Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 22-23; Galatians 6
I have been a Christian for a long time. In fact, it's hard for me to remember a day that Jesus wasn't the ruler of my heart. Because of this, I know the rules. I've lived my whole life looking like a Christian, talking like a Christian, and acting like a Christian. But on it's own that's not enough.
In this last chapter of Galatians, we're reminded once again that works in and of themselves don't get us into heaven. Instead, it's an inner surrender of our will.
Men can be circumcised, women can wear head coverings, both can live their entire lives doing good for others. But if they never actually become a "new creation" (Galatians 6:15 NIV), the fact of the matter is that they're not saved, plain and simple. Salvation isn't a matter of works, but a matter of the heart. It's a matter of totally surrendering our old sinful natures to the Lord and taking on a new life in Christ.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).
My prayer for today is that my entire life will reflect this new creation. I pray that Christianity won’t be something I simply “act out” but will be an entire way of life for me. And that Christ will shine through me in everything I say and do.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Good King Hezekiah
Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 19- 21; Galatians 5
“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:5-7 NIV).
In a book of the Bible filled with a seemingly unending list of kings that somewhat or completely turned their back on God, we find a king who didn’t. King Hezekiah stands apart as one of the few who served God wholeheartedly. When faced with adversity, he didn’t rush into things, expecting that God would save him, but instead he went to the temple and feel on his knees in prayer. Because of his devotion, God saved him time and again. What a good example of how we, too, should bring our trials before the Lord.
“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2 NIV).
I don’t always do such a good job at presenting my requests before the Lord. Often my prayers consist of rushed words, rather than a truly contrite spirit, prostrated before my Savior.
Today I long for a heart like that of Hezekiah. A heart that was willing to be humbled as he brought his requests before God.
What about you?
“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:5-7 NIV).
In a book of the Bible filled with a seemingly unending list of kings that somewhat or completely turned their back on God, we find a king who didn’t. King Hezekiah stands apart as one of the few who served God wholeheartedly. When faced with adversity, he didn’t rush into things, expecting that God would save him, but instead he went to the temple and feel on his knees in prayer. Because of his devotion, God saved him time and again. What a good example of how we, too, should bring our trials before the Lord.
“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2 NIV).
I don’t always do such a good job at presenting my requests before the Lord. Often my prayers consist of rushed words, rather than a truly contrite spirit, prostrated before my Savior.
Today I long for a heart like that of Hezekiah. A heart that was willing to be humbled as he brought his requests before God.
What about you?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
What’s In A Name?
Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 17-18; Galatians 4
Today I read the verses above and really had nothing to say. Instead, my brain was echoing a conversation I had with a friend earlier today. I was telling her some of my hesitation about baby names. You see, in the next month, my husband and I will be welcoming our first child into this world. We’ve had names picked out for years, but suddenly we’ve started to consider some different names. What was set in stone is suddenly being shaken up again. To me, a name is an important thing. That name, and it’s meaning, will be with our child for the rest of their life.
The same was true in Bible times. Parents gave their children names that meant something. These names were unique, and often spoke about God’s deliverance or protection. I long for my future children's names to mean as much.
But back to today. My friend asked me a question. She asked if my husband and I had ever prayed over our name choices. I was struck by the thought that we really never have. Every night my husband and I pray together before we go to sleep, but it’s never even crossed our minds to pray about the name of our child. Yes, we pray for this child’s future, and for wisdom as parents, but we’ve never prayed about the name.
To us, the name was our decision.
But maybe it isn’t. Maybe there’s a name that God has had in mind all along. And maybe it is the name He’s placed upon our hearts. But I really won’t know until I pray.
Do you ever forget to pray about the small, seemingly insignificant things? What might God be calling you to pray about today?
Today I read the verses above and really had nothing to say. Instead, my brain was echoing a conversation I had with a friend earlier today. I was telling her some of my hesitation about baby names. You see, in the next month, my husband and I will be welcoming our first child into this world. We’ve had names picked out for years, but suddenly we’ve started to consider some different names. What was set in stone is suddenly being shaken up again. To me, a name is an important thing. That name, and it’s meaning, will be with our child for the rest of their life.
The same was true in Bible times. Parents gave their children names that meant something. These names were unique, and often spoke about God’s deliverance or protection. I long for my future children's names to mean as much.
But back to today. My friend asked me a question. She asked if my husband and I had ever prayed over our name choices. I was struck by the thought that we really never have. Every night my husband and I pray together before we go to sleep, but it’s never even crossed our minds to pray about the name of our child. Yes, we pray for this child’s future, and for wisdom as parents, but we’ve never prayed about the name.
To us, the name was our decision.
But maybe it isn’t. Maybe there’s a name that God has had in mind all along. And maybe it is the name He’s placed upon our hearts. But I really won’t know until I pray.
Do you ever forget to pray about the small, seemingly insignificant things? What might God be calling you to pray about today?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Child of God
Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 15-16; Amos 7-9; Galatians 2-3
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 26-29 NIV).
When I read my daily devotions, I don’t often have much to say. Sometimes I think the words just need to process. The words need time to once again penetrate my heart.
I’m so thankful that God meets me each and every day exactly where I am. He peels back the layers and recognizes me in my most vulnerable state. He understands my emotions and hormones, and even when I fall short, He looks into my heart and sees my true intentions.
The idea of being an heir of Christ can be daunting at times. How is it that I would ever live up to such a task? How can I live this life as a daughter of the Lord? I feel unworthy.
But maybe that’s exactly where God wants me: weak, fragile and completely unworthy in my own strength, because then I have to depend on Him all the more.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 the Apostle Paul writes, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
It is in our weaknesses that God is able to work through us. If we were perfect, would we really be in need of a Savior? I don’t think I would. So, as much as I may hate my shortcomings, I’m thankful for them as well. Because they remind me of how much I need my Savior.
I need Him on days when I mess up when talking to a friend, when I don’t feel good, when I’m lonely, and when I just don’t feel like I measure up.
I need His strength because I don’t have the ability to live this life on my own.
I need the daily reminder that I am His daughter, and that He loves me more than anything. I need the reminder that the things of this world are temporary, but He is eternal.
What does being a child of God mean to you?
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 26-29 NIV).
When I read my daily devotions, I don’t often have much to say. Sometimes I think the words just need to process. The words need time to once again penetrate my heart.
I’m so thankful that God meets me each and every day exactly where I am. He peels back the layers and recognizes me in my most vulnerable state. He understands my emotions and hormones, and even when I fall short, He looks into my heart and sees my true intentions.
The idea of being an heir of Christ can be daunting at times. How is it that I would ever live up to such a task? How can I live this life as a daughter of the Lord? I feel unworthy.
But maybe that’s exactly where God wants me: weak, fragile and completely unworthy in my own strength, because then I have to depend on Him all the more.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 the Apostle Paul writes, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
It is in our weaknesses that God is able to work through us. If we were perfect, would we really be in need of a Savior? I don’t think I would. So, as much as I may hate my shortcomings, I’m thankful for them as well. Because they remind me of how much I need my Savior.
I need Him on days when I mess up when talking to a friend, when I don’t feel good, when I’m lonely, and when I just don’t feel like I measure up.
I need His strength because I don’t have the ability to live this life on my own.
I need the daily reminder that I am His daughter, and that He loves me more than anything. I need the reminder that the things of this world are temporary, but He is eternal.
What does being a child of God mean to you?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seeking Good
“Seek good, not evil, that you may life. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is” (Amos 5:14 NIV).
As I look at the Israelite people, I wonder why they were so rebellious. Why, time and again, they turned away from their miraculous God in heaven to worship idols made out of stone.
To me, the hand of God seems to evident, so true. I can’t help but worship Him as my Lord and Savior.
But even I have my moments. Even I have moments when I seek the things of this world, and place them above my God. Often it happens without me realizing it. A friend will get a new gadget, a show on tv, although crass and provocative, will catch my attention, or a book will be so riveting that I spend my days consumed with that, instead of worshiping my God. Some of these things may not be evil all on their own, it is the attention that I give them that makes them evil. It’s the hours and days of seemingly wasted time that I devote to them, instead of my God, that makes them an idol in my life.
And so, much like the Israelites, I often find myself on my knees, in an attitude of repentance, ready to turn back to the God who should be number one in my life. Ready for a change of heart. Because I truly do need Him more than any earthly thing.
What distractions in your life do you need to get rid of? What things might be becoming idols?
Lord, please help me to keep you number one in my life, where you belong.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Our Righteous Judge
Today’s Reading: Amos 1-3; Acts 15:22-41
As I read Amos this morning, the only image that came to mind was God as our righteous judge. Yes, He’s a loving God, but He also can’t stand the presence of sin in His midst. As Creator of the universe He has the right to judge the sins of the world, and He does.
Israel was and is His chosen people, yet they chose time and again to turn from Him and worship idols. And so He punished them for their sins.
Yet even in the midst of punishing them, He was providing a way out. As depressing as the book of Amos can be, all we have to do is page forward a few books, and we come to the book of Matthew. It’s here that we find the glorious news of Salvation.
Our Just God created a bridge between the sinful world and Himself. He gave us Jesus, whose blood covered the sins of the entire world.
I feel like I’m starting to get preachy, so I’ll just leave you with two passages of scripture today.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14-17 NIV).
How can you share the judgment and salvation of God with the world around you?
As I read Amos this morning, the only image that came to mind was God as our righteous judge. Yes, He’s a loving God, but He also can’t stand the presence of sin in His midst. As Creator of the universe He has the right to judge the sins of the world, and He does.
Israel was and is His chosen people, yet they chose time and again to turn from Him and worship idols. And so He punished them for their sins.
Yet even in the midst of punishing them, He was providing a way out. As depressing as the book of Amos can be, all we have to do is page forward a few books, and we come to the book of Matthew. It’s here that we find the glorious news of Salvation.
Our Just God created a bridge between the sinful world and Himself. He gave us Jesus, whose blood covered the sins of the entire world.
I feel like I’m starting to get preachy, so I’ll just leave you with two passages of scripture today.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives” (1 John 1:5-10 NIV).
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14-17 NIV).
How can you share the judgment and salvation of God with the world around you?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A Lesson in Compassion
Today’s Reading: Jonah 1-4; Acts 15:1-21
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3: 10 NIV).
Jonah was angry. He couldn’t understand why God would have compassion on the Ninevites, a horribly evil people. I don’t really blame him. I don’t always understand God’s compassion either. Here’s some of Jonah’s dialogue with God:
“He prayed to the LORD, ‘O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’
But the LORD replied, ‘Have you any right to be angry?’ (Jonah 4: 2-4 NIV).
Sometimes life is unfair. I’ll look at someone else and self-righteously declare that that person deserves to be punished. I’ll be driving down the road with someone tailgating me, and hope and pray that that person gets pulled over by the cops. It’s as if a part of me thinks that discipline is mine to determine, that I know best.
But 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us of an important truth: “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (NIV).
God looked at the repenting Ninevites. He saw a change of heart in them, and so, in His graciousness, He decided to save them.
Jonah didn’t understand why. With his own human eyes, he could only see everything the Ninevites had done wrong.
But God saw differently.
And although my self-righteous, condemning tendencies may come to the forefront from time to time, overall I’m thankful that God offers that same grace to each of us.
Because there’s certainly days that I don’t deserve to be a daughter of the Lord. There’s certainly days when I mess up royally, and need His forgiveness once again. There’s certainly days that I don’t look all that Christ-like to the world around me. But even on those days, God looks not at my outward appearance, but at my inner heart, which longs to serve Him with every ounce of my being.
He sees my longing to be better, my repentant spirit, and my love for Him above all else.
And He sends my faults as far away as the east is from the west:
“ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust”
(Psalm 103:11-14 NIV).
What area of your life do you need God’s compassion today?
“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3: 10 NIV).
Jonah was angry. He couldn’t understand why God would have compassion on the Ninevites, a horribly evil people. I don’t really blame him. I don’t always understand God’s compassion either. Here’s some of Jonah’s dialogue with God:
“He prayed to the LORD, ‘O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’
But the LORD replied, ‘Have you any right to be angry?’ (Jonah 4: 2-4 NIV).
Sometimes life is unfair. I’ll look at someone else and self-righteously declare that that person deserves to be punished. I’ll be driving down the road with someone tailgating me, and hope and pray that that person gets pulled over by the cops. It’s as if a part of me thinks that discipline is mine to determine, that I know best.
But 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us of an important truth: “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (NIV).
God looked at the repenting Ninevites. He saw a change of heart in them, and so, in His graciousness, He decided to save them.
Jonah didn’t understand why. With his own human eyes, he could only see everything the Ninevites had done wrong.
But God saw differently.
And although my self-righteous, condemning tendencies may come to the forefront from time to time, overall I’m thankful that God offers that same grace to each of us.
Because there’s certainly days that I don’t deserve to be a daughter of the Lord. There’s certainly days when I mess up royally, and need His forgiveness once again. There’s certainly days that I don’t look all that Christ-like to the world around me. But even on those days, God looks not at my outward appearance, but at my inner heart, which longs to serve Him with every ounce of my being.
He sees my longing to be better, my repentant spirit, and my love for Him above all else.
And He sends my faults as far away as the east is from the west:
“ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust”
(Psalm 103:11-14 NIV).
What area of your life do you need God’s compassion today?
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