May 31, 2022

Acts 8: 6, 8, 26-35 (NIV)

When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. . . . So there was great joy in that city. . . . Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch . . . Then Philip . . . told him the good news about Jesus.

Christ doesn’t just save sinners generally, he saves specific sinners individually.*

It’s thrilling to hear reports and see videos of large numbers of people being baptized. We rejoice when more souls are saved. But most often, the lost are won to the Lord one soul at a time. Case in point: Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. 

Philip was holding a successful revival meeting in Samaria when an angel appeared with orders: go south! As far as we know, Philip wasn’t told why he was being relocated and there is no indication that he even asked. He just went. As another writer expressed it: “He left a place where he was able to tell hundreds of people about Christ to walk along a road where he would encounter hardly anyone.”* But he did encounter someone - someone who was seeking, so God sent Philip to preach to him. 

God cares about individuals. One lost sheep is as precious as the hundred safely tucked away in the barn. Be willing, as Philip was, to be God’s messenger to the lost. Don’t be discouraged when the audience is small. We might ask ourselves, was Philip more productive when he was baptizing crowds or when he converted the “lone Ethiopian on the desert road?”* One soul at a time can soon become a multitude. 

Does someone you love need Jesus? Pray that God will send a messenger like Philip to preach to them. And pray that their hearts will be receptive to the good news.

Someone may suggest that those we may save are only like a drop in the ocean. But every drop is a soul.*

May 30, 2022

Mark 10: 51 (NIV)

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

Some Christians are burdened by an unexpressed fear that it may be wrong to want anything.*

For most of my life, I have been asking God for the wrong things. I find myself reluctant to express my true desires to God because . . . well, I know that he’s going to give me what’s best so it must not matter what I want. And I’m thinking that might be the wrong attitude!

Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted Jesus to do for him. I believe Jesus wanted the man to be specific. Would Jesus have granted his request if he had asked for anything other than healing? Who knows. But what if the man had been cautious – even timid – in his request? Perhaps asked for a new cane, a service dog, money . . . How silly would that have been when Jesus had the power to make him able to see!

I say, if you want something, ask for it. Ask for it according to God’s will. Wait expectantly for God to give you what you asked for - or something better. I believe that if you are thankful for what you get, you won’t regret what you didn’t get. As your faith matures, I predict that your asking will mature, too. 

I look forward to the day when I always want what God wants. And then when he asks, “What do you want me to do for you,” I won’t hesitate to tell him.

The more we thank, the more we see to be thankful for.*

May 29, 2022

Isaiah 6: 8 (NIV)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

How can God use me, exactly as I am right now?*

God speaks to me in various ways. Most often, his Spirit speaks to me through the Bible - a magical book that holds messages for me to find just when I need them. Sometimes God uses my preacher or the author of a book to communicate with me. Occasionally, he speaks directly to my mind. Whatever method he uses, I confirm that the message is from God by holding it up to the light of his word.

What if I heard God’s voice with my ears? What if he said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Would I go? Would I think, “Oh, he doesn’t mean me”? How would I know he was talking to me?

Well, just because my ears didn’t hear him ask, “Whom shall I send?” doesn’t mean he’s not talking to me. “Go” was Jesus’ final message to all of us. He wasn’t hinting around for a few volunteers. Our response, as his disciples should be, “Here I am. Where do you want me to go?” If we are tuned in to his voice – as his sheep are expected to be – we can know where he wants us to go, whether it is to our family in our own home or to the other side of the planet. As I said, God speaks to us through his word and through his people, so pay attention!

Where the world’s deep hunger meets your deep gladness is where God calls you.*

May 28, 2022

Mark 8: 27-29 (NIV)

. . .  he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Jesus’ disciples called him “Lord,” but he didn’t hesitate to call them “friends.”*

If someone asked me, “Who is Mark Durbin?” I would say, “He is my husband.” His mother would say, “He is my son.” Someone at church might say, “He is my Sunday School teacher.” When identifying someone, we usually begin with who they are to us. But underneath the basic question is another implied question: “Do you believe there really is a Mark Durbin?” If you don’t believe he exists, you won’t care what he means to me.

