October 21, 2022

I Samuel 3: 9 (NIV)

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to listen for him amidst the ordinary.*

By the time Samuel spoke these words, God had already called to him four times. The first three times, he thought it was his mentor, Eli, calling him. After the third time that Samuel had run to where Eli was sleeping, Eli realized that it must be the Lord speaking to the boy so he advised him to say these words.

In Samuel’s defense: he was young and he “did not yet know the Lord.” (verse 7) In our defense: I don’t think we have one. If we don’t hear God calling, it’s because we’re not listening. We specifically ask him to reveal himself to us then we rush off without waiting for his answer. How rude is that?

Sometimes, though, God answers and we ignore him. I can testify to that. For years, I have had the idea in the back of my mind to write. I was busy working and raising my kids so I mostly only thought about writing. I got to do some writing as part of my job – business letters, procedure manuals, grant requests, press releases – but nothing that brought satisfaction. After my job ended and after I had determined that I was not going to be returning to the daily grind of a full-time job, I constantly asked God to reveal to me what he wanted me to be doing for him. Write. Write. Write. The answer came up time after time, but I wasn’t listening. I can’t tell you what finally opened the ears of my heart but here I am. I still have questions about the direction I should go. Publish or not? Continue blogging? Try something other than daily devotionals? Look for ways to reach a larger audience or be content that I am reaching the audience that needs to be reached? I believe that I am a better listener now and God is telling me this: Do what you’re doing. I’ll let you know when you need to do something else.

Have you asked God to reveal his will but he hasn’t? Perhaps you aren’t listening. Next time you speak to him, give him a chance to speak back. Try Samuel’s approach: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Give him some time. In the meantime, do what you’re doing. He’ll let you know when you need to do something else.

Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don’t.*

October 20, 2022

Exodus 14: 14 (NIV)

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.”

His job is to fight. Our job is to trust.*

“God helps those who help themselves.” Many people believe those words are from the Bible. Others, who know better, still believe that it’s a scriptural principle. And it is – if by “help themselves” they actually mean, “be still.”

The words of this verse were spoken by Moses to a specific audience about a specific event in history. It is not a generic message for all people for all times – but there is a corresponding standard that is woven throughout the Bible: “Wait upon the Lord.” Many passages counsel us to seek God’s will before taking action. I believe that God will make us sure of his will if we wait and trust. As someone has stated:  “As long as [the] way is hidden, it is clear that there is no need of action and that He holds Himself accountable for all the results of keeping you exactly where you are.”* In other words, if you don't know what to do, don't do anything!

There are, of course, occasions where waiting is not an option, but for most of our concerns, the urgency is self-generated. No matter how badly we might want the issue to be settled immediately, most things can wait. Most things should wait. Fighting our own battles when God has promised to fight them for us seldom leads to victory.

Living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone. . . . Often there is nothing as godly as inactivity on our part.*

October 19, 2022

Luke 18: 1-8 (NIV)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. . . . And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. . .”

Trust means we are relying upon Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

I have always thought of this parable as The Nagging Widow. Read the whole passage and see what I mean. It sounds to me like Jesus is advocating nagging as a spiritual discipline. I do not nag! I have even been known to speculate about the necessity of persistent prayer. If I tell God what I want or think I need, why do I have to keep reminding him? Is he going to forget?

Clearly, I have missed the point of this story!

If you are with me on this, then let’s confirm the purpose of prayer. God wants to hear from us because he wants a relationship with us. We should pray in order to embrace and nurture that relationship – not just to get stuff. Through this parable, Jesus helps us to understand something about God, not about the Nagging Widow. She returned to the judge repeatedly because she knew he was the only one who could help her. If she was ever going to get justice, she had to get it from him. “Listen to the unjust judge,” Jesus says. If the widow could (finally) get justice from him, then why don’t we trust God to provide justice for his chosen ones? He is our source of help. Is the widow’s persistence even a factor in the point of the parable? One writer has observed (helpfully): “Hounding God doesn’t earn an answered prayer any more than faith or righteous living does. But persistence demonstrates our enduring trust.”*

How often and how frequently should you remind God that you are waiting for an answer? I believe that is a matter that is strictly between you and him. But I firmly believe that the more you pray, the better you pray.

There is no way to learn to pray except by praying.*

October 18, 2022

Genesis 42: 36 (NIV)

“Everything is against me!”

We cannot see what loss, sorrows, and trials are accomplishing.*

I read a book in which the heroine recalled a time when she had fallen and injured herself badly. When she complained that “everything hurt,” her sister said, “Everything? What about the middle finger on your left hand? What about your ear lobes?” From then on, whenever she hurt, physically or emotionally, the young lady reminded herself that not everything hurt.

When Jacob complained that everything was against him, a lot of things were. His favorite son was already lost to him; ten of his eleven remaining sons were accused of stealing from Pharaoh; one son of the eleven was being held hostage in Egypt; they were about to run out of grain again and in order to purchase more in Egypt, they would have to bring along their youngest brother (and Jacob’s new favorite) as a pledge of their honor. Was everything against him? With the loss of three sons, tragic as that would have been, he had nine loyal sons remaining. He still had the means with which to buy more grain from Egypt during the famine in his homeland. There was still grain available for purchase in Egypt. And, Jacob had more blessings to count than he realized: his lost son wasn’t dead – he was in charge of grain distribution in Egypt. He and his family were going to be provided for in abundance, far beyond his expectations.

