Matthew 1-2 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Matthew 1:1-2:23.

“…and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar…and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab…And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…” (Matthew 1:3-6).

Wow! Look at Jesus’ family. They are messed up. Tamar pretended to be a harlot to be impregnated by her disobedient father-in-law. Salmon married a harlot. David committed adultery, murder, and wife-mulitplying, then had a child by the woman of the man he murdered. This is where Jesus came from? Really?

Maybe something good can come from my family too.

I am comforted today. If God could make a silk purse out of the sow’s ear of Jesus’ family, then God can do great things through me and my family as well. I don’t have to despair because we aren’t good enough or like someone else’s family. The great issue is not how great my family is but how great my God is. That’s where I’m going to rest today.

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.

Romans 7-8 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Romans 7:1-8:39.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).

For some reason, I keep thinking I need to save myself. I want the reins of my life. I want to be the one in control. I need to get it all fixed and then bring it to God to show how pleased He can be with me. And I wonder why I continue to be covered up with stress, anxiety, and then wander back into sin. It’s like I want to be able to say to God, “What then shall you say to these things? If I’m for You, God, does it matter who else is against You?” I need to see that this is getting everything backwards.

Instead, God is for me. Who can be against me? Satan wants me to believe that my mistakes mean God is against me. He’s not. He is for me. He is so for me, He sent Jesus to die for me. If He did that, how will He not give me all I need to overcome? I simply have to let go of my control and grant Him control. I have to trust Him. When I do, then I start to have peace and joy.

I have a choice today. I can either focus on how bad I mess things up or I can focus on how powerful God is to fix things? The first leads to despair and sin; the second leads to peace and victory. Today, I want to focus on God and His power to fix things. How about you?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. The struggle with these two chapters is they are my two favorites, jam-packed with all kinds of helpful stuff to me. I return to these chapters over and over again. It was hard to pick just one thing to talk about . So, what struck you in today’s reading? I know something had to impact you on than what I mentioned. 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 27-28 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 27:1-28:31.

“And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier that guarded him” (Acts 28:16).

From one capital to another. The gospel started in Jerusalem, the capital of a backwater district of malcontents that were always causing the Romans problems. By the end of Acts it is in Rome. By the time Paul got there, Christ had already arrived. There were brethren there to visit him and uplift him.

I can’t help but think if God could do that with the gospel in the Middle East and Europe, He can do that with the Gospel here in Brownsburg, Indiana. He can do that with the gospel wherever you are. Why did this happen? Sure, Paul was a great preacher and a world traveler. But the real power behind this success was God.

Today, I need to remember that the Gospel can have success, not because I’m the messenger. The Gospel can have success because God is the power behind it. I need to rely on Him today and let Him be the leader that gets the Gospel spread where I live. I’m just His servant, doing what He says, going where He sends.

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.

Today’s reading is Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

I love Ephesians. There are so many things that jump out at me as I read this book. These first two chapters are no exception. However, I’m only going to comment on two of them for the sake of your time.

First, I am really struck by Ephesians 1:15-16:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…

Paul gave thanks because of their faith in Jesus and their love toward the saints. Today, I need to work on both of those. I need to increase my faith in Jesus. I don’t need to increase His faith in me. I don’t need to spend my time trying to convince Him that He can trust me to always do what is right. I need to increase my faith in Him and through that, I’ll have the righteousness He gives. I also need to work on my love toward the saints. Again, I don’t need to focus on getting them to love me. I don’t need to walk around as a people pleaser trying to get them to like me or appreciate me. Instead, I need to work on genuine love and service. I need to work on treating others the way they want to be treated because it is right, not because they’ll like me for it. 

When I work on my faith in Jesus and my love toward the saints, then I become a person others can be thankful for.

Second, I am also struck by Ephesians 1:17-19:

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…

In Paul’s prayer, I learn what I need to be praying for me and for you. Neither of us have all wisdom and insight. Rather, I need to pray that we may be granted wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. We often wander in darkness and are so blind we don’t even know it. I need to pray that our hearts may be enlightened. Too often, we walk in despair. We get distracted by what is going on in the world and forget what Christ has done for us and what He is planning for us in the next. I need to pray that we may know the hope Christ is offering us that conquers our sadness and despair. We sometimes forget that this life isn’t really about this life. This life is not about having the best job, the biggest house, the nicest cars, the most comfortable clothes. This life is about what comes next. I need to pray that we can keep our eyes focused on the inheritance of true riches that Jesus has waiting for us. Sometimes, we begin to think it is not possible that we’ll make it. We mess up so much we just aren’t sure how God could possibly save us. I need to pray that we be kept by God’s power and also pray that we’ll know God’s power that we might have confidence in Him that we will make it, not because of our strength but because of His power. His power is so immense He raised Jesus from the dead and sat Him in the heavenly places above all things.

This needs to be my prayer today for both you and me. I hope you can join me in this prayer.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 11:1-12:25.

