Unfailing Love

Read: Luke 23, Romans 4:25
The King spoke, lived his life in perfect obedience to the father, then he carried our sins and shame through ridicule, betrayal and suffering to the cross, in order to declare us once for all freed from the power of the law to claim its debt. Note verse 45; is there an application in your life today?

The passage today is pretty heavy stuff, and it's about the cornerstone of our faith - Jesus - who laid down His life for our sins.  It makes me so incredibly humble and grateful that my God loves me so much that He sent His Son to die for me.

In our women's bible study class, we just finished reading about Abraham and Isaac, and the command that God gave to Abraham to sacrifice his only son as a burnt offering to the Lord.  Through this Old Testament story, God gives me a glimpse into what it must have felt like to send Jesus to die for us.  I can relate to Abraham, and I cannot even imagine being asked to sacrifice one of the most important things to me in this life, my daughter. 

I love how the author of our study guide puts it:

"The point of this story is not to convince or convict you that you must be willing to sacrifice for God what is most precious to you.  It is that God was willing to sacrifice for you what was most precious to him." ~Nancy Guthrie, The Promised One

This ultimate act of love was for me.  Me?  I'm so not worthy of it, but that's what makes our God so incredibly awesome and loving. 

Astounding grace

Read: Genesis 45
Early in the history of Israel Joseph had opportunity to return evil for evil. Joseph acted with astounding grace. Joseph forgave his brothers for seeking to take his life, selling him as a slave, and for years of injury. What was his secret for forgiveness?

I'd say astounding grace is an understatement.  I'm not sure I would have been able to react the way Joseph did.  I mean, his brothers basically left him for dead because they hated him so much.  In Joseph's position in Egypt, he could have easily reacted differently and not given them anything in order to survive the famine.  But instead, he extends grace.  Why?  The simple answer is God.  But I think if we take it a step beyond that simple answer, Joseph lets us in on a little more in this passage:

• He believes in a higher purpose that he ended up in Egypt  - "because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you." and "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
• He hold his brothers responsible for what happened; rather, He believes it was God's doing -
  ⁸ “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

In summary, Joseph was able to see the bigger picture and see how God was able to use something that was seemingly bad in the beginning for the good of Joseph and his entire family.  

When we are wronged, it's very easy to 'live in the moment' and not consider how God might use it for our good in the future. But we should remember God's promises to us and know that God makes all things work together for our good - even the things that we might not consider a blessing at the time. (Romans 8:28)

Tough love

Read: Matthew 18:15-18, Proverbs 27:5-6, Eph. 4:25-26
God tells us many times to rebuke others. To not do so is to give people only grace and no truth. It enables people to remain immature. God is very serious about his people growing up in him. Does God want you to allow others to do whatever they want to? How does accountability and revenge differ?

These verses are reassuring to me after meditating on yesterday's devotion about grace. In these, I think God is telling us that we can give "tough love" to others - approaching them humbly, gracefully, but sternly about their misstep.  I think it's even helpful in the Matthew passage that God gives us clear steps on how far to go, and even says after you've exhausted all options, you can eventually say, enough is enough.

These particular verses also reassure me that as a Christian, I can - and should - have a backbone and not allow the repeat offenses (that I wrote about yesterday) take place. 

I also think that knowing that God calls us to rebuke each other, even to the extent of elevating the problem to other witnesses and the church builds in our sense of accountability to each other.  I think accountability differs from revenge in that accountability comes from a place of love, whereas revenge comes from a place of hate.

Eye for an eye

Read: Matthew 5:38-42, Exodus 21:24, Lev. 24:20
While the establishment of justice as an eye for an eye was anchored in Jewish law, those hearing Jesus must be caught up short by this new way to live. Jesus ushered in a kingdom. Do you feel more comfortable with the law or grace?

 Isn't this an interesting question. Can my answer be, it depends? I think we all might say that if we are on the receiving end of being hurt, we're more comfortable with the law...but if we are the one that has done the harm, we'd much more like grace, wouldn't we?  I think this is our natural, selfish tendency to feel this way.  I have to remind myself that as much as I want to receive grace when I have done wrong, so, too, should others who have done wrong.  Here's another question, though: what if they're a 'repeat offender'?  I think by receiving grace we learn about forgiveness and try to change our behavior so that we won't mess up again.  But what about someone who isn't sorry? Who keeps hurting others?

