November 7, 2010 (Mark 12-14, Matthew 22-26, Luke 20-21)

Today's reading covered the last of Jesus' teachings before He was taken prisoner. And He used the illustration of the fig tree - telling the people that when you see it's buds become tender and it's leaves begin to sprout, you know summer is near. He gives warnings as to the signs that happen before He arrives. But He also gives this warning:

Matthew 24:37 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. 39 People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

It reminds me of something I read previously where He said "When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" He also warns that in the end times there will be people coming and doing miraculous signs that will be so convincing they have the ability to fool even God's children. But we should not be persuaded because there will be no doubt at all about His coming back:

Luke 21:25 “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

Then there was the story of Mary pouring a bottle of expensive perfume over Jesus' head. Some complained that it should be sold and the money given to the poor, but Jesus rebuked them and told them they she had prepared His body for burial. As I read that, I thought of how the smell must have been with Jesus all through His trial and crucifixion, permeating all the fibers of his hair and beard. How during the tremendous pain and suffering that He went through, He always had with Him the reminder of one of His followers sacrificial love for Him, reminding Him of why He was now going through His act of sacrificial love for us. Through all the pain He was continually reminded of the worship and adoration of one of His followers. In His humanness, I would think He drew comfort from that. The Bible tells us that our prayers are a 'sweet smelling fragrance' to God. It's interesting to me to think that in these days, our worship and adoration of Him through prayer is like a wonderful perfume to Him. Jesus, may I continually offer to You the sacrifice of prayer.

November 4, 2010 (Luke 12-17:10)

Well, I skipped blogging for a while again. Vacations are now completely over, and hopefully I can get back into a routine.

Today was one of those days where there is a lot of instruction from Jesus for us - primarily it is more important to be 'rich in our relationship with Him' rather than 'rich in worldly wealth'.

^12:21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

And He also tells us not to worry about our daily needs - He is fully aware of them and will provide them, IF we make the kingdom of God our primary concern.

^12:29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. ³⁰ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.³¹ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

³² “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

And then finally, He tells us to be watching and waiting for His return. If we could just keep that one simple thought in the forefront of our minds, how would it change what we do?

^12:35 “Be dressed for service and well prepared, ³⁶ as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. ³⁷ The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! ³⁸ He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

³⁹ “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

And then as I read this next passage, I thought of yesterday and of a temptation I had. I was cleaning out the game cupboard and a Halloween card from last year fell out from the pile of games. It was for Cooper from his grandparents, and in the card was a $1 bill. I contemplated keeping it. I rationalized that I give so much to Cooper that I was justified, and that if he hadn't cared enough to take care of it a year ago, why should I bother giving it to him. But even though I wouldn't read the following passage until today, I have learned that I don't want anything to hinder my relationship with God. It was his money, and if I took it, no matter how much I rationalized it, I would be stealing. So when he came home from school I gave it too him, and showed him that it fell out of the game cupboard that I had just organized. God sees us - He knows everything we do. I desire to live a life that is obedient and pleasing to Him. There are areas of my attitude that are just as displeasing as stealing - those are the areas I need to surrender to Him. Jesus, please help me to honor You in that area of my life.

^16:10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

And then, a reminder of how our attitude should be in serving Him:

^17:7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? ⁸ No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ ⁹ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. ¹⁰ In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

October 23, 2010 (Mark 1-2, Luke 3-5, Matthew 3-4, John 1:15-4)

A couple of things caught my eye in today's reading - one being in Luke 5. Jesus used Simon's boat to preach from, in order to get a little separation from the crowd. So after Jesus was done, He told Simon to go out deeper and put his nets out. Simon wanted to argue with Him, telling Him that they had been out there all night and didn't catch a thing, but instead he said, "But if you say so, we'll try again". Here's the complete story:

^5:5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” ⁶ And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! ⁷ A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

⁸ When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” ⁹ For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. ¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” ¹¹ And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

When they saw what just happened, they realized that He was "Lord". And the thing that stuck out to me was that as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed him. They had two boats full of fish! I don't know how that would relate to money, but I would think it would be close to say they would have had a months pay in just a day - but they left it. Turned their backs on it all to follow Jesus.

