“Dayenu” - Persistent Joy

ALL – Psalm 73:1-28
ALL – Proverbs 24:13-14
OT – Isaiah 62:6-65:25
NT – Philippians 2:19-3:3

Interesting passage for the day: Whatever happens, dear friends, be glad in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you this and it is good for you to hear it again and again. – Philippians 3:1, The Living Bible

Thought: In the Jewish Passover Seder, at one point they begin to walk through a long list of God’s blessings:

“If the Lord had merely rescued us, but had not punished the Egyptians … Dayenu: It would have been enough.

“If He had only destroyed their gods, but had not parted the Red Sea … Dayenu: It would have been enough.

“If He had only destroyed our enemies, but had not fed us His food in the desert … Dayenu: It would have been enough.

“If He had only led us through the desert, but had not given us His holy day of rest … Dayenu: It would have been enough.

“If He had only given us His Words and Commandments, but not a Promised Land forever … Dayenu: It would have been enough.”

Who knows how many Passover Seders Paul had participated in throughout his lifetime? And having grown up with this yearly reminder that God has done enough—no, MORE than enough—for us all, and then coming to know that God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and rise to give us the hope of eternal life … No wonder Paul insisted on gladness and rejoicing!

When we consider how unworthy we are of God’s attention, let alone of His love, then it becomes clear why we should be persistently glad and thankful, no matter what happens. The history of God’s provision and work for us is enough reason to be thankful even when we are going through the roughest times in our lives! In those times, we should be crying out to our Jesus for help, salvation and deliverance; the fact that we have reason to rejoice in God does not mean that we have to deny the reality of hard times. But even in the midst of our pleading, we have reasons to be thankful. God has done so much for us. And even if Jesus’ death and resurrection, for instance, were all He had done for us … “Dayenu: It would have been enough.” It is only right to give Him thanks persistently.

Question: What is the number one reason you give thanks to God? When nothing else about life seems worthwhile, what has God done for you that gives you hope? How could you incorporate the discipline of persistent and joyful thankfulness, even in hard times, into your life?

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

Self-Deprivation

ALL – Psalm 34:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 21:13
OT – Nehemiah 9:22-10:39
NT – 1 Corinthians 9:20-10:14

Interesting passage for the day: Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside. – 1 Corinthians 9:27, The Living Bible

Thought: Discipline is really a simple matter of learning to say ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ One aspect of discipline is learning to say ‘Yes’ to great goals, great teachers, great pursuits. We want to fill our lives with greatness.

But sometimes in our zeal to say ‘Yes,’ we forget that we are limited, finite people. And we continue to say ‘Yes’ not only to what is great, but even to what is good…or what seems good…or what feels good…or what may not be good, but ‘I deserve a break!’. And the more we say ‘Yes’ to more options and opportunities, the less time we have for our loftiest pursuits.

That’s why we must learn to say ‘No.’ Saying ‘No’ is not only a statement of discipline, but of humility. To say it, we have to be humble enough to realize that we can’t do everything we want to do—not even every good thing we want to do! But saying ‘No’ can feel terrible! Often it feels like we’re missing out on life or depriving ourselves of good things. Paul wrote that he treated his body “roughly” to train it to do what it ought to do.

In some areas of life it matters less than in others. But when we’re talking about our relationship with Jesus Christ and our service to Him, this whole issue of discipline really counts! Too often we say ‘Yes’ to Jesus, but then we say ‘Yes’ to distractions, too. Without a willingness to discipline our lives, we end up being useless for the One who gave His life to save us.

Question: Perhaps you haven’t said ‘No’ to Jesus. Perhaps you’ve simply said ‘Yes’ to activities that use up your time so that you have very little time left for Him. What could you say ‘No’ to so that you can be more free to live a ‘Yes’ life for Jesus?

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

Not Saved For Sin

ALL – Psalm 31:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 21:1-2
OT – Ezra 8:21-9:15
NT – 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Interesting passage for the day: When I wrote you before I said not to mix with evil people. But when I said that I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who live in sexual sin, or are greedy cheats and thieves and idol worshipers. For you can’t live in this world without being with people like that. – 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, The Living Bible

Thought: Paul expected believers to associate with the world’s sinners and to reject unrepentant sinners who claimed to be Christians. Often we get it flipped: we reject the world’s sinners and overlook the sins of those who claim to be Christians. We try to pretend that we’re already in heaven, and that we’re safe from sin inside the four walls of our churches.

But Paul was realistic about where we live. We live in this world. Which means that we will necessarily rub shoulders with people who live in unrepentant sin. The question in his mind was not whether believers would encounter sinful people or not, but whether believers would allow God’s holy church to become a refuge for men or women living in rebellion against God.

God’s church is intended to save sinners. But it is intended to save sinners from their sins, not for more sins. He wants His church to be pure and righteous. If we’re Christians, Jesus Christ wants us to have the guts to lovingly and gently confront sinners in our ranks.

Question: Have you been casual about sinning rather than begging Jesus Christ for the strength, wisdom and love to overcome sin in your life? Have you taken other Christians’ unwillingness to confront you as permission to keep sinning? Or perhaps you’ve been living righteously by Christ’s grace, but you’ve been too timid to deal with other believers’ blatant sins. What is Christ calling you to do now, and how is He calling you to do it?

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

Got Discipline?

ALL - Psalm 1:1-6
ALL - Proverbs 1:1-6
OT - Genesis 1:1-2:25
NT - Matthew 1:1-2:12

People say that I’m a disciplined guy. But right now, I don’t feel like that’s very true. I don’t get out of bed when I’m supposed to. I don’t go to bed when I should. I don’t exercise. I barely manage to feed the dog—let alone play with her. I can’t seem to find time to manage the family finances. And when I get online for work purposes, I keep getting distracted by news story after news story after news story; they go on forever!

So I’ve been praying that God would give me discipline. Because I need it. I need discipline so that I can take care of my family as I should. I need discipline so that I can serve Christ’s church as I should. I need discipline just to take better care of myself!

Enter today’s reading from Proverbs:

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair; - Proverbs 1:1-3

If I hadn’t been praying for discipline, I don’t think I would have noticed how often the word “discipline” comes up in these opening words. Why read the Proverbs? Because the Proverbs are “for attaining…discipline” and “for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life.”

If you’re like me, and you need discipline in your life, join me in reading through the Proverbs this year.

Father, give me (us) discipline through Your wisdom!

Who’s with me?