You’re Invited!

ALL – Psalm 150:1-6
ALL – Proverbs 31:25-31
OT – Malachi 3:1-4:6
NT – Revelation 22:1-21

Interesting passage for the day: The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let each one who hears them say the same, ‘Come.’ Let the thirsty one come—anyone who wants to; let him come and drink the Water of Life without charge. – Revelation 22:17, The Living Bible

Thought: It’s always nice to be invited. Especially to be invited by someone important. I think God and His kingdom might possibly fit into that category.

When someone important invites you over, don’t you usually do everything you possibly can to go?

With God, there’s no excuse for rejecting His invitation. He sent His Son to die so that we could accept His invitation. He’s sending His Son again to escort us home. His final words in the Scriptures are words of invitation and grace, and He’s so serious about the message getting across that He leaves a stern warning for anyone who tries to change things up.

If you’re reading this, you’ve received an invitation from God: “Come.” Come to Jesus. Come to His Spirit. Come join His people. Come home with Him. Come.

Question: Are you coming?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Prayer-Fueled Wrath

ALL – Psalm 136:1-26
ALL – Proverbs 30:7-9
OT – Nahum 1:1-3:19
NT – Revelation 8:1-13

Interesting passage for the day: And the perfume of the incense mixed with prayers ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Then the angel filled the censer with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed and rumbled, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake. – Revelation 8:4-5, The Living Bible

Thought: Often when I wake up in the morning, part of my prayers to God include these lines from the Lord’s (or disciples’) prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Those prayers are beginning to be answered. In the hearts, souls, minds and strength of thousands upon thousands and even millions upon millions of people, our Father’s name has begun to be reverenced, His kingdom has come, and His will is being done.

But when will these prayers be answered fully? Why are some of our prayers going unanswered? Why do men and women get away with wickedness and evil? Where are all our prayers (and I’m talking about the godly ones, not the foolish and selfish prayers) going?

In Revelation, we see that they are being stored up to be poured out before God’s throne, mixed with incense. Our prayers for God’s righteousness to overwhelm the wickedness around us and finally reign supreme will be brought before God and presented as an offering that pleases Him. And in imagery that cannot help but communicate the connection between our prayers and God’s wrath on our rebellious world, the very censer that was once the container of our prayers, now emptied before God, becomes the tool by which fire from heaven is poured down upon this sinful earth in wrath.

Our prayers matter. God hears them. He sees our suffering. He knows our misery. He hears our sobs. He hates the injustice, oppression and wickedness that we endure. As we cry out to Him through His pure and wonderful Son Jesus Christ, God is preparing to act. He will save us completely and finally from the pains of this life, and His answer to our prayers will be a wrath against sin that makes us wonder why we ever doubted that God cares about our troubles. He cares, and in His love for us, He will respond to our prayers in His wrath.

Question: Instead of asking what you pray for, I’d like to ask: What do you pray against? Have you grown impatient because God hasn’t dealt with it the way you wanted Him to deal with it yet? When you read Revelation 8 and see the results of your prayers, are you willing to wait for God’s timing?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Love-Loosed Wrath

ALL – Psalm 134:1-3
ALL – Proverbs 30:1-4
OT – Micah 1:1-4:13
NT – Revelation 6:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: And when the fourth seal was broken, I heard the fourth Living Being say, “Come!” And now I saw a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. And there followed after him another horse whose rider’s name was Hell. They were given control of one-fourth of the earth, to kill with war and famine and disease and wild animals. – Revelation 6:7-8, The Living Bible

Thought: I’m sorry, but this is simply not a pretty picture. Who wants to face the horrors that Jesus Christ revealed in this verse? And not just in this verse. All of chapter six is filled with clip after clip of doom.

And you know what’s really ironic? Look back at yesterday’s passage and thoughts. You’ll see what I’m talking about. Yesterday, we saw Jesus Christ, the Lamb who has eclipsed all other beings by dying and shedding His blood as a payment to buy people from around the world for God, and that He was the only one worthy to take and open the scroll in God’s hand. Today we see what it is that only Jesus the spotless Lamb was worthy to open: a scroll of war, anarchy, killing, famine, disease, wild animals, vengeance, natural disaster—a scroll filled with the wrath of God.

Only Jesus is worthy to unleash God’s wrath. And He is worthy precisely because He shed His own blood for us—in other words, Jesus’ infinite love makes Him worthy to unleash overwhelming wrath.

You might think that these two realities wouldn’t meet up in Jesus Christ, but you would be wrong. This is how the perfect God planned the course of creation all along. He knew that His creatures would rebel against Him and deserve to die, but He withheld His wrath. He locked it up in a secure chest that could only be opened with the key of love. Only when so much love had been poured out on mankind that humanity had absolutely no excuse for their rebellion would God’s wrath be unleashed. And no one in all of creation was ever worthy to unlock that chest. Humanity (which really had no excuse already) could still hold up one piece of evidence against God: “You knew how painful life would be and how sin would take us captive, but You did not prevent it and you have not done enough to save us from our sins and their curse! YOU DON’T LOVE US.”

People still charge God with not loving us enough. And I just don’t get it. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When God sent Jesus to earth that first Christmas, God sent Him to demonstrate the fullest possible extent of love—a love that would nullify every accusation against Him. Jesus’ death on the cross was a shout of divine love, a shout that declared, “I see your slavery to sin. I see your suffering. I see your pain. I see your fears and sorrows. And I will not let them last. They’re done. I’m willing to lay my life on the line for you, to die for you to live.”

And the love expressed through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, finally provided the key to the chest of God’s wrath. No one ever has to experience God’s wrath, because everyone can be saved from it through God’s loving Lamb. God, in His love, chained up His wrath until all could be saved from it through Jesus Christ.

So the worthy and loving Lamb of God unleashed the wrath of God. But He did it only after providing for the safety of all who trust in Him.

Question: Which do you see more clearly, God’s love or God’s wrath? God’s wrath fell on Jesus so that God’s love could fall on you. But rejecting God’s love will still get you God’s wrath. What’s your take on it? Will you receive His love?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Heaven’s Posthumous Purple Heart

ALL – Psalm 133:1-3
ALL – Proverbs 29:26-27
OT – Jonah 1:1-4:11
NT – Revelation 5:1-14

Interesting passage for the day: They were singing him a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.” – Revelation 5:9-10, The Living Bible

Thought: The Purple Heart award is an honor given in the name of the United States President to soldiers who have been wounded or killed during their service to our country. Yes, it is an honor that can be given to a soldier after death. Facing death in service to other people deserves honor so much that our government does not consider the posthumous award to be a waste.

Here in Revelation 5, Jesus Christ, the Lamb, is found to be worthy of an honor that no one else—not a single living being in all of creation—could claim, the honor of taking the scroll from the hand of the “one who was sitting on the throne” (Rev 5:1), to break its seals and to open it. Why did the Lamb merit this great honor?

The twenty four elders sang the reason for His honor. “You are worthy,” they proclaimed, “for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.”

Jesus has gone to war for us. He marched straight to the front lines and battled for our lives. And Jesus Christ did not leave the battle field in defeat. He won the victory! We who trust in Him are being gathered into His kingdom and have become priests of God!