The other thing that spoke to me were the words of John the Baptist - very powerful words for his day, and very powerful words for today.

³¹ “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of the earth, but he has come from heaven. ³² He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! ³³ Those who believe him discover that God is true. ³⁴ For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶ And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

October 22, 2010 (Luke 1-2, Matthew 1-2, John 1:1-14)

Ahh, the New Testament - Jesus - God's grace revealed. It will be good to get out of the "judgement" books.

God honors faith. Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, was in the temple offering sacrifices when an angel suddenly appeared with him. The Bible says he was "overwhelmed with fear" - as I can imagine he was. So after the angel tells him that God has heard his prayer and he and his wife will have a son, what does he do? He questions the truth that was just told him.

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

And look at the response:

¹⁹The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

God is Holy - and if Gabriel stood in His presence I can imagine he was glorious to see. When Moses was with God up on the mountain for just a short time he came back and his face shone with the glory of God. What about an angel who stood in God's presence? We don't have angels come to speak to us in these days, but we do have God's word - so why do we doubt?

Next Gabriel went to Mary to tell her what was about to happen. He also told her of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God."

And although Mary asked how she could have a baby since she was a virgin, it wasn't a question of unbelief, but of confusion. Once the angel explained, here was her response of faith:

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

God honors faith. We see this over and over.

October 21, 2010 (Malachi)

Wow, what a 'harsh' book - If all of Vanguard read and applied this book we would not be in financial trouble. God is worthy of our best - He by His grace has given us everything we have - so why do we think it's ours and not His? In these days we don't offer animal sacrifices, so we don't offer blind or useless animals. But we do "tip" God - we do put Him last with our offerings. If there's anything left, we give that to Him. Here's just one passage, of many, that talks about finances in this book:

^3:6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. ⁷ Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'

⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. ¹² "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

And how many of us have "complained" about serving God?

^3:13 "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD.
"Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?'

¹⁴ "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? ¹⁵ But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' "

We can't fight the battle - we are not strong enough:

⁹But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

We have to maintain our position in Christ. And finally, one of my favorit passage in all the Bible:

¹⁶ Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

¹⁷ "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

October 20, 2010 (Nehemiah 6-13, Psalm 126)

It's hard for me to concentrate today - so much going on. But God is always faithful to point out a few 'tidbits'.

Just as Nehemiah did, so I am doing - 6:9 "So I prayed for strength to continue the work". Every day, God, help me to pray for Your strength and Your guidance to complete the work that is before me. Give me wisdom to know what to take on, and what to put aside.

Under Nehemiah's direction, the rebuilding of the wall was completed in just 52 days. Only God could have allowed that to happen so quickly as is evidenced by the following:

^6:16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

When choosing leaders this is a good thing to remember:

^7:2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

And as Nehemiah prays to God, we see God rewards faithfulness, and God Himself is always faithful:

^9:7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. ⁸ When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

And in Nehemiah 9, he reflects upon the sinful cycle of God's people - things go well, we forget God. God gets our attention, we repent, things go well, then we forget God.

²⁹ “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. ³⁰ In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!

October 19, 2010 (Nehemiah 1-5)

I guess it's just where I am in my reading, but over and over when God's people were in distress they fasted and prayed. And in Nehemiah's prayer, he reminded God of His promises and begged Him to listen to their prayers.

1:4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. 5 Then I said,

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

When the king asked Nehemiah a question, before he replied here is what he did:

2:4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”

With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied,


And then when the king answered him favorably, he gave the credit to God:

2:8b And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.

When opposition came up, here is how he replied:

2:20 I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

And then when there was more opposition, here was his prayer:

4:4 Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! 5 Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.”

But they not only prayed, they worked:

4:9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

And when things still didn't look good, he encouraged the people to remember the Lord:

4:14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

May God give us the grace to respond in these ways - always looking to Him to provide and always showing our dependance by our prayers.