Kids’ Persistent Questions

Today’s Reading:

• Matthew 6:5-7:6; Luke 6:37-42; Matthew 7:7-20; Luke 6:43-45; Matthew 7:21-29; Luke 6:46-49

Verse(s) to Ponder:

• Keep on asking, and you will received what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.… You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. – Matthew 7:7, 9-11, New Living Translation

Thoughts:
I was just thinking today about the connection between persistent prayer and praying to a Heavenly Father.

As a human father, sometimes I wish that my children wouldn’t ask so persistently. My son Michael is really, really eager to visit the Discovery Place (and we’ve already been there several times, so his experience gives him a lot of motivation to return). And he will ask me, “Dad, can we go to the Discovery Place?”

So I’ll say, “Yes, Michael, we can go.”

And he asks an important question: “When, dad?”

It usually takes me a minute to decide when I would like to take him to visit the Discovery Place, but the answer often ends up being something like, “We’ll go there next week on Thursday.”

You would think that I’d get a huge cheer right then! After all, I have just told Michael not only that we’ll go to the Discovery Place, but I’ve committed myself to a set date. I can’t postpone it beyond then without breaking my word (and I am very reluctant to do that).

But Michael is usually not very happy with an answer like that. “Yes” isn’t enough. “Next Thursday” isn’t enough. He wants to go NOW. And what that usually means is that for the next week, he keeps asking me over and over and over, “Dad, can we go to the Discovery Place? Can we go now?”

As I said, being a human father, this isn’t the most pleasant experience in the world for me. I can become a bit impatient… not that anyone else would know what I’m talking about, right? I’ve given my son an answer, I’ve given him the promise of a good gift, and I’ve given him a specific time when he can expect to receive it. Sometimes I wish he would just trust me and wait patiently.

A lot of the things we ask God for are things that He has said “Yes” to, also. Health. Wisdom. Character. Safety. And He has told us when we can expect to have them in their fullness—when Jesus comes back. Sometimes He gives us an early taste of them, too. But often, He asks us to wait.

Somehow, that doesn’t do much to satisfy our desires. We want those good gifts from God, and we want to experience them—fully—now. And so we ask, and we keep on asking. And we knock, and keep on knocking. And God keeps telling us, as we read His Word, “Yes, when Jesus comes back.” And we keep begging Him, “How about today? How about now?”

The really amazing thing to me is this: through Jesus, God encourages us to keep begging and asking. God is better with His children than I am with my son. He not only knows how to give good gifts, but God is patient and understanding toward His children’s repeated requests. He loves to hear them! He wants to have the opportunity to tell all of us—not just me, but you, too—to tell all of us a big, wonderful “Yes” over and over again. Through His “Yes,” God reminds us that He loves us. As He reminds us of His plan to fulfill every promise through Jesus, God thrills at the opportunity to fill our minds and hearts with His love again. And so He loves to hear us ask for His good gifts, not just once, but repeatedly. Every time we ask, we give Him another opportunity to joyfully remind us of His loving plans.

Note: I have obviously been less than consistent about posting devotional thoughts for a while now, so I’m not going to claim that I’ll be consistent for the next few months, or that the blog will be centered around a certain theme (it was supposed to deal with faith-stretching verses this year). I just hope that these thoughts are still an encouragement to you, whenever they come your way.

Genealogical Genius

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 25:1-4
• 1 Chronicles 1:32-33
• Genesis 25:5-6
• Genesis 25:12-18
• 1 Chronicles 1:28-31
• 1 Chronicles 1:34
• Genesis 25:19-26
• Genesis 25:7-11

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant. Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped. – Genesis 25:12-16, NLT

Thoughts:
How important are the genealogies, really?

I don’t know anyone who really seems to like reading all the Bible’s genealogies. It’s usually not the highlight of my year, anyway. But they’re worth reading as a reinforcement to our faith.

How so? They’re nothing incredible. All they are is a list of who descended from whom. A really, really, really long list. How can a list like this reinforce our faith?

For one thing, the genealogies show how much our God cares about details. The God who claims to know everything, down to the number of hairs on each human head, shouldn’t have any trouble keeping track of details about who was whose father. So if nothing else, the genealogies give us a little bit more reason to trust that the Bible is an accurate, detailed book.

But that’s not the only reason for the genealogies. God has other ways to show us how detailed He can be. What purpose is there in the genealogies?

Let’s see if we can get a hint from where the genealogies begin. This is not the first time we’ve seen a genealogy. The genealogies start with Adam, continue to Noah, go on to Abraham, and then trace their way onward from there.

What about which people are included in the genealogies? Mostly the genealogies follow the line from one man of faith to another. Noah. Abraham. Jacob. Judah. David. Sometimes the genealogies also take a little bit of time to trace their relatives, like the one above about Ishmael. They remind us that all of humanity, including Israel’s enemies, is family.

And where do the genealogies end? The last two genealogies I can think of in the Scriptures are in Matthew 1 and Luke 3, and both end with the same person: Jesus Christ. In other words, even the genealogies tell a story, and the point of the story is that God was keeping careful watch over all of human history as He guided it from the first man, Adam, who dragged all of us into sin, to the sinless man, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and not for His own.

Even in the seemingly pointless details of Scripture, God points us to Jesus. And this happens as scores of human writers who mostly never meet each other coordinate their thoughts across centuries of Bible-writing until Jesus is born. This is no coincidence. This is evidence that God was really coordinating human history to His planned outcome. In other words, the genealogies are a reason for faith.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Faith-Based Risks

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 21:8-23:20
• Genesis 11:32
• Genesis 24:1-67

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. – Genesis 21:14, NLT

Thoughts:
How on earth could Abraham send his firstborn son away?

I don’t think Abraham could have done it without his faith in God—the same faith that enabled him to be willing to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, a little while later.

Both events sound awful. We’re used to thinking about how terrible it would be for God to ask us to sacrifice a son because we hear the story of Isaac all the time. But it’s not as if being asked to send a son out into wilderness and never to see him again would be much easier. How could Abraham do it?

Here’s how: Abraham could only send his son Ishmael away if he was 100% convinced that God would truly care for his boy.

Abraham sent Ishmael away knowing he would survive…at least, if God was real and trustworthy. Just before sending Ishmael away, Abraham at least thought that he heard this message from God: “But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” So Abraham acted in line with the promise he heard from God. And do you know what? Ishmael survived. And although not all Arabs are necessarily descended directly from him (at least, according to http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/OnlineDiscipleship/UnderstandingIslam/Is_the_Arab_nation_descended_from_Ishmael.aspx; and please note that I do not necessarily endorse the sites on which I find things like this), their culture is considered to be his legacy. So there’s at least some evidence that God fulfilled His promises yet again.

But the point I really want to make is this: the steps Abraham took were the steps of a man convinced that He was hearing from God. And things worked out the way Abraham trusted that they would.

So another reason I believe is that men like Abraham, throughout the Bible and throughout extra-biblical history, have been willing to risk everything on God’s promises. People don’t take such big risks without being completely convinced that someone has their back. When that Someone is God, and when He comes through like this, their conviction seems to be validated. And trusting their God seems reasonable.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

God Fights for Faith

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 18:1-21:7

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right? – Genesis 18:25, NLT

Thoughts:
Since almost the beginning of time, one of our most grievous challenges against the existence of God has been the idea that perhaps the God who claims to be good isn’t actually on par with His claims.

We experience so much pain. We experience so much agony. Whole nations, and even continental regions, endure the most distressing times. Tragedy seems to strike good people as often as bad people.

And a good God’s supposed to be in charge of all this?

If only every person’s story were recorded from God’s perspective, the way Abraham’s is.

We already know that Abraham’s a man of faith. He trusts God. But that doesn’t mean that Abraham shies away from the tough questions. In fact, it is precisely because Abraham trusts God that He begs God to go easy on Sodom and Gomorrah, if only to spare fifty…no, forty-five…no, how about forty…or thirty…maybe twenty…or even a mere ten righteous people. Abraham believes God is good, and so He asks God, “the Judge of all the earth,” not to treat good people like bad people.

And do you know what? God makes it clear right from the beginning that He is as good as He claims to be. In this particular story, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah because not even ten righteous people live within their walls. And what’s more, the few righteous people who do live there are rescued….Not that they turn out to be perfect, themselves (which I take as a note of hope for those of us who are seeking after God, even if imperfectly).

Of course, there are plenty of stories not only outside of the Bible, but inside of it, that give us pause and make us wonder all over again, “Do all people really get what they deserve? Or is God perhaps not perfectly fair?” But between stories like this, where the line between good and evil seems black and white and God is always clearly good, and God’s explanations elsewhere that perfect justice will not be completed in this complex world where we can’t always see either good or evil clearly, I’m willing to believe in Him. I think He’s trustworthy. I mean, He’s God. He has nothing to prove. If He were evil, why would He care what I thought of Him? I can’t vote Him out of office. So why claim to be good if He’s not? He has no need for falsified PR.

God cares that we think He’s good. He takes the time to tell us stories about how much He hates evil and loves good, stories intended to answer our most doubt-filled questions. The fact that He’s fighting like that for our trust—when He’s God and doesn’t have to—makes me trust Him even more.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

I Trust the One I Hear

Today’s Reading:

• Genesis 15:1-17:27

Faith-Stretching Verse(s):

• Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. – Genesis 15:4-6, NLT

Thoughts:
I’m playing catch-up, so I’ll be brief.

Part of the reason I believe what I believe, to be honest, is personal experience. I believe the God I hear.

No, I don’t hear God’s voice audibly. And if I did, I would probably double-guess my hearing so often that the experience would be more painful than blissful. But when I’m reading the Old and New Testament Scriptures, I hear God. And just as some would argue that I can prove my existence because “I think, therefore I am,” I would argue that, “I hear, therefore He is.” Let alone, “I am, therefore He is.” But I won’t get into that argument here.

I hear. Therefore He is. When I read this passage, where God announces the incredible to an aging, childless man, I hear God announcing the incredible for me. Not the same incredible. I’m not going to be the father of celestial numbers of descendants. But all the same, that promise was for me because I am one of the descendants who gets to receive God’s blessings.

People are still hearing God today. I’m one of them. And because I hear, I believe. Do you hear Him?

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

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.

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.

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.

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: Live and Die for God’s Glory

The message, preached on October 10th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. An honest desire for our friends and neighbors to be saved will lead us to share—to share our goods, our neighbors’ limits, and the glory of our God. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Make Your Loyalties Clear

The message, preached on October 3rd, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Sometimes practicing our Christian freedom can lead us unintentionally to support demonic lies, leading other people into idolatry (spiritual adultery). We need to realize that our behaviors are actually a sign of our associations, and to carefully live loyally. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Obedience Training

ALL – Psalm 74:1-23
ALL – Proverbs 24:15-16
OT – Isaiah 66:1-24
NT – Philippians 3:4-21

Interesting passage for the day: I hope all of you who are mature Christians will see eye-to-eye with me on these things, and if you disagree on some point, I believe that God will make it plain to you—if you fully obey the truth you have. – Philippians 3:15-16, The Living Bible

Thought: When writing to the Philippians, and through them to us, Paul firmly taught what he believed. But he understood that we might not get what he was saying, and that we might even disagree with him. He wasn’t concerned.

His concern was that believers take the truth they have and obey it—that we live what we’ve learned from God. Paul was convinced that if we did this, we would grow in our understanding of what God had to say to us through him. He believed that God Himself would teach us as we followed Him.

Let’s follow and obey our God rather than arguing about the points where we disagree. Maybe then we’ll learn and grow together.

Question: When disagreements begin to divide you from others, what ways have you found to do life together and fight the division? How have you chosen to love people you disagreed with, and learned more deeply from God as a result?

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

Dirty

ALL – Psalm 69:15-36
ALL – Proverbs 24:6-7
OT – Isaiah 51:1-53:12
NT – Ephesians 5:1-33

Interesting passage for the day: Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, remind each other of God’s goodness and be thankful. – Ephesians 5:4, The Living Bible

Thought: I take a pretty strong stand against Christians using swear words. And some people close to me have challenged me on it, asking me whether swear words are inherently any worse than what I consider to be less offensive words—words that I use in pretty much the same way.

And you know what? In some ways, my friends are right. They’re right that when I use “cleaner language” to express my own unclean thoughts, I’m still sinning. I may be less offensive to other people, but my heart still has major problems.

So is that a justification for swearing?

I don’t think so.

I think that both my friends and I are called to clean up our act, and zealously. Here’s a theological truth that anyone can understand: God is GOOD. Seriously good. And we’re His children. Would He share our language—whether the less-filtered language my friends don’t mind or the cleaned up versions I use? Would God appreciate our dirty stories or foul jokes?

God is good. And we are His. We aren’t missing out on anything by giving up our dirty stories and foul language. We should be thankful that such a wonderful God is willing to associate with us, rather than upset that being associated with Him means saying no to our filthy hearts.

Question: How comfortable are you with your personal degree of impurity? What have you learned about putting off unclean thoughts and words and putting on purity? What’s your role? How does the Gospel fit into this discussion?

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

Not Just Forgiven: Welcome

ALL – Psalm 68:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 24:1-2
OT – Isaiah 43:14-45:10
NT – Ephesians 3:1-21

Interesting passage for the day: Now we can come fearlessly right into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome when we come with Christ and trust in him. – Galatians 3:12, The Living Bible

Thought: Have you ever done something so bad that the person you offended or hurt couldn’t forgive you?

Let’s not debate the word “couldn’t”. I’m not trying to get into the question of whether they actually could but wouldn’t, or whatever. I’m just asking whether you’ve ever had the experience of being unforgiven and totally shunned. Or perhaps you are the one who hasn’t forgiven someone. The reality is that some of our relationships can be totally destroyed because we can miss the mark so badly in what we do that we offend people in ways they can’t overlook. Ever.

Enter God. In contrast to even the best of men, He is holy and righteous and good. We sometimes give in to temptation; when Jesus walked the earth with us, He never gave in. We sometimes laugh at our sins; Jesus cried over the sins He encountered. When we get worn out, we stop aiming for what’s good; when Jesus was overwhelmed, He persevered. We may despise those who commit certain sins and crimes, but we know what it’s like to sin when we’re in a tough spot; in the toughest of spots, Jesus never sinned.

So if anyone should be able to forgive, just based on common experience, you’d think we could forgive one another. Our sins are not all the same, but we’ve all sinned. But do we forgive one another and welcome one another back into our embrace? Often, no. Instead, the God who hates sin and has never given in to its temptations for one moment, who has no desire to sin or understanding of a desire to sin (even though He understands what makes temptations so hard, having gone through them), the God who has spent eternity doing good and not evil—HE is the one who forgives! And He forgives so completely that “we can come fearlessly right into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome when we come with Christ and trust in him.”

Question: Have you received the forgiveness and welcome of God? What keeps you from knowing the reality of this amazing mercy? What convinces you that God’s welcome for you is actually available?

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

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: God and Marriage

The message, preached on September 5th, 2010, covered 1 Corinthians 7, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Following Jesus involves being ourselves—but redeemed, maximizing our service, and being wholly His. Even making the decision about whether to marry or not, and how to live as a married person or a single, needs to be submitted to Jesus Christ. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.