I don’t have much to say today. However, I’m extremely motivated by the story of Peter’s release. I simply cannot help but learn from this if God could deliver Peter from the hands of Herod and the evil intent of the Jews against him, He can deliver me from Satan and sin. If God can unbind the shackles, walk past the guards, and open the gates for Peter as he walked out of the prison, the God can unbind my shackles of sin and guilt, march me past Satan, and open the gates to the kingdom of heaven for me.

Some days I find it hard to believe this. That is why I’m glad this story is here. It is a reminder to me that I serve a powerful God who in His time and in His way will set me free, providing me progressive victory over sin and Satan. Sometimes there are victories and I sit there like Peter saying, “Wow, I can now see how God delivered me.” It really is amazing to see God work in our lives, setting us free. 

No matter what you are facing today, rely on God. He is the only one who can set you free.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

The very last sentence of today’s reading caught my attention.

The 24 elders around the throne cast down their golden crowns and worship God saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

Why is God worthy of glory, honor, and power? Because He created all things. He did not evolve all things. He did not set the plan in motion and the world naturally produced all things. He created all things. 

I am becoming increasingly convinced that a new battle is waging between the world and Christ’s people. It is an old battle, but it seems in the past few years to have reached a new intensity. Sadly, some want to characterize it as a battle between science and faith. That just isn’t true. It is a battle between two systems of faith. One is a faith that the universe is governed by random chances. The other is a faith that the universe is governed by an all-powerfully intelligent being. 

Regrettably, some who believe in the all-powerfully intelligent being are wanting to please both sides. They want to be seen as people who believe in God, but also people who believe in evolution. Richard Dawkins and I agree on one thing. You can’t have it both ways. If God guided what is here, then it didn’t get here by natural selection. If natural selection is the mechanism by which all of life is here, then it wasn’t God. You just can’t have both.

Revelation 4:11 demonstrates the importance for the Christian believing in God’s creative power. It is that belief that promotes worship. It is that belief that promotes submission. To the degree that we lose faith in God’s creative power and work and increase faith in the randomness of the universe, we’ll diminish our worship of God. 

After all, if God didn’t create all of this by His own power, of what worship is He worthy?

God is the creator. Everything is here because of God. Be amazed at His handiwork and how it is perfectly suited for you and me to exist and continue existing. Don’t give honor to the random chance of the universe. Honor God, casting down your crown. Worship Him.

***Question: How do you honor God on a daily basis?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is Matthew 15:1-16:28.

Today, when the disciples were rebuked by Jesus for not understanding His statement about the leaven of the Pharisees, I was struck by something. Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how may baskets you gathered? Or the seen loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:8-11).

I sometimes read this story thinking, “Had I been there, I would have gotten it. I mean, come on guys, He had just fed the four thousand in the last chapter. How on earth could they miss this?” However, how many times in my own life do I do the exact same thing? I get worried and stressed about how we’re going to make it through the month. I get worried and stressed about how we’re going to live through retirement. I get worried about how things are going to work out over some problem in the congregation. I get worried and stressed about some relationship.

What do I do in those moments? Do I say, “God is in control”? Do I say, “I just need to submit to God, He can work everything out if I’ll just do what He says”? No. I usually begin to try to manipulate and control things so they will work out the way I want. Do you know what happens then? I usually just get more stressed because I can’t control everything.

While the point in my life is a bit different than the one Jesus was making to the apostles, I think there is a point to be made here. Jesus was able to feed five thousand with five loaves. Jesus was able to feed four thousand with seven loaves. If Jesus was able to do that, I can trust Him to take care of and provide for me. I don’t need to be in control. I need to simply spend more time in God’s word being reminded of what God has done and what God is doing. I don’t have to get stressed out about what I’m going to do. I simply need to relax, trust God, and do what He says. He’ll take care of me. That is how powerful He is.

***Question: How do you increase your trust in God?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

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?

I can’t read Ephesians 3-4 without being drawn to Ephesians 3:20-21:

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (ESV).

God can do what we ask or think. Not only that, He can do all that we ask or think. Not only that, He can do more than all that we ask or think. Not only that, He can do more abundantly than all we ask or think. Not only that, He can do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. This doesn’t say He will do anything we ask or think. It simply says He can. There is no request that challenges God. There is nothing that causes God to have a V8 moment, saying, “Whoa, I don’t know about that one, that’s tough.”

But did you also notice that this is through the power working in us? This is not something He does in spite of us. This is not something He does without us. This is something He does through us. If we are surrendering to Him, He can do amazing things through us. Surely the miracles of the apostles recorded in Scripture give us at least a picture that God can do amazing things through us when He wants. You and I may just be plain ol’ Jane and John Doe, but our God is not plain. He is powerful and He can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think by the

 power at work within us.

What does this mean? It means we need to start thinking and asking. We need to get in God’s word and figure out what He wants and start asking for it. Start asking for Him to do it through us. But more than that, we need to think and ask big. I’m not saying trying to test God. I’m just saying let’s rely on God. Let’s have faith in the God who can do beyond what we are asking, so let’s ask Him do to even more.

What a great God we serve.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC