The Word for Today
Ξ July 31st, 2007 | → | ∇ Uncategorized |
12/2/072Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
11/8/07
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:16-18
God, give me perspective. Help me to see the value of every inconvenience or trial. Help me to glory in things that are eternal. Help me see that the things that afflict us are working for us an eternal weight of glory. Let me rejoice! Amen.
10/29/07
“9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:9-15
Lord, search our hearts, show us the things in our lives that are wood, hay, and straw. Fill my life with gold, silver, and precious stones. Help me to have pure motives in the “good works” that I do. Let me take heed how I build.
9/10/07
Do Not Worry.
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
9/10/07
The Sermon on the Mount. The Lord’s Prayer. The words of Jesus have a supernatural effect on my spirit, realigning my soul’s compass with the Father’s Heart. How can I get so off track? Nothing specific, just a loss of focus. Our Father is in Heaven, and HE is the reason for ME. I exist to glorify God. God does not exist to glorify Kari. Hallowed is His name. He is holy, He is awesome, He is worthy of our worship. YOUR Kingdom come, God, YOUR will be done. I spend all my time praying for MY will to be done and MY little kingdom to be established around me. God, let my prayers be about Your glory, and about relinquishing control. After that’s settled, then and only then God give me the things that I need today. I don’t need most of the things that I want. Just give me today the things that I need, Lord, and You know what those are. And God, forgive me. Forgive me for the ways I’ve been crital, judgmental, self-focused and self-pitying. Forgive me for my ugly heart and help me to forgive others in my life, God. Remove my critical spirit and let me be a person of grace and forgiveness. And please lead me away from evil, God. Help me to flee from things that aren’t helpful. Help me to flee from thought patterns and behaviors that lead to discouragment, that rob my joy and my vitality. Deliver me from the schemes of the evil one, in the unseen spiritual realm that I’m probably not even aware of, that are against me as I endeavor to follow You this day, God. And God, Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is all the power, and Yours is all the glory. Forever. You are God.
8/14/07
What God says about discipline . . .
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor detest His correction; for whom the LORD loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12
If we love and delight in Dutch we will correct him, just as God loves us and corrects us.
“He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” Proverbs 13:24
If we love Dutch we will discipline him quickly and effectively.
“Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way. . .” Proverbs 15:10
Two things interest me here: 1) Discipline is correction, not punishment. 2) Harsh discipline is meant for actions that are deliberate disobedience (forsaking implies an intentional deviation from the correct path). Accidents and childishness may require correcting, but not harsh discipline.
“The ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise.” Proverbs 15:31
I don’t remember ever noticing this verse before. “The rebukes of life” sticks out to me because it is often through the circumstances of life, the hard knocks if you will, that teach us so much. Often we don’t “hear” them, we don’t get the message, and so we don’t learn the lesson, but the ear that hears these life lessons will be wise. I pray that I can help Dutch to learn from life’s lessons, that he will gain a heart of wisdom.
I just had an idea! Wouldn’t it be amazing to take ONE proverbs per week and make that the theme of the week for your child? I bet there are 300 proverbs in the the book of Proverbs, which means that would give you theme ideas for about 6 years! Every week there could be activities surrounding that theme. What do you think? Write me a comment and let me know!
8/14/07
I’m in Proverbs and Daniel right now in my morning devotions and it’s perfect for this season of life–on the verge of entering the season of training up our son, Dutch, in the ways of the Lord. Daniel is an incredible example of a godly young man, one whom I hope and pray that Dutch will be able to look to as a role model. Daniel refused the indulgences that were offered him, setting himself apart for God, even though he’d been offered a more luxurious life. He stood out. Daniel was one whose life and work ethic and integrity caused the world to take notice. He used the gifts that God gave him, not for his own glory and fame, but for GOD’s glory and fame. He sought to make God famous. He sought to bring God glory. And, He simply sought God. When the decree was issued that none should serve or worship anyone but King Darius, Daniel remained steadfast and unwavering in his devotion to God and his daily routine of prayer and worship. Because of this, God was given opportunity to shine, by delivering Daniel from the lions and displaying His power to the nations. Because Daniel risked his neck, God was exalted.
My prayer is that little Dutchy boy would be a man like Daniel. I pray that He would stand out in the crowd as a man of integrity, of worship, of holiness and righteousness, or humility and grace. I pray that Dutch would be unwavering in his devotion to God, no matter what the circumstances, and that when he risks his neck, God would have opportunity to display His glory to the nations. I don’t pray for an easy life for Dutch. I don’t pray for riches or fame or status, but I do pray that He would know and follow hard after God. And I pray that God would give Jeff and me the grace to do our best to raise Dutch to be that man.
8/8/07
”Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.”
Psalm 150 calls all of creation to perform its job description — PRAISE! We are called to praise the LORD. Praise Him in the heavens, praise Him for all the amazing things He has done in our lives, praise Him according to His character, His perfection, praise Him with every instrument we have, with every ounce of strength we have, praise Him loudly, boldly, obnoxiously, praise Him! Everything on earth, praise the LORD!
There are no conditions set on this command–no matter what our circumstances, our trials, our busyness, our dilemmas, we are called the PRAISE the LORD.
Lord, I praise You today. I praise You for being perfect, for knowing everything, having control over everything, and for acting towards us with perfect love and grace. I praise You for all the amazing things You’ve done in my life, for blessing me with Jeff and Dutch and my amazing parents. I praise You for providing for us every step of the way, for letting us get an education, for providing us with food and shelter and clothing. I praise You with passion today, God, and give me more! I praise You God and I pray that the world would see me praise You. With every breath that I have let me praise You, dear God.
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8/2/07
Ezekiel 33:31-32
31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. 32 Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.
This is a rebuke to God’s people for not responding to the words of Ezekiel the prophet. Ezekiel had give his all for these people, acting as a mouthpiece for God in Babylon to those Jews who had been deported from Judah during the Babylonian and Assyrian invasions. In this passage, God is rebuking them for being hearers of the word, but not doers (James 1:21-25).
Something stood out to me, however, in this language. “You are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument, for they hear your words, but do not do them.” The charge against these people was not that they refused to listen, that they persecuted Ezekiel, or that they were in any way hostile to his message. On the contrary, Ezekiel was to them as a very lovely song, a pleasant voice, a well-played instrument. And yet, they are rebuked.
It is a danger, especially in our Christianized United States, that the truth of God, the gospel, can simply become a beautiful song we love to hear, and yet we fail to let the implications sink into our souls and transform our lives. We love the sound of the hymns or the new contemporary worship songs, we love the feeling of singing in church or taking communion or hearing a well-presented sermon. We feel good about going to church and socializing with other Christians. And yet, perhaps at times we’ve let the beauty of religion lull us to sleep and have failed to recognize that we are called to action.
I am guilty. Of course I like to feel good. I like showing up for church, hearing my favorite songs, sung just the way I like them, with a powerful message on a favorite passage, that leaves me feeling energized and inspired. But Ezekiel’s words haunt me: a very lovely song, a pleasant voice, a well-played instrument. Has our relationship with God become reduced to a pleasant religious experience? Have a come to savor the warm fuzzy feeling of church and worship and even prayer, and yet forgotten that there are hard words that I’m called to obey? There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying our worship experience—that is part of glorifying God! But what Ezekiel’s words can remind us is that we can easily become spectators enjoying the church experience, without soberly and circumspectly coming to God with humility and reverence, ready to receive, as a soldier receives military orders, any direction He’d have for us to do.
Lord, let us be doers of the word and not hearers only. Let us not only relish the beautiful sound of Your voice but respond to it with obedience out of love for You.
