JOHN 3:17

Today's reading: John 3-4

"God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it." John 3:17 NLT

While so many of us stop and ponder the enormity of truth in John 3:16, this morning I have been given pause in regards to the verse that follows it...

The verse that is as powerful...

The verse that straightens our feelings for facts...

The verse that points to our rescue, or salvation...

God did not send Jesus to mark us as sinners. He did not allow His One and Only Son to walk this earth to merely pass judgement. He did not send our Good Shepherd to merely wrangle a bunch of witless sheep.

God allowed Jesus to state the truth of our sinful state and provide a hope in His gift of salvation!

Were we all rightly judged as sin filled? Yes!

Are we all given the opportunity to have those sins forgiven and our souls cleansed? YES! Praise God, YES!

This morning I'm thanking God that He didn't just send Jesus into this world to condemn us, but to save us--fully, completely, entirely, wholeheartedly and eternally!

AS USUAL

Today's reading: Daniel 1-6

"But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God." Daniel 6:10 NLT

What's your 'as usual'? Your 'go to'? Your habit?

When the world presses in, or hammers down, or completely falls apart in your hands--what's your 'as usual' response'?

For Daniel, it was prayer.

Talking to God.

Listening for God.

Being away from all else and any one else, but God.

How I pray that single response would become my knee jerk reaction to the happenings of life!

When tough times come--I pray.

When stormy clouds boil above me--I pray.

When blessings pour down on me--I pray.

When I don't know what to do--I pray.

What a difference there would be in the worlds if we developed the 'as usual' discipline of prayer! 

EXAMINING OUR MOTIVES

Today's reading: Proverbs 16

"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives." Proverbs 16:2 NLT

How long has it been since you've given God full access to you?

To your motives...

To the closet where you hide all your skeletons...

To the deepest depths of your heart...

To the cave of thoughts that determine your actions...

How long has it been since you've allowed God to look at the 'real you'?

Not the church attender...

Not the Sunday School teacher...

Not the committee member...

Not the faithful tither...

How long has it been since you have asked God to take a deeper look at your soul?

To xray your every desire...

To explore your past...

To be completely all up in your business...

To take the reins...

We may look good, fulfill all the tasks, and fool a whole lot of people--but God knows us better than we know ourselves! 

MIGHTIER THAN THESE

Today's reading: Psalm 93-95

"The mighty oceans have roared, O Lord. The mighty oceans roar like thunder; the mighty oceans roar as they pound the shore. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore--the Lord above is mightier than these! " Psalm 93:3-4 NLT

I don't know about you, but some days, a whole lot of days actually, I need reminded that God is greater, bigger, stronger, kinder, more loving and more powerful than the tough things I am going through!

He is mightier than the doctor's diagnosis.

He is greater than the worry than keeps us up at night.

He is kinder than the betraying friend.

He is more faithful than even the morning daybreak.

He loves more than our nearest and dearest.

He is stronger than the pull of the world and all of sin's temptations.

We need to have on repeat in our head, and on our lips--The Lord above is mightier than these!

THE NAMES AFTER YOURS
Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 1-4

As I read the first four chapters of 1 Chronicles, I am presented with a list of names. A genealogy. A family tree.

Name after name.

Descendant upon descendant.

I've read them before. I've skimmed over the list a time or two. I've entirely skipped these chapters on numerous occasions.

But this morning?

This morning, I paused...

And I listened for God to speak...

And I heard this spoken to my heart...

One day, living for Me, walking with Me, introducing others to Me--your name will have many names after it.

What an exciting thing to think about--being able to impact others, descendants, generations after me with my relationship with the Lord!

I cannot wait to start doing that when I am 'old'. I cannot sit and sulk over wasted opportunities in my past. I am given today and all it holds in regards to me walking through doors God will open for me to impact someone for Him.

I think it's important to consider the spiritual imprint we will leave on those who follow us! 

I WILL ORDER MY BLESSING

Today's reading: Leviticus 25-27

"But you might ask, What will we eat during the seventh year, since we are not allowed to plant or harvest crops that year? The answer is, I will order my blessing for you in the sixth year, so the land will produce a bumper crop, enough to support you for three years." Leviticus 25:20-21 NLT 

God's people have just been given an entire chapter filled with instructions on how to treat the new land He brought them into.

In these instructions were commands about the Sabbath years, or fallow years, they were to take and details about the Year of Jubilee.

And their response to these instructions...in this new land...where they have seen God bring them...for which God preserved them...about which God promised them?

They were worried about what they would eat in the years when the land was to rest.

God's reply?

God's reply to us when we question IF He is enough...

'I will order my blessing for you.'

He promises to supply when we obey.

He assures us He will provide when we follow His instructions.

He guarantees there will always be enough when we believe Him.

'I will order my blessing for you.'

We must simply obey.

ALL MADE POSSIBLE

Today's reading: 2 Thessalonians

"And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds. Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT

Can you list the things that 'have all been made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ"?

Do you have enough paper and ink?

Are you soberly assessing His gracious hand on your life and how very little you have had to do with any of it?

Do you realize that you are His only by His grace and calling?

It's only when we have a firm grasp on this amazing grace that our lives can impact others for Christ. It's then, and only then, that we value it, accept it wholeheartedly and want to share it with others.

It's when we bow in awe of God's saving grace that we see it for what it truly is--undeserved favor!

 

SIX WATERPOTS

Today's reading: John 1-2

"Six stone waterpots were standing there; they were used for Jewish ceremonial purposes, and held twenty to thirty gallons each. Jesus told the servants, Fill the jars with water. When the jars had been filled to the brim, he said, Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies. So they followed his instructions." John 2:6-8 NLT

We are given here the account of Jesus's very first miracle...water into wine.

While I have always been amazed by His abilities to change the water, His acceptance of His mother's challenge to help out and His means of introduction into His ministry...what most catches me off guard is that He asked the servants to be a part of it all.

He asked the servants to fill the waterpots.

He asked them to participate in what He was about to do.

Jesus could have, easily, wiggled His godly nose and the waterpots filled themselves.

Jesus could have, without any regard to the law of nature, snapped His heavenly fingers and bottles of wine appeared upon the tables.

He could have done so many more miracles than turning water into wine!

But He chose to let others participate...to get into the miracle itself...to be eye witnesses to what He chose to do.

He still does that today!

He gives us opportunity to come alongside Him on His miracle working missions.

He lets us walk hand in hand with Him from one miraculous event to another.

He lets us get dirty in the process of Him performing miracles in the lives of others.

Are we saying 'Yes' to His invitation? 

PUTTING AWAY IDOLS

Today's reading: Ezekiel 43-48

"Now let them put away their idols and the sacred pillars erected to honor their kings, and I will live among them forever." Ezekiel 43:9 NLT

Lord,

What would you have me put away in order that You be my highest, greatest priority?

What idols am I bowing to, bending to, carrying closer to my heart than You?

In what ways am I worshiping things more than I worship You?

Am I honoring my self, my ways, my plans, more than I am You?

What habitation of the Spirit am I forfeiting with my idolatry?

Would you open my eyes, and heart, to all things idol-like in my life? Would you use the scalpel of Your Word to divide and remove what doesn't need to be in my life?

Place me under Your conviction.

Give me to the desire to be changed into the image of Your Son.

Clear out what's needed for you to live among me--in all I do.

Amen.
 

RELAXED

Today's reading: Proverbs 14-15

"A relaxed attitude lengthens life; jealousy rots it away." Proverbs 14:30 NLT

Sometimes in order to grasp the meaning of a proverb, one must look at its opposite.

While we know what relaxed means--at ease, carefree, unstressed, have you considered what decriptors there might be for not being relaxed, or the absence of relaxation...

Nervous.

Fidgety.

Agitated.

Worried.

Stressed.

Edgey.

Jumpy.

Tense.

Just reading over that list allows us to see how a relaxed attitude would lengthen one's life. 

So what about your life?

How are you living it?

I'm not asking what circumstances you find yourself in, or what others have done to you--I'm asking what attitude you are choosing to take through it all?

I'm not asking how many vacation getaways you take, how often you book a day at the spa or whether or not you spend some time in yoga--I'm asking which frame of mind you determine to camp out in.

One will give you a better life, the other will suck the life out of you.

SATISFY US
Today's reading: Proverbs 90-92

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives." Psalm 90:14 NLT

I don't know if you are a morning person, or not.

I am.

I like to be up before the sun arrives for duty, before the rooster crows to wake the dawn, before busyness crowds in on a day.

Mornings are when I do my quiet time with the Lord.

It's peaceful. It's seldom filled with interruptions. It's just God and I.

It sets the pace for the day ahead.

It determines the tone of my next 24 hours.

It gets my head and heart in the right place for what may lie ahead.

And at the end of the day? As I lay my head on my pillow and consider the day's accomplishments, deeds, decisions and detours--I am satisfied.

Oh, not always in myself! Not even in the day's events. Not even in everyone I bumped in to throughout the day!

I'm satisfied because I started the day off with the Lord. I chose to partake of His love and kindness. I made the decision to seek Him out. I spent some time just my Savior and I.

That, dear friends, is satisfying! 

MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

Today's reading: 2 Kings 21-25

"He followed the example of his father, worshiping the same idols that his father had worshiped." 2 Kings 21:21 NLT

For a parent,...

No, let me restate that...

For anyone who has influence over anyone, which includes all of us, this single verse should strike fear in our hearts, bring conviction to our souls and challenge us to live godlier lives.

We set an example for someone!

There is always another who is watching us, noticing our actions, taking note of our every deed, paying attention to all we say.

Here is the question the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart upon reading this verse...

What worship habit are you willing to pass on to _____?

'You do you' as you fill in the blank on that question. Consider your life, your tendencies, your patterns and routines as you think about your influence on those who hear some of what you say but watch every move.

Let me re-word the question...

What habit will I continue that I would be proud to see passed on to the next generation?

What response technique am I modeling for him/her to repeat in their own lives?

What recurring sin am I falling prey to every time the enemy presents it to me, and is it one I am willing to let another struggle with throughout their life?

What custom do I have that might be hard to break now, but by its absence will make life easier for those who follow me?

What example am I setting in what/who/how I worship?

Thinking through this verse and these questions should make us all stop and consider how our idol worship might impact those who follow after us.