July 31, 20213

Jonah 1: 15, 17 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard . . . But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah . . . (NIV)

The trouble with running away is that you must always take yourself with you.*

A few years after graduating from Bible college, I met up with a young man from my class who was just beginning his first preaching ministry. He didn’t go into detail, but I gathered that since graduation he had been running from God. He said something along the lines of: you’ll never be happy until you’re doing what God wants you to. He seemed relieved that he finally had God off his back!

Of course, this is not true of everyone – because not everyone cares about God’s will for their lives. Did Jonah care? I think he did – that’s why he ran. Could God have found someone else to preach to Nineveh? Surely. But he wanted Jonah to do it so he pursued Jonah until Jonah made the right choice. We don’t know how many chances he might have given Jonah – or what he might have arranged if the fish thing didn’t work out – but I don’t believe Jonah was running from God so much as he was running from what God wanted him to do.

Aren’t we like that? We tell God that we will do what he wants us to do and go where he wants us to go – and then we give him a list of acceptable assignments. Like Jonah, we don’t trust God. We don’t trust him to have our best interests at heart. We don’t trust him to equip us for the job. We don’t trust him to keep his promise that he will never forsake us.

Are you running from God’s will for your life? Are you stubbornly refusing to acknowledge a change you need to make or a purpose he wants you to fulfill? Your wake-up call probably won’t come in the form of a big fish but it would be wise to stop running now before you have to find out!

Don’t go to God with options and expect him to choose one of your preferences.*

July 30, 2023

Luke 5: 5  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (NIV)

True faith is actively obedient.*

I am not a fisherman . . . fisherwoman . . . whatever. I once spent hours (or maybe time just stood still) on the banks of a canal, trying to catch fish. I was using the same kind of equipment and bait as the family next to me and they were catching fish. Just a few feet away from them stood I, catching nothing. If Jesus had come along and said, “Get your pole and your bait and go around to the other side of that fisherfamily,” what would I have said? What would I have done?

We aren’t told if Peter obeyed Jesus just to humor him or out of his faith in Jesus’ power over fish. What we do know is this: Peter did what Jesus told him to because Jesus told him to. Did it make sense? It doesn’t to me and I doubt if it did to Peter. But Peter demonstrated the kind of faith we should all be looking to grow into. It was all well and good for Peter to declare, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (Matthew 16: 16) but throwing his nets over the other side of the boat proved his faith in Jesus as Lord in a way that a good confession never could.

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Good. Blessed are you because this wasn’t revealed to you by man, but by the Father in heaven. But better: prove it. Do what he says because he says so, even if it doesn’t make sense. 

Have you ever heard the Master say something very difficult to you? If you haven’t, I question whether you have ever heard Him say anything at all.*

July 29, 2023

Revelation 2: 10 Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. (NIV)

Being faithful to God often comes at considerable cost.*

How long will you pursue a goal? Four years of college for a degree? More for a masters or a doctorate? How about working your way up the ladder at your job – how long before you give up on that promotion? Found the girl of your dreams but turns out you’re not in her dreams? When is it time to move on? We all have different thresholds for crossing over from hope to hopelessness. No one else can tell you when you’ve had enough.

When it comes to attaining the crown of life, are you ready to be faithful until death? Actually, in this message delivered to the church in Smyrna, John is referring not so much to faithfulness over a long period of time as he is to keeping the faith even under the direst of circumstances. In the earlier part of this verse, he warns of suffering to come, thanks to Satan’s efforts. In the case of the Smyrniots (I had to do some research to find that word!), the predicted suffering was inevitable. For us, it is a possibility. We might not have to suffer to the point of death in the cause of Christ because the devil has other weapons in his arsenal. The good life can be as much a challenge to our faithfulness as persecution. As James reminds us, we are dragged away and enticed by our own evil desire (James 1: 14).

So, are you goal-oriented? Will you be faithful until you die? Can you be faithful when it is a matter of life and death? How strong is your faith in the face of hardship? Inconvenience? Is the crown of life worth it to you?

Be faithful today and then do it again tomorrow.*

July 28, 2023

II Corinthians 11: 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. (NIV)

Most people live their lives on either side of now.*

The “everything else” to which Paul refers here was nothing to sneeze at. In the previous verses he lists hard work, imprisonment, flogging, and exposure to death as some of his experiences for the sake of the gospel. But those things are in the past. Paul’s trials have served their purpose, but it is time to move on to what he deals with daily in the present: his concern for the churches.

We all face trials from time to time – but honestly, how many times have you been beaten or imprisoned for preaching the gospel? Not to belittle what you have been through, I ask you: do you need to stop living in the past? Perhaps you are facing hard times right now. Wouldn’t it be easier to handle today’s problems if you weren’t still carrying around yesterday’s?

Paul replaced his personal burdens with his concern for others. It is something we should try as well. Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing tough times. Spend time in prayer for your preacher and your elders and the missionaries you know. Get down on your knees and pray for the persecuted church in other parts of the world. Praying for others, rather than dwelling on your own past or present problems, won’t make your problems go away but it will certainly help put them in perspective.

From our limited human perspective it’s hard to sort out the painful from the purposeful because they are usually intertwined.*

July 27, 2023

Genesis 41: 16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” (NIV)

God does not expect us to stand firm in our own inadequate strength.*

Joseph is my hero. I wouldn’t say that he laughed in the face of adversity, but he surely knew how to make lemonade out of life’s lemons – even if it took years to squeeze out the juice. We watch as he climbs out of the pit of despair time after time. So, how could someone who overcame so much be heard to say, “I cannot do it”?

In this story, Pharaoh has sent for Joseph for help in interpreting his dream. Most of us in Joseph’s position – in a dungeon, no less – would have been eager to tell Pharaoh what he wanted to hear. At the least, we might say, “I’ll try!” But, “I can’t do it,” was the truth. Interpreting dreams was not a skill that Joseph acquired and developed on his own – it was from God. And so was his confidence.

In the past, God had given Joseph the ability to interpret dreams, but would he come through on this occasion? I don’t think Joseph knew the answer to that. But what he did know was that God’s will would be done. Whether God chose to reveal the meaning of the dream, or whether God had some other purpose in mind for Joseph’s current situation, Joseph’s faith in God was unwavering.

In prosperity or adversity, our faith in God should be as steadfast. He has the power to deliver us from the dungeon, but what if he doesn’t? Will we trust that he is still on his throne and that in all things he works for the good of those who love him?

God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.*

July 26, 2023

James 1: 2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIV)

Testing can be looked on as a burdensome trial or an invigorating challenge.*

In my former career, it was not uncommon to face challenging – and often volatile – situations. Our mistakes had the potential to make front page news and affect others’ rights. My boss was often overwhelmed by the weight of such responsibility, but I was invigorated by it. “How will I solve this problem?” was my standard response. I didn’t look for trouble, but I met it head-on by limiting its potential and being equipped for remedial action.

I must confess that I don’t always have quite the same gung-ho attitude about my personal challenges as I did my professional ones. When James urges us to consider it joy when we face trials, he isn’t suggesting that we deny their seriousness or their existence. We endure what we must, but we look beyond the moment to the outcome. We can be joyful in the face of adversity because we know that our testing develops the perseverance required to finish the job. We look forward to the day when we are mature and complete, not lacking anything.  It will be worth it. Rejoice!

Joy doesn’t come from the trial, but by focusing on God through the trial.*

July 25, 2023

John 6: 26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” (NIV)

If you only know what He has done for you, then you have not a big enough God.*

God has blessed me with everything I need and abundantly more than I could think to ask for. I am deeply grateful for his provision for which I express my thanks daily. Not a bad thing. But in this passage, we have a crowd of people who are seeking Jesus because he just fed them. Do they want to know more about him, or do they just want more food?

When the Lord provides our daily bread, it is right to be thankful. But are we like these people who were looking for Jesus because of an experience that benefited only them? What if, instead of being recipients of his abundance, we were merely observers of his miraculous works in the lives of others? Would we look for him then? What if our physical needs are met, not with plenty, but with just enough? Would we still love him?