When everything seems to be against us, it’s hard to maintain our confidence in God’s provision. When everything hurts, stop and assess the actual damage. What doesn’t hurt? What has already begun to heal? How can you make accommodations for injuries that won’t heal? Where is God and his glory? Remember his promises: that he will never forsake us; that we will have abundant life; that he works for the good of those who love him. We can’t see how he is working these things for our good, but if God is for us, how can everything be against us?

Let God’s promises shine on your problems.*

October 17, 2022

Acts 1: 3, 7, 8 (NIV)

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  . . .  He said to them: . . . “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Speaking what one has seen and heard is the essence of witnessing.*

In the movie, Weekend at Bernie’s, two losers are invited for a fun weekend at their boss’s mansion, only to find him dead. Refusing to let a little thing like a dead host spoil their fun, they manage to prop up Bernie’s body so that he appears to be participating in and enjoying their weekend activities.

Jesus’ followers were not like those two guys. Jesus was not a dead boss but a living Savior. They saw him, touched him, spoke to him, and listened to him – all after his crucifixion and resurrection. There is as much proof that he is alive again as there is that any other historical figure lived at all.

How do you know that Alexander the Great created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, from Greece to Egypt, to India and Pakistan; and that he was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful military commanders? I know it because I read it in Wikipedia. The people at Wikipedia know it because they consulted sources who saw him, touched him, spoke to him and listened to him. The difference is, although Alexander is considered to be one of the most influential people in human history, once he died, his followers were unable to maintain his quest to reach the ends of the world.* Jesus’ followers, in contrast, not only spread his kingdom to the ends of the earth but have kept it alive and vibrant for more than 2,000 years. That kind of campaign can’t be sustained with a dead leader who has to be propped up by his disciples. A dead king could not inspire his subjects to endure persecution and torture for the sake of the kingdom.

And a dead king cannot leave his Holy Spirit to empower his followers to reach the world with his message of hope and salvation. Accept the testimony of the eyewitnesses. Believe the testimony of the Holy Spirit. We serve a risen Savior! He has made us victorious!

Our Lord’s resurrection is not merely an historical event; it is a history-making event.*

October 16, 2022

Romans 14: 13-22 (NIV)

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. . . . If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. . . . So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.

In our world today, there are plenty of people trying to seize the authority of God Himself, and make the rules by which men should live.*

In my opinion, there is such a thing as inappropriate attire for church. I say inappropriate because I don’t have exact criteria for what constitutes appropriate, only the opposite of it. I say it’s my opinion because God doesn’t really address a church attendance dress code. I believe that whatever fashion guidelines we might find in the Bible, they refer to what’s proper and improper no matter where you are.

The big controversial issue that Paul is tackling here has to do with clean versus unclean food. That’s not a subject we tend to get riled up about, but we could apply his admonitions to any other matter of opinion among church members. (I did a paper in college in which I substituted rock music for the food controversy.) As Christians, we follow Christ, who is the only way to salvation. Perhaps our “rightness” about the truth has precipitated our slide into self-righteousness about our opinions. Whatever the cause, it’s not pretty!

I used to be more passionate in my views on appropriate church attire – especially for those who are up front leading in worship. It wasn’t quite interfering with my ability to worship . . . but, two things happened to change my attitude. First was a video shown one Sunday morning before the sermon. It depicted a group of people who were meeting secretly, outside, in the woods, because their lives were at risk if they got caught worshipping. What difference does it make what they are wearing? I thought suddenly. They just want to worship. The second thing that happened was that I started praying about my opinion and my attitude. As I was writing this, it occurred to me that I didn’t even notice what the praise team was wearing last Sunday!

There is much more that could be said here if we had the space. So, read Romans chapter 14 for yourself. Read it prayerfully. Ask God to show you clearly the differences between matters of opinion and matters of salvation. As Paul said, blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves – and, we might add, who does not condemn others by what he disapproves!

I don’t care what lost people wear to church. All I care about is that they are wearing righteousness when they leave.*

October 15, 2022

Romans 10: 17 (NIV)

Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Faith is more than conviction of the reality of the facts that God has unveiled. Faith also exists as response to those facts.*

There are many things that can enhance your faith: seeing God’s hand at work in nature; having your prayers answered; experiencing God’s provision for your daily life. But these are not where faith comes from. It is safe to say that faith will only and always be “preceded by hearing the word of Christ.”* There is no other circumstance by which faith can occur - not even by “touching the heart.”*

What is the “word of Christ”? Of course, it’s the gospel – his life, ministry, death, resurrection. We (you and I) access the word easily. We have multiple copies of the Bible in our homes. We can click on Biblegateway.com or download an electronic version of the scripture on our computers and phones and tablets. We are like the Jews about whom Paul asked (and answered) in the very next verse: “Did they not hear? Of course they did.”

Sad to say, though, that while hearing the word is a necessary condition for faith, it is not a sufficient one. Hearing is not the same as believing; it doesn’t automatically result in saving faith.* Saving faith is the result of the personal, individual decision we make upon our exposure to the message of the gospel. Many, many people hear the gospel and reject its saving message – either deliberately or by simply ignoring it.

One of the components of the message of Christ is his command to go, disciple, baptize, and teach (Matthew 28: 19, 20). There is no loophole that says, “If they are rejecting the message, you can stop preaching it.” Faith comes by hearing, yes, but some people need to hear it over and over. Keep spreading the news! The world needs to hear it.

If God by a miracle wrought faith in the heart, he could dispense with the preacher.*