Sunday
Proverbs 14:29, 15:1 “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” I know, I know, we’ve all heard this before. But, the Bible does put some emphasis on it, so hearing it again probably won’t hurt. In the New Testament there are multiple verses about taming the tongue. Jesus tells how it isn’t what goes into the body that defiles it, but what comes out. Let’s think about it. What do you gain by being hot-tempered or hostile? Hmm… I’m drawing a blank here. Unless you consider the small amount of satisfaction you might get out of having “put someone in their place” or something like that. But again… what does that gain you? Not only is irritability and aggressiveness displeasing to God, it just doesn’t do any good. It harms relationships, may take away opportunities, will probably either make you feel guilty or gradually harden your heart, and it hurts others. No one is benefited. On the other side, what’s to be gained with kindness and gentleness? Well, God’s approval, for one, which is definitely a nice perk. And how about stronger relationships? A good reputation? Building others up? Building yourself up even? And, shining the light of Christ? Monday Micah 7:8 “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.” If you read my most recent blog post, titled “Starting Somewhere”, this should sound familiar. Consider this devo a refresher on the topic. If you haven’t read it, you can find it here: http://iamvariant.weebly.com/a-teens-view/starting-somewhere Notice that the verse doesn’t say: “Give it up, O my enemy, because I ain’t gonna fall. No darkness ‘round here!” Rather, it says when I fall, and when I sit in darkness. Meaning, yeah, we’re going to be stumbling and tripping as we flounder in the dark now and again. The good news? It doesn’t end there. Because “when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.” God is there to help us back up. As I said in my post, the getting-back-up process may not be easy, and it may take time, but it can happen, so long as you’re willing to accept help and keep trying, knowing that it’s okay to fall, you’ll rise again. Tuesday Micah 7:18-20 “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” What a good God we serve! In doing some reading in the Old Testament recently, I kept noticing a common theme: the people sin, God is angry at them, maybe punishes them, then He forgives them. Is that or is that not reason to rejoice? That “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love”. No one does steadfast love like our God does. There’s a balance, I think, to be set between preaching only God’s love and forgiveness or preaching only His wrath and commandments. Because God loves and forgives, and God makes commandments and gets angry when we continually disobey them. But what’s awesome? Is that it seems to be the love and forgiveness that has the last word. Wednesday Matthew 6:7-8 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Prayer has been something I’ve struggled with for some time. One of the reasons? I thought I had to do it “right”. This verse has two meanings, I think. First, it’s cautioning against making faith into a display. Before this, Jesus talked about not praying in the synagogues and streets to be seen by others, but rather in secret. Second, it’s telling us that simple is okay! I used to--sometimes still do--get all worked up about not being able to pray well, not being able to phrase things eloquently, or just repeating myself, or being too brief. You know what? God already knows what we’re asking for. He already knows the best answer or solution to it, too. We don’t have to explain things to Him. You can if you just need to get it out, of course, but if you’re having a hard time finding the words or feel like you’re not doing it “right”? No need to worry about that. Because “heaping up empty phrases” isn’t what gets God’s attention, it’s your sincerity, humility, love and obedience. Your prayers are really short? That’s okay! So long as they’re not short because you’re skimping on your time with God. Your prayers are long? That’s okay too! Because when it comes to length, or words used, or method of delivery… I don’t think there’s a right or wrong. You might notice that Jesus’ prayers were pretty short and sweet. Just enjoy the time talking to God, and realize that He already knows exactly what you need. Thursday Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles, but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.” This is something I’ve seen in others, and myself. With one group, you agree with such and such, support so and so, and will do this and that. With a different group, you disagree with such and such. You support so and so. And goodness, you would never do this and that. Sounding familiar? I’m pretty sure we all do it to one degree or another. I’m not saying it isn’t okay to act slightly different around different people- dynamics and activities are going to vary, which is fine. But to alter your beliefs or standards to match those around you? Not fine. Which is what they were doing in this verse. By themselves or with a certain few, of course they were going to eat with Gentiles, Gentiles were great. When the circumcision party shows up, though, it’s “Ugh, who invited the Gentiles? I for one am staying over here.” Been there done that? Haven’t we all. Like I said… not fine. Why? Because it’s rooted in judgement, and in pleasing others instead of God. Friday 1 Timothy 4:7-8 “... Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” If you were going to run a marathon, would you want to do some training first? Godliness is the same way. It’s not something that we’re naturally good at. In fact, quite the opposite- naturally, we’re good at sin. Kind of like naturally, I’m good at sitting on the couch eating potatoes. (I’m a true couch potato) But if I train hard enough, I can become significantly better at running, or biking, or swimming. Many times in my life, I’ve had some conviction to stop doing a certain thing or start doing more of other things, like to be more loving or to pray more, etc. So I ask God for help and start imagining my changed life, and I’m just sure that this is it, this is the big change. What generally happens, though? My motivation dies as it becomes obvious that that ‘big change’ ain’t happening. Similarly, sometimes I suddenly have the inspiration to go climb a mountain, or run three miles. Only problem? I was sitting on the couch eating potatoes when the inspiration struck. I’ve done no preparation, no training. So as great as the inspiration is, it’s probably not going to be enough to get me up that mountain. I think godliness can be the same way. Since it’s not something that comes naturally to us, we have to work at it. We have to practice it. To build up our endurance and strength those faith-muscles. I’ve written a post on this topic, so for further reading: http://iamvariant.weebly.com/a-teens-view/training-for-godliness Saturday Amos 6:1-7 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountains of Samaria…” 6:1 I’m only going to write the verse verse of the chapter because it sums it up well, but for a fuller understanding of the passage, I’d encourage you to read more. When I read this verse, my mind went to what it’s like for American Christians, vs. what it’s like for Christians in foreign countries. I also think of how apathetic we tend to be to the condition of our own country. Apathy is pretty much the word that starts ringing in my head here. It’s a complicated issue, because the fact is, there’s not much a lot of us can do for persecuted Christians. We can give money. A select few will actually go out and be on the ground helping. Some of us will spread the word. And I get that. But, I think there’s a very, very important first step: caring. The same applies to many things. How much do you care that your friend isn’t saved? How much do you care about what the government does and doesn’t do? How much do you care about the suffering of Christians less fortunate than you? I realize I’m not providing a solution here, just a problem. And I wish I did know a better solution. But right now, here’s what I know: I am unaware of a single verse in the Bible that displays God being apathetic. I am unaware of a single verse where He permits apathy. I am unaware of a verse that says, “Oh don’t you worry, I made lots of people and the rest of them can take care of themselves, you just go ahead and make a nice little bubble for yourself and get comfortable.” Which is why I’m convinced that apathy is not in God’s vocabulary, and it shouldn’t be in ours.
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Sunday
Isaiah 66:1-2 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. “‘But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.’” God created everything, knows everything, rules everything. There is nothing that we have to offer that He needs. We’re not doing Him a favor by being Christians. We aren’t helping Him out when we evangelize; He could do it much more effectively Himself and could leave us out of the picture entirely, but that’s not how He chooses to do it. God doesn’t need anything from us. Yet He wants our love and obedience. That’s why it would be foolish to make a big deal out of our service to Him. Because think about it- we aren’t ‘saving His hide’, He’s still saving ours. And we’re not going above and beyond the expectations of an employer and therefore making ourselves worthy of some praise, rather, we’re being graciously allowed to serve a God whose greatness we can’t even fathom. Monday Jeremiah 1:6-9 “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the LORD said to me, “‘Do not say “I am only a youth”; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.’ “Then the LORD put out His hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.’” When presented with a task, Jeremiah claimed inadequacy. He was too young. He didn’t know how to speak. How could he be a prophet? And really, who can blame him? Wouldn’t most of us feel that way in a similar situation? But God says, “Don’t go arguing with Me. If I tell you to go somewhere and say something, you’ll do it. You don’t have to be intimidated because of your shortcomings, or by those I will send you too. Because I’ll be right there with you the whole time.” And then He puts His words in Jeremiah’s mouth. God doesn’t choose those who are already equipped to accomplish His work. Rather, He chooses those who aren’t, and then He equips them. Moses wasn’t an eloquent speaker, yet he was chosen to persuade Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. David wasn’t so good at resisting temptation, and he started out as a lowly shepherd, yet he was chosen to be an earthly king to lead God’s people. Paul was a persecutor of Christians, yet he was chosen to be one of the greatest evangelists. God might choose you for a task that is way out of your comfort zone, or something that doesn’t even seem physically possible for you. But that’s alright, because He’s going to be right there beside you, equipping you. Tuesday Matthew 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are a hindrance to Me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” Peter was expressing concern about Jesus’ coming death. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? We generally don’t want the people close to us to die. Even less so if they’re our mentors, or if we believe their work is important. By our standards, Peter has every right to oppose Jesus’ claim that He must die. That’s just it, though. It’s by our standards. Our standards aren’t always wrong, but they often aren’t in line with God’s. Because God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He sees the big picture, knows the full plan. It would be rather like a toddler arguing politics with a top politician. We just don’t grasp the whole situation. The way God does things doesn’t always benefit us by human reason. At least not right away. But in the end, it’s always better. Jesus dying didn’t benefit the disciples at first, because it left them without their teacher and confused. But Jesus paying our debt benefited everyone in the end. The suffering of a Christian doesn’t seem to benefit them at the time. But when they are richly rewarded in the life to come, when other Christians are inspired by their example, it is to their benefit. That’s why we should train ourselves to see the big picture. Wednesday Matthew 18, 19, 1 Corinthians 14 “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” - Matt. 18:3-4 “But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” - Matt. 19:14 “Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” -1 Cor. 14:20 Jesus clearly liked kids. And even when speaking to adults, He encouraged them to “become like children”. Then Paul says to be like a child when it comes to evil, but mature in thought. Children have the natural reputation of innocence. Maybe today’s kids less so, but the fact remains that kids are just naturally innocent. They understand good more so than evil, they’re idealistic, they’re more forgiving and loving and just innocent. And what does Jesus mean when He says to humble ourselves as a child? Well, I’m not sure He’s talking about our usual definition of humility here. Rather, I think He’s referring to dependence. As adults and teenagers, we aim for independence. But kids? They’re entirely dependent on their parents. For nurturing, protection, guidance, daily needs, everything. And even if not anymore, in Jesus’ day they were very respectful and obedient toward their parents, too. So to humble yourself as a child, you have to trust in God. Have to learn to depend on Him, not yourself, while serving him in humble obedience. And what about Paul’s instruction? He’s saying to be innocent like a child as Jesus did, but also warning us to remain mature in our thinking. That’s an important distinction. While we want to be naive when it comes to evil, we don’t want to be naive in our knowledge and understanding of God. Aim for innocence, not ignorance. Thursday Matthew 23 “For they preach, but do not practice.” -23:3 “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” -23:5 “And they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues.” -23:6 “For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” -23:23 Jesus was talking about the scribes and Pharisees, but… I think we are all guilty of these things to one degree or another. Talking the talk but not walking the walk? Doing things to impress others or look good? Enjoying praise and compliments? Checking off items on ‘the list’ while not attending on our actual faith? Yeah, let’s be real. We all do those things. None of us want to be the ones that Jesus says, “Woe to you, hypocrite!” too. That’s why we need to practice, not preach. Do deeds because God sees them, not others. Happily serve without earthly reward. Focus on what’s actually important in our Christian journey. Let’s walk the walk. Friday Mark 7:7-9 “‘In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ “‘You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.’ And He said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!’” Again, Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. Yet can we see ourselves in these admonishments? “Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” sticks out to me. I think we can be prone to clinging to the ideas of certain individuals who have status or have impacted us. What they say is practically scripture in our ears. The fact is, however, that even if they mean well, they’re still humans and not everything they say will be true or godly. Remember last Thursday’s devo? God wasn’t so happy with Job’s friends, who had led him astray with their so-called wisdom. We should always compare what others say with what the Bible says, and make sure the two match up before putting much faith in the words of a friend or mentor or hero. And, we may not rely on tradition as much as the Pharisees did, but that’s not to say we can’t get caught up in the same trap. That warning can also apply to things like thinking regular church attendance provides salvation, or enough good deeds makes up for sin. Saturday Matthew 18:21-34 I’m not going to write out that entire passage, though I’d encourage you to look it up in your Bible if you haven’t read it in awhile. Most of you are probably familiar with it- when Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother 77 times, and the parable of the unforgiving servant. And I’m sure you’re also familiar with ‘forgiving as God forgives you.’ But refreshers never hurt, so let’s think about what it would look like if we literally did that. Wouldn’t it mean that every time someone irritated you, or hurt your feelings, you’d have to forgive them? Wouldn’t it mean no grudges? No cold-shoulders or silent treatments? Wouldn’t it mean forgiving everything, no matter how small, or how big? Also, I’d like to challenge a common mindset. When someone wrongs us in some way or upsets us, often the advice of others is to “address the issue.” To “calmly tell them they hurt your feelings”. Except… is that forgiving as God forgives us? By being unwilling to forgive them until you’ve said in one way or another that they acted like a jerk and should be ashamed of themselves? Obviously, there would be exceptions. Some issues do need to be addressed. And it is biblical to confront a fellow believer if they are doing wrong, but to do it lovingly, and with their interest in mind. Here’s what I’m saying: If it will benefit the other person if you let them know that what they did was hurtful, then do it. If it will only make you feel better in some way, then maybe take a moment to consider whether or not that’s how God handles it when you wrong Him. |
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