Eternal

Read Psalm 119:89 & 160
Meditate on God’s integrity, his word that never changes. How does this shape your life? What have you learned from this?

The word in these two verses that sticks out to me is "eternal".  God's Word and laws are eternal.  Forever.  Neverending.  Knowing this, I can say His Word is a solid foundation that won't go anywhere as I shape my life around it.  The things of this world are so fleeting, and many times, ever changing.  It's comforting to know that God's Word stands firm.

Integrity

Read Psalm 24:1-6
Characteristics of someone who walks with God are noted in verse 4. This is not the “X” generation or the “boomer” generation but “the” generation that seeks God. Where do you see your generation give one another a pass on integrity?

I feel like our generation (meaning our cultural generation) gives so many passes on integrity, so much that the definition of integrity can often times be skewed according to today's standards.  As we get ready to vote for our nation's president in three weeks, I think about how our president should be a man of utmost integrity - but sadly, I feel a level of distrust in both candidates. (I'm not attacking either party, just stating that I'm not 100% comfortable with either choice).  I think it's sad that we've gotten to a place in our society where this is the case.  The person that rises to the top isn't necessarily the most honest or doesn't share the same moral viewpoint as what the Bible spells out. 

What are some other specific examples you can think of where we give each other passes?

BFFs

Read Proverbs 13:20
Our growth in being trustworthy can be directly traced to those we intentionally have chosen to walk with. What are some important ways we gain wisdom from our friends?

Like our devotional last week about the importance of words, I think friends come in a close second.  Think about how much influence your friends can have on you - both good and bad.  It's so important to surround ourselves with friends that will lift us up, that we can learn from and that will keep us accountable in walking a straight path.

Remember the study we did a while back called "Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith?"  It was by Andy Stanley - the brown book with the funky looking tree on the cover?  One of our sessions was on this exact passage in Proverbs.  The session was called Providential Relationships.  How God can use relationships to grow our faith. You can go back and listen to it here if you like.  

One of the things Stanley says at the very end is this:

"Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life."

Can you think of friends that have been 'providential relationships' for you?  What about friends you wish maybe you had steered clear from?

Simply stated

Read James 5:12
James reflects Jesus teaching and urges the Christians to keep their interactions with one another clean, honest and uncluttered by exaggerated promises. Why do you think he started this verse with, “But most of all”?

The way I read this verse, "but most of all" indicates that James is placing this teaching as the most important thing for the reader to remember.  So, he's saying that refraining from swearing is more important than:

• being patient for the Lord's coming, and in the meantime, preparing our hearts
• not grumbling or blaming others

Above all else, we are to refrain from exaggeration and swearing.  By simply stating what we are saying, we will be seen as honest and truthful.

I have to admit - I struggle with this question in understanding why he places this as the biggest thing to pay attention to - above patience, preparing our hearts for the Lord, and not grumbling.  How do you feel about this?

Word.

Read Romans: 11: 33 to 12:2
In the darkness - our thoughts, feelings and will, the hold of our culture, our unfiltered destructive auto-responses to hurt, anger, jealousy, and sexual stimuli live with power. Where do we find freedom?

The easy answer? Jesus.  We find freedom in Jesus and His Word.  How awesome that our loving God gives us the gift of the Bible to help us keep our path straight and righteous!  But we must put in the effort to do as Paul instructs, to renew and transform our mind so that when faced with questions and choices of how we should act and behave, we will clearly and undoubtedly know what we should do.

One of the things I'm challenging myself to do is to make a more concerted effort to memorize scripture.  It's started with my Bible Basics class - we are required to memorize one assigned verse a week - but I'm hoping to continue to assign myself verses to memorize well after the class has ended.  In just the 3-4 weeks that I've been doing this, it's been amazing how much more confident I feel just having a few verses tucked away in my heart.

What are some ways you transform and renew your mind?

Sixty minutes

Read Proverbs 4:20-27, 5:1-23,
Pay close attention, get wisdom, listen to instruction, pay attention, above all else guard your heart. Hidden deep in our hearts is a battle for life. Meditate on Proverbs 4:18:   

 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,

    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

 For your day today set your alarm to remind you to read it once every 60 minutes.

