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Today’s reading is 1 Timothy 6:1-21; 2 Timothy 1:1-18.

“But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:8).

I spend too much of my time wondering when I will get to own an iPad, flat panel TV, the latest Mac, a car that doesn’t squeek or leak, a house with a playroom, an office, and a bed and bath for each family member. I want. I want. I want. In fact, I’m pretty sure it is more than want. I need these things. Then I get into entitlement and resentment. I cannot possibly grow in peace and joy when this is how I approach my life and material blessings.

However, I look at myself and notice that I am clothed. I have a full stomach from eating today. I even have a full fridge which means I’ll eat for the rest of today. I’m worried about tomorrow, but God has taken care of me today, which is the only day I really have. I should be content. God has given me more than enough. If I want to have peace, I need to spend more time today thanking God for what He has given me than complaining about what He hasn’t.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 16:1-24; 2 Corinthians 1:1-24.

“For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits” (1 Corinthians 16:7).

How often I forget the Lord in my plans. How often I want to figure out how my future is going to work out, what I’m going to do, what plans will be in place without taking the Lord into consideration. When I act like that, my plans fall flat. My life goes exceedingly better when I live by the Lord’s permission. When I recognize that I can go here and there, accomplish this and that only if the Lord wills, my life runs smoother, if only because I recognize a stronger and better hand is leading it. When I remember in my praying to seek His will above mine, to ask not simply for what I want but that God will give me the strength to accept and respond appropriately when He gives me what He wants, my life is more peaceful, if only because I have prepared the way to accept what comes from God’s hand instead of expecting God’s gifts to be what I want.

If the Lord permits. That will be my motto today. And if the Lord permits, we’ll read and comment on more of His word on Monday.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Philippians 1:1-2:30.

“…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

I can relax today. I don’t have to give myself ulcers worrying about how I’m ever going to be pleasing to God. I don’t have to fret that I’m just not ever going to be good enough for Him. He’s working on that. He is working in me both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Part of me wants to rebel against that. Part of me wants to say, “NO! I will do this.” But a very real part of me has come face to face with exactly how badly it goes when I am trying to do this. I have failed again and again and again. Today, instead of failing, I can just give up. That’s right. I can quit. I can surrender. I can admit I am powerless and only botch things myself, so I’ll just have to surrender my life to God and let Him be in control, simply doing what He says.

No, this doesn’t mean I sit on my backside and wait for the cosmic puppet master to pull my strings. It means I can have confidence to work out my salvation with fear and trembling. Why? Because God is working in me. It means all I have to do is learn God’s will and surrender to that. My job is simply to do the next right thing. God is working in me. I can trust that He will get me where I need to go if I simply surrender to Him today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Matthew 1:1-2:23.

There are actually quite a few lessons I get out of this genealogy. However, one of the greatest comes from the women the author went out of the way to include: Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. Since the great majority of the list is merely the paternal lines, why even mention those women? 

Tamar: the woman who pretended to be a harlot in order to have sex with Judah so she could raise up seed to her first husband, Er.

Rahab: the harlot who saved the Jewish spies who checked out Jericho.

Ruth: a Moabitess. That doesn’t mean much to us, but that said it all to the Jews. She wasn’t supposed to even be allowed in the assembly. Yet, here she is in the lineage of Jesus.

What’s the point with these? Because if God could use a Moabitess, a prostitute, and a woman who pretended to be a prostitute to have sex with her father-in-law, then He can use me as well. I don’t know how He’ll use me. He may go along with my dreams and visions. Then again, He may not. But, even with all my flaws, faults, defects, and sins, He can still use me.

Please, use me, Father. Use me in whatever way most glorifies You.

Keep the faith and keep reading, 

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 27:1-28:31.

Acts 27:43-44 is one of the greatest examples of the providence of God I have ever read. There were 276 people on Paul’s ship that went down and all survived. The Bible says, “He [the centurion] ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.”

WOW!

This wasn’t coincidence. This was God’s plan. In Acts 27:23-24, an angel told Paul everyone on the ship would survive. However, it wasn’t because of dumb luck or coincidence, but because of God. In God’s foreseeing care and guardianship over Paul, He granted everyone’s life on that ship. However, there is no miraculous work. The hand of God did not reach down from the heavens and lift the ship out of the water and rest it safely on dry land. Rather, those who could swim maintained their strength enough to get to dry land. Those who couldn’t were somehow able to find pieces of wood and float to the shore.

No doubt, the unbelievers were all amazed at their good fortune. How on earth could 276 people all survive a shipwreck? Paul and his fellow believers knew. God did it. He worked providentially.

We can trust God to care for us. I don’t know how He makes everything work, but I know He has promised to make everything work together for good in Romans 8:28. Things may be going smoothly or my life may feel like a shipwreck, but I know God is with me and cares for me. He will see me through. He can maintain my strength to get me to shore or He can find me some flotsam to float on. God will get me through. I just have to trust Him.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC

P.S. One of my shepherds also commented on Romans 8:28 in his brief article this week on the Franklin church’s website. Check it out.

P.P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading.

I spent the week of New Years in the emergency room and then confined to my house because I developed pneumonia. I have never been so sick in my life. As I have heard other people say, for a time I was so sick, I was afraid I was going to die. Then I was so sick, I was afraid I wouldn’t. I was miserable. 

To be honest, in times like that I wonder why on earth God let that happen. It messed up an opportunity I had to teach at another congregation. It certainly didn’t help my family finances. It hit while Marita’s dad was extremely sick and she had to leave to go be with him. 

Now that it is eight months behind me, I recognize it really wasn’t that bad. I can hardly imagine what it must be like for people to go through really, really difficult times–the loss of a job, break up of a family, sickness and death of a child. 

There is one passage in today’s reading that really struck me. It almost seems like a throw-away statement just tucked in there between the important stuff. But it really gave me some comfort.

“You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus…” (Galatians 4:13-14, ESV).

This passage doesn’t give a great number of details. However, it does claim the reason Paul ended up preaching in Galatia was because he got sick. Perhaps it was something with his eyes as the continuing verses suggest. However, I can imagine how I would have felt if I were Paul. Here I am traveling around, trying to do the will of God, spreading the Gospel and saving souls. Then God up and lets me get majorly sick. I’m so sick it messes up my travel and teaching plans.

In the moment of sickness, I might be pretty upset. However, from the perspective of the letter written later, we can see God’s bigger plan. I don’t know what Paul’s interrupted plans were. However, God apparently had plans for Paul to teach the Galatians. In addition to that, God had plans for Paul to eventually write this letter to them, which would be incorporated in Scripture to help all Christians of all time. None of that would have happened if God hadn’t let Paul get sick.

Therefore, I have to remember my God is powerful enough to use my bad times in a great and glorious way to accomplish His plans. It may mess up my plans, but His plans are better anyway. 

I’m not saying it will be easy to face tough times. I’m just saying this faith can get me through, knowing that God is with me and He will use whatever happens in a way that makes me better and accomplishes His glorious work.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC