Join me in reading through the Bible in One Year! We will follow a reading plan together and go beyond just reading the Bible, to studying it. We will post about the passage and learn from each other as we grow in our walk with the Lord.
Join me in the pursuit of discernment!
“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” - Proverbs 4:20-22
God’s Word gives us life and healing. It’s so simple, yet when we’re going through tough times, the bible is not usually one of the first places we go for wisdom. We need to make sure we go to God when we are in trouble (or any time for that matter), and seek His Word above all else. Let’s try to make Him our first resort today, instead of our last.
Proverbs 1:19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.
It's so easy to get caught up in chasing after money. I'm self employed and it's easy to have everything centered on the "bottom line", which means - money. Earning an income is great, but it can't be our number one.
The second part of this verse says a lot - "it robs them of life"
Do I want to be driven by money, or a life more focused on God and doing what He wants? Can I put that constant desire for more income aside, to focus on what God wants?
Acts 17: 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.[a]
5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.[b]
Quite the difference in responses to Paul's presentation of the gospel! Some were persuaded and became believers. And others rejected then gospel to the point of rioting and attacking Paul & Silas!
This is a huge reminder to me that people's response to the gospel is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to share the gospel. We are not responsible for their reaction to it.
Paul was one of the most influential believers of all time, and even he couldn't convince everyone of the truth of the gospel. That's because it wasn't up to him. It wasn't because he said the right thing or the wrong thing.
He shared the gospel. Some accepted it. Some rejected it. It didn't mean he was a success or a failure. The results are up to the Holy Spirit, not us. Ours is to obey.
It's also a reminder to me that the gospel message is polarizing. It's a big deal, and people somehow know it's a big deal even if they don't understand it.
We need to continue to pray that God would soften the hearts of those that are dear to us who are unsaved now, and pray that one day they too, would be persuaded.
And we need to be willing to be the ones to open up our mouths and share the gospel, no matter what the response.
In today’s passage we read of Paul & Silas faithfully serving God. But, even in following God, they find themselves severely flogged & thrown in prison (& left fastened in stocks designed for the most dangerous prisoners).
In reading this, my first thought was that the average person would respond with anger directed both at the jailers & at God. Instead, though, we find them praying & singing hymns. They didn’t skip a beat, they continued in loving God by worshipping him despite their circumstances & in the mean time living a testimony to the other prisoners.
What a challenge to us...
1. Even in following the will of God, we may face challenges & injustices
2. We need to find the peace of God regardless of our circumstances & always continue to worship
3. Others are watching us to see how we respond in different situations; are we going to be a living testimony in every circumstance
Scripture: 1 Kings 3: 5, 9-14 5 That night theLordappeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
....9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom.11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
Observation: When we humble ourselves, God gives us more than what we ask for.
Application: It is so hard to be humble. We struggle to recognize that we don't have it all together and to admit this to ourselves and to God is often so difficult. God asked Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon could have asked for anything but instead he asked for wisdom to rule well. God gave him wisdom AND riches AND fame. It was way more than Solomon asked for and way more than he deserved but that's how God works. When my oldest daughter considered Bible college thousands of miles away, I was so nervous to let her go. She was not the most studious person and I didn't feel like her faith went too deep. As she prepared to leave, I prayed specifically for this experience to deepen her faith, for this experience to cause her to make her faith her own instead of just something she grew up with, and for her to really listen to God's calling. God is so good. During her time there, she grew in her faith, chose to get baptized, and really felt God calling her back for a second semester. God is faithful to answer our prayers when we are humble and realize that we cannot do life on our own. Letting my daughter go is still a difficult struggle but when I am drawn to my knees realizing that my kids are not my own I am learning that God loves them even more than I do and that I can trust that He had a bigger and better plan than I could have ever imagined for them. This song has been resonating with me over these months of letting go, especially this part:
Oh, how You love me Somehow that frees me To take my hands off of my life And the way it should go
Prayer: God, you are so good. Help us to submit to Your plan and trust Your ways with our lives and the lives of our kids. When we trust You and lean on You we are rewarded in such magnificent ways beyond our wildest dreams. Be with each of us during this learning process of taking our hands off of our lives and what we have planned to make room for what You have in store for us. Amen
“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’” - Acts of the Apostles 13:22
I often have a hard time believing in God’s mercy for me. As if He has mercy for everyone except me, which of course isn’t true.
But I need to remember that God called David (a man who had many wives, killed innocent men, and committed many more sins that we might call “worse” than other sins) a “man after His own heart”. Even though David had committed all of these terrible sins, God still had mercy on Him because he saw that he was sinful, and realized he needed God.
So the next time I think that God could never forgive me for all the sins I’ve done, I need to remember David, and I need to repent and trust that God loves and forgives me even though I’ve sinned.
1 Chronicles 19: 2-4 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, [3] the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Haven't his envoys come to you only to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?” [4] So Hanun seized David's envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
Interesting first few verses of our reading today. I found a few lessons in this portion, the main one being how the new Ammomite commanders assumed the worst, even though King David and the previous regime had a great relationship. This lead to a large war where a lot of men died.
All this because someone assumed the worst, in a case where they clearly shouldn't have. I also at times assume the worst in certain people or things I need to deal with. I pray for a positive attitude and the help from God, in all I do.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. 4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
5 “The waves of death overwhelmed me; floods of destruction swept over me. 6 The grave[a] wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. 7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.
When bad times come (and they will!), it is so important to remember to run to God. He is the only One that can help us in times of distress. He may not change our circumstance, but He will be with us through it all. He will never leave us. He will never forsake us.
He is our shield.
He is our rock.
He is our fortress.
He is our saviour.
He is the power that saves us.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.[b]”
15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”
Peter thought he knew the heart of God, he was committed to him & served him with his life & yet in this passage we see that he had it wrong. He had not accepted that God had come for the Gentiles too & the time came for him to be corrected. Peter humbly accepted his error & went on to serve God, bringing many Gentiles to Christ.
Like Peter, we may feel confident in our understanding of God & his word. However, we too are human & can fall short in our understanding. Or, maybe, we are choosing to just accept the bits & pieces that make us the most comfortable & we can work the best with.
When God knocks on our hearts (or maybe throws it right in our face) & shows us the error of our ways, will we be like Peter, humbly recognizing our mistakes & moving forward in honour to God? Or will we tightly hold onto our own ideas & miss the calling/direction that God wants for us?
