The Action Story

Old Testament: Zechariah 9-10

Poetry: Psalm 146

*Theme Week – Celebrating Jesus: Mark 1

            Every writer, speaker, film-maker has their own particular style for telling a story or giving a presentation.  When I preach a sermon I usually choose one particular theme.  I often start with a story that I have personally experienced and then try to help the listener make a connection to that same kind of story/situation and then connect the Bible story/text to that same theme.  It’s a slow build up to the main theme.  That’s one way to do it.

            Some choose to jump right in and focus on the action.  If you’ve ever seen a James Bond movie or a Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie, you notice that almost always it begins right in the midst of the action.. very little warm up, just a kind of… boom! You’re right in the middle of the action- jumping out of an airplane, skiing down a mountain, climbing up the outside of a skyscraper, whatever.

            When it comes to the four Gospels, each one is different in how they begin.  Matthew goes back to the Old Testament and give a genealogy for Jesus, showing how his is connected to some of Israel’s great people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David and then he tells the story of Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem and how Mary’s betrothed, Joseph, was a good and honorable man.  Luke starts with the announcements of the pregnancies of John the Baptist and Jesus followed by their birth stories.  John’s Gospel follows the pattern of Genesis one and goes back to the beginning with God’s word, his promise and plan and then showing that Jesus fulfills that plan.  All three of those Gospels give back stories and slow roll outs.  Then there’s Mark.  Mark starts out… Boom!  John the Baptist is an adult and doing his ministry of preaching and baptizing.  Then Jesus appears as a grown adult and gets baptized by John and God’s voice descends upon Jesus proclaiming that he is God’s son and that God is pleased with him.

            Mark’s Gospel is an action story.  We know nothing about Jesus as a baby, how he came to be conceived of a virgin or in a manger.  Mark doesn’t mention wise men.  What matters to Mark is:  “What’s Jesus doing now that his mission is getting ready to start?”  We still know from Mark that Jesus is the son of God, because God announces it from heaven.  Mark doesn’t feel the need to share how Jesus happened to be the son of God, God just tells us.  Boom! Action!

            Mark’s favorite word seems to be “immediately”.  Jesus comes out of the water and “immediately” the heavens are torn open and God’s speaks.  Then “immediately” the spirit sends Jesus out to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.  Compared to the other Gospels not a lot of detail.  We don’t hear from Mark how Jesus was tempted by Satan or how he responded, just that it happened.  Then Jesus is suddenly back in Galilee announcing- “It’s time! The kingdom of God is coming right away”.  Can you feel the urgency in Mark’s storytelling? 

            Next, Jesus is by the sea calling the fishermen to follow him and “immediately they follow him.” He moves on down and finds two more fishermen and “immediately” he calls them.  He goes to Capernaum and “immediately” enters the synagogue and starts teaching.  Then he “immediately” casts out an unclean spirit from a young man. Then he “immediately” leaves the synagogue and goes to the home of Simon and Andrew where Simon’s mother in law is sick and “immediately” they tell Jesus about her illness and he heals her.  From there every sick person in town is being brought to him to be healed.

            Next, Jesus is getting up very early in the morning to go pray and the disciples come looking for him.  There is urgency- “everyone is looking for you.”  Jesus then leads them from town to town preaching and casting out demons.  He meets a leper and touches him and “immediately” the leper is healed.

            Each of the four gospels tell the story of Jesus but do it in different styles.  Luke spends over 19,000 words telling the story, Matthew is right behind at over 18,000 words, John uses just over 15,000 words, and Mark, you guessed it- it is by far the shortest, telling the story of Jesus at just over 11,000 words- in just a little over half the words that Luke uses.  Mark probably had his own reasons for telling the story with so much action and so few words.  It’s still the story of Jesus, told from Mark’s perspective and it still touches on the main points- Jesus is the son of God, Jesus was baptized and tempted, Jesus preached the good news and healed people, and Jesus was on the move.  Mark goes on to show that Jesus was crucified and that God raised him from the dead.

