March 31, 2014

Psalm 146, Isaiah 59:9-19, Acts 9:1-20

What is encouraging to you in each of these passages? Where do you see hope?

March 30, 2014

Fourth Sunday in Lent 

1 Samuel 16:1-13, Psalm 23, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41

When it says that Samuel mourned for Saul, do you think it means that he mourned for Saul as a person, or do you think he was mourning for the loss of a king in general? Or something else? Do you think yesterday's passage about Samuel had anything to do with the elders of the Bethlehem trembling at his arrival? 

What do people look at when they assign value to others? What does the Lord look at? How do you think David felt, not even being asked the first time around, to come and stand among his brothers when Samuel came looking for a king? Before he was anointed king, David was a young shepherd. How do you think this shaped his Psalm writing?

What are some properties of light and dark in the Ephesians and John passage?

March 29, 2014

Psalm 23, 1 Samuel 15:32-34, John 1:1-9

In Psalm 23, I usually read "the Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need" and conclude, "if the Lord is your shepherd, he will provide all your needs." But now I am thinking that it is more about the Lord being our shepherd is all that we need. What do you think?

March 28, 2014

Psalm 23, 1 Samuel 15:22-31, Ephesians 5:1-9

What are rebellion and stubbornness compared to in the Samuel passage? What did that mean for Saul? What does it mean for us? Do you think that Saul was truly repentant for his sin? What makes you think that? 

What does it look like to imitate God/follow the example of Christ, according to the Ephesians passage? Are we guilty of sometimes trying to excuse the sins of sexual immorality, impurity, or greed; obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes? Or perhaps do we excuse some of them (the ones that come more naturally to us), but are more harsh on others in this list? How is a greedy person an idolator, according to this passage? Why do you suppose in this list, Paul choose greed as the example? 

What does the light from the Lord produce?

March 27, 2014

Psalm 23, 1 Samuel 15:10-21, Ephesians 4:25-32

Why did Saul insist that he had obeyed the Lord? Why hadn't he actually obeyed?

What is especially convicting to you in the Ephesians passage? 

March 26, 2014

Psalm 81, Jeremiah 2:4-13, John 7:14-31, 37-39

In the Jeremiah passage for today it says, 

They worshiped worthless idols,
only to become worthless themselves.

and then, 

Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols!
The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
says the Lord.
“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!

An idol is anything that takes the place of God in your life. What has the potential to become an idol in your own life?

March 25, 2014

Psalm 81, Genesis 29:1-14, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Christ was with the Israelites when they were traveling in the wilderness. He was their rock. Can you think of a time when you were in a spiritual wilderness? Was Christ your rock? Is he now?

March 24, 2014

Psalm 81, Genesis 24:1-27, 2 John 1-13

The Lord wants his people to listen to him, to follow him and walk in his paths. He loves us and wants to protect us and satisfy us. Do we have the faith to follow the Lord?

March 23, 2014

Third Sunday in Lent 

Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42

The Israelites, who have seen the Lord do great things, and experienced his presence, still question Him saying, "Is the Lord here with us or not?"

Have you felt times where it seems like the Lord is not with you? How could looking back on times where the Lord has brought you through help you? How could looking to Scriptures and reading truths about God help you? How could prayer/crying out to the Lord help you? What else could help in times like these?

March 22, 2014

Psalm 95, Exodus 16:27-35, John 4:1-6

What can we learn about keeping the Sabbath from the Exodus passage? Can you relate to the Israelites who still went out on the morning of the Sabbath to look for food? The Sabbath is a gift from the Lord, and keeping it is one of the commandments. Do we accept this gift well? I like the idea of gathering twice as much food the day before. In my final year at seminary, I started the practice of doing no homework on the Sabbath. It made for really busy Saturdays, but it was so nice to have a day off from thinking about assignments before the week started again. We have not done anything formally in recent months for the Sabbath, though maybe it is time to start again. I have no schoolwork...but maybe I could arrange for no cooking on that day? Or no preparing (gathering) food? Definitely something to think about. What does your Sabbath look like? I do know that a common response to the question, "how was your weekend?" is "I wish I had a day to recover." What if we made it a priority to take a day and recover and prepare for the coming week! It is a gift from the Lord.

March 21, 2014

Psalm 95, Exodus 16:9-21, Ephesians 2:11-22

How does God care for his people? Have you seen in your own life times where he has given you "just enough?" How can we best care for others? 

I have had this song in my head for days. I think these lyrics could be our family's mission statement.

Will you let me be your servant

Let me be as Christ to you

Pray that I might have the grace

To let you be my servant too

We are pilgrims on the journey

We are brothers on the road

We are here to help each other

Walk the mile and bear the load

I will hold the Christ light for you

In the night time of your fear

I will hold my hand out to you

Speak the the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping

When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you

I will share your joy and sorrow

Till we’ve seen this journey through.

When we sing to God in heaven

We shall find such harmony

Born to all we’ve known together

Of Christ’s love and agony

)

March 20, 2014

The first day of Spring!

Psalm 95, Exodus 16:1-8, Colossians 1:15-23

Why are people separated from God? What does God do to care for his people anyway? For the Israelite's immediate needs? For all humanity's eternal needs?

March 19, 2014

Psalm 128, Ezekiel 36:22-32, John 7:53—8:11

How does the Lord view our sin? Why does he rescue us? What did Jesus say to the woman caught in the act of adultery? What do you think happened to the other person in this situation (takes more than one person to commit adultery!)?

The part of these Scriptures that stood out to me is the repairing that God does of the human heart. Ezekiel 36:25-27, "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations."

Have you experienced this? Has God taken out your stony, stubborn heart and given you a tender and responsive one?

March 18, 2014

Psalm 128, Isaiah 65:17-25, Romans 4:6-13

Even though Lent is traditionally a solemn time of reflection and preparing our minds and hearts, we look ahead with hope, knowing that Christ beat death and sin.

In the passages today, we see a glimpse of that future life, where death and sin are no longer even a thing to worry about. For those who fear the Lord, times of great joy are coming!

As you are reading these passages, what speaks to your heart? For me, it is in verse 21 of Isaiah 65, “In those days people will live in houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.” Sometimes it’s easy to picture the new heavens and new earth as kind of an ethereal time of sitting on your cloud, playing gentle harp music, and thinking rosy thoughts for all of eternity. But in this picture, people are still doing relatively everyday things, but without all the worry and strife that might accompany it now on earth.

Some commentaries speculate about when this new heavens and earth will take place in the end times. I don’t know those answers. BUT, I am sure that when this new heavens and new earth do happen, we will not worry about such things! It will seem like a trivial detail. We will be too busy having the Lord take care of our needs before we are even done talking about them. We will live without the burden of sin. The sin of others, AND our own sin. Romans 4:7-8 says there is great joy for those whose sins are put out of the Lord’s sight. Verse 13 says, “Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.”

Death and sin are things to be solemn about. But we know that Christ beat those things when he was crucified and raised from the dead. We can live with that hope now, and for the future, when we will see the Lord. How then, should we live in light of this? What Scriptures come to mind that help you think about this?

(Philippians 1:21-30, Mark 12:28-34, and James 3 are helpful to me!)

Prayer:
Your Kingdom come,

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.

March 17, 2014

Psalm 128, Numbers 21:4-9, Hebrews 3:1-6

How does God bless his children?

Is there a correlation between the bronze snake and Christ?

March 16, 2014

Second Sunday in Lent 

Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17 or Matthew 17:1-9

What can we learn from Abraham's faith?

March 15, 2014

Psalm 121, Isaiah 51:4-8, Luke 7:1-10

What can we learn from the faith of the Roman officer? 

March 14, 2014

Psalm 121, Micah 7:18-20, Romans 3:21-31

What has God done about our sins? 

How are we made right with God?

March 13, 2014

Psalm 121, Isaiah 51:1-3, 2 Timothy 1:3-7

In what ways do today's Scriptures remind us of the Lord's help, comfort, and encouragement?

March 12, 2014

Psalm 32, Exodus 34:1-9, 27-28, Matthew 18:10-14

What do you think of the Lord's introduction to himself?

“Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
even children in the third and fourth generations.”

March 11, 2014

Psalm 32, Genesis 4:1-16, Hebrews 4:14—5:10

In Genesis, we see an interesting description of sin: it is crouching at the door, eager to control you.

In Hebrews, we see that no one is immune to sin and its effects. In verse 2, speaking of the high priest, it says, "And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses." From those who seem ignorant and wayward, to the high priest, sin is crouching. Waiting. Eager.

How should this influence how we care for others? How should this influence the way we allow others to care for us? So often we say things like, "I am going to help those who are less fortunate..." and usually our hearts are in the right place. But what if we thought, "We are all less fortunate..." and helped others because we are all in the same boat? Maybe I have a certain resource that another person doesn't have, and I can help them. But on the same note, maybe I need help, and the same person I am helping is the one who could provide it? Will I be too proud to accept help if I view another person as less fortunate than I am?

March 10, 2014

Psalm 32, 1 Kings 19:1-8, Hebrews 2:10-18

How does God provide the best pathway for our lives?

How did he prepare Elijah for the journey ahead?

In what ways has Jesus helped us?

March 9, 2014

First Sunday in Lent 

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Psalm 32, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11

Ok. All of these passages are quite rich. 

And you should read all of them, of course.

For this post, I would like to think about the picture that is painted in Psalm 32. First David talks about the physical anguish that sin and the guilt of sin can cause in a person's life. Because of David's unconfessed sin, he groans all day long, and his body wastes away.

Finally he confesses his sins to the Lord. And the Lord forgives him!

David says, in verse 7, "For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory."

Then there is an interlude, and the Lord says in verse 8,  “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

How, in our own lives, do we recognize our own sin? Does it cause us to groan and waste away? Or are we so comfortable in it, that we no longer recognize its stench? Perhaps you prefer to call it a character flaw or a part of your personality. It's just who you are. 

Those are two ends of the spectrum of course....but where do you find yourself on it? How do you feel about the sin in your own life? Do you believe that God will forgive you if you confess your sins to him? Do you believe that he has forgiven you in the past?

Verse 1 and 2 say,

"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!"

What joy! And the Lord will guide us along the best pathway for our lives. He will advise us and watch over us. Do you believe this? Have you seen it in action? How could this influence the way you pray when you are unclear about the future? What does a life that is lived in complete honesty look like?

March 8, 2014

Psalm 51, Isaiah 58:1-12, Matthew 18:1-7

How is the Isaiah passage convicting to you? How is it encouraging?





On a note of business, don't forget to Spring ahead tonight! Daylight Saving Time. I love the extra hour of daylight. For me, it's totally worth giving up an hour of sleep over.

March 7, 2014

Psalm 51, Jonah 4:1-11, Romans 1:8-17

All week reading Psalm 51, verse 6 has stuck out to me. The Lord teaches wisdom in the womb. Mind-blowing, right? How could this influence the way we pray for unborn children? How could this influence the way we teach our children about Jesus?

Further down in Psalm 51, verse 12, David prays for the restoration of the joy of his salvation. I know I for one could echo that at times, too. Does thinking about the way the Lord has saved us bring you joy?

Verses 16 and 17 say, "You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." Has your heart been broken over your own sin? It is very, very easy to be heart broken over sin in general, especially heinous crimes against humanity. For me anyway. Makes my heart ache. But does my heart ache over the sin in my own life? Not often enough.

God's heart aches for people who live in spiritual darkness, as we see in the Jonah passage. Jonah comes across as being a bit dramatic in this passage. To me it seems he cares for his own reputation more than people repenting of their sins and the Lord having mercy on them. He gets angry enough to die (drama-rama) over a plant, but he doesn't see that the Lord cares for all 120,000 people and animals living in Spiritual darkness. Where do you find yourself in this story? What makes you angry? How has the Lord had mercy on you?  How could this influence how you pray for people who live in spiritual darkness? Is there a time in your own life you were living in spiritual darkness, and the Lord showed you mercy?

Finally in Romans, we see the author praying day and night for a group of believers. He wishes very much that he could see them in person and encourage them in their faith. He also wants to be encouraged by their faith! Mutual encouragement. Not one-sided.

How does this influence the way that you pray for believers all over the world? How about for believers in your own family and community? How can you be mutually encouraging to each other?

I am writing this on Monday, so who knows what could all happen in the course of a week. But lately I have been feeling convicted about how I pray, and who I pray for. I of course am praying for the Ukrainians I know, and their fellow countrymen, and their country. But I also have felt compelled to be in prayer for Russia. For the Russians I know, and their fellow countrymen, and their country. I feel compelled to pray for the Christians in both countries, that while terrible things are happening, they would still find ways to grow in their faith and be encouraged/encouraging. I also feel compelled to pray for those living in spiritual darkness in both countries. I have to believe that the Lord's heart aches for them, so my heart aches for them too. And I am aware that this sort of thing could happen in any country. Any country could decide to go to war with another, and any country could be invaded by another. Any country has Christians already living in it, and any country also has people living in spiritual darkness. But Ukraine and Russia are on my heart and mind these days. So I pray specifically for them. How wonderful if there were peace in those countries by the time this post is published.

We shall see.

March 6, 2014

Psalm 51, Jonah 3:1-10, Romans 1:1-7

Why do you suppose the people of Ninevah held a fast?

When we fast during Lent, is there any sorrow attached to the fast, or do we fast for other reasons?

March 5, 2014

Ash Wednesday 

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

What sort of fasting does the Lord desire?

What does repentance look like?

How are we made right with God?

March 4, 2014

Fat Tuesday...and many other names. Either way, we're having pancakes for supper.

Psalm 78:17-20, 52-55, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Romans 11:1-6

Two things that stuck out:

1. The Lord was in the sound of a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:12)

2. The grace of God is free and undeserved. Romans 11:6

Is anyone giving anything up for Lent? Ash Wednesday is tomorrow!

I am going to give up using my phone for anything but a phone. No social media on my phone. Takes up too much of my attention. Steals my attention from God and my family. So only texting and phone calls on my phone. Priorities, people.

March 3, 2014

Psalm 78:17-20, 52-55, Exodus 33:7-23, Acts 7:30-34

As I read through these passages, I am struck by how close the Lord was to His people, whether they appreciated or understood it or not.

Last night I just read through Colossians 1. In verse 27 it says, "For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory."

Christ lives in us. The Lord is near to us, too. Nearer, even. Why do I sometimes act like the Israelites and not appreciate this? How should my life look if I take this to heart every day?

March 2, 2014

Transfiguration of the Lord 

Exodus 24:12-18, Psalm 2 or Psalm 99, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9

March 1, 2014

Happy New Year! March 1 seems like a very good time to make a first post of a fresh, new blog. I am very thankful that it is March, the month of Spring....though, I am sure that even if it were all the way up to 40 degrees every day this month, there would still be snow hanging around in April. It has been a really rough, cold Winter. I love Winter, but I love Spring more. This year, even more so.

The Scriptures for today are:

Psalm 2, 1 Kings 21:20-29, Mark 9:9-13

What is challenging to you about these Scriptures? What is encouraging?