QT 30 Jan 15, Ps 55:22, Cast the burdens onto God

Ps 55:22 (ESV) Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

NOTE: The NT repeats this verse (James 5:3, Phil 4:6,7) and the thought is the same -- we are to give our worries to God. They are burdens because they weigh us down. We worry about their impact on our life. We wonder how we will get past them. We get depressed because it seems like too much. Oftentimes the situation is our own fault (we waited too long, etc.), but at that point, it doesn't help to recognize fault, the weight is just too heavy. God doesn't assign fault in this verse or the other NT verses, he just asks us to throw the burdens onto him -- He promises to sustain us.

My wife has some burdens that I feel as well. In a few weeks, they will pass, but until then, they are quite heavy. Father, take these burdens from us. Carry them on you back and sustain us during this time.

QT 29 Jan 15, Eph 4:1-3, Strength expressed in kindness

Eph 4:1-3 (ESV) I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

NOTE: In context, the passage deals with our relationships within the body of Christ, the church, but I believe it is equally applicable to our relationships outside of the church. We are certainly called to a very high standard -- a manner worthy of our calling. We are to exhibit humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. The term "kindness" comes to mind in quads. Our life isn't characterized by weakness but by strength exercised with dignity and grace. I have known men with utmost strength but also showed the dignity of kindness. I have been more impressed with those men than those who blew up and promoted themselves and their accomplishments. God help me to be this kind of man, strong and kind.

QT 27 Jan 15, John 3:19-20, Warning signs

John 3:19-20 (ESV) And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  20  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

NOTE: One of the measures of unconfessed sin, is the unwillingness to go to God. Even prayer at the dinner table is either omitted or ritually and quickly performed because of a guilty conscience. I suppose it is possible to fake it but in that case the person knows that they are in sin, they just don't want anyone else to know, nor do they want to quit. The other case is where they don't want to face the fact that they are in sin. Church, fellowship, opportunities to pray, all become enemies to the person struggling with unconfessed sin, because he/she does not want to face their sin, bringing about admittance and then repentance. And repentance means turning away from the sin and back to God. We should keep an eye out for these warning signs. There is a reason that they are called "warning" signs.

QT 26 Jan 15, Ex 14:13-14, What's required differs, what's common is God working and our need to learn

Ex 14:13-14 (ESV) And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

NOTE: In this case, God says to stand firm and be silent. Later, God will have them march around a city and blow a horn. Still later, they will fight. In each case, God is with them and God gives the victory, but what differs is what God calls them to do. In one case, nothing; in another, just a little; and lastly, a lot. But the common theme is that God fights for them whether they do nothing or seem to do everything. I think this is where we get confused, going from one extreme to another, doing nothing but trusting, to doing too much. So what is the answer? Unless God has specifically spoken, we are to be prudent, that is, do what naturally needs to be done, AND (this is very important), trust that God is at work in the situation. When we truly trust, we can see the result(s) in an entirely different light. Instead of measuring things by what we think should happen, we evaluate things by what God allowed to happen and what we can learn from the results. God says no, ok, so what can I learn from the "no." God says "yes," well, we can be thankful we got we wanted, but we also need to ask, what can I learn from this "yes."

QT 22 Jan 15, Ezek 15:1-2, What is our use for God? Hopefully not as fuel for a fire

Ezek 15:1-2 (ESV) And the word of the Lord came to me: 2  "Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?

NOTE: God answers his question to Ezekiel in a series of rhetorical comparisons. The bottom-line is that the wood of the vine is in no way superior to the wood of a tree. It's best use is fuel for a fire. The wood of a tree can also be used for fuel, but wood from a tree has many other, better uses. God then draws the conclusion of the imagery; Israel is like the wood of a vine. The only use for Israel is as fuel for a fire to consume them so that people will know God is the Lord of all. Why? Because the Israelites are his special people. They have failed to follow him. To ignore their disobedience, despite all the blessings God has given, would suggest that there is no God. They just stumbled on their good fortune, since their activities and beliefs do not seem to have any consequences. This is the message of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant does not contain quid pro quo physical blessings. But our beliefs need to be backed up by actions. We cannot just love with words, but must love in deeds and actions, else our beliefs are hollow. And in the same way, we have no use then. And we are in danger of making irrevocable decisions that can affect our physical life. That is the message of Hebrews. Our salvation is secure, but we are not free from discipline (Hebrews, especially Heb 12).

QT 21 Jan 15, Judges 15:16-18, Past experiences are no substitute for a belief that God cares for me

Judg 15:16-18 (ESV) And Samson said,

"With the jawbone of a donkey,

heaps upon heaps,

with the jawbone of a donkey

have I struck down a thousand men."

17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.