            Isn’t it great that God allows us to keep our own personality and style as we serve him?  The story of Jesus has never and will never change, but how we present Jesus to others may depend on all kinds of factors including our own personality and style as well as the needs of our conversation partners.  God doesn’t make cookie cutter disciples.  God tells the story of Jesus through many different people.  How is he using you to tell the story of Jesus?

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. Why do you think God chose four different writers to tell the story of Jesus? 
  2. What do you appreciate about Mark chapter 1?
  3. God tells the story of Jesus through many different people.  How is he using you to tell the story of Jesus?

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Great Stories: Jesus and Israel

Old Testament: Zechariah 7 & 8

Poetry: Psalm 145

*New Testament: Matthew 2

Tuesday, December 26, 2023. The Second Day of Christmas, Mathew 2

            Have you ever noticed how the really good stories keep being retold?  Sometimes it’s a remake.  Like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory- with Gene Wilder in the iconic role when I was a child, remade with Johnny Depp playing Wonka.  Sometimes they take a classic story and give the backstory, which it seems they are doing with Wonka, with Timothée Chalamet showing a younger version.    Some of the classic stories get some real twists- Romeo and Juliet was modernized and musicalized into West Side Story and Homer’s The Odyssey got Southernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou.  You get the point.  Great stories have the kind of universal themes that carry over from generation to generation.

            We see the same thing when we read the Bible.  Some of the key stories in the Old Testament reappear in the Gospels.  That’s no accident.  Jesus so identifies with the nation of Israel and its story that he, in a sense, re-experiences their story in his own story.  Hebrews 4:15 says that he was tempted in every way as the people he gave himself up for were tempted. 

            Today’s reading in Matthew 2 is a great illustration of how Jesus relives the story of Israel.  Let’s take a moment to consider the ways Jesus recapitulates Israel’s story.  In the story of Moses, the evil Pharaoh was afraid that the enslaved Israelites were becoming too large and powerful and posed a threat to his power in Egypt, so he decreed that all the male Israelite babies born were to be killed.  Moses was spared while many other male children were not.  Moses, the one who was spared grew up to lead Israel out of their bondage and go toward the promised land.  Notice in today’s reading, Herod is afraid that Jesus would be a threat to his power so he seeks to have Jesus killed as a baby.  In the process of trying to have Jesus killed Herod murders all the innocent boys of Bethlehem.  Just as Moses was spared, Jesus’ life was spared, and he went down to Egypt until Herod died and it was safe to leave Egypt and come to Israel.

            Another part of the story was a dream that warned the wise men not to return to tell Herod where Jesus was living.  Dreams are an important part of the story of Israel.  Jacob’s son Joseph had a dream about his family bowing down to him, which led to him being kidnapped and sold by his brothers where he eventually arrived in Egypt and became a powerful leader of Egypt, and his brothers did indeed come to buy grain from him and bowed before him, just as he had dreamed.  In Matthew chapter 1, another Joseph, betrothed to Mary was told that the baby in Mary’s womb was the son of God and that Joseph was to marry her and raise Jesus as his own son. 

            After Jesus grew up and went through the waters of baptism, he went into the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted.  This was a reenactment of Israel as a nation that went through the Red Sea and into the wilderness for 40 years where they were tempted.  Jesus relives Israel’s story in so many ways.

            Israel celebrated God sparing their firstborn children by passing over their homes wherever the blood of the lamb that was slain was over their entrance.  They celebrated God’s saving them each year by eating unleavened bread, drinking wine, and eating lamb.  Jesus became the lamb of God whose blood was shed to spare us from death.  During communion, we eat unleavened bread and drink wine (or unfermented grape juice) to remember that Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away our sins through his death on the cross so that we might have life everlasting.

            As you read through the Bible during Seek, Grow, Love, notice how the same story is retold in many ways.  The question is, is Jesus’ story a retelling of Israel’s story, or is Israel’s story lived in anticipation of the greatest story ever told, the story of Jesus?  Either way, you and I can make Jesus’ story our own story if we follow him.

