Acts 17-18 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 17:1-18:28.

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24-25).

Why should I serve God today? I don’t need to serve God today as if He needs whatever it is I can offer. He made me. What can I possibly give to Him that He can’t do for Himself. No. I need to serve God today because I need what He has to offer me through that service. I need to serve Him today because He deserves that service because of what He has already given me. I’m breathing today because of Him. I’m living today because of Him. Every blessing comes from Him.

On the days that I grasp that, my service is real and my connection to Him deep. When I’m trying to impress Him with my service or compete with others as if I’m giving Him more, then the connection starts to sever. God doesn’t need me. I need Him. So, today, I’m going to serve Him.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Acts 11-12 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 11:1-12:25.

“And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’ But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, ‘It is his angel!’ But peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed” (Acts 12:13-16).

I don’t think, as some do, that these people lacked faith in God’s ability to grant their requests for Peter’s freedom. Rather, I believe they simply placed God in a box. If He would release Peter, it would be by something like getting Herod to change his mind and deciding to set him free. It simply didn’t occur to them that God would defy natural order and let Peter walk through locked gates and walls to escape under the very nose of Herod.

The point then is not to pray with faith, though that is necessary. The point is to never assume God will say, “Yes,” the way we expect. Don’t put God in a box. Take your requests to Him and let Him answer the way He wants. He will amaze you.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Luke 19-20 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Luke 19:1-20:47.

“Beware the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts…” (Luke 20:46).

I needed to read this today. I understand that a scribe in this context was a copyer and student of the Law. But I can’t help also think about writers today. Namely, me.

Really it was a great thing to be a scribe. They were preserving and passing on God’s law for the present and coming generations. Scribes were needed. However, apparently many of the scribes lost sight of their purpose. Instead of glorifying God, they just wanted glory. They wanted to be noticed, so they wore special clothes. They wanted to be known, so they loved greetings. They wanted to be honored, so they longed for the best seats at the feasts. Being a scribe had ceased to be about God and begun to be about them.

I love to write. I love doing this blog, my other blog, and posting sermons on my congregation’s page. I love writing books. But there is a danger (and I’m sure it can be present in any profession). Why are we blogging? Why are we writing? Why are we preaching? Do we do it to be well-known? To receive credit for our own greatness, cleverness, wit, ability? Do we long to receive the greetings when we walk into a congregation’s assembly? Do we hope to be the one asked to lead the prayer? Do we seek the places of honor?

Writers, beware the danger. Readers, beware the writers whose writing is about them and not about God.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can give your input by clicking here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is Revelation 3:1-4:11.

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne…” (Revelation 4:9-10).

God is worthy. I’m not. He deserves glory. I don’t.

Whatever I carry and wear that I think represents my own worthiness and glory needs to be cast down in the presence of the almighty God. I must not come into God’s presence trying to impress Him with my supposed royalty. I must come into His presence supremely impressed and humbled by His.

Only when I get this perspective straight can I pray and worship as I need to, humbling myself before and surrendering myself to God, my only hope.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is John 11:1-12:50.

“For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment–what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me” (John 12:49-50).

Imagine that. Jesus, God in the flesh, God the Son, incarnate deity, would not speak on His own authority. That is,  unless He had authority from the Father, He did not speak. He did not go out on a limb saying, “The Father is silent about this, I will speak.” He did not cross the Father saying, “The Father has spoken against this, but I will speak for it.” He did not say, “The Father has spoken for this, but I will speak against it.” He spoke only what the Father authorized.

How much more should we?

But why?

Because what the Father has authorized is eternal life. Jesus was not trying to be legalistic here. He was simply recognizing that what the Father had taught and said was the way that worked for those who wanted eternal life. When we go out on our own authority that won’t lead to life. That way leads to death. God’s way works. Ours does not.

Today, I want to simply speak where God speaks and be silent where God is silent. I don’t want to step out on my own authority. I want to be like Jesus.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Timothy 4:1-5:25.

“For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Why can I strive and toil today? Because my hope isn’t based on my striving and toiling. If it was, I’d be in trouble. But, my hope is set on the living God. He is the Savior of all who will be saved. He has the ability to save. He has the love to save. He has the plan to save. He wants to save me. He will save those who believe.

Because he is worthy of my hope, I can do my part today by striving and toiling for Him. I know that through His power, my striving and toiling will actually accomplish something. I know that He will accomplish something in me and through me.

Today, I want to focus on godliness, reverence toward God, because I know by God’s power it will actually be helpful to my eternity.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 25:1-26:75.

“And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:22-23).

The two talent man is my hero in this story. Obviously, the one talent man bombed. Certainly, the five talent man accomplished more. But the two talent man accomplished real victory. Instead of whining because he didn’t have has much as the five talent man, he just did his work. Instead of cowering in fear because he hadn’t accomplished as much as the five talent man, he just offered his work to God. He didn’t vaunt himself above the one talent man for doing better. He simply did his job.

Who knows where I sit in the spectrum of talents God has granted all his children. Perhaps there are some with less than me. That doesn’t make me better than them. No doubt, there are many with more than me. That doesn’t make them better. This just means we are different. This gives me hope. I don’t have to be better than you today. I only have to use what God has given me to bear fruit for his glory.

Today, I’m going to quit looking around at what everyone else is doing or getting. I’m simply going to look up and see how I can glorify God.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 19:1-20:34.

“He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father’” (Matthew 20:23).

I once heard someone share, and have often repeated since, the two greatest lessons I’ve ever learned is 1) There is a God and 2) I’m not Him. What that means for me is I need to let God do His job while I focus on mine instead of trying to do God’s job. Jesus sets the perfect example for me. He understood that even though He is God, He is not the Father. The Father has His job; Jesus has his. Jesus wasn’t about to try to do the Father’s job. He was only going to focus on what the Father had given Him to do.

My life goes so much easier when I don’t try to do God’s job. When I quit trying to make sure the world runs according to my plans and instead simply work on doing the next right thing, I have so much more peace.

Today, I’m just going to do my job, the next right thing, I’ll let God do His job of handling the outcomes.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8).

I needed to hear that. How easy it is as a preacher to get caught up in competing with other preachers, especially if we have worked with the same congregation at some time. We each may want to be the favored. We may get upset if someone likes another preacher better. We may get jealous based on the results of each man’s labor. But we are all just servants. We are each doing our own work. And the work we are doing is what the Lord has given opportunity for.

Paul laid a foundation. Apollos was building on it. But neither of them were better than the other because neither of them could actually cause growth anyway. Only God causes growth. Instead of competing with other workers in the vineyard, today I must simply pursue the opportunities God has given me. That’s my job. His job is growth and I’ll leave that up to Him.

Why compete? God is the one who does the hard work. I’ll just pray for opportunities to glorify him today in my life and in the life of my fellow workers.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Mark 11:1-12:44.

“And they brought one. and he said to them, ‘whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him” (Mark 12:16-17).

The denarius was Caesar’s because it had his likeness on it. If I want to know what is God’s, I must discover what has His likeness on it. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Where do I find God’s image inscribed? Not on 10% of my income or possessions. I find God’s image inscribed on me.

I may render taxes to the government. I must render me to God. When I give myself to God, the issues of money, behavior, allegiance, service, relationships, will follow naturally.

I must give myself to God today. Everything else will take care of itself.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?