18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, "You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

NOTE: So Samson has a great victory over a thousand Philistine soldiers, and then he is overcome by thirst to the point that he cries out to God for deliverance. I see this all the time in myself and other believers. No matter how great the victory or the experience of God's presence, the newest difficult is always the greatest. And it seems that we forget the past victories, the past experiences, and the past faithfulness of God at that one singular moment. And in that moment, God will provide, and then we will forget that provision when the next painful occurrence of life strikes at us. Why is it so hard to walk by faith? Do we really believe that God cares for us? And if we did, we would not worry about whether or HOW God chooses to answer our call for help.

QT 20 Jan 15, Luke 6 :35-36, Lending to your enemies

Luke 6:35-36 (ESV) But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  36  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

NOTE: I think the hardest command is the idea of lending. In my carnal mind, there seems to be limits.  Certainly, my tools, my toys, my stuff, for the most part, should be considered in lending to an "enemy." And by "enemy," I think the thought is not someone who truly despises me or is trying to kill me (as in a war), but something is little less sever. Giving money, that is where I struggle. Some amount of money, 10, 20, even 100 dollars seems possible. And I suppose it would depend upon the situation. If the person is in dire need, then yes, I can give and probably even more. But if the need is not there, then the principles should be the same as giving to a friend or to family. There are reasons people are broke and giving or lending them money could be working against God. The Lord uses financial difficulties to cause people to see the futility of life under the sun (as Solomon calls it). It may be appropriate to lend to an enemy during these times but the circumstances have to be right. The idea of lending is to show that I care (hopefully I do), not to make life comfortable. God uses uncomfortable-ness to open our eyes to futility. Lord, help me to understand your truth and to act in your will.

QT 19 Jan 15, John 15:9-10, Living in God's love

John 15:9-10 (ESV) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  10  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

1 John 2:5-6 (ESV) but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

NOTE: So, today's two verses of the day (YouVersion and Daily Bible) both emphasize the same point, abiding in the love of God. Jesus and John both say the same thing, but differently--keep my (Jesus') commands and walk in the same way in which he walked. There is both a simplicity and a difficulty in these verses. The teaching is simple--live like Jesus, obey what Jesus said. The difficulty is living like Jesus and obeying Jesus' commands. But God sent us a helper, the HS, to, not surprisingly, "help" us. So today I ask the HS to help me by letting me see where I fail to obey or walk correctly, and for the opportunities to obey and walk like Jesus. As David prayed, open my eyes that I may see. Thank you Lord.

QT 14 Jan 15, Phil 2:13, Sanctification is achieved by working out your salvation

Phil 2:12-13 (ESV) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

NOTE: So, I am not the first person to suggest that salvation is discussed in three, even four different ways. There is 1) salvation which occurs when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. We are justified and declared righteous in God's eyes at that moment and forever. There is 2) a salvation from our flesh called sanctification which is a daily process of putting to death the misdeeds of the body and putting on the life of Jesus. The above verses refer to this type of salvation. It is a "working out" which requires effort on our part and the power of the Holy Spirit to change our lives to look more like Christ and to achieve spiritual maturity, a sort of Sabbath rest, in this earthly life. There is 3) our salvation at the end of this life, either through the rapture or the raising of the dead at the rapture where we are transformed to be like Christ with heavenly bodies. We call this glorification. There is a fourth use of salvation which occurs throughout scripture and is often misinterpreted spiritually, and that is a physical salvation. In this case, God intervenes and physically saves a people or king from certain destruction. David and others experience this salvation. But the key point is that we are in a process now, called sanctification, where we are called to be more and more like Christ. This is God's plan for us and it requires works on our part. It does have an eternal impact, but only in terms of our reward, not in terms of our original salvation by faith alone.

QT 13 Jan 15, 1 Kings 22:48, How do we respond to negative events?

1 Kings 22:48 (ESV) Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.

NOTE: Jehoshaphat is one of the good kings of Judah. Spurgeon suggests that it was his alliance with Ahaziah that was the cause of his misfortune (since Solomon had tried the same thing but was successful whereas Jehoshaphat was not). Actually, 2 Chron 20:35-37 confirms Spurgeon's theory. It is certainly possible that negative events are caused by God (as opposed to allowed). But much of our problems in life are not God's direct hand, but rather the result of our original rebellion and the effect of sin on the world. Bad things happen and they do pass through God's hand (in the sense that he can intervene), but that does not mean they are caused or that he is required to intervene. Also, God's promise to believers in Rom 8:28 only says that he will bring good out of all things (good and bad), not that he will stop bad things from happening to believers. Unlike most of life, in this passage's cross-reference, we have direct confirmation of God's hand and purpose in the event. Most of the time, we don't get that information. So what do we do when bad things happen? We must take them to the Lord and ask as David did, "(Ps 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" God will use it for good but God could have caused it for purpose. We need him to reveal to us his work.

QT 8 Jan 15, Matt 5:14, We are God's new City--this is our purpose

Matt 5:14-16 (ESV)  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  15  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

NOTE: So many concepts in the bible are repeated. That makes sense. They represent God's purpose and so they are repeated to different groups, until somebody finally fulfills God's intent and purpose. In Ezek 5:5b-6, God says "This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes." Israel was place at the crossroads of the major civilizations of the world, Persia to one side and Egypt to the other, so that she would make a spiritual impact on those around her. She failed miserably and God says that she was worse than the nations around her. Now Jesus repeats his command to us. We are the city, the light set on the hill, in the middle of our civilization, our social circles. This is our purpose. This is our reason to be. We are here to be a witness and influence to those that live around us. If they cannot see Jesus through us, then we, like Israel have failed in our main purpose.

QT 7 Jan 15,Rom 13:12-14, Witnessing is important for our spiritual growth

Rom 13:12-14 (ESV) The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

NOTE: Romans 13 transitions from our relationships within the body, also called Christian fellowship, to our relationships with the unbelieving world, also called witnessing. Our witness is a vital aspect of our sanctification, the process of becoming more like Christ. We have been saved, justified when we placed our faith in Christ. We are in the process of being saved, sanctification, as we seek to become more like Christ in this life. Someday, we will be glorified when we receive our new bodies and are like Jesus. But becoming more like Jesus requires that we seek to be better witnesses to the outside, unsaved world. It is not an aftermath or result, it is an essential aspect to our maturity and growth. To fail to live as a witness is to remain a babe in Christ, as 1 Peter and Hebrews both teach. To reach maturity in Christ, Romans teaches us to surrender our lives to God, to transform our minds through the word of God, to serve in a Christian fellowship, and to be a witness to the unbelieving world through how we live, talk, love, and serve.

QT 5 Jan 15, Isa 29:13-14, Religion is spiritual fool's gold

Isa 29:13-14 (ESV) And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."

NOTE: When God says that he will do wonderful things with this people, it is not what we would classify as wonderful. The result will be wonderful--a renewed and right relationship with God as opposed to a religious relationship (rules taught by men). God sees things differently than we see them. His idea of wonderful is a right relationship with him. Our idea of wonderful is life going the way we want, such that we are happy (or at least think we are happy). True happiness, more properly expressed biblically as peace and joy, are only found in a right relationship with our creator. All else is fool's gold., that is, we think we have found what will make us happy, but it falls far short of what God would have us experience.

QT 2 Jan 15, Col 4:2, Do we seek happiness or something deeper, like fulfillment?

Col 4:2 (ESV) Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

NOTE: I once heard a statistic that said Christians like to hear messages on prayer more than any other topic. We (Christians) also say all the right things, like--one can't accomplish anything for God without prayer. And yet, few people really and actually pray, why? We know (or say) it is important. We know (or can communicate) why it is important. And we don't do it--not really do it. I think the only reasonable explanation is that we don't believe God answers our prayers, unless they are really important to him. But God answers all prayers in a manner that is best for us--and there in is the rub. What is best for us is not necessarily what we want. We believe that we know what is best for our lives and we are not willing to really trust God that he knows what is best for our lives. That's hard. It is hard to trust in the unseen to bring about something that is best for us AND for those around us. Because God is not selfish. He wants our lives to have impact. He is not in the business of handing out candy so we can get toothaches, but wants our lives to bring glory to him and impact others for him. Because it is in those two missions that we will achieve the greatest satisfaction. That is what we were created for and when you use something for which it was not designed, you are frustrated. So what will it be this year, frustration by doing it our way, or fulfillment by trusting God to do it his way?

QT 1 Jan 15, Heb 3:12-19, The Sabbath rest is available today for believers

Heb 3:12-19 (ESV) Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

 "Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

NOTE: I believe the passage and the warnings are written to believers (vs 12, brothers; vs 12, fall away from the living God; vs 13, exhort one another; vs 14, we share in Christ; vs 14, our original confidence). Therefore, a believer can harden his heart just as believing Israel (those who passed through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea) did when the rebelled against God. The very people who were saved from slavery in Egypt, and were passed over during the death of the firstborn, these people were disobedient and exercised unbelief. The unbelief was not an unbelief in God--not after ten miraculous plagues and many other signs. The unbelief was a failure to believe that God cared for them individually. The believed in God's existence and power, but they did not believe in God's care for them as individuals. Hence, they struggled with the idea of entering the land, fearful of what might happen to them. They complained about water and food despite what they had seen because they weren't sure God cared for them. Yes, God cared for the big picture "nation" and his name, but did he really care for the obscure little person? I believe that real faith, the kind that allows us to enter the promised rest here and now exists for those who are believe that God cares for them individually. And that despite all that may be happening, God is aware and God is working good out of whatever situation for our best. That is real faith and that is the kind that yields the promised Sabbath rest for believers.