Posted by Charlie on Jan 9, 2010 in
Devotions Scripture: Genesis Genesis 23, 24; Luke 9
And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Luke 9:17
Observation
The miraculous nature of Jesus’ ministry is presented so strongly in Luke’s gospel. Through his miracles Jesus revealed a number of very important truths about who he is.
In the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus performs a creative miracle which demonstrates his deity. He starts out with a kid’s lunch, feeds five thousand men, plus women and children, and ends up with more leftovers than what he had when he he started.
Application
It’s so easy to get my perspective locked into the limited resources I have around me, and forget that Jesus is able to take the lunch roll I’ve got in my sack and turn it into something amazing. In the disciple’s case, they later argued about forgetting to bring bread, and Jesus chided them, “What’s wrong with you guys? Don’t you remember feeding the multitude? Don’t you understand?”
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for the reminder that you are God, and you are able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all I am able to ask or even imagine. I offer you the meager resources I have today and ask you to please do with them what only you can do. In your holy name, amen.
Tags: miracles, provision, resources
Posted by Charlie on Dec 21, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: John 9, 10, 11
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 10:17-18
Observation
In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis concluded that Jesus was either the genuine Son of God or he was a nut case, but could not be both. In today’s passage Jesus makes a bold claim that would fall into one of the two categories Lewis described.
Application
Anyone has the power to lay his or her life down, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who has the power to take it back up, which leads to the central question of Christianity: Did Jesus indeed rise from the dead? If not, then we poor Christ-followers are a pathetic, deceived lot. If he did rise from the tomb as the Bible claims, then it has far-reaching ramifications for every human being, and to shrug it off is done at one’s own peril.
For me as a believer it has serious ramifications as well. If Jesus is alive as Scripture proclaims, then his promised abiding presence should be making a marked difference in my daily life. Let’s see, he is everywhere-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful, having disarmed spiritual powers and authorities. That knowledge alone, if truly embraced, puts an entirely new spin on life.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for your position of power, authority, and sovereignty over this universe. Please help me to live today with a greater awareness of your real presence, and the ability to respond to your promises with genuine faith. Amen!
Tags: authority, resurrection
Posted by Charlie on Dec 19, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: John 5, 6
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”
John 6:26
Observation
After the feeding of the five thousand the crowd flock to Jesus on the following day. Jesus cuts to the chase: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”
Application
God’s motivation for the sacrificial redemption Jesus accomplished for me is his eternal love—he loves me infinitely and wants me to be in relationship with him forever. The tragic reality of humankind is that we tend to be selfish creatures. We are most interested in what we can get for ourselves. If God is passing out free bread then I want some!
What am I after today? Am I more interested in what God can do for me, or in really seeking him to know and love him for who he is? That, detective, is the right question.
Prayer
Father, thank you for your provision today. Without your generous care I would be in big trouble. But thank you most for drawing me to yourself and pouring out your love for me. Please help me to grow in your love today, and grant me the grace to know and love you more deeply. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: love, provision, selfishness
Posted by Charlie on Dec 15, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: James 1-5
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:16
Observation
James boldly declares the power of prayer, and uses the example of Elijah praying for drought and rain to illustrate his point.
Application
It is easy to forget that God, in his wisdom, has purposed to establish his kingdom rule in this realm in partnership with the prayers of his people. The heavens are not brass, and God is willing to move on my behalf if I will ask him to do so. Ask!
Prayer
Father, you know the requests and intercessions I have brought before you today. I thank you that you hear, and that you are pleased to work on my behalf today. Please be glorified in my life as you establish your kingdom in partnership with my prayers. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: faith, prayer
Posted by Charlie on Dec 14, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Hebrews 12, 13; Jude
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Hebrews 12:12-13
Observation
The race can become wearying. These past couple months have been a never-ending onslaught of projects combined with life that have pushed me farther and farther behind in my daily responsibilities. I’m trying to dig out, but it has been a slog, and daily devotions have suffered along with everything else. Lately I’ve been reading faithfully, but haven’t managed to journal.
Application
Between Eric’s message yesterday and God’s reminder today that perseverance is a virtue necessary to winning the race, I’m going to try to get back on track with posting my daily ruminations. As our small group gets going in Design for Discipleship there will probably be days when I need to focus on those lessons rather than the 2020 assigned reading, but we’ll see how it goes.
Prayer
Father, please grant strength and healing today for me and my household. Please fill us with your presence and lead us in your wisdom, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: perseverance
Posted by Charlie on Nov 20, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Matthew 5, 6, 7
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:28-29
Observation
The Sermon on the Mount has to be one of the most amazing and challenging sections in all of Scripture. It concludes by saying that the crowds were astonished at Jesus’ teaching, which came with authority.
The law of Moses already had proven to be an impossible standard for people to keep flawlessly, and now Jesus came on the scene and essentially said, “You thought the bar was high? I’m going to raise it much higher!”
Application
So much higher, in fact, that it is impossible. The only person in history ever capable of fulfilling the standard set in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus himself. Then he gave himself as a worthy sacrifice to pay my penalty for falling short of God’s righteousness.
As I seek Jesus daily and abide in his presence, allowing the Holy Spirit to change and mold my life, I have the opportunity to increasingly look like the person the Sermon on the Mount describes. And where I fail, I have the covering of his forgiveness.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for fulfilling the amazing standard you set in the Sermon on the Mount. I want to look more and more like you as I live each day. Please work in my heart today. I want to be able to experience the reality of “Blessed are the meek [praus], for they shall inherit the earth.” Amen.
Tags: law, righteousness, Sermon on the Mount
Posted by Charlie on Nov 17, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7, 8, 9, 10
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Observation
At the end of chapter 6, Paul urges the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Then, as he begins chapter 7, he refers to Leviticus and Isaiah, which assure God’s people that he will be their God, and even a father to them, if they will remain pure in their devotion to him.
We don’t have the full picture of what was happening in Corinth that prompted Paul’s comment, partially because the harsh letter Paul refers to in this chapter has been lost, but it boils down, once again, to the concept of being in the world but not being of the world.
Application
God has always intended for his people to be a living example of what it is like to be in right relationship with our Creator, but, as the history of Israel demonstrates, the tendency for people is to be influenced by the world, not the other way around. God wants us to be thermostats, not thermometers. The thermostat sets the standard for the environment, a thermometer simply adjusts to what is happening around it.
Prayer
Father, please guide me according to your promises today and grant that my life may be a picture of your holiness. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: holiness
Posted by Charlie on Nov 13, 2009 in
Devotions I’ve been on vacation for the past ten days and didn’t manage to journal while I was away. It was a good time away, but it’s good to be back.
Scripture: Job 39, 40; 1 Cor 13, 14
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Observation/Application
This is a great spot to substitute the word “Charlie” for the word “love” to get an idea how I look next to the gold standard. Here’s how it gets rendered:
Charlie is patient and kind; Charlie does not envy or boast; Charlie is not arrogant or rude. Charlie does not insist on his own way; Charlie is not irritable or resentful; Charlie does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Charlie bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
It is both a litmus test to evaluate how my life looks in comparison to where it should be, and a handy reminder of what I’m striving to become as I allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in my heart.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you that this is a description of what you are like, and that you are in the process of building these things into my life as well. Please lead me today in your ways and teach me. I want you to do your good work in me today so that I am more like you day by day. Amen.
Posted by Charlie on Nov 3, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Job 25, Mark 13, 14
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.
Mark 14:61-64
Observation
The high priest went into the kangaroo court in Mark 14 with the preconceived idea that Jesus was something other than who he was, which was honestly becoming obvious the more his ministry progressed. Really, the high priest was just fishing for any excuse to condemn Jesus. Finally he asked Jesus straight out if he was the Christ, the son of the Blessed, to which Jesus replied that he was. As Jaco Pastorius once observed, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”
Application
Jesus is still who he says he is—the Christ and the son of the Blessed One. Many today marginalize Jesus, and as his follower I have to decide how I’ll respond to those who do. Peter buckled, but later went on to be a dynamic witness to the risen Christ. Day by day I have the choice of how I will represent Jesus to the world, especially to those who scoff.
Prayer
Father, please fill me with your Holy Spirit today, and grant that I might be a powerful witness to the reality of the risen Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: boldness, truth, witness
Posted by Charlie on Nov 1, 2009 in
Devotions Scripture: Psalm 121; Mark 9, 10
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:42-45
Observation
Servant leadership is such a foreign concept to fallen human nature. It’s fascinating to see the disciples still jockeying for position in what they perceived to be the upcoming kingdom, not realizing that they had it all wrong.
Application
One of the faults of the current church is that, by and large, there is still a tendency to utilize kingdom-of-the-world tactics to attempt the spread of the kingdom of heaven. In reality, though, the kingdom of heaven only gets established through using kingdom of heaven tactics. It’s the act of living out the gospel by loving and serving people that makes the kind of changes that turns the world upside down.
Prayer
Father, please help me today to serve the way Jesus models. Please grant that your kingdom would be expanded as I abide in you and allow your kingdom influence to touch others through me. In other words, let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Tags: kingdom, leadership, servant