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. What is the value in reading and knowing the Old Testament? 
  2. What do you love best about Israel’s story? What do you love best about Jesus’ story?
  3. How is Jesus’ story your story? 
  4. What do you learn about the author of Israel’s and Jesus’ stories? 
sgl23bibleplanDownload

The Day We Have All Been Waiting For

Old Testament: Zechariah 5 & 6

Poetry: Psalm 144

New Testament: Luke 2

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

            It’s Christmas Day!  The day we have all been waiting for.  Unless you’re really, really good, you likely will have already gotten up, peeked in your stocking and maybe opened gifts with your family.  You may have even eaten a large meal.  Maybe now you’re taking a few minutes to check your email and give some attention to your devotions for the day.  Whether you’re reading this at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m., it’s still Christmas Day.  A day you’ve been waiting for.  Christmas comes every year so at most, you’ve had to wait 364 days for Christmas. 

            The people of Israel had to wait hundreds of years for the first Christmas.  From the time King David was first promised that his son would be the Messiah and would reign forever, it had been many generations.  Now that day had finally come.  Normally, when a royal birth happens, especially a future King, it’s a pretty big deal.  There are grand proclamations that come from out of important palaces in important cities.  The whole community might stand outside the walls of the royal palace to hear the great news officially announced.  But this first Christmas announcement was quite different.  It wasn’t in the city of Jerusalem outside the palace walls, it was in the fields of rural Bethlehem.  The audience wasn’t the whole city gathered, it was a few sleepy shepherds in the middle of the night making sure their sheep were safe from predators.  The one making the announcement wasn’t the royal page or member of the court of Jerusalem, it was an angelic messenger of God.

            News of the Messiah’s birth went largely unnoticed for many years.  It would take several announcements from God “a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Eventually, his few disciples understood that he was the Messiah.  What finally sold many people was his death and resurrection.  The Bible says that one day “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord” (Messiah/king).  On this Christmas Day, let us be sure that we not only hear and believe the Good News that at long last the promised Messiah was born in a manger in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago, but that he died for our sins and God raised him up from death and clothed him in immortality, he has ascended to the side of God and will come again to reign over all.  One day every knee will bow, but for today, be sure that you are bowing and giving your allegiance to King Jesus, and be sure to share this news with everyone you know. 

Merry Christmas!

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. How was God’s plan for a Messiah different from what many people expected? What do you love about how God brought about His plan for a Messiah? What does His plan reveal about Him? 
  2. Does your holiday festivities show that you are celebrating that Jesus is Lord? How are you bowing before him and confessing that he is Lord – yesterday, today and tomorrow?
  3. How can you share the good news of great joy? Who needs to hear it?
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Let it Be to Me

Old Testament: Zechariah 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 143

*Theme Week – Celebrating Jesus: Luke 1

            ’Twas the Night Before Christmas….  Originally published 200 years ago, in 1823, as A Visit from St. Nicolas authorship credited to and later claimed by Clement Clarke Moore.  Moore was a theology professor- a Bible teacher.  He originally wrote the poem for fun, he said, for his children.  This story helped to shape the way many began to celebrate Christmas and has had a lasting cultural impact.  I find it interesting that a Bible teacher is responsible for the way most Americans celebrate Christmas with its focus on Santa Claus, gift-giving, and all the rest of the things that tend to draw attention away from the original meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.  Now Bible teachers and preachers are trying to remind us that “Jesus is the reason for the season” but more often that plea has fallen on deaf ears.  More people are interested in getting the latest iPhone or other coveted goodies.  On this Christmas Eve day, we take a quick pause from our parties, food and gift-buying and wrapping and consider the first part of the Christmas story. 

            In today’s reading from Luke one, we see the announcement of two unlikely births, two cousins to be born named John and Jesus.  Israel’s story in the Old Testament has a giant pause and collective waiting.  Israel was waiting for the arrival of their promised king or messiah.  Several hundred years BC God promised David, the King, that he would have a son who would reign as king over a kingdom that would be unending.  At first, people thought Solomon was the fulfillment of that promise.  Solomon started well, sought God’s wisdom above all else and the Kingdom of Israel prospered.  But Solomon’s heart turned away from faithfulness to God, he was not to be the true Messiah.  His son, Rehoboam ruled after him and things went from bad to worse.  Eventually, civil war caused his kingdom to split.  Eventually, God punished a succession of unfaithful kings with the destruction of the temple, the fall of the capital Jerusalem, and the end of the heirs of David ruling as kings.  For hundreds of years, there was no heir of David.  The hope for the messiah remained a longed-for and unfulfilled expectation. 