This victory was not won without cost. Jesus Christ died on the field of battle. He laid His life down to gain the ultimate victory.

And yet, in this heavenly scene from Revelation 5, Jesus Christ did not need a next-of-kin to step forward and claim His honor for Him. Unlike the United States’ posthumous Purple Heart awards, Jesus Christ is an honoree who can stand to personally receive the posthumous praise He deserves. He has risen from the dead and lives forever. And so the victory that He won by His death is forever secure because He lives.

Question: How grateful are you to Jesus for His death for you? When you hear about the honor He receives, do you yawn? Clap politely? Or cheer at the top of your lungs? If you could award Jesus an appropriate posthumous “Purple Heart” award of your own, what kind of reward do you think He would deserve?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Don’t Bite the Hand that Feeds You

ALL – Psalm 132:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 29:24-25
OT – Obadiah 1:1-21
NT – Revelation 4:1-11

Interesting passage for the day: “O Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for you have created all things. They were created and called into being by your act of will.” – Revelation 4:11, The Living Bible

Thought: Did you hear the awful news back on November 23rd? About the actor who killed his own mother, chasing her around the home and hacking at her with his sword? It’s just wrong. No child should turn on the very person who gave him life. But that’s just what Michael Brea did.

Betrayals like this happen all too frequently. There’s a reason that everyone understands the phrase, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” But most of us don’t think we’ve done anything nearly as awful as what Michael Brea did.

That’s why it’s so interesting to read the reason that the twenty-four elders in heaven give for worshiping God. “O Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power,” they sing. But why? “for you have created all things. They were created and called into being by your act of will.”

If God is truly our Creator, then He is more motherly than any mother and more fatherly than any father. He is eternal, so He had no need to pass all His accumulated wealth to an heir. He never sins, so He need never have felt the pain of rebellion, betrayal or hatred; He could have gone without creating us, and He would have been fine on His own. God didn’t need someone to care for Him in His old age. There wasn’t even any pleasure-based motivation for God, the way there is for a young married couple that’s really thinking more about their brief evening together than about (surprise!) an eighteen-plus year commitment to a third party. No. God deliberately, voluntarily, sacrificially chose to create. He created you, me and everyone, and He created us with more love and tenderness than any human mother could offer.

Have you turned your back on God? Have you treated Him like dirt? Have you decided to attack Him and hate the very sound of His name? Have you disowned God or killed Him off in your life (even if you can’t in reality)?

If you have, Michael Brea’s atrocities can’t hold a candle to yours. As God’s creation, your sin against Him leaves you useful for nothing except to be thrown out and burned like rubbish.

The good news? This wonderful Creator, through His Son Jesus Christ, can turn rubbish into treasure. He can make a new creation out of you. And He wants to.

Question: Why did you turn against your Creator? Have you come back to Him yet? Will you admit how wrong you were and live to give Him all that He deserves for creating you?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Firefighting Gear

ALL – Psalm 127:1-5
ALL – Proverbs 29:15-17
OT – Hosea 10:1-14:9
NT – Jude 1:1-25

Interesting passage for the day: Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners. – Jude 1:23, The Living Bible

Thought: Just as I was drifting off to sleep two nights ago, I had a horrible dream/imagination: flames had broken out in Emma’s and Michael’s room and they were trapped. They needed help. Fast.

I imagined myself diving, unprotected, through the flames in the doorway to snatch my screaming children out of their room. None of us made it out unhurt. All of us were scorched by the flames.

When we Christians go on our search and rescue missions to turn parents, neighbors, co-workers and children from the flames fueled by their sins to the life given us by Jesus, we can and should be more prepared than I was. We should be more like firefighters and less like desperate parents working to save children from flames. Both parents and firefighters are vulnerable to the very flames they’re fighting. The difference between them isn’t an inherent flame resistance. The difference is their readiness and protection.

As Christians battling to save other people from their sins, we too are vulnerable. It’s important that we protect ourselves from falling into other people’s sins. None of us is strong enough to walk through the flames of sin on our own without being burnt. We need Jesus for every step of the mission. We need to be depending on His salvation ourselves. We need to commit our minds and hearts into His hands to keep us holy, staying within the limits of His protection by obeying what He tells us to do. We need to belong fully to Jesus, who protects His children.

Question: Have you found that sometimes when you’re trying to pull people out of their sins, you end up falling into some kind of sin yourself? What kinds of sin do you usually fall into? When we fall into sins, we’ve reached beyond the limits of Jesus’ protective commands. Where do you find yourself stepping outside of Jesus’ commands in your efforts to save others?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Salvation: We’re Not Missing the Point

ALL – Psalm 123:1-4
ALL – Proverbs 29:2-4
OT – Daniel 11:36-12:13
NT – 1 John 4:1-21

Interesting passage for the day: Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now tell all the world that God sent his Son to be their Savior. – 1 John 4:14, The Living Bible

Thought: I was reading a book recently called Adventures in Missing the Point, and the authors were discussing what it really means for us to call Jesus our Savior. The one writing this particular chapter said that salvation in the Bible was not really about being set free from sin—at least, not until after Israel and Judah were sent into exile. Before being sent into exile, salvation was about being freed from oppression, slavery, famine, starvation, and threats—mostly about other people’s wickedness and often simply about hard times. The author wrote that it was only after the exile that the Jews, struggling to understand why God had given them over to their enemies, came up with the answer: our sin. And that it was then that they began to seek to be saved from their own sinful ways.

I agree with the authors on the point that salvation is about much more than our sins. God has sent His Son to be our Savior not just from our own personal sins, but from the hostilities of other people’s sins and from the curse that has fallen upon creation because of our sins. And I agree that more of us need to realize that when we talk about salvation, we’re talking about more than just being set free from our sins.

But I disagree that the Jewish people’s cry for salvation wasn’t really about salvation from sin until after the exile. Or at least, I disagree that the kind of salvation God was revealing to His people ever since the first sin was more about their personal well-being in the face of systemic and pervasive sins than about their freedom from personal sins.

Following Adam and Eve’s sin, God Himself performed the first sacrifice, killing some sheep to provide clothing to cover the shame of their nakedness. And He promised a time when their descendant would crush their tempter’s head—I’m pretty sure this was all about destroying not only sin’s consequences, but also sin itself. Going down the pages of history a bit, but still right at the start of the Bible, we come to Noah’s story. Noah wasn’t being oppressed by his neighbors and calling on God for salvation, but God judged them for the sinful inclination of their hearts. So Noah was saved from the flood, yes, but more importantly, he was saved from God’s judgment against sinners by having been kept pure in his heart. Joseph’s story shows God’s work to keep Abraham’s descendants alive so that the promised descendant, not just of Adam but now of Abraham, too, could come one day to crush the serpent’s head. No sooner were the Hebrews saved from the sinful oppression of their Egyptian masters than God led them to Mt. Sinai and commanded them not to sin on penalty of destruction and death. During that same journey, God gave them His instructions on how to be saved from their sins via the sacrificial system—a system that pointed them to their ultimate Savior from sin, Jesus Christ. So it through the pages of Israel’s biblical history: over and over, when God saves them from some external curse, He is also calling them to find salvation in Him from the internal curse of sin. Even in Esther, a book about how God delivered the Jews from the threat of extinction in the Persian empire, the question of personal sin arises: Will Esther sinfully and selfishly seek only to save herself while the nation faces annihilation, or will she be faithful and sacrificial to God and His people? And it is through her submission to the divine providence of God that she avoids sin and its destruction, not just for herself, but for multitudes of Jews.

God has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Jesus died to save us from our sins and from their curse. So we who have been set free from our sins should be more and more a part of defeating sin’s curse in this lifetime. But we look forward to the day when our Savior comes again to complete the salvation He began two thousand years ago.

We’re not missing the point when we think that Jesus died to save us from our sins. We might not be seeing all the implications of this salvation perfectly yet, but we’re not missing the point. Our Savior has saved us to be His people—and His people are people who have been freed from sin. We may need to step further into His salvation, but we’re not missing the point.

Question: Have you been saved from your sins? Has your salvation been a blessing to anyone else, saving them from being under-provided for, abused, or otherwise sinned against? What has it meant for you and those around you that God’s Son Jesus Christ is our Savior?


To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Impossible Commands

ALL – Psalm 122::1-9
ALL – Proverbs 29:1
OT – Daniel 11:1-34
NT – 1 John 3:7-24

Interesting passage for the day: And this is what God says we must do: Believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another. – 1 John 3:23, The Living Bible

Thought: Easier said than done. That’s what I think anyway. Believing in Jesus. Loving people. Both are definitely easier said than done. In fact, apart from God’s gracious intervention in our lives, they’re both impossible for any of us.

Humanity will not easily believe in the true God. He insists on His own sovereignty, not just in outward behaviors but inwards. He cannot be manipulated. If it is His will that we learn patience through suffering, then even though He fully intends to end all suffering for His people one day, He will not end it for His pleading child until patience sprouts like a lily from the suffering-tilled heart. We may willingly believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but believing in Him is another matter entirely. That requires submitting our rights, choices and desires to our Lord without bitterness. Believing in requires unconditional trust. And our hearts will not give anyone, even the Creator of the world, our unconditional trust unless the Holy Spirit has first given them the supernatural gift of faith.

Nor will our hearts love one another easily. We will shower love upon attractive people—at least, until they scorn us. We will devote ourselves to those who have blessed us—at least, until they harm us. We will commit ourselves to our families and friends—at least, until they betray us. We will serve those who pay us—at least, until they ask us to shoulder more of a burden than we think their pennies are worth. But to love one another unconditionally is hard. In fact, it is pretty much impossible. We do not easily love the unattractive. We shudder at the thought of doing a kind deed to our enemies. We boil with rage against those who have betrayed our close relationships. And we view our employment as a mere business transaction rather than as an opportunity to love; in business, love always has a price. But to love one another truly and unconditionally, regardless of seeing “what’s in it for me”—there is no human love that achieves this goal apart from the Holy Spirit’s gentle, strong re-creation of our hearts.

Believing in the name of God’s Son Jesus Christ. Loving one another. Do you hear these commands and think, “No problem!” If so, I pray that your life is soaring along on the Holy Spirit’s wings. Because otherwise, you are grossly misunderstanding the nature of true faith and the nature of true love. And if so, you are swiftly approaching the greatest failure of your existence.

Question: Has Jesus asked you to do something the risks of which you’re not sure you can trust your Lord to handle for you? Will you call on the Holy Spirit for help and believe in Jesus? Has Jesus commanded you to love someone you simply cannot love? Will you call on the Holy Spirit for help and love that someone?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Lion Taming Faith

ALL – Psalm 118:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 28:2
OT – Ezekiel 39:1-40:27
NT – James 2:18-3:18

Interesting passage for the day: Fool! When will you ever learn that “believing” is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith. – James 2:8, The Living Bible

Thought: What is belief? Our relationship with Jesus depends on it, so we had better understand a little bit about what it means, right?

Is belief something we do when there’s a story we know is totally false, but we want to have a little fun and play make believe?

Is belief a choice we make about which God we think will take the best care of us and serve our interests the best?

Is belief a set of religious principles we believe are true, a religious formula that will always keep us safe just like the mathematical formula 2 + 2 will always give us the answer we expect?

Is belief something that we can contain in a book or a paper, an official statement that lists the core truths of the universe, but that is only meant to be discovered and doesn’t require any change in our lives? Is belief about a list of principles that govern our lives whether we know it or not, like the fact that the earth revolves around the sun and the moon around the earth?

Not according to James. James doesn’t deny that truth exists, and that it is important to acknowledge and know the truth. What James denies, though, is that believing the truth is a passive activity. Belief doesn’t sit in a recliner looking up at a plaque of creeds on the wall. Belief depends on the truth enough to risk everything on it, like a skydiver depending on a parachute. Belief submits to the truth, like a lion tamer submits to the principles that keep the lions from ripping him to shreds. Belief obeys the call and command of the truth. Belief follows the truth. As Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Belief goes wherever truth leads, because belief can find life nowhere else.

Anything less is not really belief.

Question: How much do you need your beliefs? If what you claim you believe were suddenly proved entirely false, would your life be changed at all, or would it continue pretty much as it is right now?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Take the Most Excellent Way

The message, preached on November 28th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. The most excellent way, as far as Christianity goes, has nothing to do with amazing gifts, roles and talents. The Christian life is not about gifts. The way of love is the most excellent way, because love offers a taste of heaven. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Seek Greatness

The message, preached on November 21st, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Although the church is made up of many people, we share one common passion: to make Christ’s greatness known. Jesus has fused us together, and God wants us to feel like a body. God has given each one of us a role to help us to seek Christ’s greatness. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Betrayal

ALL – Psalm 121:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 28:27-28
OT – Daniel 9:1-10:21
NT – 1 John 2:18-3:6

Interesting passage for the day: And now, my little children, stay in happy fellowship with the Lord so that when he comes you will be sure that all is well, and will not have to be ashamed and shrink back from meeting him. – 1 John 2:28, The Living Bible

Thought: Every one of us will have a garden of Eden moment. You know what I’m talking about. After Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, God came back.

And all of us will have a moment when we meet our God face to face, just like Adam and Eve did. It will be the moment of truth. We will either be able to greet our Lord Jesus happily, or we will feel a need to hide, as Adam did.

That’s why John encouraged these believers to stay “in happy fellowship with the Lord.” It’s not like Jesus was physically present with them right then. Otherwise John wouldn’t have said that they needed this fellowship “so that when he comes you will be sure all is well.” No, staying in fellowship means something much deeper than just physically being within sight of Jesus. Staying in fellowship means living like someone who values Jesus and wants to please Him.

That’s what went wrong with Adam and Eve. When God was out of sight, they neglected to live like a relationship with Him was more important than anything else, no matter how desireable. They didn’t lose their fellowship with God when they could no longer see Him. Adam and Eve lost their fellowship with God when they betrayed His trust.

Let’s not betray Jesus’ trust. That way, when we see Him face to be face, we’ll be ready.

Question: What kinds of things tempt you to betray Jesus’ trust? Are they really worth the loss of fellowship with Jesus? How can you pursue fellowship with Him and seek to please Him, rather than following desires that lead you astray?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

When Jesus Barely Matters

ALL – Psalm 119:156-176
ALL – Proverbs 28:23-24
OT – Daniel 7:1-28
NT – 1 John 1:1-10

Interesting passage for the day: So if we say we are his friends, but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying. – 1 John 1:6, The Living Bible

Thought: If we want to make friends with someone, we will usually try to fit in with them. We will relate to them. We will do what pleases them, and if we’re doing things that upset them, we’ll stop.

Would our lives say that we’re friends with Jesus? Jesus lives in truth and righteousness and joy and grace. Are we fitting in with Him? Are we relating to Him? Are we doing what pleases Him?

If not, you may need to consider whether or not your belief that you know Him is true. You are deceiving yourself if you say that you know Jesus but your life isn’t conforming to His.

On the other hand, some of you are super-sensitive. You love Jesus very much, and your life has changed greatly because you have received His gift, the Holy Spirit. You are doing everything you can to please Jesus. But you are deeply aware of the times you have not pleased Him. You pretty much despise yourself because you’ve sinned against Him. And when you hear that those who aren’t pleasing Jesus are lying about a relationship with Him, you begin to fear because you know you haven’t walked perfectly in His light.

Take heart. For you who love Jesus and give yourselves wholeheartedly to Him, sensitive to each time you fail Him, there is an encouragement for you a few verses down (v 9): “But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

So let’s not be half-hearted about our relationship with Jesus. Living as though Jesus barely matters to you is a good reason to question whether you know Him at all. But for us who are devoted to Jesus, grace is available even when we hurt Him and sin against Him. What a wonderful, kind God! Why give Him any less than our best?

Question: If Jesus were not a part of your life, would you be any different? Ok, you probably wouldn’t attend church. But would there be any differences from Monday to Saturday? How do you believe Jesus would like you to demonstrate your friendship with Him?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Nothing Changes?

ALL – Psalm 119:129-152
ALL – Proverbs 28:21-22
OT – Daniel 6:1-28
NT – 2 Peter 3:1-18

Interesting passage for the day: This will be their line of argument: “So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he ? He’ll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.” – 2 Peter 3:4, The Living Bible

Thought: We’re on the brink of 2011. And Jesus still hasn’t returned. Our expectation for His return is getting laughed at more and more in this modern/post-modern world, especially as the news highlights various “prophetic” claims to know the date of Jesus’ return. Of course, each date flies right by with no fulfillment.

Generations of Christians have passed away, waiting for our Lord’s return. It can be easy to question His promises, and it’s certainly tempting to believe scientists, philosophers and other scholars who announce to us that everything has simply followed the earth’s natural processes pretty much forever—since whenever the world was formed, anyways (and not by God, they say).

I love how the next verse begins in 2 Peter: “They deliberately forget this fact…” Peter mentions one unnatural change the world went through: the flood. When God sent His flood on the earth to cover the whole globe, that was a supernatural act of judgment. Secular people don’t want to believe it ever happened.

Here’s another event they deny: the Son of God’s incarnation, life, death and resurrection. The way that God entered human history certainly didn’t seem to change the world on the outside. Jesus looked like any other man, and His death looked like any other crucifixion. But His death was a history-changer, another of God’s acts of judgment against sin. The flood destroyed all humanity with our sins, except for Noah and his seven family members. But it could not conquer sin, because Noah himself was not pure. But Jesus’ death destroyed and judged all sin while leaving men and women around the world untouched—except for Jesus Himself, who died for us. Yes, we still experience sin today, but the cross was Part 1 of God’s judgment on sin, removing sin from everyone who trusts in Jesus without removing us from life. That’s a pretty significant historical change that those without faith deliberately forget.

And why do they forget it? Because they want to continue in their sins without remember Part 2 of God’s judgment on sin, when Jesus comes back. On that day, it will again be like the flood. God will send a flood of fire as a judgment to finally exterminate sin from among all the living. The fire will consume all sinners. Men and women will survive, but not sinners. The only survivors will be those whose sins were judged when Jesus died on the cross, those who will be transformed when Jesus returns so that not even a trace of sin remains in them. There will be no one to carry sin forward into the new creation at all.

Jesus is coming back. For sure. History has changed. All is not the same as it has always been. God has interacted with men. God has judged our sins before, and He’s planning one more major act of earthly judgment. Let’s not deliberately forget anything God tells us. Let’s listen. And let’s live accordingly.

Question: Does Jesus’ promised return scare you? Delight you? Trouble you? Bore you? How is your life different because Jesus has promised to return? If your life’s not different, why not?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Clean for a Day

ALL – Psalm 119:113-128
ALL – Proverbs 28:19-20
OT – Daniel 5:1-31
NT – 2 Peter 2:1-22

Interesting passage for the day: There is an old saying that “A dog comes back to what he has vomited, and a pig is washed only to come back and wallow in the mud again.” That is the way it is with those who turn again to their sin. – 2 Peter 2:22, The Living Bible

Thought: Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth. God became man, and He lived a blameless, sinless life among us. In His time, He gave His life on the cross. His blood sprinkled those who trust in Him, making them holy and cleansing them from sin. Because Jesus died and paid for our sin, we are free to live. We can say no to sin. We can live by His Spirit and walk in His righteousness.

That is the good news. And yet some schemers try to take advantage of Jesus. They think that Jesus just died to save us. Since we aren’t saved by being good, He can’t possibly expect us to be good, can He? We might as well just get saved, live a lazy or even rebellious spiritual life until Jesus comes back, and then everything will be great. Right? We’ll go on sinning for now, because Jesus died for our sins already—right? Isn’t that how it works?

Absolutely not! Peter tells us that Jesus saved us so that we can be holy and pure rather than sinful. Those who claim to be saved but who don’t take the time to be “doers of the Word” and not just hearers—who know what Jesus taught but won’t do what Jesus said—are like dogs and pigs. They go back to their filth and sin. They remain unchanged by Jesus. Their salvation was only skin-deep, and in their hearts and spirits they held on to their sinful nature.

Jesus is not just here to save us from hell. He came to make us citizens of heaven. Those who refuse His offer have only one place left to go: back to the very hell they thought they had escaped. If you’re not walking with Jesus today, then you’re not walking with Jesus at all. Don’t be fooled because the refreshing waters of His Word and Spirit made you feel all cleaned up one day years ago. Even a pig can be clean for a day.

Question: Are you clean today? Are you walking with Jesus? Do you love Him enough to do what He wants? Or do you see Jesus as enabling you to do what you want?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Moment by Moment Love

ALL – Psalm 117:1-2
ALL – Proverbs 28:1
OT – Ezekiel 37:1-38:23
NT – James 1:19-2:17

Interesting passage for the day: Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s command, “You must love and help your neighbors just as much as you love and take care of yourself.” – James 2:8, The Living Bible

Thought: This is a command worth living up to. At the same time, it’s a continuing command. Loving our neighbors is an obligation that’s never finished as long as we live. We never run out of people to love. There’s always an opportunity to be kind, or patient, or generous.

