ALL – Psalm 45:1-17
ALL – Proverbs 22:14
OT – Job 40:1-42:17
NT – 2 Corinthians 5:12-21
Interesting passage for the day: He died for all so that all who live—having received eternal life from him—might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them. So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. – 2 Corinthians 5:15-16, The Living Bible
Thought: Christians aren’t designed to be impressive. They’re designed to be faithful. They’re designed to live real life—even when it looks boring. They’re designed to thank God—even for simple, “unexciting” blessings like bread and water. They’re designed to persevere—even when the rest of the world would decide “it’s not worth it.” They’re designed to please God, even when they seem to get no benefit.
Don’t misunderstand me. Some Christians are impressive and will do impressive things. Some are talented musicians, playwrights, actors, technicians. Some are gifted intellectuals, architects, athletes, speakers. For them, being faithful means using their impressive array of gifts to the glory of God. But they’re still designed first and foremost to be faithful, to please Christ rather than themselves.
And so the Christian life is not designed to be impressive. Which is a good thing, or most of us would be considered failures, not only by the world, but by Jesus Christ. As believers, we’re designed simply to be faithful to give ourselves wholly—heart, soul, mind, and strength—to loving and pleasing Jesus. And He’s given us life precisely so that we can all do exactly that.
Question: What does faithfully living to love and please Jesus Christ with your entire being look like for you right now? Where could you see yourself growing as you walk with Jesus through the years ahead?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label failure. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Two Devastating Failures
ALL – Psalm 75:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 12:12-14
OT – Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19
NT – Luke 10:13-37
Have you ever been on a bridge or narrow pathway so high that you could look over the edge on either side and know that a fall meant death?
Among Christians, one of the most inspirational thoughts in all of Scripture is known as the “double love command.” Jesus tells us that it summarizes all the Law and the Prophets (the OT). Here is one version of it, recorded by Luke:
“It says,” he replied, “that you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself.” – Luke 10:27, The Living Bible
In this case, it was not said by Jesus, who responded:
“Do this and you shall live.” – Luke 10:28, The Living Bible
No one can measure up perfectly to this command. Even among those who seek to obey and fulfill these requirements, people usually make the mistake of obeying just ONE of the TWO commands given here.
Some people love God with all their hearts. They devote themselves completely to God, or so they think. They spend all their time reading their Bibles, praying, attending services, and helping with official church programs. If someone interrupts their service to God, that person gets set aside, left behind, left alone. But God says to these people, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates (neglects, ignores) his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20, NIV).
Other people really do a good job of loving people. They open up their homes, they share their food, they give cash to every beggar, they devote themselves to programs that help people to get out of poverty and homelessness and drugs. They always sympathize with people, always listen, always care, never judge. But these people often lay aside their Bibles, sweep sins (their own and other people’s) under the carpet, neglect to pray, think of Jesus as merely a good man, and worry that any spiritual discussion will hurt people’s feelings. To these people, God says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21), and “…this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23, NIV). Loving God is obeying God, and obeying God is believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Neglecting our faith is just as destructive as neglecting our neighbors.
The double-love command is a united command. We are not to love God but hate our neighbors. Neither are we to love our neighbors but neglect God. We are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We all fall short. We all struggle more either with loving God or with loving people (though, if we’re honest, we fall short in both). We sin. Which is why we praise God that Jesus Christ, His Son, died on the cross to provide forgiveness for our sins. There is grace for us, even as we fail in the two most important commands of all. But that grace is not intended to make us neglect the commands; instead, it strengthens us to stop wallowing in our failures and sins so that we can get up and grow in obedience and love. This requires humility and honesty. We must recognize our failure and call on our Lord for help.
Which side of the command do you struggle with most?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 12:12-14
OT – Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19
NT – Luke 10:13-37
Have you ever been on a bridge or narrow pathway so high that you could look over the edge on either side and know that a fall meant death?
Among Christians, one of the most inspirational thoughts in all of Scripture is known as the “double love command.” Jesus tells us that it summarizes all the Law and the Prophets (the OT). Here is one version of it, recorded by Luke:
“It says,” he replied, “that you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And you must love your neighbor just as much as you love yourself.” – Luke 10:27, The Living Bible
In this case, it was not said by Jesus, who responded:
“Do this and you shall live.” – Luke 10:28, The Living Bible
No one can measure up perfectly to this command. Even among those who seek to obey and fulfill these requirements, people usually make the mistake of obeying just ONE of the TWO commands given here.