Jesus’ disciples believed in God. They believed in Jesus the person. But they didn’t understand Jesus’ relationship to God and they certainly struggled with grasping what he might mean to them. Can you relate to them? You believe in God. You even believe in Jesus. Probably most of you believe he is the Son of God. You know who other people say he is. But who is he to you? Can you claim a relationship with him? Is he your Savior? Lord? Friend?

Stop and listen to Jesus as he asks you, “What about you? Who do you say I am?” Does your answer involve what you have heard others say about him, or do you have a defining relationship with him?

We need to know Jesus the person, not just the plan.*

May 27, 2022

Psalm 46: 10 (NIV)

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

If we don’t spend time “with him,” how can we know his heart?

When my boys were little guys, our mornings were hectic. Hurrying was not a concept they understood. Getting them dressed, fed, and out the door was exhausting for this working mom who had to get herself dressed and fed, and who is neither a morning person nor a hurrier. There were a few mornings, though – well, maybe two or three - when we somehow had an extra moment before we had to leave for work and preschool. So we sat together on the couch and breathed. We were free to speak what was on our minds or just to sit quietly and enjoy being together. I cherish the memory of those few precious moments and I think my boys remember them fondly, too.

I have recently begun implementing a similar routine with God. We don’t exactly sit on the couch together but the results are the same.  In my journal, I write, “Be still.” Then I try to quiet my mind. The challenge for me is that a quiet mind usually leads to a sleeping mind but it is worth the effort to stay awake. After a time of stillness, I add, “You are God,” and continue writing what has been revealed to me in the stillness. I have never been more aware of God’s presence than in those moments. Sometimes he reveals things about himself; sometimes we just “sit on the couch” and enjoy the quietness. As with any spiritual discipline, it improves with practice.

If you are looking for a way to turbo-charge your devotional time with God, adding this discipline to your Bible study is a good place to start. Allow him to speak to you through his word then sit quietly in his presence, acknowledging who he is and what he does. You won’t be disappointed!

When the Lord is present, you are not alone.*

May 26, 2022

John 16: 2 (NIV)

“A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.”

How blind we can become! The cataracts of self-interest and self-satisfaction must be removed. We must see life in the clear, clean light of truth – God’s truth.*

Jesus’ prediction was fulfilled vividly in the life of Saul. Before his conversion (and name-change), Saul was a terrorist who believed that he was doing the will of God by persecuting Christians. Acts 8: 3 gives a chilling description of his fervor: “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” And in Acts 9: 1, we learn that he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” Read on in Acts chapter 9 for Saul’s dramatic conversion from persecutor to preacher.

No amount of sincerity could make up for the wrongness of Saul’s actions. We can’t excuse bad behavior with a shrug and an “Oh, he means well.” When Jesus hijacked Saul on the road to Damascus, he didn’t minimize his sin; he told Saul what he was doing wrong and what to do about it. And, to his credit, Saul didn’t argue. (You might say he saw the light!) He did as Jesus instructed him – and he prayed until the Lord revealed the next phase of his plan.

Have you ever learned that you were sincerely wrong? How hard was it to let go of your wrong beliefs and behavior? Are you sure that what you believe today could withstand the blinding light of the Truth? Perhaps you are holding on to bad doctrine because it is what you were taught as a child. Maybe it’s what your family still believes and you are reluctant to separate yourself from them. Saul could have referred to his Jewish heritage and refused to obey the voice of Jesus – but he recognized Jesus’ authority over the law and tradition, and chose to let go of his sincerely wrong beliefs. Do you need to make that choice, too?

Every individual carries within him a set of convictions born of past experience and the influence of other personalities. He is apt to consider his opinions sacrosanct and rationalize principle out of them.*

May 25, 2022

John 4: 24 (NIV)

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

We all have two choices in life: to be surprised by the absurdity of the universe or to be surprised by the meaningfulness of the universe.*

Part of my job as a mom was to help my children understand the difference between fantasy and reality. There is no such thing as ghosts, Santa Claus, or animals that chat with humans. Did I confuse them, then, when I also taught them about God who is invisible, who is everywhere, and actually is a ghost?

