Broken Community

Broken Community

From: Our Daily Journey

Mar 16, 2017

Read:

Matthew 9:9-17
I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners (Matthew 9:13).

Many of our neighbors’ experiences have left them wondering how to reconcile what they know of the church with what they know of God. They’ve tasted harshness in place of conviction, rejection in lieu of love, and isolation instead of family. Sadly, refraining from any local church involvement has become a norm for them.

If inviting a tax collector to follow Him wasn’t reason enough for their disdain, Jesus provoked the full weight of the religious community’s criticism when He dared to dine with less than commendable individuals (Matthew 9:10). In a culture where eating a meal together spoke of communion, relationship, and belonging, He defied their socioreligious hierarchy by sitting in community with “scum” (Matthew 9:11). In the religious leaders’ estimation, Jesus should have known better, and—in truth—He did.

Reminding them that it’s the sick that need a doctor (Matthew 9:12), Jesus challenged the idea that spiritual community should be contingent upon one’s level of religious perfection. Later, Paul revealed that God’s plan for us is wholeness—in spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). But the real power behind this restorative work becomes evident in verse 24: “God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

Scripture doesn’t leave us without a model of compassion to follow (John 8:10-12). Love moved the heart of God to intervene on our behalf so that we might be set free from sin. Our response to others should be no less—extending compassion from hearts that understand true restoration comes only through repentance (Psalm 103:13; Isaiah 30:18). As God provides what we need to extend community to the broken, we move from a fragmented community to one of grace.

Giving Out Of Love

Giving Out of Love

From: Our Daily Journey

Mar 15, 2017

Read:

Deuteronomy 15:4-11, 24:17-22
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him (Proverbs 14:31).

A UK survey revealed that 96 percent of the generous donors surveyed gave to charity because they wanted to give back to society and tackle inequality. And 71 percent said they gave because of their faith.

Giving generously to those in need is central to being a believer in Jesus—something that reflects His heart. Our God, the defender of the poor and the oppressed (Psalm 12:5), told His people that He keeps a watchful eye on the orphans, widows, and foreigners—giving them justice, food, and clothing (Deuteronomy 10:18). He wanted them to be compassionate, to “not be hardhearted or tightfisted” but to “give generously . . . , not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do” (Deuteronomy 15:7,10).

When harvesting crops (Deuteronomy 24:19-21), the people were to provide food for the poor by leaving some behind so they could harvest it. God twice reminded them that they too were once poor. “Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. . . . That is why I have given you this command” (Deuteronomy 24:18,22). God blessed them materially so that they could enjoy His good gifts. But they were to share them with those in need (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

How are we living out the heart of God for those in need? Whether we have little or much, it’s our joy to pour out on others what He’s given, remembering that “those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.” And, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!” (Proverbs 14:31, 19:17).

May we give to those in need as God prompts us and provides, using us as conduits of His love and compassion.

The Skeptic

The Skeptic

From: Our Daily Journey

Mar 13, 2017

Read:

John 20:24-29
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28).

Not long after the fall of the Iron Curtain, I traveled to Ukraine with a Christian ministry. One evening, I met with two college students who peppered me with questions about faith and God. I was struck by their open and earnest searching, because they had lived for years under a communist regime in which God and religion were outlawed. They weren’t looking for easy answers, but simply wanted to figure out what they believed.

It’s likely this encounter has stuck with me because I often operate the opposite way—with a skeptical rather than seeking posture. I can be overly cautious, slow to commit, and prone to poke holes in a belief wherever I possibly can.

Perhaps Thomas was somewhat similar. After Jesus’ resurrection, the Savior met with His disciples, but Thomas wasn’t there. When the disciples excitedly told the skeptical disciple about their encounter, Thomas dismissed the story. “I won’t believe it,” he insisted, “unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side” (John 20:25).

It’s unfortunate we’ve saddled the disciple with the name “doubting Thomas,” for apparently Jesus was little bothered by Thomas’ suspicion. Jesus came to him, offering His wounds for him to investigate. Face to face with his friend and teacher, the skeptic fell to his knees. “My Lord and my God!” he exclaimed (John 20:28).

Perhaps it would have been better if Thomas had been able to take his friends’ words without requiring evidence, but I’m struck by Jesus’ kindness. He came to Thomas, loving him even in his doubt. None of us has to leap very far to find ourselves in Jesus’ open arms. We have only to say yes to the love He offers to us.

Total Surrender

Total Surrender

From: Utmost.org

March 12, 2017

Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” —Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

Obedience To God

Obedience to the “Heavenly Vision”

From: Utmost.org

March 11, 2017

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. —Acts 26:19

If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

“Though it tarries, wait for it…” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).

It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).

Home

Home

From: Our Daily Bread

March 10, 2017

Read: Ephesians 2:11–22 | Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 11–13; Mark 12:1–27

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people. Ephesians 2:19

A young African refugee who goes by the name of Steven is a man without a country. He thinks he may have been born in Mozambique or Zimbabwe. But he never knew his father and lost his mother. She fled civil war, traveling country to country as a street vendor. Without ID and unable to prove his place of birth, Steven walked into a British police station, asking to be arrested. Jail seemed better to Steven than trying to exist on the streets without the rights and benefits of citizenship.

The plight of living without a country was on Paul’s mind as he wrote his letter to the Ephesians. His non-Jewish readers knew what it was like to live as aliens and outsiders (2:12). Only since finding life and hope in Christ (1:13) had they discovered what it meant to belong to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3). In Jesus, they learned what it means to be known and cared for by the Father He came to reveal (Matt. 6:31–33).

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people. Ephesians 2:19

Paul realized, however, that as the past fades from view, a short memory can cause us to forget that, while hope is the new norm, despair was the old reality.

May our God help us to live in security—to know each day the belonging that we have as members of His family is by faith in Jesus Christ and to understand the rights and benefits of having our home in Him.

Lord, as we remember how hopeless we were before You found us, please help us not to forget those who are still on the street.

Hope means the most to those who have lived without it.

Turning Back To God

Turning Back or Walking with Jesus?

From: Utmost.org

March 9, 2017

Do you also want to go away? —John 6:67

What a penetrating question! Our Lord’s words often hit home for us when He speaks in the simplest way. In spite of the fact that we know who Jesus is, He asks, “Do you also want to go away?” We must continually maintain an adventurous attitude toward Him, despite any potential personal risk.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). They turned back from walking with Jesus; not into sin, but away from Him. Many people today are pouring their lives out and working for Jesus Christ, but are not really walking with Him. One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

Peter saw in Jesus only someone who could minister salvation to him and to the world. But our Lord wants us to be fellow laborers with Him.

In John 6:70 Jesus lovingly reminded Peter that he was chosen to go with Him. And each of us must answer this question for ourselves and no one else: “Do you also want to go away?”