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.
Showing posts with label honor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honor. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
People-Pleaser Evangelism
ALL – Psalm 34:11-22
ALL – Proverbs 21:14-16
OT – Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
NT – 1 Corinthians 10:15-11:2
Interesting passage for the day: That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not doing what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them, so that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:33, The Living Bible
Thought: People-pleasing is often perceived as a bad thing. And it can be. When a desire to please people rises above a desire to please Jesus, we can be tempted to do shameful and foolish things. Because sometimes what pleases people is shameful and foolish.
But sometimes what pleases people is honorable. It may be honorable and ignorant, but it’s honorable. What do I mean by honorable and ignorant? I mean that sometimes people ask us to live up to really high standards—unnecessarily high standards (U.H.S.). People may be unaware (ignorant) of the fact that such high standards are unnecessary. But still, they are devoted to their high standards, and their high standards are honorable. Unnecessarily high, but honorable. And living up to those standards when it feels (is) unnecessary for us is another form of people-pleasing.
In Paul’s day, he dealt with whether or not to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Some people’s U.H.S. said that no one should ever eat meat sacrificed to idols. In our day, we deal with things like whether to ever drink beer or wine, for instance. Some people’s U.H.S. say that we should never touch the stuff. And these are not the only U.H.S. There are many more. But when people ask us to live up to these expectations, they are not asking us to be sinful or shameful. In such cases, people-pleasing can be honorable.
So the next time you feel like saying, “Uh… you know you don’t have to worry about that, right?” perhaps it would be better to follow Paul’s rule. Do some people-pleasing. Some honorable people-pleasing. Please others not just for the sake of making them happy, but so that you help them to see that Jesus Christ is more honorable than any standard they can set. Please people so that they can be saved and please Jesus.
Question: Why do we not want to live up to other people’s expectations? What do you think of people who are zealously disciplined about their standards? Why would you not want to be associated with that?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 21:14-16
OT – Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
NT – 1 Corinthians 10:15-11:2
Interesting passage for the day: That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do, not doing what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them, so that they may be saved. – 1 Corinthians 10:33, The Living Bible
Thought: People-pleasing is often perceived as a bad thing. And it can be. When a desire to please people rises above a desire to please Jesus, we can be tempted to do shameful and foolish things. Because sometimes what pleases people is shameful and foolish.
But sometimes what pleases people is honorable. It may be honorable and ignorant, but it’s honorable. What do I mean by honorable and ignorant? I mean that sometimes people ask us to live up to really high standards—unnecessarily high standards (U.H.S.). People may be unaware (ignorant) of the fact that such high standards are unnecessary. But still, they are devoted to their high standards, and their high standards are honorable. Unnecessarily high, but honorable. And living up to those standards when it feels (is) unnecessary for us is another form of people-pleasing.
In Paul’s day, he dealt with whether or not to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Some people’s U.H.S. said that no one should ever eat meat sacrificed to idols. In our day, we deal with things like whether to ever drink beer or wine, for instance. Some people’s U.H.S. say that we should never touch the stuff. And these are not the only U.H.S. There are many more. But when people ask us to live up to these expectations, they are not asking us to be sinful or shameful. In such cases, people-pleasing can be honorable.
So the next time you feel like saying, “Uh… you know you don’t have to worry about that, right?” perhaps it would be better to follow Paul’s rule. Do some people-pleasing. Some honorable people-pleasing. Please others not just for the sake of making them happy, but so that you help them to see that Jesus Christ is more honorable than any standard they can set. Please people so that they can be saved and please Jesus.
Question: Why do we not want to live up to other people’s expectations? What do you think of people who are zealously disciplined about their standards? Why would you not want to be associated with that?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
No Honor at Home
ALL – Psalm 39:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 10:10
OT – Leviticus 13:1-59
NT – Mark 6:1-29
Perhaps you have experienced this. Your sibling’s pretty normal. They’ve been pretty normal forever. You’re used to them. You usually don’t listen to a word they say. But then one day, they say something amazing. Or perhaps they do something amazing. Something you know you should admire and honor. But they’re your sibling. So you overlook what they’ve done. You shrug it off, ignore it, perhaps even mock your sibling a bit and say, “Oh, (s)he’s not really that great. I remember when…”
Why do we do that?
There weren’t any stories people could tell about Jesus that would actually paint Him as a “bad boy when He was young.” But perhaps He made a few mistakes in the process of trying to learn carpentry. Perhaps He messed up a few orders, perhaps He was clumsy at times, perhaps He was usually a bit dirty and wearing second- or third-hand clothing given to His family by other families whose boys outgrew the clothes of their youth. We don’t know all the reasons that people in Jesus’ hometown thought of Him as just a normal young man. But He certainly didn’t get much respect.
“He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” And they were offended! – Mark 6:3, The Living Bible
When people think you’re normal, they don’t want you to act special. But Christian, you are special! You are a child of God. You have the eternal Word of God in your mouth and in your heart. You have the eternal Spirit of God living in You. And so you have something special to offer your neighbors, something that can make them special, too—something that has the power to bring them into the Family of God. You’re carrying a treasure around in you.
Just remember as you seek to share that treasure that’s in you… You don’t look like a treasure any more than Jesus did. For sure. Don’t expect people to treat you with tons of respect and appreciation. In fact, they might try to fight your claims to have the very words and Spirit of God in you. After all, you look like they do, you sound like they do, and they might even be able to outwork, outplay and out-think you. That’s ok. Just keep seeking to share that treasure. A prophet may have no honor in his hometown, but that doesn’t change the fact that, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7, NIV).
Oh, and one more thing. Let’s look at other believers as people full of God’s treasure instead of acting surprised when they come up with a good idea or an amazing insight into the Scriptures. Believers should recognize believers as people worth knowing and spending time with, people who have a close relationship with the Creator.
How have you misjudged God’s people and avoided giving them the honor they deserve?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 10:10
OT – Leviticus 13:1-59
NT – Mark 6:1-29
Perhaps you have experienced this. Your sibling’s pretty normal. They’ve been pretty normal forever. You’re used to them. You usually don’t listen to a word they say. But then one day, they say something amazing. Or perhaps they do something amazing. Something you know you should admire and honor. But they’re your sibling. So you overlook what they’ve done. You shrug it off, ignore it, perhaps even mock your sibling a bit and say, “Oh, (s)he’s not really that great. I remember when…”
Why do we do that?
There weren’t any stories people could tell about Jesus that would actually paint Him as a “bad boy when He was young.” But perhaps He made a few mistakes in the process of trying to learn carpentry. Perhaps He messed up a few orders, perhaps He was clumsy at times, perhaps He was usually a bit dirty and wearing second- or third-hand clothing given to His family by other families whose boys outgrew the clothes of their youth. We don’t know all the reasons that people in Jesus’ hometown thought of Him as just a normal young man. But He certainly didn’t get much respect.
“He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” And they were offended! – Mark 6:3, The Living Bible
When people think you’re normal, they don’t want you to act special. But Christian, you are special! You are a child of God. You have the eternal Word of God in your mouth and in your heart. You have the eternal Spirit of God living in You. And so you have something special to offer your neighbors, something that can make them special, too—something that has the power to bring them into the Family of God. You’re carrying a treasure around in you.
Just remember as you seek to share that treasure that’s in you… You don’t look like a treasure any more than Jesus did. For sure. Don’t expect people to treat you with tons of respect and appreciation. In fact, they might try to fight your claims to have the very words and Spirit of God in you. After all, you look like they do, you sound like they do, and they might even be able to outwork, outplay and out-think you. That’s ok. Just keep seeking to share that treasure. A prophet may have no honor in his hometown, but that doesn’t change the fact that, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7, NIV).
Oh, and one more thing. Let’s look at other believers as people full of God’s treasure instead of acting surprised when they come up with a good idea or an amazing insight into the Scriptures. Believers should recognize believers as people worth knowing and spending time with, people who have a close relationship with the Creator.
How have you misjudged God’s people and avoided giving them the honor they deserve?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Honor Your Prophets
ALL – Psalm 18:16-36
ALL – Proverbs 4:7-10
OT – Genesis 42:18-43:34
NT – Matthew 13:47-14:12
Familiarity breeds contempt, right? It certainly did for Jesus:
When Jesus had finished giving these illustrations, he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.
“How is this possible?” the people exclaimed. “He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. And his sisters—they all live here. How can he be so great?” And they became angry with him.
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people.” – Matthew 13:53-57, The Living Bible
How often in our churches across the country do we look at the elders who have matured within our churches as second-class elders, but look at those who matured in other communities with special respect? We often hire pastors we don’t know (yes, I’m included), and set them in positions of authority and honor above men older, wiser, godlier, and more mature than they are. Even as Christians, we often perceive those from our own communities as “common” and those from outside as “special.”
As one of these outsider-pastors, I’d like to take a moment to urge Christians across the country and across the world to honor their home-town elders. These men are just as wonderful and godly and honorable as the men like me who are brought in from outside your communities to serve Christ. Some of you honor such men more than outsiders, because you’ve seen Christ grow and transform them over the years, and you know His hand is on them. But some of you honor such men less than outsiders because you feel familiar with them and, like the town of Nazareth, you’re offended that someone you know so well would be honored so highly. As Christians, let’s stop taking offense at our elders who serve Jesus Christ so faithfully. Instead, let’s be encouraged that Jesus Christ can take people just like us and turn us into His useful, honorable prophets. Let’s respect our home-grown church leaders.
Describe one of your home-town church leaders, someone you admire, respect and trust.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 4:7-10
OT – Genesis 42:18-43:34
NT – Matthew 13:47-14:12
Familiarity breeds contempt, right? It certainly did for Jesus:
When Jesus had finished giving these illustrations, he returned to his hometown, Nazareth in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue and astonished everyone with his wisdom and his miracles.
“How is this possible?” the people exclaimed. “He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary his mother and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. And his sisters—they all live here. How can he be so great?” And they became angry with him.
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people.” – Matthew 13:53-57, The Living Bible
How often in our churches across the country do we look at the elders who have matured within our churches as second-class elders, but look at those who matured in other communities with special respect? We often hire pastors we don’t know (yes, I’m included), and set them in positions of authority and honor above men older, wiser, godlier, and more mature than they are. Even as Christians, we often perceive those from our own communities as “common” and those from outside as “special.”
As one of these outsider-pastors, I’d like to take a moment to urge Christians across the country and across the world to honor their home-town elders. These men are just as wonderful and godly and honorable as the men like me who are brought in from outside your communities to serve Christ. Some of you honor such men more than outsiders, because you’ve seen Christ grow and transform them over the years, and you know His hand is on them. But some of you honor such men less than outsiders because you feel familiar with them and, like the town of Nazareth, you’re offended that someone you know so well would be honored so highly. As Christians, let’s stop taking offense at our elders who serve Jesus Christ so faithfully. Instead, let’s be encouraged that Jesus Christ can take people just like us and turn us into His useful, honorable prophets. Let’s respect our home-grown church leaders.
Describe one of your home-town church leaders, someone you admire, respect and trust.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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