 Surprise!  I set the blog up so that it would publish first thing this morning, so that you have this devotion to start your day.  I challenge you to do as the devotion says - literally, set your alarm to meditate on Proverbs 4:18 every 60 minutes.  That means if you've got a 12 hour day, you'll meditate on this verse a dozen times.  By then, you should have it memorized!

Jesus: Our True Moral Compass

Read I Corinthians 6:18 -20
Our culture teases us to the edge of disaster, and then mocks us as we step over. The Bible gives great incentive for evaluating what is influencing us and realistically setting up strong boundaries. How can your actions protect your heart for God?

As I think about the pressures and values that our culture bombards us with, it seems like as Christians, we're constantly asked to paddle against the current of our modern day world.  How do we accomplish this when it seems like such an uphill (or upstream?) battle? 

The first thing Jesus instructs us to do in this set of verses is to flee from sexual immorality.  Don't just back away slowly...RUN! Secondly, we've been discussing that there are no different degrees to sin, but in this set of verses, Jesus actually seems to set sexual immorality apart - He says it's the only sin we commit against our own body, which is to be a temple for the Holy Spirit. 

Isn't that interesting that Jesus draws a distinction specifically about sexual sin; but our culture does the exact opposite?  Sexual promiscuity and immorality most often aren't viewed as such a big deal to our society: sex before marriage is 'just the way it is' or affairs 'just happen'. 

The way I see it is, I have one True moral compass in this world, and it's not dictated by what the world tells me.  It's what Jesus tells me.  And no matter how "backwards" it may seem from the ways our culture, it's my truth, it's what should fill my heart, it's what I should live by, and it's what I should teach my children to live by.  It's a tall order, but it's absolutely necessary.

Wek 5, Day 1: The heart of the matter

Day 1
Read Matthew 5: 27-32, Matthew 15: 19-20
Jesus raises the bar on all that is good, perfect and righteous. What do you see as significant in these verses?

The significant things I see in the first set of verses is first, what Jesus defines as adultery.  I think we all would say that adultery is having an affair with someone who is not your spouse.  But Jesus takes it much farther than that.  Just looking at someone with lustful eyes is wrong.  And if we do find ourselves in a dangerous situation, or find ourselves lusting after someone else, Jesus calls for drastic measures to ensure that we don't do it again.  Whatever it is that might tempt you, get rid of it.  If it's on your computer, get rid of it.  If it's at a particular event or place, quit going there.  If it's on t.v., quit watching it. 

In addition to that, Jesus also calls attention to our hearts in the second set of verses, saying that from the heart comes evil thoughts.  As Christians, we should constantly be working on our own hearts, constantly striving for more purity.

In Psalm 51:10, David asks God for a pure heart in a psalm written after he had an affair with Bathsheba. 

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

And in Proverbs 4:23 we read:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

These verses clearly show that it's what is in the heart that counts.  

Week 4, Day 4: Relationship Roadblocks

Day 4
Matthew 5:23 -24, Proverbs 22:4
When has a relational situation so dominated your thinking that it has stood between you and God? If this is presently the issue, what will you do to make this right? Submission to these verses - gets you in sync with what God is doing in your heart.

I struggled with this question today.  I struggled with finding any one situation that seemed to 'fit' the scenario.  But the more I've thought about it, the more I can come up with several examples that have caused a rift or a distortion in my relationship with God.  For example: struggling with the choices someone else is making and trying to make sense of it all, or trying to process the way a friend has badly treated you...I think sometimes we try to carry these burdens ourselves, or we look to ourselves to be the Judge or the "Fixer" or "Healer".  And the more I find myself trying to fill God's role, so to speak, the further away from Him I can become. 

Week 4, Day 3 - Pain Points

Day 3

Matthew 5:5, Romans 8:1-9
Do you see yourself as God sees you? God has done what the law could not do; he placed his Spirit in our lives to change us from within. God assures us of his love and he gives us the ability to act on his behalf as a light in this world. Note an opportunity today when you could act out of God’s presence within rather than out of anger.

Jill asked me to do this post today and now I can see why?  Our vendor is in town this week and we have been meeting with users.  This is an absolutely necessary step in our implementation, but it is also one of the most painful steps.  We are meeting with people to talk about "pain" points, which could easily be called "ANGER" points.   Picking an opportunity today where I responded out of anger would have been easy.  This question reminded me I should exercise control over how I respond to people not just because I am a "new creation in Christ" but because everyone, believer or not, is an image bearer of God.  We are ALL made in God's image and as such we all fall short.  I hope tomorrow I can respond out of the humility of God's grace because I deserve to be "yelled" at by Him.

Week 4, Day 2: Sticks and Stones

Day 2
Matthew 5:21-22, James 3:6, 9-10
How serious does God take our anger? Why does James say our words matter?
Does anger have a hook in you today?

 Remember that old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"?  I remember saying that when I was in grade school.  It might have been in response to someone teasing me about my glasses (I wore bifocals, if you can believe it) or defending my best friend on the playground, or something like that.  It seemed like just a silly little saying at the time - an easy come back in any little kid's arsenal of responses: "I know you are, but what am I?", "Liar, liar, pants on fire", or as I got older with a little more attitude, "This is an A & B conversation, so C your way out of it!"

But as I reflect on it now as an adult, saying "words will never hurt me" is simply not true.  Words can be very hurtful.  They are so powerful, and can stick with someone for a long time, perhaps forever.  Jesus obviously knew about the power of words because the Bible is filled with verses cautioning us to think about the words that leave our mouths. Here's just a few:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

 I don't know about you, but it seems like when I'm angry or upset, words seem to come a little quicker and I get a case of "diarrhea of the mouth."  They seem to just tumble out of my mouth and there are certainly times that I wish I could take back what I've said to someone.  Think about how much better our world would be if we all ONLY spoke what was helpful for building up others, like what Paul writes to the Ephesians.  I think we'd all be much happier :-)

Week 4, Day 1: Love and Lattes

Read Matthew 5:21-26
People matter to God. Our relationships are the most important things we have. Jesus put it this way; the most important commandment is Love for God and Love for others. What have you said or done today that has been reflective of that commandment? What has not been reflective of that commandment? What’s it like to be on the other side of you?

I'm finding that with a child, I often have many opportunities to either take the 'high road of Love' or the 'low road of Anger.'  I'll try to briefly describe an incident that happened today:

We have almost zero food in the house.  So, Ellie and I went grocery shopping after a workout at the gym.  Grocery shopping is my one time that I usually indulge in a Starbucks latte - today was no different.  I love you Pumpkin Spice.  Anyhoo, as I'm in the soup aisle looking for Chicken Gumbo, I fail to see that for the five seconds I've turned my attention away from Ellie, she has managed to pull my latte out of the cup holder and is holding it upside down, watching all of the pumkin-y goodness pour out of the cup and onto her, her favorite doll, the grocery cart, and all my groceries.  If I had taken the 'low road of anger,' I would have probably gotten pretty upset AT Ellie and even perhaps shed a few tears.  (Yes, I'll admit it).  The blood pressure would have risen to an unhealthy level and I could have easily lost it in the middle of the grocery store.  But today, thank goodness, the grace and love of God was with me and I managed to take it in stride; I even told Ellie it was MY fault for leaving the cup within her reach (I'm sure she appreciated that) and managed to have a laugh or two about it after a nice Hy Vee employee helped me clean up the floor and after I had removed Ellie's pants, shoes, and doll that had all gotten a latte baptism.

I will be the first to admit that many times, though, this is not my instinctual reaction.  Sometimes I have a short fuse, and it's very easy to get upset or angry at the situation.  In fact, just last week while making dinner, after a pile of stuff had fallen from the pantry, after the second box of cereal had been spilled on the floor, I lost it.  I remember yelling, "Why does it have to be so hard!?!"  I started crying.  Ellie started crying.  I'm sure the cat was crying too.

In a split second, we have a choice.  Are we going to react with love or with anger?  Think back to our discussion a couple weeks ago about bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims - we are again faced with a choice of love or hostility.  The more I study God's Word; the more it permeates my very soul -- the more times I will choose love. 

At least I drank some of the latte before it spilled all over the jeans!