Devotions
Friday, September 19, 2008
Reading
NLT Romans 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should. 5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. Each person should have a personal conviction about this matter. 6 Those who have a special day for worshiping the Lord are trying to honor him. Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who won't eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. 8 While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he might be Lord of those who are alive and of those who have died. 10 So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.' " 12 Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God.
Meditation:
Literal - Paul is attempting to get Christians to accept one another instead of judging each other concerning areas in which God has not provided an authoritative word. The very fact that Paul could write this seems to indicate that he was not assuming absolute divine revelation on every single aspect of Christian conduct. Paul shows his practice of this principle in that he did not use his apostolic position to bind the conscience of other Christians where God had allowed there to be freedom. Where God has clearly spoken we can clearly speak and where God has not clearly spoken we must allow freedom of personal conscience.
Christian fellowship is to be one where we accept each other even when we differ about how we should honor God in areas of eating, drinking, and what days of the calendar should be celebrated as “holy”. These issues had to do with the conflicts between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians and how they felt it was best to honor the Lord in these areas. The condemnation towards each other would quickly turn into the idea that one group was being “legalistic” and the other “lawless”. Self righteousness would be in both camps as they perceived themselves as the more enlightened or faithful.
Paul says let Christ be the one that every Christian has to answer to on such matters and just focus on accepting and loving each other. Each Christian belongs to Christ and is attempting to honor Christ in what they do on such matters. So why bother condemning and judging your brother or sister? Cannot Christ handle that? Why must every believer conform to your way of following Jesus? God is more concerned about our attitude of love and acceptance of each other than He is about our conformity to some particular cultural expression of devotion to Him.
One of the key points here is that the one thing that all Christians agree upon is that life is all about pleasing the Lord in what we do. It is all about living for His glory and in gratitude. Keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Christocentric perspective: Paul’s understanding of who we are is very simple. We have been bought by Christ’s blood and belong to Him body and soul. We are the servants of Christ and of no other person. Every action we take we take to please Christ. We will have to give an account of every action to Christ. We are lead by the Lord in discerning the best path for us to take to please and empowered to do this. Christ is our life.
Moral perspective: Stop judging other Christians. We will not be judged on how well we judged others. We will be judged for judging. So it seems wise to stop judging and condemning and strive towards loving and accepting.
Eternal perspective: The church in the eternal kingdom will finally be free of all our party spirit, divisions, self righteousness, self centeredness, politics, and condemning spirits. We will be fully in love with the LORD and with each other. We will be accepting of our different cultures and background. We will be one in Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me not judge my brothers and sisters. Free me on majoring in the minors. Show me how to show love with those who disagree with me.
Contemplation: Love one another!
Action: Who have I spent time judging and condemning in the last week? Last month? Last year? Why am I tempted to focus my condemnation on this person? How could I release my condemnation and open my heart to accept them as they are?
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Remember How God Came To You!
Devotions
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Reading
NLT Psalm 114:1 When the Israelites escaped from Egypt-- when the family of Jacob left that foreign land-- 2 the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom. 3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the Jordan River turned away. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs! 5 What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away? 6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Israel. 8 He turned the rock into pools of water; yes, springs of water came from solid rock.
Meditation
Literal - What Psalm 114 means
This portion of scripture is a part of the Psalms that is called “The "Egyptian Hallel" (Psalms 113-18) has been a significant component of Jewish festival liturgy since the before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. A “Hallel” is a song of praise. This group of psalms is read during Passover.
What happened when the people of Israel left Egypt? Several things happened:
· God led them to the Promised Land, (verse 2).
· God led them through the Red Sea, which became dry for them, (verse 3).
· God led them over the River Jordan. It also became dry for them, (verse 3).
· Mountains and hills like Sinai seemed to jump like animals, (verse 4).
· God gave them water from the rocks in dry places, (verse 8).
What caused the waters to retreat, the mountains to shake, the animals to flee, and the rocks to give forth fresh water to drink? It was the presence of the Lord God of Israel who cleared a path for His chosen people to reach their chosen destiny. It is God in the midst of His people that gives them salvation, hope, and victory.
Christological: The Exodus took place because the Passover lamb had been slain and the people redeemed from the curse of death that fell upon Egypt due to their sins. Jesus is the ultimate Passover lamb. Jesus has said that His presence is in His church now today so just as God walked with Israel through the wilderness so Jesus the Christ is walking with us today to give us salvation, hope, and victory as well.
Moral: We must tell ourselves the grand narrative of God’s acts of redemption so that we will be led to praise. One of our main ethical duties is to “remember” the wonderful grace of God which is found in the history of redemption. To forget will cripple our faith and limit our vision.
