With My Own Eyes

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Nehemiah 11:1-12:26; 1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 21:14-16.

1 Cor. 10:23-24 (NIV)
“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive. [24] Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

There are a lot of choices that we can make that are okay – but are they the best? How high are the standards by which you live your life? Are they standards worthy of one in the service of the King?

Here is today’s Bible reading: Nehemiah 9:22-10:39; 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 21:13.

1 Cor. 9:24-27 (NIV)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. [25] Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. [26] Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. [27] No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

This is a great passage on the heels of the Olympics. We greatly admire the discipline required to be great in athletics. But Paul tells us that it takes the same attitude toward discipline to reach our spiritual potential. Athletes need coaches and peers to push them to athletic excellence. Likewise, we need mentors and peers who will challenge us spiritually and hold us accountable.  Athletic training is painful.  It requires self-denial. Spiritual training, which is of far greater significance, also requires self-denial and an accompanying pain. But the reward for those who run the race well far exceeds the cost.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Nehemiah 7:61-9:21; 1 Corinthians 9:1-18; Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 21:11-12.

Neh. 8:2-3 (NIV)
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. [3] He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Neh. 9:2-3 (NIV)
Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. [3] They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.

This is a beautiful picture of what true revival looks like:  people hungry for the Word of God, conviction of sin, and repentance.  The fact that we could not get away with reading aloud the Word of God for even a half hour in a worship service (let alone a quarter of the day), tells us something about our hearts and the fact that revival is yet to come.  Revival will come when our desire for God’s Word is greater than our need to be entertained.

Christy and I will be out of town for the next week catching a breath before the excitement of Fall ministry begins. I will not be blogging regularly during this week. There will likely be some sporadic Twitter updates (on the sidebar of this page).

Thanks to Tom for looking after Cleo and the house.

Here is today’s Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 32:1-33:13; Romans 15:23-16:7; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 20:16-18.

2 Chron. 32:6-8 (NIV)
He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: [7] “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. [8] With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

This is great leadership: encouraging, Spirit – focused, inspiring, strategic, full of faith. The people responded to Hezekiah’s leadership, and God gave them a great victory.

Here is today’s Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 30:1-31:21; Romans 15:1-22; Psalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 20:13-15.

Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)
Show me your ways, O Lord,
teach me your paths;
[5] guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 25:14 (NIV)
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.

This verse makes me think of close friends who share their innermost secrets.  It is possible to know God in such a way that He has words meant only for you.

Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, [6] so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Seven months down!

Here is today’s Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 20:12.

Psalm 24:1 (NIV)
Of David. A psalm.

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

I don’t own anything.  I am simply a steward of God’s resources.  Even my ability to earn an income is given by God.  Am I spending God’s resources on selfish temporal pursuits, or am I re-investing them in God’s Kingdom for eternity?

Some day we will give an account of our stewardship.

Here is today’s Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11.

Romans 13:1  Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (NLT)

One of the keys to victorious spiritual warfare is living in right relationship to God’s authority.  You cannot exercise God’s authority if you are not properly aligned with God’s authority–including the authority He has delegated to institutions here on earth.  When we rebel against the authority God has established, we forfeit His authority in the spiritual realm.

Here is today’s Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7.

²² Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.

God is love.  So very true.  We hear this attribute emphasized more than any other–often to the neglect of God’s other attributes which are equally as true.  For you see, in addition to God being love, He  is also holy and just.  As we see here in Romans 11:22, God is kind, but He is also severe.  Too often I hear people say something like, “My God….” and then they go on to describe a creation of God in their own image–the God they want to serve.  Or more accurately, the God they want to serve them.  God is God.  His character is revealed in His Word.  We cannot pick and choose the attributes of God we like and discard the rest.

“When we don’t get what we want, we are more acutely aware of eternity.  We are more apt to remember God.  We learn what it really means to trust him.  We remember the bigger story.  When we don’t get what we want, we have to deal with our inner restlessness.  We have to face ourselves and our addictions.  We have to deal with the various “medications” we use to cope with life.  When we started these changes at Oak Hills, we put spiritual formation on the front burner, and the first thing that we saw that needed to be transformed was this raging desire to always get what we want (117) .”