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.

Child, You’re Welcome In This House

ALL – Psalm 44:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 10:19
OT – Leviticus 22:17-23:44
NT – Mark 9:30-10:12

If you’re a mom or dad and don’t believe that children are disruptive, you need to start helping your spouse take care of your kids! Or else you need to reclaim your kids from the daycare center. Children are cute, but they definitely cut down on productivity—at least, on what most people consider to be productive.

Jesus says something about children. We usually read it to our Sunday school and children’s church workers, or perhaps at Christian teachers’ conferences. We almost never think about reading it to parents. But you, moms and dads, are probably the first people who ought to hear Jesus’ words, the first people who find applying them to be a challenge, the first people who have the opportunity to experience the promise Jesus leaves behind:

Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming my Father who sent me! – Mark 9:37, The Living Bible

Are your children welcome in your home—in their home? Do you view serving them as an opportunity to serve your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? I’m not talking about caving to every one of their childish demands; that would be foolish and inappropriate, and ultimately wouldn’t really serve your children beneficially. But listening to them, responding to them, caring for them, playing with them, interacting with them, teaching them?

Let’s welcome our own children into our lives, no matter how frustrating they sometimes are, rather than shutting them out. Let’s welcome them, our Jesus, and the Father Himself!

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

Ignore the Plants

ALL – Psalm 19:1-14
ALL – Proverbs 4:14-19
OT – Genesis 46:1-47:31
NT – Matthew 15:1-28

Some people like offending others.

I don’t. I hate offending people. I feel awful. I see myself as a people pleaser. The only reason I’m not purely a people pleaser is that I sometimes feel like it’s necessary to confront people with God’s lovingly-intended truth. Even then I sometimes am tempted to worry about what people will think of me. And all because I hate to offend people.

Especially religious people. Especially Christian religious people who work really hard to do what’s right and seem to have a good grasp of the truths of the Scriptures. But sometimes I find that a seemingly respectable member of the Christian faith constantly turns the Scriptures into rules that aren’t really there. I don’t know why something feels off at first—usually, anyways. But eventually a time comes along when this person’s rules clearly clash with the Scripture’s commands. And even if I say so in the most inoffensive way I know, I take the risk of offending another person, whether I like it or not.

The goal should never be to offend, just to be clear. The goal, ideally, is to guide everyone via the truth to faith in Christ Jesus and in His Father. But sometimes the truth is offensive, especially to people who have made a lifestyle of portraying their opinions as truth (and yes, I’m aware of the danger that I could be and probably am sometimes one of those people).

Jesus spoke the truth. And sometimes it offended people. One time His disciples approached Him, concerned about how He had offended the Pharisees by confronting their neglect of God’s commands. What did Jesus think about offending people who were spreading falsehoods and not obeying the truth?

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my Father shall be rooted up, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and both will fall into a ditch.” – Matthew 15:13-14, The Living Bible

Wow. Ignore them. Jesus didn’t seem to be too concerned. This is the Jesus who never sinned, the Jesus whose self-sacrifice provides the model for love, whose impromptu foot-washing ceremony provides the model for service. This is the Jesus who claims to be “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). You would think that Jesus would be at least somewhat concerned about offending the Pharisees.

But He wasn’t.

Jesus was concerned with leading people to His Father. The Pharisees were just concerned with leading people. And Jesus could see from their teachings and behaviors that His Father had not planted them. They were denying the truth with both their words and their actions, promoting their own words and actions as truth instead. Jesus spoke the truth unapologetically, and He let the chips fall where they may. His Father would deal with the Pharisees at the appropriate time.

May we people-pleasing people follow Jesus’ example. May we first make sure that we know the truth, listening intently and obeying constantly. But when we know the truth, may we learn to speak it unapologetically, even if it offends. The offended persons may never change, but perhaps we can lead others away from their falsehoods.

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