Eternal: The presence of the Lord is the main treasure of heaven. Then in that place of eternal peace and rest we will rehearse in praise and joy the wonderful deeds of God in history as we experience the fullness of His presence on every side. We will rejoice in the wonderful deeds of God for all time and never forget His love for us.
Prayer Dear Lord, keep my heart from becoming hard and my memory faint. Allow me to see clearly the wonder of your deeds of redemption, both in the Passover and even more in the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.
Contemplation Remember!
Action: Take time today to remember the redemptive acts of God in Jesus Christ to save you. Preach to yourself the gospel. Look to your own life journey. Where has God’s presence been most real in your life? Remember all that God has done for you and rejoice over it today!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Reading
NLT Psalm 114:1 When the Israelites escaped from Egypt-- when the family of Jacob left that foreign land-- 2 the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom. 3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the Jordan River turned away. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs! 5 What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away? 6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Israel. 8 He turned the rock into pools of water; yes, springs of water came from solid rock.
Meditation
Literal - What Psalm 114 means
This portion of scripture is a part of the Psalms that is called “The "Egyptian Hallel" (Psalms 113-18) has been a significant component of Jewish festival liturgy since the before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. A “Hallel” is a song of praise. This group of psalms is read during Passover.
What happened when the people of Israel left Egypt? Several things happened:
· God led them to the Promised Land, (verse 2).
· God led them through the Red Sea, which became dry for them, (verse 3).
· God led them over the River Jordan. It also became dry for them, (verse 3).
· Mountains and hills like Sinai seemed to jump like animals, (verse 4).
· God gave them water from the rocks in dry places, (verse 8).
What caused the waters to retreat, the mountains to shake, the animals to flee, and the rocks to give forth fresh water to drink? It was the presence of the Lord God of Israel who cleared a path for His chosen people to reach their chosen destiny. It is God in the midst of His people that gives them salvation, hope, and victory.
Christological: The Exodus took place because the Passover lamb had been slain and the people redeemed from the curse of death that fell upon Egypt due to their sins. Jesus is the ultimate Passover lamb. Jesus has said that His presence is in His church now today so just as God walked with Israel through the wilderness so Jesus the Christ is walking with us today to give us salvation, hope, and victory as well.
Moral: We must tell ourselves the grand narrative of God’s acts of redemption so that we will be led to praise. One of our main ethical duties is to “remember” the wonderful grace of God which is found in the history of redemption. To forget will cripple our faith and limit our vision.
Eternal: The presence of the Lord is the main treasure of heaven. Then in that place of eternal peace and rest we will rehearse in praise and joy the wonderful deeds of God in history as we experience the fullness of His presence on every side. We will rejoice in the wonderful deeds of God for all time and never forget His love for us.
Prayer Dear Lord, keep my heart from becoming hard and my memory faint. Allow me to see clearly the wonder of your deeds of redemption, both in the Passover and even more in the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.
Contemplation Remember!
Action: Take time today to remember the redemptive acts of God in Jesus Christ to save you. Preach to yourself the gospel. Look to your own life journey. Where has God’s presence been most real in your life? Remember all that God has done for you and rejoice over it today!
Friday, September 05, 2008
Love is the answer
Devotions
Reading
NLT Romans 12:9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. 20 Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." 21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Meditation
Paul here defines what a life of genuine love would be like. He compares and contrasts the actions and attitudes that would reflect a sincere love. This love comes from a sincere faith that Jesus has died for our sins, was buried, and now is raised to glory to seal our forgiveness and redemption. Faith and hope in the true gospel creates love for God and others in our hearts.
Paul calls on to have an inward reality where we are sincere in our love and not pretending to be nice. He wants us to really hate what is evil and be passionate for taking the side of good. He wants our love to be an emotional experience and an intellectual value. We are to be enthusiastic in our lives. We are to actually feel delight in lifting others up and speaking well of them. We are to have gladness for God’s plans for our lives regardless of our circumstances as we patiently wait and pray in the midst of trouble. We are to be able to rejoice in when others are happy and weep when they are sad. Our hearts are open to have real and healthy empathy with what others are feeling. We are to be humble and aware of our ignorance. We are to guard our hearts from the attitude of revenge and vengeance which come from unresolved anger. We are to nurture a attitude of seeking and desiring peace and harmony in all our relationships as we seek to love our enemies.
This inward reality which is a fruit of faith in the gospel is to have practical application to specific activities. We are to be hard workers in whatever we do. We are to be ready to meet the needs of others with practical help to meet those needs. Our homes are to be open to having guests and we need to be ready to share our table with others. We are not to act better than others and put on airs of importance. We are to take actions that will lead to peace and harmony instead of conflict. Our actions are to be above reproach and we are not to do evil for good reasons. We are to give to our enemies what they need and to have a strategy of defeating evil by overwhelming it with acts of kindness and mercy.
Our modern world often asks what relevance faith has to modern life. Here we see that if every Christian sought to live this type of life on a daily basis that no one would ask that question. Paul has outlined a dynamic lifestyle of faith which would be powerful in its impact in the world. May God give us the faith to live such a life.
Christocentric: This life Paul has outlines is really a blue print of what it means to be like Jesus. Jesus was the one who was the incarnation of sincere love. While hating evil he loved His enemies. He was the ultimate peace maker and conquered ultimate evil by doing the ultimate good on the cross. This passage not only tells us what we should be like it tells us what Jesus is like.
Moral: Love is the ultimate moral demand. We are to love God sincerely with all our hearts and love others without hypocrisy. Love produces a moral life. Immorality at its core is a failure to love God or others as we ought to love them. The greatest moral responsibility we have is to love.
Eternal: Heave will be where we feel and experience only love. We will love God and God will love us. We will love everyone and everyone will love us. The true joy of heaven is that we will be swimming in love, acceptance, harmony, and peace.
Prayer: Lord pour out your love into my heart by having the Holy Spirit increase my faith in the gospel. Lord let my faith grow that my love might grow. Give me the gift of a loving heart.
Contemplation: I am love
Action: Let me seek an opportunity to take positive and practical action which reflects Christ like love today. Let me overcome evil today by an act of sacrificial love in my daily life. Lord give me an opportunity to show your love today in a concrete and real way.
Reading
NLT Romans 12:9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. 20 Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." 21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Meditation
Paul here defines what a life of genuine love would be like. He compares and contrasts the actions and attitudes that would reflect a sincere love. This love comes from a sincere faith that Jesus has died for our sins, was buried, and now is raised to glory to seal our forgiveness and redemption. Faith and hope in the true gospel creates love for God and others in our hearts.
Paul calls on to have an inward reality where we are sincere in our love and not pretending to be nice. He wants us to really hate what is evil and be passionate for taking the side of good. He wants our love to be an emotional experience and an intellectual value. We are to be enthusiastic in our lives. We are to actually feel delight in lifting others up and speaking well of them. We are to have gladness for God’s plans for our lives regardless of our circumstances as we patiently wait and pray in the midst of trouble. We are to be able to rejoice in when others are happy and weep when they are sad. Our hearts are open to have real and healthy empathy with what others are feeling. We are to be humble and aware of our ignorance. We are to guard our hearts from the attitude of revenge and vengeance which come from unresolved anger. We are to nurture a attitude of seeking and desiring peace and harmony in all our relationships as we seek to love our enemies.
This inward reality which is a fruit of faith in the gospel is to have practical application to specific activities. We are to be hard workers in whatever we do. We are to be ready to meet the needs of others with practical help to meet those needs. Our homes are to be open to having guests and we need to be ready to share our table with others. We are not to act better than others and put on airs of importance. We are to take actions that will lead to peace and harmony instead of conflict. Our actions are to be above reproach and we are not to do evil for good reasons. We are to give to our enemies what they need and to have a strategy of defeating evil by overwhelming it with acts of kindness and mercy.
Our modern world often asks what relevance faith has to modern life. Here we see that if every Christian sought to live this type of life on a daily basis that no one would ask that question. Paul has outlined a dynamic lifestyle of faith which would be powerful in its impact in the world. May God give us the faith to live such a life.
Christocentric: This life Paul has outlines is really a blue print of what it means to be like Jesus. Jesus was the one who was the incarnation of sincere love. While hating evil he loved His enemies. He was the ultimate peace maker and conquered ultimate evil by doing the ultimate good on the cross. This passage not only tells us what we should be like it tells us what Jesus is like.
Moral: Love is the ultimate moral demand. We are to love God sincerely with all our hearts and love others without hypocrisy. Love produces a moral life. Immorality at its core is a failure to love God or others as we ought to love them. The greatest moral responsibility we have is to love.
Eternal: Heave will be where we feel and experience only love. We will love God and God will love us. We will love everyone and everyone will love us. The true joy of heaven is that we will be swimming in love, acceptance, harmony, and peace.
Prayer: Lord pour out your love into my heart by having the Holy Spirit increase my faith in the gospel. Lord let my faith grow that my love might grow. Give me the gift of a loving heart.
Contemplation: I am love
Action: Let me seek an opportunity to take positive and practical action which reflects Christ like love today. Let me overcome evil today by an act of sacrificial love in my daily life. Lord give me an opportunity to show your love today in a concrete and real way.
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