God Made Known

From: Our Daily Journey

  Oct 7, 2018  

Read:

Acts 17:16-34 
This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about (Acts 17:23).

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.” While the exact wording of that quote—attributed to seventeenth-century theologian Blaise Pascal—is up for debate, there’s no doubt that people continue to seek something or someone worthy of their worship.

The pursuit of the divine was illustrated by the Athenians and their pantheon of gods. When Paul was in Athens, “he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city” (Acts 17:16). In typical Paul fashion, he spoke of Jesus in the synagogue, the public square, and with the philosophers of the day (Acts 17:17-18). Eventually, his message attracted so much attention that he was taken before the high council (Acts 17:19).

Addressing the council, Paul said, “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious . . . for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. [One] had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. He is the God who made the world . . . . He himself gives life and breath to everything, [and] he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:22-28). Paul’s sermon elicited contempt from some. But others wanted to hear more, and some even became believers (Acts 17:32-34).

We’re not guaranteed a positive response to sharing the good news, but we don’t need to be discouraged, for God “uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14). As we follow Paul’s example to make God known, may “our lives [be] a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God” (Acts 17:15).

Nothing Better

From: Our Daily Journey

  Oct 6, 2018  

Read:

Isaiah 57:3-19
The Holy One says this: “I live in the high and holy place” (Isaiah 57:15).

The Grand Teton Mountains in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, offer one of the most spectacular views in all of the United States. Geologists believe the mountains there might have formed as a result of several earthquakes along a fault line. They believe earthquakes caused the land to drop on one side of the fault but move upward on the other side. Looking up from the lower side provides a unique and magnificent view where no foothills block the sight of the mountains.

God gave the Israelites a clear view of His majesty through the prophet Isaiah. He described Himself as “the high and lofty one”—the Holy One who lived in “the high and holy place” (Isaiah 57:15). This picture of God’s utter perfection was designed to show His people that He was greater than the idols they were passionately pursuing (Isaiah 57:5-10). Sadly, their devotion to God was often outweighed by their devotion to powerless idols, which couldn’t even stand against a “puff of wind” (Isaiah 57:13).

Although God’s holiness meant He was far above His people and the little gods they adored, it didn’t prevent Him from showing mercy to those who renounced their misplaced worship. He told them, “I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts” (Isaiah 57:15). Despite their past sin, God wanted to forgive His people and be close to them again.

C. S. Lewis said, “[God] will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him, and come to Him because there is ‘nothing better’ now to be had.” A glimpse of God’s holiness shows us that there truly is nothing better to be had. Today, may we accept His mercy and “worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness” (Psalm 29:2).

The Nature of Degeneration

October 5 

By Oswald Chambers

Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned… —Romans 5:12

The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man’s sin, but that the nature of sin, namely, my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race through one man. But it also says that another Man took upon Himself the sin of the human race and put it away— an infinitely more profound revelation (see Hebrews 9:26). The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, “I am my own god.” This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis— my claim to my right to myself. When our Lord faced either people with all the forces of evil in them, or people who were clean-living, moral, and upright, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one, nor any attention to the moral attainment of the other. He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man (see John 2:25).

Sin is something I am born with and cannot touch— only God touches sin through redemption. It is through the Cross of Christ that God redeemed the entire human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a person responsible for having the heredity of sin, and does not condemn anyone because of it. Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so. From that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. “This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light…” (John 3:19).

Courageous Stand

From: Our Daily Bread

  October 4, 2018  

Read: Ephesians 6:10–18 | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 20–22; Ephesians 6

Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world. Ephesians 6:12

Teresa Prekerowa was just a teenager when the Nazis invaded her native Poland at the dawn of World War II. This was in the beginnings of the Holocaust when her Jewish neighbors began to disappear—arrested by the Nazis. So Teresa and other Polish countrymen risked their lives to rescue those neighbors from the Warsaw ghetto and the Nazi purge. Teresa would become one of the premier historians of the war and the Holocaust, but it was her courage to stand against the tide of evil that would list her with the Righteous Among the Nations at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

Courage is needed to stand against evil. Paul told the church at Ephesus, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). Clearly this unseen opposition is more than any of us can face alone, so God has given us the necessary spiritual resources (the “full armor of God”) to enable us to “stand against the devil’s schemes” (v. 11).

What might that courageous stand involve? It may be working against injustice or intervening on behalf of someone you know who is vulnerable or victimized. Whatever form the conflict may take, we can have courage—our God has already provided what we need to stand for Him and against evil.

God enables us to stand for Him.

Asking for Help

From: Our Daily Bread

  October 3, 2018  

Read: Mark 10:46–52 | Bible in a Year: Isaiah 17–19; Ephesians 5:17–33

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. Mark 10:51

Her email arrived late in a long day. In truth, I didn’t open it. I was working overtime to help a family member manage his serious illness. I didn’t have time, therefore, for social distractions.

The next morning, however, when I clicked on my friend’s message, I saw this question: “Can I help you in any way?” Feeling embarrassed, I started to answer no. Then I took a deep breath to pause. I noticed then that her question sounded familiar—if not divine.

That’s because Jesus asked it. Hearing a blind beggar call out to Him on the Jericho Road, Jesus stopped to ask this man, named Bartimaeus, a similar question. Can I help? Or as Jesus said: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).

The question is stunning. It shows the Healer, Jesus, longs to help us. But first, we’re invited to admit needing Him—a humbling step. The “professional” beggar Bartimaeus was needy, indeed—poor, alone, and possibly hungry and downcast. But wanting a new life, he simply told Jesus his most basic need. “Rabbi,” he said, “I want to see.”

For a blind man, it was an honest plea. Jesus healed him immediately. My friend sought such honesty from me too. So I promised her I’d pray to understand my basic need and, more important, I’d humbly tell her. Do you know your basic need today? When a friend asks, tell it. Then take your plea even higher. Tell God.

Lord, I am needy. I want to share my heart with You now. Help me to humbly receive the help of others also.

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5

Beautiful Reflections

From: Our Daily Journey

  Oct 2, 2018  

Read:

Ephesians 4:11-15
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church (Ephesians 4:15).

Creating imitations of fine art in order to deceive is a crime, but people often overlook the skill that forgers possess. It takes artistic talent not just to imitate a piece of art, but to replicate it so perfectly that even an art expert could mistake it as an original. In fact, some have argued that certain forgeries should be considered original pieces of art due to their exquisite handiwork!

Paul paints a similar relationship between Jesus and the body of Christ in his letter to the church at Ephesus. In this passage, the apostle teaches us that the church can reflect Jesus in “every way more and more” (Ephesians 4:15), a challenging prospect to consider. How can we, an imperfect and sinful group of people, ever hope to reflect Jesus in such a manner?

According to the context of this passage, the answer is through our unity. Paul wrote, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:3). As we’re united together in Jesus (Ephesians 4:5) and work together in the roles in which He’s placed us (Ephesians 4:11), Paul tells us that we will “[measure] up to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). As we live and work together in unity, like a healthy body does, we begin to reflect Jesus more perfectly to the world around us. And “we . . . speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Paul’s words are a reminder of how important Christian unity is to our witness for Jesus. We shouldn’t strive to be unified in the church simply so that we can function better. Our unity allows us to truly live as the body of Christ, so that when the world looks at us, they see the beauty of Jesus as well.

A Feast in the Desert

By: Our Daily Bread

  Oct 1, 2018  

Read:

Psalm 63:1-11
I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:8).

Author and pastor Eugene Peterson has offered some profound cautionary words for those seeking to know God. In Subversive Spirituality, he warns seminary students that although theological education is designed to train hearts to pursue God, far too easily “human words about the divine Word . . . threaten to upstage the Logos [Christ] itself.” When that happens, students can become addicted to head knowledge about God instead of actually drawing closer to God. Seminary—a time designed to draw persons pursuing ministry closer to Him—can instead feel like a spiritual desert.

Peterson’s warning reminds us that there’s a real difference between knowing aboutGod and knowing God. Many of the scribes and Pharisees knew a great deal about God, yet lacked the humility to receive Jesus when He came (Matthew 3:7-10). And James warned believers that faith that’s merely belief in God but doesn’t lead to loving obedience and care for others is a false faith, no better than the “faith” of demons! (James 2:19-25).

Psalm 63 is an illustration of how different true faith is. In it, David describes knowing God so intimately He is a part of every aspect of our lives. In good times and bad, David had learned how to draw near to God. On sleepless nights, he’d trained himself to “lie awake thinking of [God], meditating on [Him] through the night” (Psalm 63:6).

Because of firsthand knowledge gained from years of drawing near to God, David knew that His presence and love is more satisfying than “the richest feast” (Psalm 63:5), “better than life itself” (Psalm 63:3)—a love that satisfies even in a “parched and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).