I’m folding laundry right now. It’s part of what Christy and I affectionately call the “never ending chore.” No sooner have we put the last pair of socks in the drawer than it’s time to wash and fold three more loads of laundry.

That’s kind of what love is like. We can burst through a high-intensity day of incredible helpfulness, goodness, and camaraderie. We can even have a heroic moment or two. Does that mean that we’ve fulfilled this command to love our neighbors? Nope. We’ve obeyed it, but we haven’t fulfilled it, because there’s more service to offer, more opportunities to exercise patience, and more people in need of our grace, mercy and love.

Sometimes it feels like a burden. But it’s a burden we bear with Jesus at our side, and so it’s not so much a burden as a way of life. It’s a great rhythm to settle into, so long as Jesus is with us always, to the very end of the age.

Question: Do you take breaks from fulfilling the command to love our neighbors? How can we rest within this command and lifestyle rather than rest by retreating from it?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Squirming Out of Patience

ALL – Psalm 116:1-19
ALL – Proverbs 27:23-27
OT – Ezekiel 35:1-36:38
NT – James 1:1-18

Interesting passage for the day: …for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. – James 1:3-4, The Living Bible

Thought: We do try to squirm out of our problems, don’t we? And I guess it’s not a bad thing to work to solve our problems, but sometimes we try to squirm out of our problems in less-than-helpful ways. When facing problems head-on and trying to overcome them in honest, upfront ways fails, and we realize we’re trapped, then comes the squirming. The problem with squirming and trying to weasel our way out of our problems is that it leaves our patience muscles undeveloped.

Sometimes life is just tough. And there’s no honest way to get around what’s tough. There’s crime. There’s apathy. There’s playing dead. But none of these helps. What helps is realizing that we’re not just waiting on circumstances to change, but on God to care for us…and that He’s trustworthy. Because He’s trustworthy, I can be patient, and if I can be patient, I can be ready for anything. I know that God is with me.

And it will be obvious to others soon enough.

Question: Can you be patient when others pressure you to rush? Can you wait on God when others say there’s no point to waiting on Him? Will you be patient even though it hurts?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

More, Please

ALL – Psalm 115:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 27:21-22
OT – Ezekiel 33:1-34:31
NT – Hebrews 12:13:1-25

Interesting passage for the day: Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5, The Living Bible

Thought: Does God want you to stop earning money? Is He against an income (we’ll leave income taxes for another discussion)? Or does God just want your attention on Him rather than on accumulating George Washingtons?

It’s easy to think that money can solve all our problems. Everything we can’t have has a price tag attached to it. We’re constantly told that the primary barrier between us and our dreams is the sheer limitations of our bank accounts.

So we get educated to pursue a higher income. We stuff our consciences away somewhere in the dusty corners of our closets to avoid offending that boss who might just be about to give us a raise. We leave friends and family behind because our career is beckoning. We make money our god—we’ll do anything to deserve its blessings.

God isn’t against work. He spent the first six days of creation working. God isn’t against compensation for work. He says, “The worker deserves his wages.” But God hates to watch His people cry out to false gods for food, clothes, shelter, transportation, joy, security or anything else. If anyone’s capable of providing those things for us, it’s God. Our God has pledged to be faithful to us, to stay with us, never to leave us high and dry.

So should we work? Draw a paycheck? Yes. And breathe a prayer of thanks to Jesus for the strength and opportunity to work, the money He’s provided, the food and clothes and everything else. Pursue more? Not necessarily. Accept raises, promotions, new job opportunities? Often, if we’re convinced that they’re coming from Jesus’ hand. But pursue them? No. Instead, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.”

You can either love God or money. Not both.

Question: Have you ever been uncertain of whether you were about to choose a direction out of love for God or out of love for money? How did you guard your love for God? How did you oppose your love for money?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Follow One Voice

The message, preached on November 14th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. To follow God’s one voice as very different people, Christians need to know our God, to accept different gifts and to serve one another. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Vulnerable Indestructibility

ALL – Psalm 113:1-114:8
ALL – Proverbs 27:18-20
OT – Ezekiel 31:1-32:32
NT – Hebrews 12:14-29

Interesting passage for the day: Since we have a Kingdom nothing can destroy, let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts, and with holy fear and awe. For our God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:28-29, The Living Bible

Thought: If you made yourself indestructible, you’d probably be proud. But if someone gave you a way to be indestructible, wouldn’t you be thankful?

God’s done that for us. He’s the only truly indestructible one ever—and forever. But He’s created an indestructible kingdom, and He’s made those who believe in Him into a new, indestructible creation. So as far as earth’s challenges are concerned, we’re indestructible. Oh, it might look like we’ve been destroyed, but we’ll be back.

On the other hand, our God is a consuming fire. He is still quite capable of destroying us. He fully intends for us to live our indestructible lives for Him.

Between gratitude for His gift of an indestructible life and fear of His consuming wrath, don’t we have some good reasons for service and obedience?

Question: What motivates you to serve God more? Looking forward to the fulfillment of His promises when you become indestructible? Or looking back at the fire of His wrath and trying to move as far from His fury as possible?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Too Little, Too Soon

ALL – Psalm 112:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 27:17
OT – Ezekiel 29:1-30:26
NT – Hebrews 11:32-12:13

Interesting passage for the day: And these men of faith, though they trusted God and won his approval, none of them received all that God had promised them; for God wanted them to wait and share the even better rewards that were prepared for us. – Hebrews 11:39-40, The Living Bible

Thought: If you could have everything you ever wanted in this lifetime, would that satisfy you? Would it be worth it?

If you say yes, then you aren’t dreaming big enough. If you say yes, then you’re forgetting the limitations of this lifetime. If you say, “Yes, give me my best life now,” then you’re trading down, not up.

Because those who know God know that He has better things in store for us than we can find in this lifetime. Things worth dying for. Eternity. Life. Incorruptibility. Love. Most of all, Himself.

Past men of faith are still waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled completely. And one day—no, wait…one eternal day—they’ll be glad they were faithful.

Question: What shallow (comparatively speaking) things that can never satisfy you still tempt you to set Jesus Himself aside?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Fulfilled Bones

ALL – Psalm 111:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 27:15-16
OT – Ezekiel 27:1-28:26
NT – Hebrews 11:17-31

Interesting passage for the day: And it was by faith that Joseph, as he neared the end of his life, confidently spoke of God bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt; and he was so sure of it that he made them promise to carry his bones with them when they left! – Hebrews 11:22, The Living Bible

Thought: “If you’re not going to fulfill your promise while I’m alive, what’s the use?”

Most of us have a hard time waiting for people to fulfill their promises. We have a hard time waiting a week or a month, let alone any longer time frames. If we’re hoping to get a new iPod for Christmas, but Christmas is still three months away, sometimes we’re so impatient that we’ll go ahead and buy what we’re hoping for even if someone promises to get it for us and takes away our fear that we won’t get it.

