ALL – Psalm 106:13-31
ALL – Proverbs 14:32-33
OT – 1 Samuel 5:1-7:17
NT – John 6:1-21
Interesting passage for the day: (He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.) – John 6:6, The Living Bible
Thought: Remember when Jesus fed the 5000? This verse came right before that miracle, when Jesus asked Philip where to buy bread for all the people there. Can you imagine how much Jesus must have stressed Philip out by making Philip think He expected him to be responsible for all these people? Philip didn’t want that kind of responsibility. And Jesus never intended for Philip to carry it alone. But Philip’s response was not a response of faith; his response demonstrated that he was still trying to handle life’s challenges in his own strength. Principle: When a challenge comes our way, perhaps (or more than perhaps) it’s a test from God—NOT to see whether we can handle the challenge on our own, but to see whether we’ll respond in faith by asking God to lead us.
Question: What is your response to the thought that some of the burdens you’re trying to carrying are burdens that God intended you to trust Him with? How would seeking His help make a difference?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
The rest of the week's readings:
May 10, 2010
ALL – Psalm 106:32-48
ALL – Proverbs 14:34-35
OT – 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27
NT – John 6:22-42
May 11, 2010
ALL – Psalm 107:1-43
ALL – Proverbs 15:1-3
OT – 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15
NT – John 6:43-71
May 12, 2010
ALL – Psalm 108:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 15:4
OT – 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23
NT – John 7:1-30
May 13, 2010
ALL – Psalm 109:1-31
ALL – Proverbs 15:5-7
OT – 1 Samuel 14:1-52
NT – John 7:31-53
May 14, 2010
ALL – Psalm 110:1-7
ALL – Proverbs 15:8-10
OT – 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
NT – John 8:1-20
May 15, 2010
ALL – Psalm 111:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 15:11
OT – 1 Samuel 17:1-18:4
NT – John 8:21-30
May 16, 2010
ALL – Psalm 112:1-10
ALL – Proverbs 15:12-14
OT – 1 Samuel 18:5-19:24
NT – John 8:31-59
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Giving Up on God
ALL – Psalm 76:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 12:15-17
OT – Deuteronomy 26:1-27:28
NT – Luke 10:38-11:13
“Prayer doesn’t work.”
“God doesn’t care.”
“I’ve tried asking God. Nothing happened.”
We get discouraged so easily. So quickly. We think prayer’s supposed to be like a magic charm that creates good luck, a silver bullet that knocks our problems out of our lives. We’re like my daughter, who is convinced that she ought to get whatever she wants so long as she says, “Please.” So when we ask God for something, and we ask nicely, and nothing comes, we give up on prayer. Really, we give up on God.
Jesus taught His disciples not to give up. Encouraging His disciples to imagine being a man who needed bread for a guest, Jesus described this man going to his friend for help—in the middle of the night. The friend responded as most of us would in the middle of the night: “This can wait until morning. You’re a friend, but this is ridiculous! Goodnight.” But that wasn’t the end of Jesus’ parable:
But I’ll tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. – Luke 11:8-9, The Living Bible
God isn’t just our buddy in the sky. He’s not an instant-gratification coin slot—put in a prayer, out comes a prize. He’s not to be taken advantage of. He won’t put up with it. He wants US, not just our prayers. And He’s willing to require persistence of us to find out whether we’re really after Him or just after His blessings. Of course, since God knows our hearts, our persistence is required more to reveal our hearts to ourselves than to Him.
But persistence is one of the marks of a true relationship, a true love. Those of us who pray quick trial prayers to “see what happens” demonstrate our lack of faith; such people think, “God probably won’t do anything, but it’s worth a shot.” Persistence in prayer is a mark of faith, because by persisting in the face of a seemingly unresponsive God we demonstrate how fully we know that we need Him. We will not turn elsewhere in vain efforts to control our lives; our lives are fully in His hands, and we’ll leave them there. That’s what persistence in prayer says. And God responds to our persistence. “Keep on asking and you will keep on getting.”
Have you given up on finding God’s help in your time of need? Have you prayed only once? Return to God in prayer over and over. Place your needs and desires in His hands. Trust Him. He’s faithful and good.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 12:15-17
OT – Deuteronomy 26:1-27:28
NT – Luke 10:38-11:13
“Prayer doesn’t work.”
“God doesn’t care.”
“I’ve tried asking God. Nothing happened.”
We get discouraged so easily. So quickly. We think prayer’s supposed to be like a magic charm that creates good luck, a silver bullet that knocks our problems out of our lives. We’re like my daughter, who is convinced that she ought to get whatever she wants so long as she says, “Please.” So when we ask God for something, and we ask nicely, and nothing comes, we give up on prayer. Really, we give up on God.
Jesus taught His disciples not to give up. Encouraging His disciples to imagine being a man who needed bread for a guest, Jesus described this man going to his friend for help—in the middle of the night. The friend responded as most of us would in the middle of the night: “This can wait until morning. You’re a friend, but this is ridiculous! Goodnight.” But that wasn’t the end of Jesus’ parable:
But I’ll tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. – Luke 11:8-9, The Living Bible
God isn’t just our buddy in the sky. He’s not an instant-gratification coin slot—put in a prayer, out comes a prize. He’s not to be taken advantage of. He won’t put up with it. He wants US, not just our prayers. And He’s willing to require persistence of us to find out whether we’re really after Him or just after His blessings. Of course, since God knows our hearts, our persistence is required more to reveal our hearts to ourselves than to Him.
But persistence is one of the marks of a true relationship, a true love. Those of us who pray quick trial prayers to “see what happens” demonstrate our lack of faith; such people think, “God probably won’t do anything, but it’s worth a shot.” Persistence in prayer is a mark of faith, because by persisting in the face of a seemingly unresponsive God we demonstrate how fully we know that we need Him. We will not turn elsewhere in vain efforts to control our lives; our lives are fully in His hands, and we’ll leave them there. That’s what persistence in prayer says. And God responds to our persistence. “Keep on asking and you will keep on getting.”
Have you given up on finding God’s help in your time of need? Have you prayed only once? Return to God in prayer over and over. Place your needs and desires in His hands. Trust Him. He’s faithful and good.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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