are closing in around you?  Maybe a day of fasting and praying is in order.  And while you are at it, maybe a little singing "Give thanks to the Lord, His love endures forever.

2 Kings 17: Postmortem

This is a very sobering chapter. Once again, we see the holiness of God clashing with the sinfulness of Israel. Once again, we see Israel’s stubborn refusal to repent and return to God’s ways. But, for the very first time, we see God withdraw his protection from his people, and the people from the ten-tribe northern kingdom (Israel) are taken into permanent exile in Assyria. 

God was doing EXACTLY what he said he would do (Deuteronomy 28:49-68, 32:1-47). The Israelites had repeatedly ignored God’s gracious acts and refused to listen to the warnings of the prophets that judgment was coming. But they did not listen. And, as a result, God “thrust them from his presence” (20).

How did God’s people get to this point? I think there are two phrases contained in verses 14 & 15 that provide the answer:

• “But they would not listen…” They took God’s words to them for granted. They had forgotten the value and benefits of listening to and obeying God’s word.
• “They imitated the nations around them…”  At this point in their history, Israel was not behaving any differently than the pagan nations they had vacated from the Promiseland during the time of Joshua.

These two sentences go a long way towards explaining how these people found them selves living lives far from God. I don’t think they set out to ignore God and his ways, but that is exactly what they ended up doing.

The thing that I walk away from this chapter with is this: if I do not listen and respond to the transforming power of God’s word in my life, there is a very real danger that I will find myself conforming to the world around me in ways that will draw me away from God. I do not want to let that happen in my life… how about you?

Ken Jackson

Hosea 11 - Wounded Lover

How did Israel repay God’s fatherly love? By deserting him for idols. Yet how did God respond? He continued to love his people.

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.” (v. 8)

He wouldn’t cast them away forever. He would accomplish his purpose – even in a rebellious people. The punishment they would experience was not meant for destruction. Instead he would bring restoration not only to the nation, but also to the people’s relationship with the Father.

This morning I’m grateful for Hosea’s reminder of God’s deep, undying love for his children. In fact, I’m overwhelmed by it. His love doesn’t depend on us. Though we may stumble and fall, God continues to love.

-Gina G.

Hosea 1 - Parable of Love

“Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.”

This has to be tough for Hosea. Not only does he have to marry a women that reminds him of his people rebelling against God, (and her name is Gomer) but he has to name his children specific names to remind him of God's judgement on his people.

Not an easy task being a prophet. They were the connection from God to people. They carried the burdens of their peoples rebellion. And no one knew that burden better than Hosea.

He had to have ocassionally looked at his wife and children, and wanted to shake his fist at his people. I'm sure he wanted to scream things like, "hey dummies stop the nonsense!!! Repent and turn back to God, so I don't have to name my children these horrible names anymore."

Do you ever feel that way about someone you have been praying for?? Someone who has turned their backs on God. They are not only ruining their life, but their actions affect yours as well. You probably have felt like Hosea. You probably have wanted to shake your fist at them and scream, "repent and turn back to God because you are directly affecting my life with your disobiedence."

God's judgement is seen throughout this chapter, but we know that Christ came to save us all, Jew and Gentile. You see God heard the cries of all the prophets like Hosea, and His name was Jesus.

So my advice is to keep praying. Pray harder for that person, because God is listening to those prayers. Just like those prayers prayed by the prophets.

John

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Amos 4 – Street-corner Prophet

Amos, one the early Hebrew prophets, told the ten tribes in the Northern Kingdom that God would one day judge them by removing them from their homeland.  The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks . . . You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall.  That’s exactly what happened when in 730 BC the Assryians invaded the Northern Kingdom and carted most of the people away.  They came to be called “the lost tribes of Israel” because most never returned home.

God’s judgment was decisive and severe and it’s instructive to see what prompted it.  The people had a veneer of spirituality.  They were religious, offering sacrifices every morning, paying their tithes, even bragging about their freewill offerings.  But they forgot the poor and took advantage of the powerless.

They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.  They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed (Amos 2: 6-7).  And then this: the women . . . oppress the poor and crush the needy and [then] say to [their] husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”  What a picture.

From Amos to Jesus and everywhere in between, we hear the same message:  God cares what happens to poor and oppressed people.  The message is repeated over and over and over because God is so passionate about this.  And because we are so slow to see this, to embrace it, to act on it.

- paul abbott

Jonah 3-4 – Beloved Enemies

In the first two verses of this book, God makes His intention clear to Jonah: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  I once read a commentary suggesting this sentence might also be translated to read, “Their wickedness has come up before my face, so I am concerned.”

Now, it is equally clear that Jonah’s concern is about anything except what concerns the Lord: in Jonah 1:3, we find him concerned with charting a boat trip to Tarshish, a prime vacation destination in his day (and in the opposite direction of Nineveh); Jonah is also concerned by God’s annoying tendency to show mercy to repentant screw-ups, (Jonah 4:1-3) and finally—almost comically—we watch him throw a pity party when a shady plant withers above his head (Jonah 4:5-8).

How could Jonah, a righteous prophet of the Lord, be so out of step with the concerns of his God?  The same Bible commentary ventures a possible answer to this question by posing another question—one that has stuck with me for quite some time:

“Is Jonah afraid that all his efforts to be righteous would not separate him from the people of Nineveh, but rather bring him closer to them?”

What about us?  What are we concerned about as followers of the living God?  Preserving ourselves?  Or serving the needs of those around us?  Those who—we’re soon to discover the closer we get to them—look a lot more like ourselves than we would expect.

“But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow.  It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.  Should I not be concerned about that great city?’”

Reuben Smith

Joel 2: Word Power

¹² “Even now,” declares the LORD, 
   “return to me with all your heart, 
   with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

 ¹³ Rend your heart
   and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
   for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity.

Rend your heart!  I must admit, I had to look up the work "rend" in the dictionary because it is not a part of my normal lexicon.  The definition was powerful for me.  What a great choice of words.  According to Dictionary.com to rend is to "pull or tear violently".  The nation of Israel had strayed far from God's ways.  Joel was a prophet who was sent to call the nation back to their God.  I am sure that for how far Israel had wandered from their God, the process of returning to him was extremely difficult.  Tearing their hearts away from what they had replaced God with must have been so hard.  I know that when I am not careful, and things begin to slip in my relationship with God and other things begin to take a more important role in my life than they should, and begin to take the place that God should hold, the process of returning is often painful and sometimes a violent tearing away is required.  For this reason I rejoice in the promise Joel brings on the heels of his message of "rending our hearts".  He says "Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity".  In view of that, no matter how hard the "rending" is...TOTALLY WORTH IT!

May we "rend" our hearts this day to the Lord!  

      God is good!  All the time!  

Mathew M

2 Kings 5: Double Portion

As you read this chapter, which character stands out for you? Is it the great military commander Naaman? Or is it the godly prophet Elisha? Or perhaps, is it Elisha’s greedy servant Gehazi? For me, the person who stands out (and my personal hero) is the unnamed young girl that is only mentioned in verses 2 & 3.

Put yourself in this little girl’s shoes for a moment. She has been taken captive from her homeland and moved to a strange land far from home. She is away from her family and her friends and those who shared her faith… it would have been an easy thing for her to become discouraged and bitter. She could have looked on Naaman’s leprosy and thought, “Serves him right, he deserves it for what he has done to me and others.” But she does not.

What about this little girl makes her my hero? Three things:

First, she had compassion for Naaman’s suffering. She didn’t hate him or wish him ill; she saw his need; she cared for him and she wanted what was best for him. She lovingly pointed him towards the One who could save him. What a lesson for the 21^st century church in the United States!

The second is that she had faith in a BIG God. Read verse 3 again and glimpse her unshakable confidence in God: “He would cure him…” She really believed that nothing is impossible for God. She did not allow her difficult circumstances or her suffering to cause her to doubt God’s goodness or power.

And thirdly, she spoke up about her God. She was a just a kid, and she was in a religiously hostile environment, and she was not sure how Naaman would react… but she spoke up. And it changed lives.

She was simply faithful where God had placed her. And her story is still being told. Where has God placed you?  What would it look like for you to imitate this heroic young girl today?


Ken Jackson

1 Kings 18 - Mountaintop Showdown

Elijah sure brings it in this chapter. He doesn’t waste any time skirting around the issue when he tells Ahab, “You’re being a horrible leader. Oh, and this famine? Yeah, that has nothing to do with me. I’m not the troublemaker here. Maybe you should take a look in the mirror. You’re the one that has forsaken the commands of the Lord and is following the Baals, so stop trying to pass the buck. All of these physical and spiritual issues we’re having here in Israel are a direct result of that.”

Elijah then challenges the people to stop their wavering, their double mindedness. You can’t live for God one day and the god of rain the next. You can’t party all weekend and then try to serve the Lord on Sunday. You can’t have it both ways. You have to commit. The LORD is God or Baal is – one is true and the other false.  The one that answers by fire is legit. You must follow Him wholeheartedly and forget the other. Hmmm. Follow wholeheartedly. Sounds so easy, right? Yet it’s so difficult to do when we’re straddling the fence.

-Gina G.

1 Kings 17 - the Prophets

Talk about fast food!! Birds deliver your food. Somebody should patten that now. Could you imagine a bird delivering your Big Mac and fries to your door step. That would be awesome!! That might be my ticket in becoming a millionaire!

Faithfulness. That is what I read throughout this chapter. From the birds delivering the food, the flour jars never being empty, to the son of the widow being raised from the dead.

God showed His faithfulness to me and my family recently by leading us to Cedarbrook. We prayed for direction and in one quick Google search later God's faithfulness showed up in our lives.

Let's share together how has God shown His faithfulness to you recently?

John






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ecclesiastes 3 – Turn! Turn! Turn!

What poetry.  Read it again – and again.  It just keeps speaking to you.  Read it tomorrow, next week, with the joys and sorrows of that day, and it’ll speak again.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.  Whatever else it says, it tells us to live now.  Pay attention.  Be present, to this place, this person, this moment.

And then this:  He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Easy to believe when life is good.  When the sun’s shining and we’re headed to the beach.  When we just got a promotion and the raise to go with it.  When everyone’s happy and healthy.

But then there are those other days.  When money’s tight – when it’s raining but it doesn’t matter because there’ll be no trip to the beach this year.  When money’s the last thing on our minds because everyone’s not healthy and we’d do anything to change that but there’s nothing we can do.

Of course, everything’s beautiful when our world is at peace.  Or we’re celebrating new beginnings, laughing and dancing.  But what about those other days?  When it’s time to uproot or tear down.  Time to weep, to mourn.  Time to die, for someone we can’t imagine living without.  How can that time be beautiful? 

It’s hard to articulate in the same way beauty is hard to define.  But in God’s hands anything, everything can be made beautiful, even that “other day” you hope never comes.

- Paul Abbott

Song of Songs 2 – Love Story

I remember the first time I knew I loved my wife Katie.

I was driving to college at UMD, having spent the wee hours of the morning churning out a research paper I barely understood.  The weather was cold and grim; my VW bug cut a trail through the white snow on each side.  A song came on the radio which I only half heard amid cluttered thoughts of school finals and “part time” ministry demands.  But soon all this melted away and I was fixed on the words of the song.  One line in particular so moved me I had to pull off the road.  Reaching for a pen, I hastily jotted the lyrics down on a scrap of paper.

                  

It’s hard to drive with no window wipers for your eyes.  I believe what makes us weep is a clue to who we really are.  In that moment alone on just another commute to school, I knew I was in love—that this loner would rather be lost but holding hands.

In this scripture, we see that love is passionate.  Love has an “Arise, come my darling” urgency, a “Lost but holding hands” emotion.  But to go the distance, love must also be protective—vigilantly guarding against the little foxes that threaten to break in and break down the intimacy and trust that keep love strong (vs. 15).

Today, may your love be strong—passionate and protective—like the love of our God who pursues and protects.