It defies logic. We don’t believe in magic so why believe in the supernatural? And yet . . . when we trace nature back to its very beginning, we are left with two choices for how we got here – and both of them are unbelievable. So I choose to believe that God is spirit and that all things were created by him.

Once we have acknowledged God as creator, we find ourselves again at the crossroads of choice. Ignoring him is an option that many have chosen. I choose to worship him in spirit and in truth. What will your choice be?

Atheists are the greatest fools in nature; for they see there is a world that could not make itself, and yet they will not own there is a God that made it.*

May 24, 2022

Acts 17: 11 (NIV)

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Trust but verify.*

We might wonder if Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, thought that Paul was never going to read these words. He is bragging on a group of people who are eagerly checking up on the veracity of Paul’s preaching. Didn’t they trust Paul? Shouldn’t they trust him?

I believe there are two important lessons we can learn from the Bereans. In the church, we have preachers, teachers, and leaders that we trust and who would never purposely lead us astray. But they are humans and prone to human error. If the Bereans were to be commended for not relying on every word out of Paul’s mouth, certainly we should verify the words of our beloved leaders as well.

The second lesson is this: No matter how many sermons or lessons you hear from the Bible, there is no substitute for digging into the Word for yourself. When you read the Bible, do you do it out of duty? Do you find it boring and difficult to understand? Or do you approach it with the enthusiasm of a treasure hunter? Do you ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you indulge in the Word of God?

I urge you to follow the example of the Berean Christians and receive the message with great eagerness while examining the Scriptures daily to find the truth.

Five minutes with God each day will never accomplish a deep spiritual examination.*

May 23, 2022

Jeremiah 23: 25; 28: 9 (NIV)

“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’” . . . “But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.”

Mohammedanism cannot point to any prophecies of the coming of Mohammed uttered hundreds of years before his birth. Neither can the founders of any cult . . . rightly identify any ancient text specifically foretelling their appearance.*

Remember the old joke about the guy who came upon his friend looking for a lost object far from where it might possibly be found because the light was better where he was? Jeremiah had to deal with people who believed false prophets because their predictions were in a better light: they prophesied peace. Wouldn’t we prefer to believe prophecies of peace and prosperity, too?

How can we tell real prophets from false ones? Should we believe only those whose message is depressing and ominous? In Jeremiah’s day, the test was: did their predictions come true? In our day, prophesying is more closely associated with preaching than with predictions of the future but we still need to discern between true and false. We have an advantage over Jeremiah; we have the complete written works of God at our disposal and it is our tool for determining the truth of the message. Don’t take my word for anything – see what God’s word has to say about it first. How do my words measure up to the Words of Life?

Reliance on the word of God is not fatalistic or superstitious. It is not trust in something impersonal like the stars or a good-luck charm.*

May 22, 2022

Malachi 3: 8 (NIV)

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings.”

It’s unhealthy to view tithing as a place to stop, but it can still be a good place to start.*

If you have ever been on a diet, perhaps you have struggled with some of the same issues that I do. Such as: shouldn't saying "no" to ice-cream burn a few calories? If I skip that brownie, will I wake up thin tomorrow? How is it fair that one day of indulgence can undo a week of righteous eating?

Through Malachi, God told his people that they were robbing him. This puzzled them. They hadn’t stolen anything from anyone. But similar to how saying no to a fattening treat doesn’t burn calories, withholding their tithe from God was the same as taking from him. A lack of action does not equal a positive action. Their lack of giving actually equaled a negative action: disobedience.

Are you robbing God? While tithing is not specifically commanded in the New Testament, we can find precedents and principles for giving a portion of our wealth to support the work of the church.  In 2 Corinthians 9: 7, Paul writes: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Here and now, I write: If you dare to ask God, “How much should I give,” I am positive that you will decide in your heart that 10% of your income is the least you can give. And if you determine to give more, you will find yourself becoming that cheerful giver that God loves.

If our question is, “How little can I give and still be pleasing to God?” our heart isn’t in the right place at all.*