With My Own Eyes

Four months down.  Great work.  Keep at it.  If you are monumentally behind, just pick up where we are today.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Judges 11:1-12:15; John 1:1-28; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 14:13-14.

Psalm 101:3 (NIV)
I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.

The eyes are the gateway to the soul.  That upon which we set our eyes influences us more than we know.  If you set your eyes on material things, you will become a materialistic person.  If you set your eyes on sensuality, you will become a lustful person.  On the other hand, if you set your eyes on Jesus, you will become a Christlike person.  In this age of media, there are many vile things that vie for our attention.   What is your game plan for what you put before your eyes?  Do your standards reflect those of Christ?

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Judges 9:22-10:18;  Luke 24:13-53; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 14:11-12.

Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.

Left to ourselves, we will destroy ourselves.  And what’s worse, while we do it, we will think we are so wise.  How foolish.  Thank God He sent His Son to save us from our sinful selves.  Our remedy is found in today’s NT reading:

Luke 24:45 (NIV)
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

May God open he minds of the lost to see the Truth of Scriptures and the reality of their lostness.

Played some big boys from the naval base today.  We hung with them for 5 innings before losing 7-0.  Josh had a hit and learned some valuable lessons about how to hit a good curve ball.

Here is today’s Bible reading: Judges 8:18-9:21; Luke 23:44-24:12; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 14:9-10.

Luke 24:6 (NIV)
He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

“Remember how he told you…”  How many times had Jesus explained to His followers what was going to happen to Him.  Yet, they didn’t remember.  We are the same way.  That is why we must immerse ourselves in God’s promises, lest we forget what He has told us.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Judges 7:1-8:17
Luke 23:13-43
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 14:7-8.

Luke 23:40-41 (NIV)
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? [41] We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Right relationship with God begins with understanding what we deserve.  This is also the gateway to gratitude and joy.

“My observation is that over the last thirty or forty years our pastoral ethic has shifted from one of faithfulness to one of productivity and success.  A generation of pastors and church leaders formed by the church-growth movement has slowly come to believe that our core pastoral mission is to build large and successful churches.  Very few will actually admit this, but the truth is not hard to see.  We have been trained to produce and “succeed,” and we have learned our lesson well.  When we carry this desire for productivity and success into a culture nurtured by the forces of consumerism and pragmatism, churches will be built around supplying religious goods and competing against other churches for the allegiance of the religious-consuming public.  Instead of a particular brand of coffee or clothing line, we sell our various youth programs, worship styles and preaching abilities (77).”

Here is today’s Bible reading: Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54-23:12; Psalm 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6.

Judges 6:12 (NIV)  
    When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

Gideon was anything but a mighty warrior.  He was fearful and faithless.  But God saw Gideon for what he could be.  God knew that in the power of the Holy Spirit, Gideon could not be defeated.  Gideon needed to see himself they way that God saw him.  The same is true for us.  God sees us for who we can be, which is far greater than how we see ourselves.  The key is the presence of His Spirit at work within us.  May God give us a vision for who we can be in Him.

“If spiritual formation was going to be established as the driving force at Oak Hills, it had to first take root in our own hearts (40).”

“The outward success of our church came with a steep price tag.  We had grown the church, but we were not more like Jesus.  Growing the church did not require that we be like Jesus.  It wasn’t as though we were blatantly sinning and trying to hide it.  But the leadership energy required in a larger church and the adrenaline rush of outward success gradually substituted for authentic experiences with God.  The enthusiastic buzz in the church validated what we were doing.  The hard work of preparing insightful sermons replaced hearing God’s voice in his Word.  We had built a thriving church, but we were not becoming better people in whom Christ was being formed (40-41).”

Here is today’s Bible reading: Judges 4:1-5:31; Luke 22:35-53; Psalm 94:1-23; Proverbs 14:3-4.

Psalm 94:19 (NIV)  
    When anxiety was great within me,
        your consolation brought joy to my soul.

I have certainly grown to treasure the verses in the Bible that talk about anxiety.  It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who has had this struggle.  Even the Psalmist battled it.  What I find exciting about this particular verse is to see how God used the anxiety to bring about joy.  That is unexpected.  But God is even able to use our anxiety and turn it into joy as we experience His presence.  Leave it to God to turn even anxiety into something good.