Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Job 3-4
NT: Luke 20
W&W: Psalm 60
Today’s Reflection:
Today Lana and I begin our gypsy life. I decided that since I have been saying that for a few weeks now I should probably know what a gypsy is. I didn’t know it, but the term gypsy actually has it’s root in the word “Egypt” where the original gypsies of England were thought to have migrated from.
The Oxford dictionary defines gypsy as: “a member of a wandering race (by themselves called Romany), of Hindu origin, which first appeared in England about the beginning of the 16th c. and was then believed to have come from Egypt.” We’re not Hindus, but it may not be much of a stretch to trace our spiritual ancestry back to Moses and Israel coming out of Egypt. But we can definitely say that we are wandering!
It will be an exciting time for us! I'll try to keep you updated through my blog, but may not post every day. Please keep us in your prayers.
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.10-11: Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thrive in the Midst of Frustration
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Job 1-2
NT: Luke 19
W&W: Psalm 59
Today’s Reflection:
Following are some thought-provoking excerpts from the book, When God Takes Too Long by Joseph Bentz:
7: Carl Honore – “The whole world is time-sick.”
8: Larry Dorsey – Time-sickness is the obsessive belief “that time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.”
8: Honore – Time pressure is… “the chronic frustration that bubbles just below the surface of modern life … Anyone or anything that steps in our way, that slows us down, that stops us from getting exactly what we want when we want it, becomes the enemy. So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people.”
8: As bothersome as those countless everyday incidents of waiting can be, the time sickness I have struggled with goes even deeper and is more disturbing. One of my greatest frustrations as a Christian is that I’m always waiting on God to act. This complaint – that God is too slow – is not one I have frequently stated out loud. It sounds too disrespectful, hints too much of a lack of faith.
10: In a time-obsessed culture, it’s easy to get so focused on what life will be like after some future event – once I get that promotion, once I graduate, once I get married, once I retire – that we lose the present with all its richness and joy and purpose.
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.10-11: Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
OT: Job 1-2
NT: Luke 19
W&W: Psalm 59
Today’s Reflection:
Following are some thought-provoking excerpts from the book, When God Takes Too Long by Joseph Bentz:
7: Carl Honore – “The whole world is time-sick.”
8: Larry Dorsey – Time-sickness is the obsessive belief “that time is getting away, that there isn’t enough of it, and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up.”
8: Honore – Time pressure is… “the chronic frustration that bubbles just below the surface of modern life … Anyone or anything that steps in our way, that slows us down, that stops us from getting exactly what we want when we want it, becomes the enemy. So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people.”
8: As bothersome as those countless everyday incidents of waiting can be, the time sickness I have struggled with goes even deeper and is more disturbing. One of my greatest frustrations as a Christian is that I’m always waiting on God to act. This complaint – that God is too slow – is not one I have frequently stated out loud. It sounds too disrespectful, hints too much of a lack of faith.
10: In a time-obsessed culture, it’s easy to get so focused on what life will be like after some future event – once I get that promotion, once I graduate, once I get married, once I retire – that we lose the present with all its richness and joy and purpose.
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.10-11: Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sitting on the Couch in Obedience
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Esther 9-10
NT: Luke 18
W&W: Psalm 58
Today’s Reflection:
From: When God Takes too Long; Joseph Bentz; pp 76-78
Dan, a successful Christian businessman, has an MBA and is an energetic, take-charge person. When he was 31 years old, his career was thrown off-stride when he lost his job with a major corporation. After several months of demoralizing unemployment, he landed a job with a business he thought was run by a Christian, but he quickly realized the company was riddled with unethical practices. He quit after only one week.
Unemployed for a second time, in eligible for unemployment benefits because of having willingly resigned from the second company, and running out of money to pay his bills, Dan prayed hard for God’s direction. He had done all he knew to do to find a new job, but nothing worked out. His worry deepened, edging toward despair. He says, “I began to pray. I asked God to direct me. I told him I would do what he wanted me to do but that he would have to show me the way. Nothing happened. My prayers seemed to rise no higher than the ceiling.”
Knowing Dan was unemployed, some friends in his men’s Bible study urged him to take this opportunity to pursue his interest in teaching English in China for a mission organization. However he couldn’t afford the cost of the three months of training or the living expenses involved, so that idea was out. After attending a Bible study one day, Dan confided his frustrations to a friend, complaining there was something seriously wrong in his life.
“How do you know something is wrong?” his friend asked.
“Because I’m at the end of my rope and God isn’t saving me. I have no job, and my money is running out. I’ve asked God to direct me, but he isn’t doing anything.”
“How do you know he isn’t doing anything?”
“I’ll tell you how I know,” said Dan, losing patience. “Because yesterday I did nothing. Nothing! I woke up, went downstairs and sat on the couch. I feel like a bum and a failure. I’ve tried everything I know to try. If God was doing something, He wouldn’t have let me sit there all day, waiting.”
“Maybe you didn’t sit there long enough,” said his friend.
This sounded absurd. Dan didn’t want to sit there at all, let alone longer. He went home feeling desperate. He prayed to the Lord, “I know you’re real, and I know that you see me and care for me. I don’t know what to do. I’ve pursued all my opportunities. You seem silent and distant. Please show me what to do. I will wait until you make the next move.”
For Dan, this was the scariest prayer of all. He said, “I didn’t know if I’d have to wait an hour, a day, a week, or a year. But I knew I was committed to not making a move until God did something. Would an angel appear? Would someone come to the door and offer me the perfect job? Would I starve to death on the couch?
Dan sat on his couch for one day, then another, then another. His roommates came and went. The sun rose. The sun set. It rose again. It set again. He said, “I wish I could say it was a spiritual experience, but it wasn’t. At least not in the way you may be thinking. I didn’t fast and pray. I didn’t get on my knees and seek the face of God. I didn’t spend hours singing and praising God for his goodness. No, I just waited in quietness and stillness. I felt numb.”
When the breakthrough finally came, things moved quickly. One afternoon the telephone rang, and a friend who rarely called was on the line. He asked how Dan was doing. “I’ve been sitting on the couch for days,” said Dan.
“Would you be interested in a job?” asked his friend.
Dan was interested. The work was temporary, a project that would make good use of his degree. The pay was exactly the amount Dan needed to live on and, if he chose, to compete the training for the trip to China. The project would last for three months, which was (coincidentally?) exactly the length of time before the China training program started. He took the job. He went to China.
Dan said, “I went from sitting on the couch one day to having a job and preparing for a year in China. Who could have imagined that sitting on a couch and doing nothing would produce such a flurry of activity and opportunity? Don’t ask me to explain the theology of it all. I only know I learned a lesson about what it means to ‘wait on God’ that I’ve never heard preached in church.”
He had learned to take his station and let God do battle for him. He learned to truly trust the Lord. “At the core of my faith was a big fear that maybe God couldn’t make something out of nothing, even though I was taught that He’s the Author of creation. The answer to that fearful question never became clear for me until the world I had created – and was feverishly trying to maintain – fell apart and came to a halt.”
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
OT: Esther 9-10
NT: Luke 18
W&W: Psalm 58
Today’s Reflection:
From: When God Takes too Long; Joseph Bentz; pp 76-78
Dan, a successful Christian businessman, has an MBA and is an energetic, take-charge person. When he was 31 years old, his career was thrown off-stride when he lost his job with a major corporation. After several months of demoralizing unemployment, he landed a job with a business he thought was run by a Christian, but he quickly realized the company was riddled with unethical practices. He quit after only one week.
Unemployed for a second time, in eligible for unemployment benefits because of having willingly resigned from the second company, and running out of money to pay his bills, Dan prayed hard for God’s direction. He had done all he knew to do to find a new job, but nothing worked out. His worry deepened, edging toward despair. He says, “I began to pray. I asked God to direct me. I told him I would do what he wanted me to do but that he would have to show me the way. Nothing happened. My prayers seemed to rise no higher than the ceiling.”
Knowing Dan was unemployed, some friends in his men’s Bible study urged him to take this opportunity to pursue his interest in teaching English in China for a mission organization. However he couldn’t afford the cost of the three months of training or the living expenses involved, so that idea was out. After attending a Bible study one day, Dan confided his frustrations to a friend, complaining there was something seriously wrong in his life.
“How do you know something is wrong?” his friend asked.
“Because I’m at the end of my rope and God isn’t saving me. I have no job, and my money is running out. I’ve asked God to direct me, but he isn’t doing anything.”
“How do you know he isn’t doing anything?”
“I’ll tell you how I know,” said Dan, losing patience. “Because yesterday I did nothing. Nothing! I woke up, went downstairs and sat on the couch. I feel like a bum and a failure. I’ve tried everything I know to try. If God was doing something, He wouldn’t have let me sit there all day, waiting.”
“Maybe you didn’t sit there long enough,” said his friend.
This sounded absurd. Dan didn’t want to sit there at all, let alone longer. He went home feeling desperate. He prayed to the Lord, “I know you’re real, and I know that you see me and care for me. I don’t know what to do. I’ve pursued all my opportunities. You seem silent and distant. Please show me what to do. I will wait until you make the next move.”
For Dan, this was the scariest prayer of all. He said, “I didn’t know if I’d have to wait an hour, a day, a week, or a year. But I knew I was committed to not making a move until God did something. Would an angel appear? Would someone come to the door and offer me the perfect job? Would I starve to death on the couch?
Dan sat on his couch for one day, then another, then another. His roommates came and went. The sun rose. The sun set. It rose again. It set again. He said, “I wish I could say it was a spiritual experience, but it wasn’t. At least not in the way you may be thinking. I didn’t fast and pray. I didn’t get on my knees and seek the face of God. I didn’t spend hours singing and praising God for his goodness. No, I just waited in quietness and stillness. I felt numb.”
When the breakthrough finally came, things moved quickly. One afternoon the telephone rang, and a friend who rarely called was on the line. He asked how Dan was doing. “I’ve been sitting on the couch for days,” said Dan.
“Would you be interested in a job?” asked his friend.
Dan was interested. The work was temporary, a project that would make good use of his degree. The pay was exactly the amount Dan needed to live on and, if he chose, to compete the training for the trip to China. The project would last for three months, which was (coincidentally?) exactly the length of time before the China training program started. He took the job. He went to China.
Dan said, “I went from sitting on the couch one day to having a job and preparing for a year in China. Who could have imagined that sitting on a couch and doing nothing would produce such a flurry of activity and opportunity? Don’t ask me to explain the theology of it all. I only know I learned a lesson about what it means to ‘wait on God’ that I’ve never heard preached in church.”
He had learned to take his station and let God do battle for him. He learned to truly trust the Lord. “At the core of my faith was a big fear that maybe God couldn’t make something out of nothing, even though I was taught that He’s the Author of creation. The answer to that fearful question never became clear for me until the world I had created – and was feverishly trying to maintain – fell apart and came to a halt.”
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
When God Takes Too Long
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Esther 8
NT: Luke 17
W&W: Psalm 57
Today’s Reflection:
Recently a friend loaned me the book When God Takes too Long by Joseph Bentz. I would recommend it. Over the next several weeks, I am planning on sharing some of Bentz’s insights with you. Today, I will just list the chapter headings, which are…
10 Principles of Waiting on God
1. Expect some frustrating detours if you’re going to follow God
2. Assume that God is at work – even when you don’t understand what he’s doing
3. Remember your identity in God during the long days of waiting
4. Trust God – even though you’re likely to feel his way is not the best way
5. Wait and obey – even as things seem to get worse
6. Have faith that in his good time God will sweep away the obstacles
7. Remind yourself of what the Lord did for you in the past
8. Wait when it’s time to wait and act when it’s time to act
9. Know your enemies – their names are Restlessness, Complaining, and Disobedience
10. Cling to God’s purposes – even if you have a quicker plan of your own
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
OT: Esther 8
NT: Luke 17
W&W: Psalm 57
Today’s Reflection:
Recently a friend loaned me the book When God Takes too Long by Joseph Bentz. I would recommend it. Over the next several weeks, I am planning on sharing some of Bentz’s insights with you. Today, I will just list the chapter headings, which are…
10 Principles of Waiting on God
1. Expect some frustrating detours if you’re going to follow God
2. Assume that God is at work – even when you don’t understand what he’s doing
3. Remember your identity in God during the long days of waiting
4. Trust God – even though you’re likely to feel his way is not the best way
5. Wait and obey – even as things seem to get worse
6. Have faith that in his good time God will sweep away the obstacles
7. Remind yourself of what the Lord did for you in the past
8. Wait when it’s time to wait and act when it’s time to act
9. Know your enemies – their names are Restlessness, Complaining, and Disobedience
10. Cling to God’s purposes – even if you have a quicker plan of your own
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Easy Button
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Esther 6-7
NT: Luke 16
W&W: Psalm 56
Today’s Reflection:
“I am under vows to you, O God.” These words of David in Psalm 56.12 are echoed in my own soul today. Lana and I are praying diligently about where we will next go in our ministry. Since there seems to be several choices on the horizon, my brother-in-law actually accused me of making it confusing! He said that even God had to give me several options to choose from because I’ve made it difficult. Can you believe that? My own brother-in-law!
Perhaps he is right… It seems that God’s road map for us is beginning to unfold. But which road do we take? Then I came across what David wrote: “I am under vows to you, O God.” That clears everything up! It’s like I hit the “easy button” from Staples. I don’t have to worry about choosing between complicated options. I only have to follow Jesus! And, I settled that question long ago. I will follow where he leads. The choice is not mine; it is his!
Are you in that position today? Have you gotten to a place in your surrender to Jesus Christ, that the choice is his? Jesus said that anyone who would come after him must deny himself, take up his cross and follow him. That’s the real choice. Once you’ve made that one, the others come “easy”! So, push the “easy button.” Make the decision to follow where he leads!
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
OT: Esther 6-7
NT: Luke 16
W&W: Psalm 56
Today’s Reflection:
“I am under vows to you, O God.” These words of David in Psalm 56.12 are echoed in my own soul today. Lana and I are praying diligently about where we will next go in our ministry. Since there seems to be several choices on the horizon, my brother-in-law actually accused me of making it confusing! He said that even God had to give me several options to choose from because I’ve made it difficult. Can you believe that? My own brother-in-law!
Perhaps he is right… It seems that God’s road map for us is beginning to unfold. But which road do we take? Then I came across what David wrote: “I am under vows to you, O God.” That clears everything up! It’s like I hit the “easy button” from Staples. I don’t have to worry about choosing between complicated options. I only have to follow Jesus! And, I settled that question long ago. I will follow where he leads. The choice is not mine; it is his!
Are you in that position today? Have you gotten to a place in your surrender to Jesus Christ, that the choice is his? Jesus said that anyone who would come after him must deny himself, take up his cross and follow him. That’s the real choice. Once you’ve made that one, the others come “easy”! So, push the “easy button.” Make the decision to follow where he leads!
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Amazing Grace!
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Esther 4-5
NT: Luke 15
W&W: Psalm 55
Today’s Reflection:
Luke 15 contains the stories of three lost things: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The lost son is often known as the prodigal son. This son rebelled and demanded from his father all that he had coming from his father’s estate. The father gave it to him, and the son went off to chase his dreams. His dreams, however, were elusive and the harder he chased them, the further away from him they got. Eventually, he had spent all his wealth and was left with nothing from all his father had given him. He was also without family or friends in his time of need.
Luke 15.14 says, “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine.”
That is how it is with sin. It costs us everything and leaves us with nothing. In Luke 15, the lost sheep was found; the lost coin was found; even the lost son was found. But, for him, the lost opportunities were squandered forever. The lost son had spent everything. There was nothing left. There was only famine in his soul.
Then he remembered his father’s mercy. He remembered his father’s abundance. He remembered his father’s generosity. The famine in his soul was over! He returned to his father and was restored as a son. Sin had cost him everything and left him with nothing. But, grace – which cost him nothing – gave him everything!
What the Bible says really is true: where sin increases, grace increases all the more! (Romans 5.20) Thank God for his Amazing Grace!
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
OT: Esther 4-5
NT: Luke 15
W&W: Psalm 55
Today’s Reflection:
Luke 15 contains the stories of three lost things: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The lost son is often known as the prodigal son. This son rebelled and demanded from his father all that he had coming from his father’s estate. The father gave it to him, and the son went off to chase his dreams. His dreams, however, were elusive and the harder he chased them, the further away from him they got. Eventually, he had spent all his wealth and was left with nothing from all his father had given him. He was also without family or friends in his time of need.
Luke 15.14 says, “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine.”
That is how it is with sin. It costs us everything and leaves us with nothing. In Luke 15, the lost sheep was found; the lost coin was found; even the lost son was found. But, for him, the lost opportunities were squandered forever. The lost son had spent everything. There was nothing left. There was only famine in his soul.
Then he remembered his father’s mercy. He remembered his father’s abundance. He remembered his father’s generosity. The famine in his soul was over! He returned to his father and was restored as a son. Sin had cost him everything and left him with nothing. But, grace – which cost him nothing – gave him everything!
What the Bible says really is true: where sin increases, grace increases all the more! (Romans 5.20) Thank God for his Amazing Grace!
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Keep the Romance Alive
Today’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Esther 3
NT: Luke 14
W&W: Psalm 54
OT: Esther 3
NT: Luke 14
W&W: Psalm 54
Today’s Reflection:
Yesterday I began preaching revival at Obetz Nazarene. God has led me to preach on “Sharing the Hope of Jesus” for this revival. Last night’s message was “Sharing Hope at Home.” I would like to share a portion of that message with you today.
What are the things that dash our hopes at home? One of them is Dying Romance. I came across the following quote that I feel captures our desperation for love:
“All our lives we search for someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance the song of heartbreak and hope, all the while wondering if somewhere, somehow there is someone searching for us.”
And the following poem, The Hope of Loving, by Daniel Ladinsky:
Yesterday I began preaching revival at Obetz Nazarene. God has led me to preach on “Sharing the Hope of Jesus” for this revival. Last night’s message was “Sharing Hope at Home.” I would like to share a portion of that message with you today.
What are the things that dash our hopes at home? One of them is Dying Romance. I came across the following quote that I feel captures our desperation for love:
“All our lives we search for someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance the song of heartbreak and hope, all the while wondering if somewhere, somehow there is someone searching for us.”
And the following poem, The Hope of Loving, by Daniel Ladinsky:
What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?
I think it is the hope of loving,
or being loved.
I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey
I heard a fable once about the sun going on a journey
to find its source, and how the moon wept
without her lover’s
warm gaze.
We weep when light does not reach our hearts. We wither
We weep when light does not reach our hearts. We wither
like fields if someone close
does not rain their
kindness
upon
us.
I heard this joke this week: “What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband? About 30#!” At first I didn’t get it, then I remembered Lana’s boyfriend in college weighed about 145 pounds. As a matter of fact, he weighed that much on their wedding day. After he became her husband, though, he topped out at about 180#! The difference between Lana’s boyfriend and husband was 35#! Like our bodies, if we let it go, romance can become flabby and unattractive. We begin to neglect all the nice things we did for her or him But we don’t need to.
How long does it take for romance to die? Or how old do you have to be? I don’t know. I’m not that old yet! One fella down in NC told me, “We were sittin’ out on the front porch one day and my wife came out. She looked so purty to me, my pacemaker opened the garage door across the street!” I can’t attest to how pacemakers work, but I do know that God will put a love in your heart that will never die!
What can we do to keep romance alive? Beware of and guard against these immorality attractions:
- Persistently thinking of someone other than your spouse
- Disengaged from intimate conversations and activity with your spouse
- Discussing things normally reserved for your spouse with others
- Visiting explicit sites
The Bible is a champion of marital love. Go to it for help in keeping romance alive. Live according to Ephesians 5. Or, try reading the Song of Solomon together to add a spark to your lives! Go to the book of Ruth to read one of the greatest love stories I’ve ever read.
Like anything else that’s alive, love has to be taken care of. Nurture it and it will bear much fruit – the fruit of joy!
This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Isaiah 53.8-9: By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
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