            The last of the historical/prophetic books of the Old Testament is Malachi.  Malachi ends with the hopeful promise that an Elijah-type prophet will come and get people ready for the final day of the Lord that was to come. 

            Fast forward about 400 years, and Israel is still waiting for the 2 anticipated births- of the Elijah-type prophet, and the Messiah-King, heir of David’s throne.  Out of this 400 years of waiting comes Luke 1 with the announcements of two unlikely births.  Unlikely because one was promised to an older childless couple, and the second to a young, engaged couple where the young woman was still a virgin.  In both cases, God would perform a miracle to bring forth these two baby boys, John and Jesus.

            It’s important to note in the story that when the Angel comes to Mary announcing God’s plan for her, Mary offers her consent “Let it be to me according to your word.”  This makes perfect sense.  We know that in human relationships consent is morally required before union.  Anything less than consent is unacceptable and morally reprehensible.  It stands to reason that before God placed his son Jesus in her womb she would give consent.  “Let it be” or “I agree to allow your word, your promise, your plan for your son, the Messiah to be formed in me.”

            The same is true for all of us.  God wants to place His word in us and for us to bear the fruits of Jesus.  In Galatians 4:19 Paul uses this metaphor of birth: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”. God wants Christ to be formed in us.  Christ was formed in the womb of Mary uniquely, but God wants all of us to be spiritually transformed, to become like Jesus in our character, in our singular commitment to bring glory to God and to seek first God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and righteousness (right living in covenant relationship with God).

            Sorry this is getting kind of technical, but the bottom line is, for Mary to give birth to Jesus, she first had to give God her consent “Let it be”.  For Christ to be formed in us, we must also give our consent.  God will not force us to receive His word and be transformed, to have Christ formed in us, we must receive it.

            So on this night before Christmas, as you watch the lights on the tree and listen to Christmas music, play games with your family, wrap presents and drink egg nog, or go to Church and any combination of the above, listen for God’s invitation.  He wants to plant His word in you so that Jesus Christ might be fully formed in you.  Will you give your consent?  Will you say as Mary did “Let it be to me according to your word?”

-Jeff Fletcher

Reflection Questions

  1. How will you celebrate Jesus today and tomorrow and the rest of the week and in 2024?
  2. Have you given your consent and received God’s word and spiritual transformation? 
  3. What might it look like and feel like to have Jesus Christ fully formed in you? 
sgl23bibleplanDownload

Who Cares?

Old Testament: Zechariah 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 142

New Testament: Matthew 28

In my opinion, David had an amazing life.  They chose him to be king!  That’s something pretty impressive we can’t say (unless there are any kings reading this).  He was a hero as a young child when he took down Goliath.  That was such an impressive feat that someone made a song about him that we sang in Sunday School all the time.  Has anyone made a song about you?  Probably not (unless you are one of these people:  Delilah, Billie Jean, Roxanne, Jude, Mickey, Jack and Diane, Mrs. Robinson, and some others).  David had his ups and downs in life, but he seemed to have it together pretty well.  It was a bit surprising to hear what he had to say in Psalms 142.

Apparently, he was hiding out in a cave when he wrote this, so he probably wasn’t having one of his better days.  He starts out by crying out to God for mercy and telling him his trouble.  He says his spirit is growing faint and that no one is concerned about him.  In verse 4, he says that no one cares for his life.  He tells God to listen to his cry because he was in desperate need.  Clearly, David was down and out and feeling very alone.  If that state of mind can happen to someone like David, it could happen to anyone.  We all know that millions of people every day feel like this; probably some of you reading this.  There are a lot of hurting people in our world.

It hit me to write about this topic because it is two days before Christmas, and I think a lot of these lonely feelings are magnified on the holidays for many, especially at Christmastime.  We know the true meaning of Christmas has to do with the birth of Christ and you can celebrate that on your own, but the holiday has also become an important time for family for many.  There are many family traditions celebrated and family gatherings taking place.  This is how I knew I had cousins.  But not everyone has a great family situation, and some have little to no family at all.  Or maybe they don’t live anywhere near their family.  Unfortunately, holidays can make people feel a lot like what David was feeling.

In verse 7, David compared his situation to being in prison and asked God to set him free so that he could go back to praising him.  However, it was the end of verse 7 that caught my attention.  David ends by saying that the righteous will gather around him because of God’s goodness to him.  There may be someone crying out to God at this moment because they feel lonely and think nobody cares about them.  That person needs some righteous people to gather around them, so they know God is still good.  You and I need to be on the lookout for these people and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love.  I also have a suggestion for anyone who is feeling lonely themselves; be on the lookout for others who are hurting and be willing to sacrifice some time to surround them with some love.

Obviously, there are countless ways you can make a difference in someone’s life.  It is not difficult to figure that part out; the difficult part can be following through and doing it.  I challenge you to find someone that could use some lifting up.  I doubt it will take long to think of someone, but then move beyond the thinking to the doing.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever stopped to think about those around you or are you too busy with your own Christmas celebration?  Can you think of someone who may be having a tough Christmas because they are feeling lonely?

What are some practical things you could do to let someone hurting know they are loved?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Oops

Old Testament: Haggai 1-2

Poetry: Psalm 141

New Testament: Matthew 27

Yesterday’s devotion was written to those with a strong faith.  Today’s devotion is written for everybody else.  Perhaps, some of you are a bit wobbly in your faith and have drifted away from God.  Some of you may not have decided yet to live for God instead of yourself.  I suppose it is possible some of you have no interest in becoming a Christian, but I am guessing most of those folks wouldn’t be reading this.  In Matthew 27, we read about the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross and the crazy events that happened right after he died.

Strangely enough, it was the religious leaders that schemed to find Jesus guilty so they could put him to death.  It’s not easy finding someone guilty when they never have done anything wrong in their life, but they managed to concoct a way to make it happen.  They believed in the Old Testament scriptures, but somehow ignored the many writings about a messiah that would be coming.  They also saw miracles, or at the very least heard about them from many others.  All the signs were there for them to easily accept the fact that Jesus was indeed God’s son, but they chose not to believe.

In verse 50, Jesus cried out and then died.  At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, rocks split, and the tombs broke open.  Here is the craziest part of all:  bodies of holy people who had died were raised to life and started walking around town where many people saw them.  Can you imagine what that scene must have been like?  I’m sure there were people flipping out all over the place, including those who had put Jesus to death.  In verse 54, the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened.  It says they were terrified and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Oops.  Just minutes after they had crucified Jesus, they realized they had made a big mistake, but there was no going back at that point.  There was no do-over; they were clearly warned, but they chose to not believe.  I’m sure they felt terrible about their decision.

So, what does any of this have to do with you?  Well, you have a decision to make as well.  You must decide if you are going to live for God or live for yourself.  It’s a big decision so don’t take it lightly.  You can choose to ignore the signs if you would like, the same way the religious leaders ignored the signs 2,000 years ago.  Look at the incredible masterpiece called creation and try to justify that it happened completely randomly.  Read the Bible and try to convince yourself that all the ways the Bible has been proven to be accurate are just a coincidence.

Maybe you actually do believe in God, but you are putting off the decision until later.  Risky, risky.  You may die today, losing your chance.  Moreover, Jesus says he is going to come back like a thief in the night, meaning a lot of people are going to be surprised when that day happens.  In fact, on that day, I think the most said word of that day will be ‘Oops’.  A lot of people are going to regret they blew their chance.  Don’t let that be you.

Reflection Questions:

If you are not saved, what is holding you back from making that decision?

If you find yourself on the outside looking in after Christ returns, what thoughts will be going through your head at that point?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Too Scared

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 140

*New Testament: Matthew 26

I am writing today’s devotion for those that consider themselves strong in their faith.  I’m talking about those of you out there that know there is nothing anyone can do to mess with your salvation.  You are going to stay faithful to the end no matter what may happen.  You just know you would never turn your back on God.  If Peter were around today, I am sure he would say he was in this group, but he surprisingly was not able to keep his word in the past.

In Matthew 26, Jesus was explaining to the disciples at the last supper that they were all going to fall away on account of him.  Peter spoke up and said that even if everyone else falls away, he never would.  I am sure Peter believed that with his whole heart, but then Jesus described how Peter was going to deny him three times that very night.  At that point, Peter did not politely agree with Jesus; instead, he doubled down on the fact that even if he had to die with him, he would never disown him.  The rest of the disciples then said the same.  So what happened?

Jesus was arrested after Judas betrayed him with a kiss.  A large crowd came to arrest him, and all the disciples deserted him and fled.  That didn’t take long.  They were too scared to stay with Jesus even though they said they would never do that just a few hours earlier.  Peter followed Jesus at a distance, but we know he was confronted three times that night and disowned Jesus all three times.  Why?  Because he was too scared.  He was tipped off it was going to happen that way so he could have been prepared to deal with it, but his fear made him act differently.

Would you be strong enough if you were in the same situation as Peter?  I hope so, but how strong is your faith now?  Does fear ever get in the way of you doing something that should be done?  Have you invited your neighbor to church yet or are you too scared?  Maybe just haven’t gotten around to doing that yet, wink wink.  Are you willing to stick up for some kid at school that is being picked on or are you scared what people might think about you?  Is there a ministry at church you might be good at, but you are too scared to give it a try?  Is there a family member, co-worker, or friend that needs to hear about Christ?  If fear is holding you back in any of these situations, join the Peter club.

I honestly think if you had enough guts to deal with any of these situations, it would probably turn out well, or at the very least, not that bad.  You may get rejected or have people ridicule you, but you may also save a life for eternity.  I am always surprised what risks people will take to save a life for a handful of years now (running into burning buildings, etc.), but they are unwilling to put themselves out there when trying to save lives for an eternity.

Do you know who was really scared to do something he knew needed to happen?  Jesus.  He prayed three times for God to come up with a plan different than him having to die for everyone’s sins.  He was so scared that he said in verse 38 that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  He absolutely did not want to do what he was supposed to do.  But in those same prayers, he said he would follow his Father’s will, not his own.  Did the situation turn out to be easy and he was just over-thinking it?  Nope.  He had to go through a terribly painful death.  He was definitely scared, but he wasn’t too scared to do the right thing.

So those of you with the strong faith, Jesus gave you the example to follow.  Is there someone you need to talk to?  Make it happen even if you are scared.  Is there a ministry waiting for you?  Volunteer for that even if it makes you sweat.  Jesus saved a bunch of lives by facing his fear and acting.  Hopefully, you can help save some lives too.

Reflection Questions:

Is there something you should be doing for God that you have put off?  Do you make excuses so you don’t have to admit you are too scared?  Or maybe just try not to think about it?

It’s easy to put things off until later.  Is there anyone in your life that you waited to talk to, but now it is too late because they are gone (died, moved to a different state, got a new job at a different company, etc.)?  If so, how does that make you feel now?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Home Alone

Old Testament: Habakkuk 1-3

*Poetry: Psalm 139

New Testament: Matthew 25

Christmas is approaching, and today’s reading of Psalms 139 reminded me of the movie Home Alone.  I suspect most of you are familiar with the family who went on vacation and didn’t realize until they arrived at their vacation destination that they had left their very young son home alone.  This seems like a bit of a stretch; did they not consider why they had a leftover plane ticket?  Anyways, it was a fun movie and I know that probably all parents have forgotten about their kids when they were supposed to be responsible for them many times.  This is how crayon drawings happen on walls, unexpected haircuts happen, etc.  However, today we read that we are never alone, not for a second, literally.

God is always with us, whether you like it or not, ALL the time.  From your very beginning in your mother’s womb to this very minute, He has been with you the whole way.  He doesn’t ever sleep, and He isn’t just in the next room over in case you need some help; He is staring at you all day and night long.  I doubt He even blinks.  That is intense!  But that shows how invested He is in your life.  Moreover, He knows more about you than you know about yourself.  Give that a minute to sink in.  I know myself really well because I can hear all the thoughts in my mind, but He knows me more.  He knows my thoughts before I think them.  Whoa!

He is totally inside my head, but He still gives me the freedom to live the life I want, even when it is something He dislikes.  He allows me to go the wrong direction, but you’ve probably heard Him like I have, saying “don’t do that, that’s a bad idea.”  Can you imagine how He feels when we ignore Him and do what makes us feel good instead?  On the other hand, can you imagine how He feels when we listen to Him in those moments and do the right thing?

Let’s put ourselves in God’s shoes for a minute.  I know, basically impossible, but let’s try anyways.  Let’s imagine that you were as brilliant as God, and you used your talents to create a new girl or boy.  You also loved your new creation more than can be comprehended and you wanted to spend all your time with your new person every minute of every day for their whole life.  Does it seem creepy to love someone so much that you never want to leave them alone?  Maybe, but it also shows the incredible degree of love you have for them.

Now let’s look at some potential scenarios and see how you feel about them.  You love this person immensely and spend all day with them, but in the first scenario, they don’t ever even acknowledge you are there.  I would be devastated and extremely hurt.  How rude!  In the next scenario, they know you are there, but they rarely pay attention to you.  They could go hours or even days not saying a word to you.  Why are they ignoring me?  Do they not like me that much?  In the last scenario, they understand what you did for them and that you are there for them.  They stay in contact with you all throughout every day.  They appreciate what you do for them, and they love you as best as their human hearts allow.  That sounds like a great relationship that both people would feel great about.

God cares about you so much that He is always with you.  He nudges you along the way to keep you on the right path, but He lets you make the decisions in your life.  He invests so much in you because He loves you immensely and wants to have a personal relationship with you.  It is an understatement to say we are fortunate to have someone so knowledgeable, powerful, and loving on our side and so involved in our lives.

Reflection Questions:

Do you realize how important you are to God?  Have you thanked Him for that lately?

There is a lot to be upset and anxious about in today’s world.  Does it make it easier when you stop to consider that God is with you to the end through all the difficult times?

How long do you typically ignore that there is someone (God) with you each day?  Do you acknowledge Him throughout the day, or do you get to the end of the day, and say, “Oh, Hi God, I forgot you were there.  Sorry I didn’t have time to talk today”?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

This World Stresses Me Out

Old Testament: Nahum 1-3

Poetry: Psalm 138

New Testament: Matthew 24

Wars, diseases, crime, hate, famines, earthquakes, hurricanes, and a bunch of other bad stuff can really stress you out these days.  It really seems to have gotten worse lately.  I am 58 and a half years old, so I was growing up in the 70’s when nuclear weapons became a big topic of the day.  Many Christians I knew were saying that we were in the end times then.  In fact, I remember one person predicted that Christ may be returning in 1982.  Clearly, that wasn’t a very good prediction and it taught me not to make predictions about such things, but I do think events are a lot more aligned now with scripture and the end times could be starting now or soon.  Matthew 24 talks about the end times when things are going to get bad, really bad, but it also gives those who can persevere a lot of hope.

I am not going to review all the signs of the end times mentioned in Matthew 24 here; you can read those yourself.  However, my quick summary that I already mentioned is that it will be bad, really bad.  Jesus warned us in verse 6 that we will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but he also said that we should not be alarmed because these things need to happen before the end comes.  He went on to describe a lot of other disturbing events that will take place.  He was warning us of what is going to happen so we can stay chill during that time.  Unfortunately, he also told us that many would turn away from the faith at that time.  If we didn’t have this warning, I do think it would be difficult to keep our faith when we see the whole world crumbling before our eyes.  But c’mon, if you say you have faith now when you know these bad times are coming, it is not much faith if you abandon it when you see exactly what you already knew was going to happen.  It should increase your faith when you start to see events that were written about 2,000 years ago actually occurring.  That’s impressive.  Moreover, we already know how this story ends, and it is amazingly positive for those who keep their faith to the end.

It is true that some will lose their faith because they just can’t handle all the bad things that are going to happen, but Jesus has another warning for a different group of people.  He talks about a group of people that aren’t ready for his return.  They are people that even believe in Jesus, but they start thinking that he has been gone a long time, so they have more time before they need to get their lives in order.  They think they can live for themselves a bit longer before they need to repent and start living for God.  There are two major problems with that thinking.  First, your life could end today, and you will have missed your chance to be saved.  Second, only God knows when Christ is going to return, and it is going to surprise many people.  Jesus told a story about a master of a servant who will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.  There will be people that put off the decision to live for God because they think they have more time, but instead will find themselves in the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  It will be too late the same way it was too late for all the people in Noah’s time who didn’t believe Noah until it started raining.

This has all been explained to us in scripture so you really shouldn’t be surprised when it happens.  It was explained to us beforehand so we can stay calm and know that once this happens, we will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

Reflection Questions:

Does this world stress you out or do you realize that God is in control, and everything is going to turn out great in the end for His people?

Are you glad Jesus warned us of the bad things that are going to happen or would you rather have not known and be surprised when it happens?  Do you think it would be easier to keep your faith in the end if you knew what was going to happen or if you were in the dark?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload

Inside vs. Outside

Old Testament: Micah 5-7

Poetry: Psalm 137

New Testament: Matthew 23

We are all concerned with how we look to others on the outside, and that is a good thing.  The outside is all the stuff people can see about us.  It is how we physically look, the things we own, the words we say, our actions, our reputation, etc.  It might sound a bit vain to be concerned about what others think about us, but it is ok to want to be accepted by others and you will have more influence with others if they like you and respect you.  The inside is all our thoughts and desires, and others cannot hear our thoughts or know if we are being honest about our desires.  We can hide our true thoughts and desires from those around us, although nothing is hidden from God.  Which is more important?  The way others see us on the outside or what we are thinking on the inside?

I think they are both important and we should be concerned about both.  But what happens if we concentrate on only one or the other?  In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about a group of people that were only concerned about the outside.  The Pharisees and teachers of the law were overly concerned about what other people thought of them.  They made their phylacteries (boxes containing scripture verses worn on their forehead and arm) wide and the tassels on their garments long for people to see.  They loved places of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.  They loved to be greeted with respect and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.  They gave a tenth to God’s work, but they neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  They appeared to be righteous on the outside, but they were full of hypocrisy and wickedness on the inside.  Jesus detested the way they lived because it was not honest, and they only did it to impress others.  They were arrogant hypocrites, and that’s not a good look on the inside or outside.

Similarly, if we are ultra concerned about how our bodies look, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the house we live in, etc., we are concentrating on the wrong things because we are trying too hard to impress others so we can feel good about ourselves.  That is also not a good look reputation-wise because we are lacking humility.  On the other hand, please brush your teeth, take a shower, and take care of your house and yard enough so others won’t think you don’t care.

So, what happens if you only concentrate on the inside?  I love what Matthew 23:25-26 had to say about this.  Jesus was ripping on the Pharisees and teachers of the law again by saying they clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  He goes on to tell them to first clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside will also be clean.  That is brilliant!  If you concentrate on your thoughts and desires on the inside that others can’t see, it will affect how you look on the outside to others.  In other words, focus on the inside and the outside will take care of itself.

If you love God and love others on the inside, your words and actions will look beautiful to others because of your love for them and because you are not putting yourself first.  Verse 12 says, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  It is important to look good on the outside and inside, but you need to focus on getting the inside right, not the outside.  The better you look on the inside, the better you will look on the outside as well.  You will be a truly humble and loving person, rather than an arrogant hypocrite.

Reflection Questions:

Should we be concerned about what others think about us?  Why or why not?

What are some practical steps we can take to “work on our insides”?

-Rick McClain

sgl23bibleplanDownload