Today’s reading is 1 Peter 3:1-4:19.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19).

Usually, when I suffer, I think God is picking on me. Why has He singled me out for this suffering, I wonder. The fact is God let’s me suffer because suffering helps me grow. Through suffering I can become more like Jesus who also suffered.

Instead of turning my back on God when I suffer, I instead need to turn into God. I need to entrust my soul to Him. He will care for me. He will work it all out for my good. I can trust Him. I can be like Jesus who while suffering on the cross said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Today, no matter what I suffer, I will commit my spirit into the Father’s hands. I will not put my life in my own hands. That only leads to failure and, ultimately, more suffering. God will take care of me.

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 Ephesians 1:1-2:22.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

What a thought! I am not my workmanship. I am God’s workmanship. Obviously, I’m making choices in my daily life. This doesn’t mean I’m nothing more than a puppet with God literally pulling the strings. But it does mean I’m not alone. It means I don’t have to direct the way for me to be all that God wants me to be, all that I want me to be.

God has created me in Christ Jesus to walk in His good works. But is His workmanship merely a moment in time switcheroo? Does Paul simply mean when I was baptized into Christ, God did some work but now He is sitting back hoping the switch took? I don’t think so. This verse means God is still working in me. He is providing me with progressive victory over sin and progressive victory in righteousness.

This doesn’t mean I sit on my backside and wait for God to pull the strings. But it does mean I can take comfort today that God is working in me. I am His workmanship and He is the Master Craftsman. He may not always work on my timetable, but He is working.

I think today, I’ll just surrender to God’s way. I’m pretty sure it works. And I’m pretty sure it will work on me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS. For those who haven’t seen it elsewhere, here is a great video from the Skit Guys about God working on us. Even if you have seen it, you may want to watch it again. Enjoy.

God’s Chisel by the Skit Guys

Here is the link for my e-mail subscribers: http://giveattentiontoreading.com/?p=1620

Today’s reading is Romans 13:1-14:23.

“The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:12-14).

I needed to read this today. Thank you, God, for the reminder. Some days are harder than others. Some days are fraught with temptation. Today is one of those days for me. I needed this reminder that my job today is not to make provision for the lusts of my flesh. Today, I need to put on Jesus Christ. I need to wear Him like clothing, like armor of light. I need to surrender the works of darkness that are tempting me to Him. I need to throw them away from me and just let Him guide me into the next right thing.

As Galatians 2:20 says, I need to let Jesus live in me today. I need to work on increasing my faith in Him today. I need to understand that pursuing orgies, drunkenness, immorality, sensuality, quarreling, jealousy, et al, will not draw me closer to God, but drive a wedge between us. These will not make me the man I want to be but will lead me further down a path of guilt, shame, and slavery.

Today, I’m going to wear Jesus.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 13:1-14:28.

“…strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

Paul didn’t say tribulations come with the kingdom of God. He didn’t say tribulations happen to coincide with entering the kingdom of God. He actually said we enter the kingdom of God through tribulations. In other words, if there are no tribulations we won’t get into the kingdom of God.

Too often, I have the mindset that since I’m entering the kingdom, I shouldn’t have tribulations. Why isn’t God taking better care of me? Then I read this and learn that God actually knows better. In some way, the tribulations prepare me for the kingdom and usher me into it. If God took my tribulations away, then I wouldn’t enter the kingdom.

This is what Paul says in Romans 5:3-5. Suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope. Hope doesn’t put us to shame. But without suffering and tribulation, there is no endurance, no character, no hope.

Thank you, God, for not giving me everything I want, but instead giving me what I need.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Acts 1:1-2:47.

I wonder what the disciples must have been feeling between the time Jesus departed and the Spirit came. I imagine there was expectation, mingled with anxiety. There was the daily feeling of joy that today might be the day and the daily feeling of disappointment when it wasn’t. I imagine there was fear that they might be found out by the authorities who killed Jesus before the Spirit came. There was the excitement that they were about to be part of something new.  There was confusion because nothing had gone the way they expected and they still weren’t sure what was coming. There was the fear that they might not be up to the challenge.

How did they handle all of this? Acts 1:14 shows how. “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…”

Two things are found in this passage.

1) With one accord: That is they didn’t try to face all this alone. They didn’t even make any falsely noble spiritual claims that they could face it alone with God. They seemed to understand that relying on God meant relying on each other. They were spending their time with each other.

2) Devoted to prayer: While spending time with each other, they were spending time with God. They walked in His presence. This is not merely offering up prayers prior to meals and as any of their “services” or “meetings” got started. This was a repeated, continual practice of praying. I’m sure it doesn’t mean they were in a prayer meeting 24 hours per day. But it does mean they took what they were feeling, whatever it was at the moment, to God. It does mean they took what they were thinking to God. It does mean they took their fears, their anxieties, their confusions, their joys, their expectations to God. They glorified Him. They petitioned Him. They confessed to Him. They were devoted to praying.

I need to do the same today. We live in crazy times. Not to mention, life can simply be hectic and personally crazy. Confusion, fear, expectation, joy, anxiety, stress, peace: emotions can run like roller coasters. If we stay with ourselves trying to handle these things, we’ll never make it. We need to spend time with each other and be devoted to prayer. God will be with us and carry us through.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

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

One of my all time favorite stories is of a little boy who cried out in the middle of a stormy night. His mother came to check on him and he pleaded with her to stay in the bed with him for comfort. 

“Oh, honey, you know I need to sleep with Daddy.”

“But, Mommy, I’m scared.”

“There’s no need to be scared, sweetheart. You know that God is here with you.”

“Yeah, I know, but sometimes I need someone with skin on.”

That describes me. I know God is with me, but I also need someone with skin on. Sometimes I feel a bit unspiritual for saying that. But today I read II Timothy 4:9-18. In the past, I simply noticed Paul’s great faith in God. Even though everyone abandoned him, God was still with him and God would deliver him. Clearly, Paul had a great faith in God.

However, in this reading I noticed something else. Even with this great faith in the presence and deliverance from God, Paul was asking Timothy to hurry up and come to him and bring John Mark because all these people had been abandoning him. 

Do you see it? Paul had great faith in God. He was able to endure his imprisonment alone because he knew God was with him. But he also needed someone with skin on. He needed the encouragement that came from like-minded people who could edify and uplift him. In fact, I think we see that relying on God means relying on His people.

The take away for me is keep praying, keep relying on God. At the same time, keep bringing brethren around me who will also encourage and strengthen. It’s okay to need and want someone with skin on.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

James 4:13-17 is a reminder I need today.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’–yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (ESV).

I recognize the point of this passage is about relying on God and understanding that I cannot boast as if to say I am somehow by my own power going to ensure that I survive another year and by my own power will make sure the business I conduct is profitable. However, where this struck me today was the reminder that the reason such mental games are foolish is because I don’t even know if I’m going to be here tomorrow.

My problem is often the very opposite. Instead of thinking about how successful I’m going to be over the next year, I can get bogged down in worries. “Oh no, the economy is failing. What will that do to my income or my retirement or…” “Oh no, my kids are growing up and I know they are going to be faced with all kinds of temptations. What am I going to do about that?” 

One of the crazy “Oh nos” I have happened last night. My wife took the car to go to the store. It was raining like crazy and she lingered. Suddenly my mind was filled with fear that something bad had happened, at any moment the police were going to show up and now I was going to be a single father of four children. Actually, nothing happened to her. She showed up at home just as usual. However, this morning as I was stuck in traffic I started thinking about that scary possibility and I actually began to be filled with fear as if it were already true. How crazy is that?

The fact is, someday my wife will die. It may be before me or after me. It may be while the kids are at home; it may be after they are on their own. The thing is, it has happened today. She is at home right now doing her part of our family work. Why let all the possibilities of tomorrow over which I have no control mess up today.

You see it works both ways. I shouldn’t let my arrogance think I am going to ensure some success is going to happen apart from God’s will. At the same time, I shouldn’t let my fears about what might happen tomorrow send my today in a panic. Rather, I should just rely on God and pray “As the Lord wills.” Then, each day, I can rely on the strength He gives me to make it through whatever happens today.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

No doubt, the Mount of Transfiguration experience was an amazing circumstance for Jesus and His inner circle. It was so profound to Peter he mentioned it when he wrote his second letter to the Christians dispersed throughout Asia  (cf. II Peter 1:18). 

For me, however, the more profound event is the one that occurred when Jesus and His circle returned from the mountain. The situation was not nearly as bad as when Moses returned from his mountaintop experience. However, Jesus returned into a hornet’s nest. The left behind disciples had been trying to heal a boy possessed of an unclean spirit but had failed miserably. The scribes were arguing with them. The boy’s father was pleading that they do something. The crowds were witnessing the whole thing.

I believe this is the central story and the key to grasping the purpose of Mark’s gospel account. It is certainly the central story as far as the order of writing. The middle verse of the book is Mark 9:16. However, it wouldn’t matter to me where this story was located in the book, I would still believe it is central to Mark’s theme. Everything in the gospel should be read in light of this story. It drives home the purpose of Jesus and His ministry.

Over and over again, Mark highlights the struggles the disciples had. Remember in yesterday’s reading we saw Jesus get exasperated with them because they still didn’t get it despite having seen Him feed 5000 with five loaves and 4000 with seven. The book will end with an intense highlight of the apostles not believing Jesus is resurrected despite His foretelling it and despite eye-witness testimony. In this story, we see the disciples lack of faith brought right to the front. Further, we see a man with a demon-possessed son provide the example for them. Jesus told the man, “All things are possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23, ESV). This man then stood out as an example for the apostles, the crowd, the scribes and even for us. He replied: “I believe; help my unbelief!”

That was where the apostles were. They believed, but their unbelief kept them from being able to cast out this unclean spirit. Check Jesus’ response to them when they asked why they failed. “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29, ESV). That is to say, “The problem is you guys didn’t rely on God. You didn’t rest in your faith on God. You were trying to cast this demon out on your own.” They hadn’t acted in faith. Their unbelief kept them from using the abilities Jesus had given them to cast out unclean spirits. They may have thought they were somehow special because they had been picked by the master, but this unknown man with a demon-possessed son displayed more understanding and more faith than any of them.

More than the apostles, this is where I often am. I believe in God. I believe God. But in the moment of trial, where the rubber meets the road and my faith is put to the test, I often fall back on myself and my own strength. Instead of stepping out in faith and just doing things God’s way, I often revert to what makes sense to me. How many times do I have to pray, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

What is so powerful about this story is Jesus followed this statement up with a great miracle. He didn’t wait until the man’s faith was perfect. He acted based on this man’s understanding that he needed to grow in faith. When I recognize I am not perfect, my faith needs to grow and I throw myself on Jesus to help increase my faith, God will work in my life. The Christian life is about progress not perfection. 

I will pray it again. You can pray it with me.

I believe; help my unbelief!

God will help us. The rest of Mark’ gospel is all about that help. Read it all in the light of this verse and its faith building message will come alive for you.

Keep the faith and keep reading.

ELC