Jesus’ miracles were crucial to his ministry, but his ministry was about meeting spiritual needs, not physical ones. We may not be able to perform miraculous signs, but how we use our physical blessings can turn them into spiritual blessings for others – sort of like a miracle!

Be thankful that you are well-fed, physically and spiritually. But learn to look beyond what Jesus does for you personally and become a part of his ministry of miraculous signs to others.

One of God’s main purposes in blessing you is so you can then touch others in ways that move them closer to Him.*

July 24, 2023

Matthew 11: 20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. (NIV)

True faith is obeying God in spite of feelings, circumstances, or consequences.*

Ever since I lost my job several years ago, God has been teaching me about my purpose and what he wants from me. Because I was collecting unemployment benefits those first few months, I was required to apply for a certain number of jobs each week. Job-hunting became an exercise in futility and a simultaneous exercise in faith as I trusted God to help me land the right job - all while knowing that most of my applications were merely fulfilling a quota rather than getting the attention of an HR director.

We don’t usually know that we are participating in an exercise in futility until it’s over, but Jesus knew. He performed most of his miracles in cities, knowing that the people were not going to repent. While Jesus was clearly aware of his eventual rejection by these cities as a whole, there is no reason to doubt that seeds of faith were planted among individual citizens. But . . . waste of time or not, performing miracles in those cities was God’s will – and he did his Father’s will. Obedience, he knew, is never pointless.

God doesn’t waste anything. He fulfills his providential purpose even during seasons of life that seem pointless to us.*

July 23, 2023

Nehemiah 8: 12 Then all the people went away to . . . celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. (NIV)

There is something spiritually strengthening that happens when the Word of God is revered, taught, and applied.*

It was an “aha moment” for the Israelites. One-hundred years of resettling is behind them. Fulfilling their destiny, you might say. But in the busyness of life and rebuilding, they have neglected their raison d’être: the God who delivered them from exile. Until today. Ezra brings out the Book of the Law of Moses (verse 1) and begins to read aloud to them. From daylight until noon, they listened and remembered, and then they worshipped.

Can you recall a time when a biblical truth became your truth? Was there ever a passage of scripture that suddenly spoke to you in your present situation? Has the Holy Spirit ever revealed to you the message of hope that you so desperately needed? Perhaps now would be a good time to remember those moments and praise God for them again. Make it an occasion of worship.

Whether you are merrily living your life or facing daily struggles, ignorance of God’s word is not bliss. For daily living or for comfort and healing, God’s word speaks to us. Neglecting the word limits the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. I prescribe a daily dose of the Bible – for what ails you now and to help prevent future ailments – and I predict great joy when you begin to understand the words as they become known to you.

I can examine the same verse or passage from time to time, and the Holy Spirit will ‘speak’ truth in applicable ways for what is happening in my life at that particular time.*

July 22, 2023

Romans 14: 17-19 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (NIV)

We know the correct doctrines, the right methods and the proper dos and don’ts. But we may not see the poverty of our own spiritual character.*

I admit it. I am judgmental. When people don’t meet my expectations or conform to my standards, I think things about them – especially if it’s a fellow Christian. What happens next usually goes one of two ways: 1) I just quit thinking about it; 2) I learn more about their “story” and begin to develop some Christlike compassion for them. 

In this passage, Paul is not referring to how we should treat a brother or sister who is openly sinning – there are other passages that detail proper procedure for that. Here, he addresses the biggest stumbling block for us judgmental types: appropriate versus inappropriate behavior. The controversy du jour for the Roman Christians was food – the clean and the unclean, and what was permissible for consumption – but we know lots of modern-day equivalents in our culture. Here’s the thing, says Paul. The kingdom of God is not about these things. It is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is about serving Christ and pleasing God. It is our job to make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification. 

So what does that mean to me when I’ve got my judgment on? I think it means I need to determine the appropriateness (or not) of my attitude and behavior. Where is the righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit? Am I serving Christ and pleasing God? Just how dedicated am I to peace and mutual edification? Judge that, sister!

We do not have a right to do some things that we have a right to do.*