Reuben Smith

Proverbs 31: The Good Wife

Provers 31 from the MIV (Mathew International Version)
starting in verse 10:
"An amazing wife I have found and she is worth more than all the money in the world!  I have complete and utter confidence in her and I lack nothing that really matter in this life.  She is always looking out for my good.  She is more of a cotton blend kinda gal more than wool and once did try to bring flax into our family diet (but that didn't go over very well) but her hands are eager to work.  She may not bring the food from afar (Giant is just down the road) but she faithfully does bring food home and is often up well into darkness to keep our home well fed.  She hasn't bought any fields lately, that I am aware of, but does set to her work vigorously and she has mad skills to do her work well!  The work she does keeps the electric bill paid so our lights don't go out at night.  We don't have a distaff or spindle, but if we did she would be all over that.  Her heart for the poor and needy is amazing and an example to our whole family.  When it snows she has no fear as we have plenty of winter wear...being from Wisconsin and all (she is also the first to grab a shovel and get to work).  She is a snappy dresser and wears purple now and again.  Mostly her husband is respected, but it is because she makes him look better than he is. She is strong and full of grace and laughs often at the days to come with her household policies of "live today...not tomorrow" and "we don't play the 'what if' game".  Her wisdom is beyond her years and she faithfully teaches our children the way to live and give honor to their creator.  She is the master of the household schedule (no small feat in the McCabe household) and their ain't no grass growing under her feet.  Her children adore her and her husband thinks she is the bees knees.  There are a lot of great women out there....but none hold a candle to the bestest wife in the whole wide world"

Mathew M

Proverbs 10: One-Liners

Dictionary.com defines the word “contrast” thusly: “to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes, etc.” As we work our way through today’s chapter, we discover a series of five important contrasts being placed before us:

1. laziness versus diligence
2. shame versus honor
3. poverty versus wealth
4. wise speech versus destructive speech
5. righteousness versus wickedness

This chapter is filled with statements that paint a contrast for us between those that follow God’s ways and those who do not. But, to understand them properly, we have to remember that these proverbs are not intended to apply universally to every person in every situation.

As my wife Molly was reading verse 3 this morning, she wondered aloud, “What does this mean? There are righteous people that go hungry… and sometimes the wicked get what they want.” And she is absolutely right. The proverbs that we read in this book were never intended to be absolute promises, but general truths.

Over and over again, the writers of Proverbs want us to see the general truth that the life of one who follows after God is better in the long run than the life of the one who ignores God and chooses to go his or her own way. And that is a truth that we can base our lives on.

There is a tremendous amount of practical wisdom to be found in these thirty-two “one-liners.” Read them again carefully; what wisdom or truth might God be saying to you through this text today?

Ken Jackson

Proverbs 4 - Life Advice

I’m guessing that your first thought in the morning isn’t: “I’m going to make some really horrible decisions that have the potential to ruin my life.” Yet most of us probably find ourselves choosing some foolish things each day that can eventually lead to destruction. We embrace kicks & giggles while ignoring their consequences. We seek the momentary pleasures of today all the while sacrificing our future. We focus on the bad while ignoring that which is good. And often it’s a lot of small decisions that lead us down such a path. Then one day we find ourselves blindsided by the events in our lives. What happened? How did I get here?

The author of this proverb (Solomon) offers some interesting insight. We find what we seek. We’re either seeking wisdom or we’re seeking foolishness. The former leads to life while the latter leads to death.

If you’re brutally honest with yourself, what is that you’re seeking?

“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

-Gina G.

Psalms 84 - Home Sweet Home

Most of you who have listened to contemporary worship music with in the last decade have heard the beautifully written song "Better Is One Day" by Matt Redman. The song is literally word for word from this passage of scripture, and I wanted you all to take a listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIq1j59R6tI

How many of us could say that with conviction, that we would rather spend just 1 day in the presence of the Lord than a 1000 days anywhere else? I know for me that's way easier said than done. Sadly, I love the things that my life entails. I love spending time with my wife, children, family, and friends. I love spending time playing my guitar, shooting a round of golf with friends, enjoying the All-Star Special at Waffle House. To spend a 1000 days at the Urbana Waffle House would truly be "heavenly". Hahaha (that's me chuckling at how fat I would be if I did that) Here is a pic of what I might look like if I did.





What brings me back to reality are Psalms and scripture like this chapter. I trully believe that David meant every word in this chapter. Chapters like this make me realize how far I still need to go in my walk with Christ. I t reminds me how much I need to grow, so my selfishness could be pushed aside. I think a lot of us would say the same.

I want to make this my prayer and my focus for this week. That I long to be in the presence of God as much as David did when he wrote this Psalm.

John


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

1 Kings 8 – High-water Mark

Looking for an anchor for the soul? 

A foundation to build a life on? 

A rock, a pillar when life falls apart?

A reason to believe?

Something you can trust? 

Someone you can rely on?

Not one word has failed of all His good promise (1 Kings 8:56). 

Not one.  

Not ever.

- Paul Abbott