Hebrews 3-4 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Hebrews 3:1-4:16.

“For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened” (Hebrews 4:2).

In the Old Testament, we read of those who rebelled against Moses and through that against God. We learn of those who wandered in the wilderness and died on their way to the Promised Land. But why? Why did they miss out on the blessings God had promised? God wanted to bless them. God planned to bless them. Did God somehow fail?

No.

Rather, they heard God’s Word. They listened to God’s promises. They simply didn’t believe them. Because their hearing was not coupled with faith they did not pursue God’s plans. Because they did not pursue God’s plans, they missed out on God’s promised blessings.

We need to take heed of this. The gospel has been given into our hands. It is filled with wonderful promises for each of us. However, the blessings it promises are not universally applied. Only a select few will actually enjoy these blessings that God has promised everyone. What is the distinction? Is it about race? gender? class? education? No. It is about faith. Only those who couple their hearing with faith will enjoy God’s blessings because only those who couple their hearing with faith will pursue God’s plan to accomplish that blessing.

Today, I need to increase my faith. God’s way really does work. The more I believe it, the more I’ll live it. The more I’ll enjoy the blessings He offers.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading? Click the following link to add your input: Post a comment.

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

Mark 5-6 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Mark 5:1-6:56.

“And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region” (Mark 5:16-17).

Wow! This is too much like me some of the time. Here they were looking at an obvious miracle. A man had been cleansed of a demon. He had been crazy and destructive. Now he is clothed and in his right mind. But all these people can see is the missing pigs. Instead of being able to see the good Jesus could do for them, they could only see the sacrifice they had to make for this great blessing. Sadly, they decided to hang on to the rest of their pigs rather than let Jesus continue to be a blessing in their society.

That is where I am too often. I know there is blessing in time in the Word, time in prayer, time in discussion with others, time in sharing with others, but too often all I can see is the tv shows I’ll miss, the games I won’t play, the alone time I won’t get, etc. I too often choose the empty, wasted, worthless pigs in my life rather than Jesus who can provide real blessing.

Interestingly, this is the only place where Jesus told a man to tell everyone what God had done for Him. I’m thankful that Jesus continues to leave a reminder for me. The key for me is to take that reminder.

So, today, I want to choose Jesus and not the pigs. (By the way, this is Gentile country, so the pigs do not necessarily represent something that is always bad. I’m not saying I’m never going to watch tv or play games again, just saying I need to keep it in perspective.)

What will you choose today?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click here to add your input.

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

Luke 13-14 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Luke 13:1-14:35.

“He said also to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just’” (Luke 14:12-14).

Too often we develop relationships to get something in return. We are willing to serve, but only when we think someone will return the favor. We give gifts in hopes to receive gifts. We offer hospitality in hopes to receive hospitality. We extend friendship in hopes to get something out of the friendship. Jesus suggests a different course.

Certainly this is hyperbole. Jesus is not absolutely opposed to inviting friends over for a get together. After all, we consider the feast that Levi held for a large number of his tax collector friends back in Luke 5:29. But, we must not think the hyperbole here lets us off the hook. To whom do we extend our friendship? Who do we serve? Why do we do these things? Are other people a source of something for us? Or are we offering ourselves in complete service? Are we looking for some immediate and present day reward or recognition?

How much serving do we do for those who can’t possibly repay us? How much volunteering do we do for which we will not ever get paid and never receive notice? We’ve all learned it is more blessed to give than to receive. But Jesus here points out that even more blessed is giving when there is no possible way to receive repayment. Why? Because God will repay us in the resurrection.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can leave your comment 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 13:1-14:20.

Perhaps because of my Granddad’s recent death, I’m struck by Revelation 14:13. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”

For God’s child, meeting death is not frightening as it seems to most. Death is not a mystery. It is a door into eternity with the God we’ve been glorifying in our lives. It is the opportunity to be able to fully accomplish what we’ve been desperately striving to do in this life. We will be taken to paradise and then on to heaven at the judgment. In those arenas, we will gather around the throne of God and glorify Him with our incorruptible bodies, our new voices, and our perfect unity. 

I also can’t help but notice it says then we’ll rest from our labors. That means it is not time to rest from my labor today. Today, while I still have breath, I need to labor for the Lord. A rest is coming. It will be a glorious rest. But to prepare for that rest I need to labor now.

Let’s get to work for the Lord today.

***Question: What do you do to labor for the Lord each day?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

II Corinthians 9:8-12 (ESV)

God has not blessed me so I can hoard what I have been given. Certainly, as Ecclesiastes taught, I am allowed to enjoy my blessings. But, I must remember that the main reason for which God has blessed me is so I may be a blessing to others. 

This is not the health and wealth gospel that performs good deeds selfishly only to receive more. No. This is the true gospel that points out God entrusts more to those with whom He can actually trust more. So often, we want and want and do not have because we only want for ourselves. We will be amazed how much God will bless us if we simply become channels for blessings to others. 

Of course, when I am not selfishly concerned about what I have and only about how I can help others, if God is not blessing me with something, I’m still content. The question is not how much I have, but how am I helping others.

I know this is tough to remember when every newspaper and television show is warning us that the sky is about to fall in financially. But this is God’s will for us no matter what our nation’s economy.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

The Bible stories are not written to merely convey history. These are our stories. Of course, they are about other people, but they are about us. For instance, in today’s reading, I learned about an unclean woman who had a discharge of blood (today it is known as menorrhagia). Though she was unclean, though the crowds pressed in, though an official was waiting, Jesus not only healed the woman, but took time to comfort her. Let me share with you the lessons I learn for me from this story.

Lesson 1: The worldly physicians will not help me.