Some people love God with all their hearts. They devote themselves completely to God, or so they think. They spend all their time reading their Bibles, praying, attending services, and helping with official church programs. If someone interrupts their service to God, that person gets set aside, left behind, left alone. But God says to these people, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates (neglects, ignores) his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20, NIV).
Other people really do a good job of loving people. They open up their homes, they share their food, they give cash to every beggar, they devote themselves to programs that help people to get out of poverty and homelessness and drugs. They always sympathize with people, always listen, always care, never judge. But these people often lay aside their Bibles, sweep sins (their own and other people’s) under the carpet, neglect to pray, think of Jesus as merely a good man, and worry that any spiritual discussion will hurt people’s feelings. To these people, God says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21), and “…this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us” (1 John 3:23, NIV). Loving God is obeying God, and obeying God is believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Neglecting our faith is just as destructive as neglecting our neighbors.
The double-love command is a united command. We are not to love God but hate our neighbors. Neither are we to love our neighbors but neglect God. We are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We all fall short. We all struggle more either with loving God or with loving people (though, if we’re honest, we fall short in both). We sin. Which is why we praise God that Jesus Christ, His Son, died on the cross to provide forgiveness for our sins. There is grace for us, even as we fail in the two most important commands of all. But that grace is not intended to make us neglect the commands; instead, it strengthens us to stop wallowing in our failures and sins so that we can get up and grow in obedience and love. This requires humility and honesty. We must recognize our failure and call on our Lord for help.
Which side of the command do you struggle with most?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Monday, December 14, 2009
When “That Person” Fails, Do You Chuckle?
Obadiah; Psalm 133; Proverbs 29:26-27
You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. – Obadiah 1:12
Edom had been glad when Judah’s enemies won the victory. Even though Edom and Judah shared a common ancestry, a common history, Edom acted as an enemy toward Judah. And when Judah was harmed, Edom celebrated.
Of course, Edom thought it was safe. Geographically, the country was a hard one to fight against. Since Judah’s enemies had overlooked Edom, Edom thought they would always be overlooked, always be avoided, always be safe from harm.
But God had seen their treachery, their wickedness, their evil celebrations. And God can reach anyone.
Now this all happened on a national level. But just about every day, something similar happens on a personal level. We all have people who are hard to get along with, easy to overlook, easy to avoid. We all have people who make us feel bad about ourselves and about life, and we would rather that they just stayed away from us.
And when bad things happen to these people, we are all tempted to celebrate at least a tiny little bit.
But God knows our hearts. And God sees our sinful celebrations against these people, many of whom are supposed to be considered our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than focusing on our familial relationships and seeking their good, we tend to think of those who annoy us as people who “got what was coming to them.” And we go on our ways in pride, patting ourselves on the back for not being the kind of people who end up with the same problems.
Father, may we love our brothers more than that!
Who has some suggestions for how we can help those who are hurting instead of standing back to scoff?
You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. – Obadiah 1:12
Edom had been glad when Judah’s enemies won the victory. Even though Edom and Judah shared a common ancestry, a common history, Edom acted as an enemy toward Judah. And when Judah was harmed, Edom celebrated.
Of course, Edom thought it was safe. Geographically, the country was a hard one to fight against. Since Judah’s enemies had overlooked Edom, Edom thought they would always be overlooked, always be avoided, always be safe from harm.
But God had seen their treachery, their wickedness, their evil celebrations. And God can reach anyone.
Now this all happened on a national level. But just about every day, something similar happens on a personal level. We all have people who are hard to get along with, easy to overlook, easy to avoid. We all have people who make us feel bad about ourselves and about life, and we would rather that they just stayed away from us.
And when bad things happen to these people, we are all tempted to celebrate at least a tiny little bit.
But God knows our hearts. And God sees our sinful celebrations against these people, many of whom are supposed to be considered our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than focusing on our familial relationships and seeking their good, we tend to think of those who annoy us as people who “got what was coming to them.” And we go on our ways in pride, patting ourselves on the back for not being the kind of people who end up with the same problems.
Father, may we love our brothers more than that!
Who has some suggestions for how we can help those who are hurting instead of standing back to scoff?
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