Tag: daily devotion

God’s Fellow Worker

Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 25-27

Poetry: Psalm 148

* New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 3

Have you even been introduced to someone as God’s fellow worker? It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Paul described Timothy as, “our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you (the Thessalonians) in your faith” (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Could you be described as God’s fellow worker?

I am impressed in this chapter (1 Thessalonians 3) with Paul’s obvious heart for his fellow workers (there was a reason they were called brothers even though they had no blood relations) and his heart for the church – some of whom he had not known long and had only spent a short time with. And yet, with the good news Timothy brought of the Thessalonians’ strong faith and love Paul says, “For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord” (1 Thess 3:8). You can hear his heart filled with joy. For now we really live!

Paul had been concerned that when he and his fellow workers moved on to carry the gospel message to other towns the tempter might be successful in tempting the young Thessalonian church away from true faith in God and love for Him and one another. It is a very real and powerful threat that is still active and alive today. It is why the armor of God is so important. Thankfully, the Thessalonians were standing strong.

Another way that Paul shows his heart is through his prayers – night and day – most earnestly – remembering the Thessalonians, praying they might see each other again, and praying that their faith would be strengthened even more. This is an important reminder to keep praying for our brothers and sisters in the church – even if they appear to be doing alright and don’t have any known health problems (often the most common needs on the church prayer list). The tempter is always looking for little cracks in the armor. Prayer is huge. Keep at it. Night and day. Most earnestly. Remember your extended church family in your prayers. Pray for their faith to be strong and growing – with any gaps filled in to present a stronger front against the tempter.

Healthy faith displays action and love. Pray also that love will be increased – love for each other (the church) and also for “everyone else” (vs. 12) including those outside who need to know God and His Son Jesus. Increasing love. Love is a beautiful thing – but increasing love is even so much better. Don’t be content being a loving person – strive and pray to have increasing love. Be a parent, a spouse, a neighbor, a boss, a co-worker, a missionary, one of God’s fellow workers with increasing love. Pray for increasing love for yourself, each other and everyone else.

AND – of course we have to end this devotion as Paul ends every chapter in 1 Thessalonians – REMEMBER – Jesus is coming back!! So live your life preparing for that day! As Paul says so well – “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” This is my prayer for you – my fellow SeekGrowLove reader. Blameless and holy, I hope to see you there. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

-Marcia Railton

Reflection Questions

  1. Wh0 has been God’s fellow workers with you? What have they done for you and for God? Do they know how much you appreciate them?
  2. How is your faith and love doing – if someone were sent to give Paul a report on you and your church’s faith and love what would Paul hear back? Would he rejoice that you are standing firm? Where can your faith grow, filling in the gaps? How can your love increase?
  3. Pray the prayers of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 3 (for faith filled in, increasing love and blameless/holy people ready to stand/bow before God when Jesus returns) for yourself, and your church family and extended church family. Use specific names God brings to mind. Repeat night and day – most earnestly.
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Names

Old Testament: 2 Kings 3 & 4

Poetry: Psalm 128

New Testament: Ephesians Intro – coming this afternoon because sometimes two posts are better than one

When we decided to name our children, I thought long and hard about the meaning behind each of their names. It was more than picking a cute name out of a book, or making sure they weren’t one of eight of the same-named kids in their class, or avoiding mispronunciations throughout the whole of their life.  My thoughts were more along the lines of a Bible name.  Well not directly from the Bible, like my names Aaron & Jonathan, but something with a deep, and sometimes, literal meaning.  For example: 

Adam – Son of the earth

Moses – Taken from the water 

Esau – Red & hairy

David – Beloved

Peter – Rock

Yeshua (Jesus) – Deliverer.  

What qualities would their name evoke or how might their name be prophetic?  We ended up landing on Oliver Ace – Peace & unity, Matilda Claire – Strength & clarity,  and Violet Lou – Wisdom & esteemed.  While each of their fulfillments is to be determined, I believe that God, indeed, has a plan for their name. 

Watching the actions of Elisha throughout the course of 2 Kings, we see time and time again the fulfillment of the name to which he was called, “God is Salvation.” In Chapter 4, as a vessel of God in faith, Elisha provides for a widow, saves prophets from being poisoned, feeds 100 with scraps, and brings a child back to life.  In each of these instances, God, through his agent Elisha, is salvation.  God will provide when you are in need.  God will save you from harm.  God will use your offering to multiply the blessing.  God will raise your very life from the grave.  Elisha is aptly named.

What is your name?  Yes, your name may have a rich meaning, or it could be you were named after your mom’s favorite band that had two hit songs and then was never heard from again.  It could be you were named Hannah, not because your parents wanted you to have favor or grace, but because your dad was obsessed with palindromes. It might be impossible to live out these names in such a way, and it could be that my own children’s names are simply names.  So instead, let us take time to focus on the names which God calls those who put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ:

A chosen generation & royal priesthood: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

Children of God: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” – 1 John 3:1

Heirs: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”. – Galatians 3:29

His workmanship: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10

Mine: “I have called you by your name. You are mine.” – Isaiah 43:1

These names, as well as many, many more (redeemed, blessed, chosen, victorious, etc.) become our prophecy, our inheritance, and our fulfillment. May God bless us all to fully live out the calling of our names, much like Elisha.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. Does your name have a calling you are trying to live out? If you could choose any name for yourself – or your children – what would you choose and why?
  2. What do we learn from Elisha about himself and about his God? What do people learn about you and about your God from watching and knowing you?
  3. Which of the names God has chosen for those who chose Him and His Son mean the most to you? Why? What does it show you about God?
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Death and Kingdom: Trivia

THEME WEEK: Death and Kingdom – Daniel 12
Old Testament: 1 Kings 21 & 22
Poetry: Psalm 126

Bible Trivia : The Apocalypse is an apocalypse; the genre of Revelation is not “prophecy” in the strictest sense, but a genre called “apocalypse”. 

There is a LOT of prophecy in Revelation. I think Revelation shows us a picture of the future of the cosmos and the end of this age. However, “apocalyptic literature” is a genre that details events, both of the current day and in the future, with a ton of metaphor and allegory. Apocalypse uses symbolism to teach people that God is acting in history. The authors of this genre also usually view this world pessimistically and declare that a new world is coming quickly. 

In fact, along with Revelation (which we will talk about tomorrow), the book of Daniel is also considered “Apocalyptic”, especially the visions, chapter 7 forward. At the very end of this book, we see a glimpse into the end. I won’t try and explain in a daily devotional the significance of the archangel Michael, the two men speaking at the River, or the specific length of days at the end. (And to be clear, if I had a large book to write to explain it, there is a lot of disagreement and debate about the full meaning of some parts of this book; all my thoughts are just another disciple adding their musing to what the church has said for centuries.)

But there are a few things I would like to point out about chapter 12 that I can say with much more confidence.

First, in verse 2, the author uses a common expression, “many”, to mean “everyone.” In the end, all will be raised. This one resurrection pictured is to be raised to life and raised to judgement. Everyone’s life will be opened up on display before the Messiah. In Hebrews 9:27-28, we read “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” After death comes judgment for all, but those who eagerly wait for Christ will be saved. Some will come up to life, those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life. (John 5:29) Some will come out to everlasting shame and contempt, those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:29, again) Those who do not receive life, who do not do the work of God by believing in the name of Jesus (John 6:29), will receive the opposite of life. Those of whom the Messiah is ashamed, whom God contempts, they will not receive the life of the Messiah, or be in the presence of the God who is the source of life. 

Second, those whose name are written in the book will be delivered. (12:1) To experience this, you must be numbered among the wise. After the coming of the Messiah, it is not being wise on our own, and certainly not being wise in our own eyes, but being wise by trusting in Him who is the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24) Not only should we trust in the Jesus the Messiah, but we should “turn many to righteousness”. (Daniel 12:3) We turn many to righteousness when we preach the message of the Kingdom, when we “make disciples by going into the world, baptizing them, and teaching them all Jesus has commanded.” (Compare Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 1:8)

Third, and finally, you can be like Daniel. Daniel was told point blank by the angel “you will rest” (die) “and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” (Daniel 12:13) My friend, if you place your trust in Jesus, if you believe that he died to bring you into relationship with God, that he reigns from heaven at the right hand of God over the church, and that he is coming to reward those who follow his will by the power of the spirit he gives, the words spoken to Daniel, “you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance”, are spoken to you. You WILL have eternal life, the promise of God, given by Christ (Romans 6:23), and confirmed by the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:14)

And that is anything but trivial.  