Joseph trusted in God’s promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land He had promised to them. For that promise to be fulfilled, the Hebrews had to leave Egypt—so in Joseph’s mind, the day was coming. They would leave Egypt. And even though he would be dead, Joseph still wanted to be part of it. He wanted to “see” God’s promise fulfilled. God’s promise was for him, too. So he made the other Hebrews promise to carry his bones out of Egypt and to bury them in the promised land. And four hundred years later, when they finally left, they carried his bones around the desert with them for 40 years until they were finally able to lay them at rest. Though dead, Joseph came home to the place God had promised.

It’s been a long time since Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, promising to come back and take us home. Many believers have died through the years—through the centuries. But that doesn’t make His promise worthless. It’s going to happen. And when He comes, it won’t be just our bones that benefit. He’s going to raise us to life again. It might be a long time coming, but let’s live for that promise.

Question: What pleasures in this life make you forget the promises of God and live as though it’s not worth waiting for them? What trials make your life feel so overwhelming that you would rather sin and dishonor your Savior than wait for Him to return and make things right?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Trust or Bust

ALL – Psalm 110:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 27:14
OT – Ezekiel 24:1-26:21
NT – Hebrews 11:1-16

Interesting passage for the day: Noah was another who trusted God. When he heard God’s warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah’s belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world—which refused to obey—and because of his faith he became one of those whom God has accepted. – Hebrews 11:7, The Living Bible

Thought: Usually it’s the people who are preparing for some unconfirmed future disaster who are considered to be crazy. They build bunkers, store up years’ worth of food and, with eyes that dart suspiciously to and fro, they hiss dogmatic warnings of doom for all mankind. But Noah, the man who built the most epic floating bunker ever, storing up enough food for eight humans and for multiple specimens of the entire planet’s wildlife to survive for about a year, was not crazy. He had heard from and believed the one true and living God. And because Noah believed what God said about a coming flood, he took appropriate action (also with guidance from above).

And we thought we had nothing in common with Noah.

Noah heard God promise to destroy the earth with a flood. We’ve heard from God that, when Jesus comes back, the earth will be destroyed by fire.

Noah received instructions from God about escaping death. We’ve received instructions from God about escaping death (for example, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and your household.” – Acts 16:31, NIV).

Noah responded wholeheartedly to God’s instructions. … How about us?

Question: What does it look like to respond wholeheartedly to God’s command to “believe in the Lord Jesus”? Is it enough to say, “I believe,” or should our lives be different somehow, too? Would you say that your life is being spent wholeheartedly responding to God’s warnings, promises and instructions? Why or why not?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Mercy Scorned

ALL – Psalm 109:1-31
ALL – Proverbs 27:13
OT – Ezekiel 23:1-49
NT – Hebrews 10:18-39

Interesting passage for the day: Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated his cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed, and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people. – Hebrews 10:29, The Living Bible

Thought: If someone’s offering you mercy, what happens when you turn it down?

That’s a question we don’t think about too often. But if you owe a debt, and someone else offers to pay it, who has to pay the debt if you turn the offer down? If a judge tries to let you out of jail early, and you say, “No, thanks,” who finishes the jail term? If you mistreat someone’s sister, and he offers you a choice between promising to stay away from her forever and getting the tar beat out of you, and then you respond that he can’t keep you away from her, who has to face the fury of his fists?

If someone’s offering you mercy, what happens when you turn it down? You pay. Plain and simple.

So when Jesus Christ dies on the cross in your place, and you deny that His blood can do anything for you, what happens?

Let’s not scorn and insult the mercy of God.

Question: Have you ever considered walking away from your faith in Jesus? Or have you been rejecting His mercy all along? Considering that it’s God’s mercy we’re talking about here, how sure are you that you’re safe to reject it?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Once Means Done

ALL – Psalm 108:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 27:12
OT – Ezekiel 21:1-22:31
NT – Hebrews 10:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: But just the opposite happened: those yearly sacrifices reminded them of their disobedience and guilt instead of relieving their minds. – Hebrews 10:3, The Living Bible

Thought: Christians sometimes use Jesus’ death as a reason to beat themselves up. “It’s my fault. He died in my place. What a jerk I am.”… which may be true, but still. That’s not really the point. Jesus didn’t need to die on the cross to prove what jerks we are. Yes, His death was the only way to take care of the massive debt our sins had piled up. But the Law was enough to prove that we’re sinful. Jesus didn’t need to die on the cross to prove that, or even to get us to mourn our sinfulness. People had already been doing that. Hating and mourning our sin is part of what the sacrificial system was all about.

And the problem was that the mourning under the sacrificial system was perpetual. It wouldn’t stop. It was day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out. The mourning wouldn’t stop because the sin was never fully dealt with. The sacrifices were always necessary. The job was never done. The people could never stop worrying about their sinful condition before God. They were never free of their guilt.

Until Jesus came. And died. Once. Just once. That was all it took. The job was done. The sins were atoned for. The debt was paid. We would never be able to out-sin the atonement that Jesus’ death supplied (not that we’re encouraged to make a run at it).

When we look at Jesus’ death, we’re not supposed to beat ourselves up anymore. Because Jesus only died once. And ever since the third day after His death, there’s been no reason to worry that sin might ultimately win the day in our lives. Jesus lives, and by His life we have life. Our sins can’t undo His work. “It is finished.” He has won. And because He has won, we have won. The end.

That’s why it’s important to realize that Jesus only died once. And that’s why Jesus’ death isn’t a reason for us to mourn. It’s a reason for us to celebrate the victory He gained and never to waste time wallowing in our sinfulness again. Jesus didn’t have to die for you or me. He could have let us die for ourselves, and we would have mourned our sin while we paid its penalty. Jesus went to the cross because He and His Father loved us and chose the cross—not to make us feel more guilty, but so that our guilt would finally be taken completely away.

Question: What keeps you from enjoying and living in the freedom that Jesus bought for you at the cross?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Enough Death

ALL – Psalm 107:1-43
ALL – Proverbs 27:11
OT – Ezekiel 20:1-49
NT – Hebrews 9:11-28

Interesting passage for the day: Nor has he offered himself again and again, as the high priest down here on earth offers animal blood in the Holy of Holies each year. If that had been necessary, then he would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But no! He came once for all, at the end of the age, to put away the power of sin forever by dying for us. – Hebrews 9:25-26, The Living Bible

Thought: We still sin, but we no longer need new sacrifices. Have you ever thought about that? It feels like there’s something wrong with this picture. Shouldn’t we need to bring fresh sacrifices to God every time we sin?

Under the Old Testament, they had to bring fresh sacrifices. Regularly. So what’s the difference now?

There are three differences: 1) our high priest, 2) our sacrifice, and 3) our temple. The Old Testament high priests were themselves sinners, so they kept having to seek forgiveness for their own sins, let alone the people’s. And the Old Testament sacrifices were bulls and sheep—nothing nearly good enough to truly cover the weight of a guilty human conscience. Also, the Old Testament temple/tabernacle was just a copy of the heavenly tabernacle, and was not truly the holiest place to come to for forgiveness. But under the New Testament/Covenant, our high priest is sinless and has no need to offer a sacrifice to cover his own guilt. And under the New Testament, the sacrifice that has been offered is the perfect, sin-free blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man. And this sacrifice has been accepted in the heavenly tabernacle, where nothing impure can ever enter and defile it.

