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.

Much Has Been Given!

ALL – Psalm 27:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 20:20-21
OT – 2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23
NT – 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 1:7, The Living Bible

Thought: Sometimes it feels like we just get loaded down when we come to church. You know what I’m talking about. We’re grateful that Jesus died for our sins, don’t get me wrong. But Jesus’ call to holy living sometimes seems overwhelming. Even though we’ve been saved from our sins, avoiding them isn’t always easy.

Today it’s time for some encouragement! Jesus’ goal isn’t to drain you of every last drop of life, to squeeze every last ounce of goodness out of you like orange juice from an orange, leaving you crushed and worthless. Jesus came to give you life! To fill you! He not only died to free you from sins, but He ascended to heaven to pour out His Holy Spirit into your life! God Himself is filling you! He is filling you with strength, with His thoughts and words, with holiness and righteousness, with new motives! God is infinite, so His Holy Spirit will never stop supplying your every need!

Some of you may hear this the wrong way. You may think, “Oh, Matt’s just telling me I have no excuse for feeling exhausted, discouraged, worn out and fed up. He wants me to get up and work harder.” That’s not what I’m saying. If you’re exhausted, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-burdened, and I will give you rest.” If you’re overwhelmed, spend some significant time with Jesus. See if you can lay other expectations aside for a few hours, or a day, and go to the King who wants to fill you with His riches. I’m saying to take a break. But I’m not advocating the kind of break many people are tempted to take. They step back from serving Jesus and His church because they’re exhausted, but they seek to be refreshed only via the world’s ways: sleep, food, entertainment, lounging. These things can be gifts from Jesus, so go ahead and receive them during your break. But make sure that you spend significant time with Jesus, too. One on one. Praying. Reading or listening to His Word. Being refreshed by godly songs. Unless you spend time being refreshed by Jesus, you’ll never find the motivation you need to stop taking your break. Only when you are receiving Jesus’ blessings can you be ready to share them. If you’re empty, stop trying to share what you don’t have. Go to Jesus and be filled up with His life. Then, once you and Jesus agree that you’re ready, come back to the harvest field singing and refreshed.

Question: Have you been working to the point of exhaustion? What would it take to get some time to spend alone with Jesus? Or perhaps you’re taking a break. Have you been taking that break with Jesus, or without Him? How can you re-work your time to receive the rejuvenation that Jesus gives us by His Spirit?

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

Learn What You Need

ALL – Psalm 130:1-8
ALL – Proverbs 17:2-3
OT – 1 Kings 9:1-10:29
NT – Acts 8:14-40

Interesting passage for the day: As soon as they (Peter and John) arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, for as yet he had not come upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. – Acts 8:15-16, The Living Bible

Thought: One important reason that Peter and John came to Samaria was so that Jewish believers were participants in the Holy Spirit’s coming upon the Samarian believers, keeping the church united. But what if there’s another reason? What if the Samarian believers were only baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (rather than the names of the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit) because the Lord Jesus is the only member of the Trinity they had been taught to trust in? Perhaps they had been taught the good news that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and the son of man who died on the cross to pay the penalty for their sins, but what if they hadn’t been taught that Jesus pours out His Holy Spirit on His people? What if part of Peter and John’s trip was to complete the good news by sharing how Jesus provides the Holy Spirit so that we can not only be forgiven for our sins, but can live in righteousness even now? If that’s the case (and I’m not saying it is, but it could be), then it could be that sometimes believers who have access to God’s blessings in reality don’t receive His blessings because they don’t know to ask God for them. We need to learn (and teach) the whole truth of the Bible so that we may ask the Father for all the help He’s willing to give us as we serve Him in this world.

Question: Have you stopped trying to learn more about God, leaving that for the “more spiritual” people you know? What ways do you struggle that you might not have to struggle if you found out what God offers you and asked Him for it?

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