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Does the order of events matter – in a story, criminal trial, math problem or God’s plan of salvation?
  2. Is the information given to Daniel (including the order of events) widely accepted and believed today? Why or why not? What is different from many ideas held today? What is not mentioned in Daniel 12? Why do you think it is not mentioned?
  3. Are you prepared for the return of Jesus the Messiah? Why or why not? Is there anything God wants you to do before you rest, rise and receive? If so what? And when, where, how will you do it?
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A Man Attested by God

THEME WEEK: Death and The Kingdom – Acts 2
Old Testament: 1 Kings 15 & 16
Poetry: Psalm 123

Yesterday, we read about the resurrection of Lazarus. John actually structures the first part of his book (chapters 1-12) around seven signs that Jesus is the Messiah, with the power of raising Lazarus as the seventh. Peter points out that Jesus was attested to the people of Israel by God through those mighty works and wonders and signs. (Acts 2:22) However, while most commentaries talk about the seven signs, I would contend that the resurrection of Jesus himself is the eighth sign of his Messiahship. Acts 2:24 “God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

What an amazing verse! Not that Christ could struggle against and eventually overcome death, but that it was not possible for death to hold him. 

What an amazing savior! Christ had every right as the Son of God to rule as king and call upon legions of angels to defend him, but instead he chose to willingly submit himself to the plan of God. 

What an amazing God! God gave us a salvation through the death of Christ that we could never earn, and gave us a hope through the resurrection of Christ that is greater than any we could ever imagine!

Luke wrote Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of those who not only followed Jesus when he was alive, but saw him when he had been raised. God raised up Christ, and all these fishermen and tax collectors and sinners in Acts 2 experience in and participate in the miracle of new life through the Holy Spirit now. Because Christ has been raised to life and is at the right hand of God, we are able to praise him with the Holy Spirit speaking through us, extolling the greatness of our God and his Christ.  

If you want this new life that begins now to continue forever, you need to follow the commands of Peter in Acts 2:38 : “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” “The Spirit marks us as God’s own. We can now be sure that someday we will receive all that God has promised. That will happen after God sets all his people completely free. All these things will bring praise to his glory.” (Ephesians 1:14, NIrV)

What an amazing gift! The Spirit given to us through baptism is the teacher, guide, helper, and empower-er of the people of God so that we can do God’s will in the world. 

What an amazing promise! The Spirit guarantees that we will one day be raised from the dead, like Christ!

What an amazing Spirit, the power of God!

What an amazing Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord!

What an amazing God, The Father of Jesus, YHWH alone!

Amen!

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

  1. Do we too often forget how amazing God’s plan and his words are? What do you find amazing in Acts 2?
  2. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the Messiah? What does it mean to you that death could not hold him?
  3. What is your hope?
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Sharpening One Another

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 21 & 22

*Poetry: Proverbs 27

New Testament: Acts 21

     Today we will discuss a few pieces of wisdom from Proverbs 27. Some sections of the book offer extended advice on one topic, but for this chapter I will just comment on three verses.

     “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6). I think this is a helpful reminder about the nature of wisdom, whether with human friends or our relationship with God. Love sometimes involves the willingness to say someone is wrong, but being told you are wrong can be painful. That means the friend can be taking a risk to offer that truth. And the pain involved for the one hearing the truth may be in proportion to how much pride has built up for them, how much of a false image needs to be removed. But truth is better than a lie, even when truth hurts. (A proverb can’t cover every detail, and this isn’t saying that a friend should seek to harm when giving the truth. Faithfulness and friendship are already assumed in this proverb.) But on the other side of matters an enemy will be quite ready to mislead while seeming friendly, giving deceitful kisses (perhaps only metaphorically) as they guide someone’s conduct and heart astray. Remember that truth is not determined by how we feel when we first hear it, it must be examined.

     When I was at Bible college we used to talk about Proverbs 27:14: “If you loudly greet your neighbor early in the morning, he will think of it as a curse.” To me the application for this text involved the frustration of being up early if you were not a morning person, if someone else was and they were not cautious about their conduct. At college we had added issues to watch out for, like people who had stayed up late into the night studying or writing, or talking about theology (or life). But when I looked up this text to see the views of researchers I found reference after reference treating it as about over-the-top flattery or kindness being treated as a sign of hypocrisy to be rejected. I was quite surprised. Maybe I was just too focused on one perspective, or perhaps I am too used to honesty to think in those terms. Still, it never occurred to me from the text to see the meaning that way. But this is a useful illustration of the fact that proverbs are open to interpretation. Dwelling on one, working it over in your mind, or even sharing your thoughts about it with another person, can allow you to gain insight.

“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (v. 17) This is another proverb that I have been aware of and considered for many years. It brings to mind a late stage in the process of developing a tool, perhaps a sword. It supposes that we all are hardened, we all have gone through some discipline and experience. But seeking to grow with each other we can hone the edges of what we are meant to be. Some years ago there was a theological journal published out of Michigan called Sharpening Steel which took its name from this verse. I believe the idea of the title was that by people examining scriptures and writing about what they learned from them believers would be able to help each other gain new ideas and new thoughts about how to grow and serve. It is a useful principle for a journal but also for how we operate in our regular lives.

Lord, as I finish this week of writing devotions I ask you to watch over the people who have been reading these words. Help them to find the strength they need. None of them are meant to be acting alone. Please, Lord, help the ones that are trying to go it alone this week to reach out to a brother or a sister in Christ and acknowledge that they need more strength than they have. Don’t let any of us be closed off. I feel that this is not the case right now. Let your Spirit work in the hearts of your people. Let the knowledge of Jesus’s love warm us all. May we reach out to each other. In the name of your son I pray these things. Amen.

-Daniel Smead

Questions:

  1. Can you look back on a time when you think you learned something that seemed painful and you later recognized it was true and valuable? Has that changed your behavior?
  2. What do you speak to other believers about? How often do you find time to talk about what you have valued in the scripture? Or what you find beautiful in the world? Or what you have struggled with?
  3. Don’t assume that you must be much stronger than those around you to be able to be of any help – iron can sharpen iron, it doesn’t take diamond. Notice that the proverb is meant to work both ways, are you prepared to be strengthened by those around you? For that to happen will there need to be any change in your thinking or your attitudes?
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Running to Do God’s Work

Old Testament: 1 Samuel 25 & 26

Poetry: Proverbs 14

*New Testament: Acts 8

Acts is quite possibly my favorite book of the Bible because of its emphasis on theological truths. Acts also shows us the amazing effects that occur when we are following God wholeheartedly and preaching to others sound theology. The book allows us to get an insider look on what the early church looked like and the rapid growth that occurred as the apostles preached the name of Jesus to the Jews in hopes of convincing them to accept him as the Messiah.

The story of Philip and the Ethiopian shows a beautiful example of how God places people in the right place at the right time. In this case, quite literally. God used Philip to come alongside the Ethiopian at the exact moment that his heart was ready to receive the truth.  We see a clear contrast from Simon the sorcerer whose heart was “not right before God”. Simon desired a profit for himself over the truth that God could give. On the other hand, the Ethiopian was reading the Scriptures and seeking to understand it.

The Ethiopian devoted his life to serve the king of Ethiopia by becoming a eunuch so that the king’s throne and family would not be threatened. He was a very high-ranking Ethiopian who was an important official in charge of all the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. This is an important piece of information since this high-ranking man, from a different country, made the decision to travel to Jerusalem to visit the temple and worship God. Therefore, he desired and even went out of his way to worship the true God, even though it was a different god than his people worshiped. This may indicate that he had even converted to Judaism. And somewhere along the way he got his hands on a precious copy of the book of Isaiah, which would have been much harder to acquire back then. And as many of us can relate to, he was having a hard time understanding what he was reading. He wanted to know more about the passage and who it was referring to because he could have related to it personally as a eunuch. At this point in the story, Philip listened to God and literally RAN to go do what God wanted him to do. This shows Philip’s heart in doing God’s will wherever God places him.

When it comes to theology, we can see how God took a gentile who feared God and gave him the opportunity to accept Jesus as the Messiah. I love what this says about God. The Ethiopian was not one of God’s chosen people in the definition of nationality. But God saw one of His children struggling to understand His word, so He sent Philip to help reveal the Messianic text of Isaiah the prophet to the Ethiopian so that he could accept the truth of the Messiah. Here we see the beginning of the Gentiles being grafted into the family of God when the Ethiopian accepts the message of Jesus and becomes baptized. This also shows how important the message of Jesus as the Messiah is to God.

-Makayla Railton

Application Points:

The spiritual health of our heart matters. (Be like the Ethiopian, not Simon the sorcerer!)

God desires us to be in His Kingdom and He desires us to help others get there. (Be like Philip!)

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The Lord be with You

*Old Testament: Ruth 1 & 2

Poetry: Psalm 118

New Testament: Luke 18

Today we begin reading the book of Ruth, which is both enjoyable and easy to read; a book without heavy theology to parse. The importance of the book is made plain at its end (for a preview, look to Ruth 4:17), in that it identifies a certain history of the family of the later King David. In that sense, it serves the Old Testament purpose of remembrance. In this case, it establishes a back story for the royal family (which ultimately leads to Jesus himself), but it also shows the providential role of God in that family. Like the passages in the Book of Judges, an important purpose of the text is to remind Israel how God established a relationship with the nation and then provides, cares for, and protects the nation.

Chapter 1 of Ruth provides the context for the remainder of the book: a family’s migration to Moab, and Naomi’s return to Bethlehem with the unexpected companion, Ruth. Chapter 2 is where the action of this story is established, with Ruth going to glean in Boaz’s fields and the repeated acts of kindness that he shows to her. We must also recognize the extent of his kindness as well: Boaz is obligated to leave some of his unharvested crops for the poor (see Leviticus 23:22), but he goes above and beyond this in his instructions to his servants to purposely leave grains for Ruth. She must have been confused, perhaps embarrassed by the kindness of Boaz, but it all leads to Naomi recognizing Boaz:

“The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.” (Ruth 2:20 NASB)

Unfortunately, the depth of the term “closest relative” is not adequately captured in translation. The Hebrew term means “kinsman redeemer” – a family member that satisfies an obligation or vengeance of another in the extended family. Specific examples are the man that, following the Torah, marries his brother’s widow to preserve land inheritance, but also one who redeems a family member from slavery. This usage takes us to a second purpose of the Old Testament: prefiguring. Boaz, as a “kinsman redeemer” for the family of Naomi, prefigures Jesus as the one that redeems his family: Israel and (as we now know) Gentiles grafted in.

One aspect of Ruth that I greatly enjoy is the ordinariness of the spiritual expression of its characters. Without being ostentatious, the characters of the book recognize the providential role of God repeatedly and reflect it back to others to further recognize God’s role in their daily lives. Consider the statement of Ruth and Orpah in 1:8,9:

“May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”

It is not enough for Naomi to wish her daughters-in-law success in their presumed departure; she specifically calls on God to give them that success in their new lives.

Then consider the dialogue between Boaz and his servants in 2:4:

Boaz to his servants: “May the LORD be with you.”

Servants’ response: “May the LORD bless you.”

I think the implication is that Boaz and his servants lived lives suffused in the presumption that God would be with them in every action, in every step along every path. Think about it further: Boaz and his servants were not going to war or going on a trip; they were simply going to the fields for the ordinary work of the day. Yet, he begins the day with a blessing on his servants.

In today’s culture, we increasingly compartmentalize our lives, even our spiritual lives. We work for some hours of the day, we take care of our daily obligations, and, hopefully, we set aside time to relax. More than likely prayer is a “carved out” time and time reading scripture may have to be scheduled. The alternative is to suffuse the entire day with the recognition that God is with us at every moment, and that prayer can and should be spontaneous and simple – ordinary. That we can take any moment to request God’s blessing on another.

This reminds me of an experience from childhood that might be odd to some. One summer, sometime in my teenage years, I had taken my youngest sister on a bike ride to the post office ostensibly for an errand, but mostly to be outside. At the post office, we encountered two nuns in the waiting area. (This was not out of the ordinary, there was a very active convent in my hometown.) One of the nuns leaned down, laid her hand on my sister’s head, and spoke a very simple blessing on her. Then she went back to her business, without skipping a beat. For that woman, living a life devoted to serving others in the name of God, speaking a blessing on a young child was utterly ordinary – she simply wanted to express God’s love to a child.

One of the messages of the Book of Ruth is that God is present in all parts of our lives. We can endeavor to purposefully include our appreciation for God for who He is and to share His love for all people in every moment of our day.

-Dan Siderius

Dan Siderius is a member of the Fair Oaks Community Church of God in Virginia. He lives in central Maryland with his wife and daughter and works as a research scientist for a government laboratory. Apart from work and parenting, he enjoys studying history, gardening, and all varieties of cooking.

Reflection Questions

  1. How can you break your spiritual life out of its compartment this week and mix it with your ordinary every day life? What are the benefits to doing so?
  2. How and to whom can you share remembrances of God providing, caring for and protecting? How can you seek to more regularly and often request God’s blessings on others?
  3. In what ways are Boaz and Jesus similar? In what ways are they different?
  4. What do we learn of God, and His Son Jesus, in our Bible readings today?
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Choices

Old Testament: Deuteronomy Intro below

Psalms Reading: Psalm 76

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 13

Today we have three readings before us that seem very different from one another. They are different in many ways; approach, style, etc. but contain a similar message throughout.

The book of Deuteronomy details many hardships and troubles that God’s people faced. It also contains promises and hope. It reminds us that we have an active role in our faith. Our Heavenly Father did not create us with a certainty that we would listen and obey, that we would automatically choose Him. He created us with free will and allows us, each and every one of us, to make these life and death decisions on our own. He gives us all of the information we need and places the choice in our hands. To have life is to be with God. This book is about having an ongoing relationship with our loving God.

Psalm 76 is a song of victory of Israel over the enemies of God. Often times we see the rejoicing of the people and focus only upon the battle God won that led them to this point. He had delivered victory – that is evident to Israelite and Gentile both. There is more to it though, more here than a casual glance will reveal. The psalmist sings of weapons of war at rest. The Lexham English Bible says, the stouthearted sleep, both rider and horse slumber. Death is implied here but, in that death, God has brought peace. The slain, the peace of death, and for those who yet live peace through knowing Him, revering Him, “From heaven you pronounced judgement, and the land feared and was quiet.” Like with our overview of Deuteronomy, we see our need for a relationship with God, that life comes from Him.

And then we get to our final section of reading for today, as we finish 2 Corinthians with chapter 13 – which brings to mind 1 Corinthians 13 – the chapter all about love. From verse four through the beginning of verse eight, it details what real love is and what it is not. The first three verses are quite plain to say that what we do or say in this life matters little if it does not come from the type of love that God, and Jesus displayed for us.

We are merely messengers of the Gospel, the Good News. We are to ensure that others know of salvation through Jesus by our words and actions. It is not for us to judge one another or force a change. We are to faithfully bring the truth of God’s word to our family, friends, and acquaintances. It is that truth that will reveal both sin and the need for salvation, but it is still up to the individual to make that choice. If that choice is not to come to God through Jesus, then we are to still love them. We are limited to our knowledge of now, this moment, and even that is severely lacking. We do not know their future choices, so we love them. They are created in God’s image, so we love them.

Each of these sections of Scripture present the hardships that come with the choice we each face, to know and love God or deny Him. It is not just our choices though, but also those of everyone around us. We have this amazing knowledge of God, Jesus, and salvation. We, who have a relationship with Him through Jesus, have a hope beyond the troubles of this life. Loving God, and knowing His love, can comfort us in our most desperate moments.

We want that for others and sometimes get frustrated, angry, or hurt that they refuse to open themselves to this relationship. That is probably similar to how God felt about you and I before we made that choice. I believe that a huge part of our commission to go into the world to spread the Gospel is to love the sinner as God loves us who still sin. Be patient. Speak and live God’s word. That is what love is!

-Jeff Ransom

Deuteronomy Introduction

I love the book of Deuteronomy.  Even though it retells many of the highlights of Exodus through Numbers, the tone of Deuteronomy is much different.  Instead of just laying out the law as God had given it, and instead of just relaying historical facts, Moses was now encouraging the people to love and follow God- for their own good.  

Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy just before his death.  This was his last opportunity to encourage the Israelites to obey God wholeheartedly.  When he wrote it, almost everyone was dead who had been an adult when the Israelites had left Egypt.  As a result, Moses was trying to remind the new generation of all that God had done for them (and their parents), and was trying to encourage them to follow God – and not just obey Him, but to love Him.

Deuteronomy 10: 12-13 is an example of this, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

The book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses climbing a mountain, and looking out over the Promised Land – which he wasn’t allowed to enter because of one act of disobedience against God.  And then Moses died.  Can you imagine how disappointed Moses must have been, seeing the promised land, but not being able to enter?  He had longed for this his whole life, and was finally denied entry.

This should be a warning to us. It reminds me of Luke 13:28, which says, “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.”

I’ll close with Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.  But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

-Steve Mattison

Reflection Questions

  1. What do we learn from Moses and Paul about how to speak and live God’s word? How can you speak and live God’s word better than you have previously?
  2. We all have choices to make. What choices have you made that have brought you closer to a relationship with God and the salvation he extends through His son? What choices have you made that have taken you further from God? What will you choose today?
  3. What do you learn about God and His character in today’s Bible reading? Who needs to hear that and how will you share?
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God’s Restoration

Old Testament: Numbers 31-33

Psalms Reading: Psalms 74

New Testament: 2 Corinthians 11

My Bible notes explain that Psalm 74 is from the time of the exile, after the nation of Israel had been destroyed and the temple left in ruins and the promised land completely ravished. The first half of the Psalm is a recounting of how the sanctuary of the Almighty was decimated by the enemy. The second half of the Psalm is a cry out to God to do something about it. Verse 12 is the pivot point between the two halves. 

As I read Psalm 74, my inner first-born older-sister voice says something like, “Well, what do you expect? Your insolent behavior was basically an invitation to the enemy to come and wreak havoc. You opened the door to the temple wide open with your disobedience. And now you realize your mistake and want God to fix it???”

As if I never did anything foolish. Not once have I been disobedient. And I never have had to deal with the consequences of my poor choices. Nor have I ever asked God to come to my rescue and defend me when I got in over my head. Nope, not at all. Not me.

Maybe this Psalm hits a little too close to home. Because there have been so many times when my disobedience has left me on my knees. I said something that shouldn’t have been said; I ignored God’s voice telling me to walk the other way; I refused to forgive; I thought too highly of myself. And when I realized what I got myself into, the only thing I could think of doing was crying out to God for help.

While God fully desires us to be obedient, he knows our human nature and capability to mess things up from time to time. He wants us to call out to Him. He longs for us to recognize our need for Him. So even when we open the door of our hearts to something less than God’s best and our lives are turned inside out and upside down, He will come and restore us to who we are meant to be.

Thank you God, for being full of mercy and grace and hearing me when I call out. Thank you God, for not turning your back on me when my mess is a result of my foolishness. Thank you God, for loving me unconditionally, that even though I may have to suffer the consequences of my actions, you redeem me.

-Bethany Ligon

Reflection Questions

  1. When has your disobedience caused the need for restoration?
  2. Is there an area of your life that you have already experienced God’s restoration? What did it look like when it was in ruins? What does restoration look/feel like?
  3. What has God revealed about Himself in today’s Bible reading?
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My Mouth is Filled with Your Praise

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 24 & 25

*Psalms Reading: Psalm 71

New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 8

As I began reading Psalm 71 I immediately took to heart the first sentence, “In you, LORD, I have taken refuge.” How many times do we have troubles and look to things other then God? We look to our friends, our families, sometimes video games, sugar, so many things when our first response should be to look to God. Our writer goes on to ask God to be his rock of refuge, to which I can always go. We can go to Him anytime day or night. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because something is bothering me. While I know my husband would not get upset if I woke him, it is not something I want to do. But guess what, God is there! He is always with us.

The Psalm goes on to ask about not casting him away when he is old, not forsaking him when his strength is gone. He asks God for help. He says he will always have hope and he will praise God more and more. He will tell of his saving acts all day long. He will praise Him with the harp, the lyre, his lips and his tongue. The writer of this Psalm really knew that God is AMAZING!

All of this made me think of a few things. First, as I said earlier, God is aways with us. I have a great support system and God has put wonderful people in my life to help me navigate the craziness of this world but do I put God aside and try everything else first and then go to Him? I know I do sometimes, then I realize I should have gone to Him first. Many times when I go to him first, he puts the right help in front of me to navigate my problem and sometimes he tells me I just need to wait on it.

Second, when he is talking about his enemies, I think of the enemies that are trying to take us away from God. They will stop at nothing to tear us from the love of God. Verse 4 says “Deliver me, my God from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.”  We need to stand firm in our faith, seek God, spend time in His word, and be careful that we don’t get pulled away. It is so easy to walk away, to spend time away from God. We need to be purposeful in our walk with Him so we are not tempted to walk away.

Lastly, he is praising God. We need to praise God for all he has given us. My husband says he is part of the joyful noise club. I am too, I don’t have a beautiful voice but the Bible doesn’t say we have to have a beautiful voice, it says to make a joyful noise. It also doesn’t say we need to be Bible scholars to speak his word or tell others of the great things He does. Verse 17 says, “I declare your marvelous deeds.”  Go out and declare His marvelous deeds in your life.

-Jeani Ransom

Questions for reflection:

  1. How do you take refuge in God? Do you seek others first or God first?
  2. How can you show your praise to Him today?
  3. What marvelous deeds has He done for you? Who can you share them with?
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