Morning reflection

How can you walk in greater boldness with the Lord and still maintain wise counsel? What will this look like in your life, or those around you?

Men lets gather!

Jeremiah 5:26-31 – A Transformation Towards a Relationship
For wicked men are found among my people;
they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.
They set a trap;
they catch men.
Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
An appalling and horrible thing
has happened in the land:
the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes? (Jeremiah 5:26-31, ESV)

Tell me this doesn’t sound familiar.

It isn’t about putting God in schools, or having laws that reflect things that sway towards your interpretation of the bible. It’s not about religion. It’s not about legality. It’s more than that. A lot more. This is about PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS with God. This warning, first applied to Israel now applies to us. We’re on the clock, friends. It’s time to stop trying to win people over with our minds and our pride. It’s time to stop trying to win people over with our laws. It’s time to stop trying to win people over by telling them what they CAN’T do. Instead, let’s tell them what they CAN do.

Let’s tell them the transformation we’ve gone through. Let’s tell them of how God has moved in our lives. Let’s tell them that believing in God is no longer enough. Let’s tell them how our lives have changed since we met Christ. Let’s tell them that their lives can be changed. Let’s tell them that God wants THEM more than ever. And even better, let’s get OURSELVES on a better relationship with Him so when He tells us to move, we do nothing else BUT move in the way He tells us.

We need to improve ourselves before we can improve others. If He is our potter, and we are the clay, then we need to let Him mold us, instead of us trying to mold others. After all, clay cannot mold other clay. And if clay doesn’t have that relationship with the potter, then it dies.

“…my people love to have it so”

Let’s change that. The change starts with you. It starts with YOUR relationship with God, and it all starts on your knees.

God is speaking to you

Monday's vitamin:
. John 1:35-39 – What are you seeking?
 

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:35-39 ESV)

“What are you seeking?” are the first words of Jesus that John records and the big question that he asks of these two men who are interested in becoming his disciples. This question could also be translated, “what purpose do you have?” The same question applies to us today- what is our purpose in seeking to follow Jesus? Are you seeking a Jesus that is there to meet all of your wishes or to answer all of life’s questions for you? Maybe you are seeking meaning and purpose in your life through Jesus. Some come seeking Jesus to find fault and to critique the Christian faith.

What we learn from these two men is that they simply wanted to go to where Jesus was staying, to spend time with Jesus, and to gain insight into who Jesus was and what he was about . They were coming to spend quality time with Him to listen and learn. We can learn from these men what it means to seek Jesus today. Seeking is more than just saying a prayer or one day a week in a church.

Here are three questions we can asks ourselves as we seek Jesus:

What is your purpose in seeking to follow Jesus?

When was the last time you carved out significant time to listen and learn to Jesus?

When can you make some time this week (not just a 10 minute devotional) to listen and learn from Jesus?

Hello! Man of purpose

Numbers 12:1-2 - Finger pointing
 

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. (Numbers 12:1-2 ESV)

Have you ever heard that when you point at someone you have three fingers pointing back at you? Generally speaking, we ensure others understand this euphemism very well when they attempt to point out our flaws in order to make themselves look better. Essentially, we simply point back at them! Moses was dealing with this very issue as he was leading the Israelites through the wilderness. Miriam and Aaron were pointing to what they considered a sin or flaw in Moses’ life in order that the people would look to them as leaders rather than Moses.

He could have easily pushed back toward them, pointing an accusing finger at their flaws and prove himself the right leader for the job. But, he didn’t. Instead he did two things we can imitate when we find ourselves in similar situations:

He didn’t respond, rather he let God answer for him (Numbers 12:3-4). Instead of defending himself and demeaning his accusers, he let God handle it.
He prayed for his accusers (Numbers 12:13). Instead of brooding over their finger pointing and cultivating a bitter spirit toward them, he prayed that they would be better.
It can often be easier to fight back at those who point out issues/problems in our lives in order to make themselves feel better. In reality, we are just as guilty as them when we point back. We can learn much from the humble attitude of Moses in dealing with those who are finger pointers.

Remember Moses and his actions toward his finger pointers as you encounter them throughout your life.

Happy vet day

Matthew 5:13 – You are the salt of the Earth – A Preservative!
 

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. (Matthew 5:13 ESV)

Jesus said that we are the Salt of the Earth. What does that mean exactly? Well beyond simply adding flavor to the people and world around us, salt had many other uses and implications.

For starters, salt was once a rare, valuable, and precious commodity. This is hard to imagine since nowadays salt is very accessible and inexpensive. Just as salt was valuable and precious to the people of that time, God’s children we are valuable and precious. No one else in the world has our DNA or fingerprints. God has breathed His life into us and in addition to being made in His image and likeness, we are filled with His Spirit and presence. Because of this, we are precious and extremely valuable.

Furthermore, as salt was a preservative for food, we are a preservative on the earth. You see, prior to refrigeration, meats were packed in salt to prolong and prevent the rotting process due to the growth of bacteria. Without salt, the meat would slowly decay and become foul to both the sense of smell and taste. Likewise, this world without God and without Christians around them will start to decay and becoming more and more unpleasant to be associated with. Without Christians in the world, the growth and spread of spiritual and moral decay would be even more rampant than it already is.

By being in the world and living in close proximity to people who don’t know God, we are helping to preserve the atmosphere of love, unity, and healthy interpersonal relationships that God originally intended for humankind.

So be encouraged today. You are precious, valuable, and you are the preservative that God is using in the earth today! Go and be the Salt of the Earth!

Hump day wisdom

Luke 9:23-25 – A Costly Cross
 

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
(Luke 9:23-25 ESV)

Living well comes at a great cost, but so does living poorly. There is a price to pay and a sacrifice to be made for every decision in life. These costs vary, from something as mundane as a speeding ticket, to something as great as the loss of friends or familial ties (Luke 12:53). Following Jesus is costly. In fact, that word falls short to describe the depth of sacrifice required in walking after him. Taking up a “cross” would not have been the sanitized allegory to Jesus’ original hearers that it can be to us today. The cross took everything from men. It was a torturous end to human life. It was not meant to merely punish, but to kill. In fact, the legacy of the cross lives on even in our language, as the word excruciating literally means “from the cross”. A pain so intense, a loss so tremendous, it had to be associated with the worst death a human could die. This phrase cannot be glazed over, it cannot be brushed aside. There is a reality here we must rediscover: following Jesus Christ means death. And though death costs much, it is the price of eternal life. Save your life and follow Jesus today.

Dwell on these texts, and don’t allow their familiarity to cheapen the costly call they contain:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

You need this today

Tuesday medical advice:

"Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
  Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
  let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
  like gentle showers on young plants."

Deuteronomy 32:1–2

Are there ever times you feel like "tender grass," just planted, spouting up? A heavy rain would beat you down. A gentle rain is just what tender grass and newly transplanted young plants need to thrive. This passage depicts God's Word as being like this kind of rain. For those times when you feel tender and vulnerable, go to God's Word and let it settle like dew in your soul.

Monday head start!

Numbers 16:13 - Don’t Look Back
 

Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? (Numbers 16:13 ESV)

The Israelites were miraculously brought out of Egypt by God. They had been slaves to the Egyptians and were treated with contempt. In turn, they cry out to God (Exodus 2:23-25) and he hears their cries and rescues them from oppression. God never tells them that it will be an easy journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. On their way through the wilderness God continually provides for them as only he can. We read though, that some of the leaders were getting tired of the wilderness and looked back at their Egyptian slavery through rose colored glasses to see it as a place of milk and honey, which was what the Promised Land was to be.

We can often be like the Israelites as we are making a life change God has brought us to. This life change could be the stopping of a particular sin, ending a bad relationship, or even attending a new church God needs you to help at. These changes God has called us to are not an easy journey. Often times, our experience through the wilderness is the hardest. Like the Israelites, we can choose to look back in the past and see it through rose colored glasses or look toward the land flowing with milk and honey God has for us. As you come to that crossroad, you can look back or keep trekking forward, remember that there are greener pastures ahead.

Have you been looking back lately?