And so when we sin now, no new sacrifices are needed. The high priest is still sinless. The sacrifice is still enough to cover every sin. The tabernacle is still holy and untouched by defilements. We’re covered. Jesus’ death was enough for us, and still is.

Question: When we know that we have been forgiven so completely, what keeps us away from living the righteous lives we’ve been given the freedom to live? “He who has been forgiven much loves much.” What greater forgiveness could there be?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Rules and Rituals

ALL – Psalm 106:32-48
ALL – Proverbs 27:10
OT – Ezekiel 18:1-19:14
NT – Hebrews 9:1-12

Interesting passage for the day: For the old system dealt only with certain rituals—what foods to eat and drink, rules for washing themselves, and rules about this and that. The people had to keep these rules to tide them over until Christ came with God’s new and better way. – Hebrews 9:10, The Living Bible

Thought: When you look at the Old Testament laws, it really is pretty amazing to think that you don’t actually have to love God in order to obey them. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that anyone could obey them perfectly—whether she loved God or not. But the laws themselves are rules about men’s actions and behaviors. They’re all outward, and anyone can follow them as much as he wants to or is compelled to.

Would it make a difference to have a heart that wanted to follow God’s laws? Sure, and the laws are sometimes accompanied by purpose statements where God says, “Here’s the law, and you need to follow it because...” Follow the law because you love Me. Follow the law because you’ll show your concern for your parents. When the laws are joined to purpose statements like these, it’s obvious that God was never calling people to a heartless religion. But at the end of the day, laws are still laws, rules are still rules, and it’s all too easy for them to usurp the focus of humanity’s religious devotion to God.

Now we’ve been set free from rules. We Christians are still called to live good, upright and moral lives. But we’re called to such lives not by rules, but by love—Christ’s love within us, compelling us to love God and one another wholeheartedly, with every cell of our bodies. And we’re free to live by love rather than by rules because God first loved us and sent His Son to die for our sins, so that we need never face their penalty.

Love begets love, not rules. Even though they sometimes look the same.

Question: Are you living by love, by rules, or by both? Take a moment and ask yourself whether you would live differently if rules weren’t a part of the equation? How would you live differently? In what ways would your life look exactly the same?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Living in a Blueprint

ALL – Psalm 106:13-31
ALL – Proverbs 27:7-9
OT – Ezekiel 16:43-17:24
NT – Hebrews 8:1-13

Interesting passage for the day: Their work is connected with a mere earthly model of the real tabernacle in heaven; for when Moses was getting ready to build the tabernacle, God warned him to follow exactly the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle as shown to him on Mount Sinai. – Hebrews 8:5, The Living Bible

Thought: How effective is life in a blueprint? The way that God commanded the Israelites to worship Him through Moses was just a blueprint of the way that we would all be called to live through Jesus.

Blueprints are guides. They aren’t comfortable. They aren’t harsh. They aren’t solid. They aren’t very satisfying. They aren’t reality. That is, they’re real visions and plans, but they still need to be realized before they can be very beneficial. Even if you go from blueprint to small-scale model, they’re only so satisfying. Which is more amazing, more useful, more fulfilling, more real: a full-sized train that drags tons of supplies across a nation or a model train that carts a few ounces of model cars and cabooses around our living rooms?

The old covenant was a blueprint and its tabernacles and temples were mere models. They were like samples given out at a grocery store—mere tastes of the full product. They were designed to prepare people for the glory of Jesus Christ and His heavenly tabernacle. Trying to live in them is like trying to live in a blueprint. But Jesus Christ has already done His work in the heavenly tabernacle on our behalf, and we can already begin to live in the realization that our sins are done for, even though we still live on earth. And one glorious day, we will experience the full life of heaven.

Question: How are you trying to build your relationship with God? What are you depending on? Where did you get your pattern? How’s it working for you? How much of a role does Jesus Christ play in your answer? He is the life our earthly blueprints have pointed to all along.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

The Church’s Perfection

ALL – Psalm 106:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 27:4-6
OT – Ezekiel 14:12-16:42
NT – Hebrews 7:18-28

Interesting passage for the day: Under the old system, even the high priests were weak and sinful men who could not keep from doing wrong, but later God appointed by his oath his Son who is perfect forever. – Hebrews 7:28, The Living Bible

Thought: “Why do church-goers sin?” I hear that kind of question all the time, whether it’s just in my own mind as I reflect on my life and my personal sinful failures or whether I’m dialoguing with an atheist who’s trying to prove that there’s no benefit in being a Christian.

It’s a legitimate question. At least, it seems to be. The church claims to be the group of earthly people who will end up in heaven. And heaven is only for sinless people. Nothing sinful or impure will ever enter its gates. So you would think that finding sin in the church would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack—nearly undetectable.

But you’d be wrong. Finding sin in the church is more like finding candy at the Swanton Corn Festival parade: you can find loads of it everywhere you look. Perhaps the sin we find in the church is more subtle than the sin we find outside her walls. Outside the church, sinners sin proudly and don’t care whether you think they’re sinning or not; the lie they proclaim is that their sins aren’t actually sins. Inside the church, sinners sin stealthily and cover every sinful flaw with a veneer of spirituality; the lie we try to proclaim (not with our lips, but with our masks and patterns of projecting over-spiritual images of ourselves) is that we’re beyond sinning. So inside the church we’re more subtle about our sins; we’ve learned at least to admit that sins are sins and to strive to separate ourselves from sin.

But sometimes we go too far. And we end up feeding the world the lie that we are going to heaven because we’re such deserving, upright people. That’s absolutely not why anyone in the church is going to heaven! Just like always, even the best of us on his or her own is a weak and sinful human. I’m not saying that we have no one in the church who lives an incredibly good life, because I’m not denying that Jesus Christ changes His people from sinners into saints. But what I am saying is that our hope, and the hope that we should constantly let our friends and neighbors in on, is that we get to go to heaven because Jesus Christ is our new high priest, and He is righteous. He always has been. He always will be. And that is why we are always going to be acceptable to God—because our high priest Jesus Christ is always acceptable, and He is representing us. It’s definitely not because we manage never to sin.

Question: Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you weren’t part of the church—or glad that you aren’t part of it? If so, is it because you’re looking at how messed up the church’s humans can be? What difference would it make in your perspective being part of the church if you focused instead on the perfection of the church’s sinless high priest Jesus Christ?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Perfect Relationship with God

ALL – Psalm 105:37-45
ALL – Proverbs 27:3
OT – Ezekiel 12:1-14:11
NT – Hebrews 7:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: And the Psalmist points this out when he says of Christ, “You are a priest forever with the rank of Melchizedek.” – Hebrews 7:17, The Living Bible

Thought: For most of us, our first thought when we think about Jesus isn’t, “Priest.” We might think Son of God. We might think King. We might think teacher. We might even think prophet. But priest?

What’s so important about priests, anyways?

Kings are important because they make sure that everyone follows God’s laws. Prophets are important because they speak for God and show people how to follow God’s laws (or sometimes/often warn people that they’re not following God and need to repent). Priests, though, stand between men and God as mediators who work to keep our relationship intact. Priests proclaim God’s blessings on His people, and priests offer sacrifices on behalf of the people to atone for sins. Priesthood is all about a wholehearted relationship with God.

Jesus could never have become a priest under the OT law. The priesthood was only for the descendants of Jacob’s son Levi. But it was vitally important that Jesus be a priest, right? After all, none of Levi’s descendants was able to bring humanity back into a good relationship with God. So we needed Jesus to be a priest so that we could finally reconcile with God after all our rebellion and sin.

And that’s why Hebrews takes the time to tell us that Jesus was a priest. Not a Levitical priest, but a priest in the order of Melchizedek. You’ll have to read Hebrews 7 to see what that’s all about, but essentially there was one priest in the book of Genesis who was a priest of God, and Abraham expressed his relationship to God partially through this priest. Abraham offered a tithe of his recent victory spoils to this priest, and Melchizedek proclaimed God’s blessings for Abraham. So there was an order of priests in the Old Testament that was not made up of Levi’s descendants, and Jesus was declared to be a priest—not in the typical group of priests, but a priest all the same.

And because Jesus is our great High Priest, we have a perfect relationship with God. We have a relationship with God where our sins are perfectly forgiven and cleansed. That had never happened before. Also, other priests could sin, and by their sin they could become a hindrance to God’s blessings for His people. But we have a relationship with God through our High Priest Jesus that guarantees every blessing God wants to bestow on us to come our way, because our perfect and sinless priest is never himself a hindrance to our relationship with God.

Jesus is our priest. And because He is, we need no other priests at all. Our relationship with God made perfect through Him.

Question: Where do you turn when you’re trying to straighten out your relationship with God? How can we do a better job of reminding one another that the full benefits of a perfect relationship with God are available to us through Jesus Christ alone?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

The God Who Swore

ALL – Psalm 105:16-36
ALL – Proverbs 27:1-2
OT – Ezekiel 10:1-11:25
NT – Hebrews 6:1-20

Interesting passage for the day: God also bound himself with an oath, so that those he promised to help would be perfectly sure and never need to wonder whether he might change his plans. – Hebrews 6:17, The Living Bible

Thought: “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Remember being a kid, when we told so many tall tales and tried so often to trick one another that any time we were being serious, we had to promise we were telling the truth on pain of death? Maybe you’re still there…

So perhaps we’re not the most trustworthy people in the world. But there are some trustworthy people. My grandmas, for instance. I trust them. When they tell me something, it’s true, and if it’s not true, at least I know that they believe it’s true.

As trustworthy as my grandmas are, God is much more trustworthy. And He has made some pretty amazing promises—promises about saving His enemies and those who have rebelled against Him. Promises about forgiving us, counting Jesus’ death on the cross as the punishment for our sins, restoring our relationship with Him. Promises about raising us from the dead and giving us eternal life with Him. Promises about living in us through His Holy Spirit.

How can people not trust Him? Yet the reality is that people struggle to trust God.

So even God has backed up His promises. Even God has essentially said, “Cross my heart and hope to die.” Even God has given an oath: “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:16-18, NIV).

Are you a part of “all nations on earth”? Then you are among those whom God has not only promised, but sworn, to bless through Abraham’s offspring. And that offspring who brings us God’s blessing is Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).

Question: What more does God have to do to earn your trust? If you can admit that God is completely trustworthy, then what leads you to live as though you don’t believe that all of God’s blessings for you come to you through Jesus Christ? How can you look for the good life anywhere else?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Push Back the Darkness

The message, preached on October 31st, 2010, covered Romans 15:20-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Our ambition to push back the darkness calls us to lay new foundations, talk to strangers, and make tough choices. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Better than Angels

ALL – Psalm 102:1-28
ALL – Proverbs 26:21-22
OT – Lamentations 2:20-3:66
NT – Hebrews 1:1-14

Interesting passage for the day: And did God ever say to an angel, as he does to his Son, “Sit here beside me in honor until I crush all your enemies beneath your feet”? – Hebrews 1:13, The Living Bible

Thought: So much for the Jehovah’s Witnesses teaching that Jesus is the angel Michael, right?

Angels are amazing. They’re showing up in comics, TV, and film. Our culture is fascinated with the concept of powerful, supernatural beings that walk among us.

But angels are not Jesus, and Jesus is no angel. Jesus is the Son of God. And angels are His servants—His servants and, because of His love for us, ours.

So when we’re looking for hope, let’s look where we should. Let’s look to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Question: Where do you turn for hope? How does your source of hope compare to the hope that the Son of God provides?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Brother-Slave

ALL – Psalm 101:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 26:20
OT – Lamentations 1:1-2:19
NT – Philemon 1:1-25

Interesting passage for the day: Perhaps you could think of it this way: that he ran away from you for a little while so that now he can be yours forever, no longer only a slave, but something much better—a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, too, because he is not only a servant but also your brother in Christ. – Philemon 1:15-16, The Living Bible

Thought: Slave – noun – a human being whose primary purpose in life is to do the will of another human being known as master, and who can be treated in any way the master deems appropriate.

Brother – noun – a valued family member, ally, partner and friend who is loved and needed, and for whose sake you would put your own life on the line

Slave. Brother. Brother-slave. Words make such a difference in how we see one another.

When Paul wrote this letter to Philemon about his slave Onesimus, we can hope that Philemon was already being a good master to his slave, because he was a godly Christian who was apparently known for kindness. But in his mind, Onesimus’ identity was bound up in the word “slave”. Maybe “good slave.” Probably “bad slave.” Either way, “slave.”

But Paul wrote to tell Philemon that Onesimus had a new identity: “brother.” Legally, he was still Philemon’s slave. Slave was still his role. But his identity was now “brother.” And Paul was asking Philemon to treat Onesimus like the spiritual brother he had become.

Could you allow your brother to remain a slave? Especially to you? No wonder slavery was eventually abolished!

But we do the same thing with our labels. We look at those around us, even in the church, and we think of each other in ways that allow us to avoid expressing the love that Christ has created us to express.

Here are some possible labels we’ve used for those around us: “Legalist.” “Pleasure-seeker.” “Young.” “Old.” “Strange.” “Too friendly.” “Irresponsible.” “Stiff.” “Gossip.” “Withdrawn.” All of these words may be true of the people we’re describing, just as “slave” was true of Onesimus. But we can’t define anyone’s identity with these words when we’re looking at fellow-believers. Fellow-believers’ primary identities in our minds should always be “father,” “mother,” “brother,” “sister” (Philemon 1:16; compare 1 Timothy 5:1-2).

Question: Is there a fellow-believer that you just can’t get along with—perhaps don’t even want to get along with? What is your label for him or her? What identity should you be using for this person who has been redeemed by Christ with you? How might your attitude change? How might your choices and actions change?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Let Divisions Die

The message, preached on October 24th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Jesus prayed for our unity. For Christians, committing to unity means remembering Jesus’ death and then being considerate and cooperative. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: As Men and Women, Serve God Well

The message, preached on October 17th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. As men and women, we’re called to understand God’s design for the way we relate to others so that we can live God’s design for us, exactly as we are. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.