First, let me say that the parallel here is not about physical illness. If you are sick, go see a doctor. The parallel for us is our spiritual illness. We can gain all kinds of advice from pop psychology, the guys in the locker room and the girlfriends around the water cooler. Their advice will cause us to suffer much and drain us of our resources. Only Jesus can really help us.

Lesson 2: The crowds will not distract Jesus from me.

When Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?” the disciples were amazed. They pointed out the great crowds and thought it was silly to try to figure out who among those crowds had actually touched Him. Despite the crowds, however, Jesus knew exactly who it was and He wanted to take individual time with her. As I write this, a hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast. Thousands of people are praying that God do something about that (as I am also). However, with that kind of thing happening I can easily think the problems I’m facing directly will never make it to God because He is so busy dealing with those other prayers. But Jesus demonstrates that He has time for me, even in the midst of the crowd.

Lesson 3: The officials will not supersede me.

Jesus was talking to Jairus, an official of the synagogue. Additionally, this official was trying to hurry Jesus along. It is very easy for me to see everyone else as so much more important than me and so much better than me that Jesus would want to spend time helping them and not help me. But Jesus stopped His busy schedule with the important official to show compassion on this unclean woman. He will do the same for me.

Lesson 4: My uncleanness will not stop Jesus from blessing me.

Why wouldn’t the woman just go up to Jesus and ask for healing. So many others had? I can only imagine it was because she had 12 years of being trained in her uncleanness. According to the Law, everyone she touched became unclean. Everything she touched became unclean. Everyone who touched anything she touched became unclean. Why would this holy Rabbi want to heal someone so unclean? But He did. I must remember that Jesus is the great physician. He didn’t come to earth to rub elbows with other doctors. He came down to heal us of our uncleanness. Which leads to the next lesson I learn.

Lesson 5: Jesus wants me healed, whole and heading for heaven.

The most surprising part of this story for me is that the woman had been healed but was still afraid of Jesus. But again, I have to put myself in her shoes. Think about this, the Pharisees had developed their intricate rituals of washing because of people like this woman. They were afraid they may have accidentally touched some unclean person or something touched by an unclean person. After 12 years of that kind of treatment, it begins to take a toll on a person. She had no idea how such a holy person as Jesus might react. Would He berate and ridicule her for making Him unclean by touching Him? We know the answer. Of course not. In fact, Jesus, as the perfect man, was the exception to the rule. Because He was sinless the ritual uncleanness others needed to fear did not impact Him. In fact, because He was so holy, He made the unclean clean by His touch rather than being defiled by it. But back to the point at hand. This woman had nothing to fear. Jesus did not want to rebuke her for seeking healing. He wanted her to know that He wanted her healed. In like manner, He wants me healed. He wants me whole. He wants me going to heaven. He wants that so bad He came down here and died for it.

Lesson 6: Jesus will bless me on his timetable.

The woman suffered with this discharge for 12 years. God could have healed her at any time within those years. For me, if something last 12 days, I fall apart. I can’t imagine dealing with this kind of pain and illness for 12 years. In the end, however, God did bless this woman. I can only imagine that the reason God did it at this moment was because that was the moment this blessing most glorified Him and most benefited the woman. After all, had she merely been healed by one of the physicians 11 years earlier, we wouldn’t know her story would we? It is tough when I am in the midst of my trouble, but I need to have faith. God will bless me on His timetable.  I also need to have faith that when I rely on Him, if He doesn’t offer me the blessing I desperately want here, He has promised me the greatest blessing in the hereafter.

Lesson 7: Jesus expects me to act on my faith.

I can’t help but think of John 1:47-48, in which Jesus demonstrated that He saw Nathanael while he was lying under the fig tree. We have to understand that Jesus did not ask, “Who touched Me?” because He needed someone to tell Him. He already knew. He saw this woman while she was at home debating whether she would even try to find Him. He saw this woman as she stood on the edge of the crowd deciding if she should try to reach Him. He saw this woman as she dodged through the crowd and screwed up her courage to actually touch Him. Jesus saw all of this but did not heal her until she actually reached out and touched His garment. I must understand that the healing doesn’t come because I believe Jesus can heal me. The healing comes when I act on that faith and obey His word. James 2:14-26 makes that abundantly clear.

Jesus is amazing. Jesus does care. He cared about that unclean woman. He cares about me. He cares about you.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

p.s. If you would like to hear these lessons or read the full outline of the sermon I preached based on this passage. Click HERE.

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Luke 11:27-28 (ESV)

What was that woman saying? “I wish I had been lucky enough to have a Son like You! Your mom won the lottery of life.” Her cry mirrors what is so often inside me, the wish that better things had happened to me, the wish that something over which I had no control had dropped or would drop into my lap to make my life better. 

How many times have I wished I would get a big inheritance? How many times have I wished someone had educated me in certain issues when I was young? How many times have I wished I had been friends with someone who paved a path for me?

But what is Jesus’ response? “No, actually, blessing doesn’t come by something happening to you over which you have no control. Blessing comes by listening to God and doing what He says.” Of course, this is an ellipsis. That is, Jesus was not saying His mother was not blessed. The angel who announced the conception and birth of Jesus said to Mary, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28, ESV). Mary was blessed. Jesus’ point was not that Mary was not blessed at all but that there is a greater blessing reserved for those who hear His word and keep it.

Let’s quit wasting our time sitting on our backsides wishing for some blessing from the outside to fall into our laps. Instead, let’s start pursuing the blessing that God has promised us all if we will just open up His book, get into His Word and get His Word into us.

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Was anyone else struck by the irony of Jesus’ question in Luke 12:14, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” For some reason my first response when I read this verse today was, “Well, God did.” I’m sure there is a lesson in this ironic question. I’m just not sure what it is yet. Maybe you can fill me in.

What did you get out of today’s reading? Feel free to comment and let the world wide community know.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC