Remember the Reason

From: Our Daily Journey

  Sep 19, 2018  

Read:

1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Do this in remembrance of me (1 Corinthians 11:24).

A couple friends were discussing the different ways communion is taken in churches. They agreed that the only method they liked was when they were given their own cup to drink from and a piece of bread—it seemed to be the most sanitary. In a sense, I had to agree with their opinion that this method was probably the most germ-free, but I felt at the same time that focusing on individual cleanliness might be missing the point!

It’s easy to get so caught up in an event or ritual that we miss its purpose. Paul carefully explained to the Corinthians the importance of the Lord’s Supper. The church had been corrupting it—feasting and drinking (even getting drunk) while leaving the poor in attendance to go hungry (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). These abuses of the Lord’s Supper were not only taking away from its significance, but also sinning against the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:24).

Remembering in the Lord’s Supper what Jesus has done for us through His death is a form of worship, and it takes place with other believers. Paul wrote that those who participate in the Lord’s Supper “unworthily [are] guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). This is why it’s important to examine where we stand with other believers before worshiping through communion (1 Corinthians 11:28-32). We can’t honor Christ and His sacrifice for us without honoring others who also believe in Him.

According to Paul, we participate in communion because “every time [we] eat this bread and drink the cup, [we] are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Communion is meant to be a time to remember not only Jesus and what He did for us, the body of Christ, but to hope in His return and our future together in Him.

“I AM”

From: Our Daily Journey

  Sep 18, 2018  

Read:

Exodus 3:1-15
Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5).

While I was leading a Bible class for those who didn’t yet believe in Jesus, a participant asked, “How many gods are there in this world?” Hoping to give an answer, I Googled for help. I believe there’s only one true God, but one person gave this clever answer: Seven billion gods. There are seven billion people in this world. And everyone has a personal god.

There are countless “gods” that people worship today. While the ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Diana, and numerous other named deities, it’s just as common for people to worship “gods” they don’t name, gods like financial comfort or fame.

It might be helpful to ask again, “What is the name of the God—or god—I’m worshiping?” That’s the question Moses asked when God appeared to him: Who are you, Lord? “What is [your] name?” (Exodus 3:13). “God replied to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. . . . Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations’ ” (Exodus 3:14-15).

“I AM” speaks of a God who has always been and who has no limitations, the One Supreme Being in the universe who isn’t dependent on something else for His existence. He’s the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. He’s changeless in His being and character—He’ll never change who He is. He “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Just as God told Moses, “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground” (Exodus 3:5), it’s vital for us to worship God in reverence. For wherever He is, that place is sacred. May we “bow low before his feet, for he is holy!” (Psalm 99:5).

Legacies of Love

 From: Our Daily Bread

September 17, 2018  

Read: 2 Timothy 1:1–5 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 27–29; 2 Corinthians 10

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

I was paging through my great-grandmother’s Bible when a treasure fell into my lap. On a small scrap of paper, in a young child’s handwriting, were the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3–4 kjv). Scribbled beside those verses in wobbly cursive was my mother’s signature.

My great-grandmother had a habit of teaching her grandchildren to write out Scripture verses so they would learn them and take them to heart. But the story behind this verse brought tears to my eyes. My grandfather died when my mother was very young, and her little brother (my uncle) died just weeks later. It was in that tragic season that my great-grandmother pointed my mother to Jesus and the comfort only He can give.

Paul wrote Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). Faith isn’t inherited, but it is shared. Timothy’s mother and grandmother shared their faith with him, and he believed.

When we encourage those close to us to have hope in Jesus, we offer them a legacy of love. Through a simple note, my mother left evidence of my great-grandmother’s love for her Savior and her family. Oh, to share Him with those who come after us!

Thank You for those who shared Your love with me, Father. Please help me to point others to Your salvation today.

When we share our faith, we share the greatest treasure of all.

The Right Way to Pray

From: Our Daily Bread

  September 16, 2018  

Read: Matthew 6:5–15 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 25–26; 2 Corinthians 9

When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Matthew 6:6

I admire people who record prayer requests in journals tattered from daily handling, those who keep track of every prayer and praise and then faithfully update their lists. I’m inspired by those who gather with others to pray and whose kneeling wears out the carpet at their bedsides. For years, I tried to copy their styles, to emulate a perfect prayer life, and to imitate the eloquence of the so-much-more-articulate-than-me folks. I strived to unravel what I thought was a mystery, as I longed to learn the right way to pray.

Eventually, I learned that our Lord simply desires prayer that begins and ends with humility (Matthew 6:5). He invites us into an intimate exchange through which He promises to listen (v. 6). He never requires fancy or memorized words or phrases (v. 7). He assures us that prayer is a gift, an opportunity to honor His majesty (vv. 9–10), to display our confidence in His provision (v. 11), and to affirm our security in His forgiveness and guidance (vv. 12–13).

God assures us He hears and cares about every single spoken and unspoken prayer, as well as the prayers that slip down our cheeks as silent tears. As we place our trust in God and His perfect love for us, we can be sure praying with a humble heart that’s surrendered to and dependent on Him is always the right way to pray.

Lord, thank You for reminding us You hear every prayer.

Calling on Jesus as our loving Savior and Lord is the right way to pray.

Love Generously

From: Pauline Hylton

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)

Recently, I heard a sermon by J. D. Greear about the book of Ecclesiastes. Not an easy read, not an easy sermon to preach. He spoke a lot about “hevel.” It is one of the most-used words in the book. Some translations use vanity, some use futility.

He used the illustration of passing through a cloud on an airplane. It appears mighty and full of substance, but it is just a vapor. Solomon compares it to all of life.

A vapor.

I saw my grandson this weekend. He is now three. I remember the day he was born. My husband Tom and I waited in the lobby with our in-laws for our grandchild’s birth. We knew the sex … we knew the name … but we did not know him.

Yet.

Three years later, he has quite the personality. I hadn’t seen him in a few months and his vocabulary skills have improved dramatically. Usually, I begin each morning with a song. I began, “Good morning, to you. Good morning to you. Good morning, dear Silas, Good morning to you.”

“I don’t like that,” he stated quite clearly.

Yet, when I left, upon being told he had graduated from nursery into the three-year-old-class, he cried and said, “I don’t want to go to church. I nervous.” About his Nana and Papa leaving, he added, “I sad.”

I was, too. And I cried on my way out of six lanes of traffic in Atlanta.

Life is full of joys, sorrows, ups, downs. You can’t quite put your finger on it. It is a vapor. I find great joy in it, but know it is not eternal. From past experience, before I know it, I’ll be attending his high school graduation.

Because that is how life is.

But because of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ I know that there is more than this hevel under the sun. There is eternity above the sun with the Son. The above verse says that He became poor so I could become rich. Inherit eternity. Forever. And ever.

The vapor-like life we lead has substance when we view it through the eyes of eternity.

And then we invest in it.

That does not mean that I ignore my sweet grandson. It means I invest in praying for him. When I am with him, I pray with him and tell him about Jesus.

I give my money for eternal things and do not hoard it. Knowing that my brothers and sisters in other countries sit in dark cells away from their families because they taught a Bible study, or gave someone a Bible, I pray for them like they were my family and send money to them generously because they are my family—my eternal family.

1 Corinthians 2: 9 says this:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared  for those who love him.” (NLT)

I am rich. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you are rich.

Let’s live like it.

The Ultimate Satisfaction

 

September 14, 2018

Read: Isaiah 55:1–7 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 19–21; 2 Corinthians 7

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Isaiah 55:1

As we distributed snacks for children at a Bible School program, we noticed a little boy who devoured his snack. Then he also ate the leftovers of the children at his table. Even after I gave him a bag of popcorn, he still wasn’t satisfied. As leaders, we were concerned as to why this little boy was so hungry.

It occurred to me that we can be like that boy when it comes to our emotions. We look for ways to satisfy our deepest longings, but we never find what fully satisfies us.

The prophet Isaiah invites those who are hungry and thirsty to “come, buy and eat” (Isaiah 55:1). But then he asks, “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (v. 2). Isaiah is talking about more than just physical hunger here. God can satisfy our spiritual and emotional hunger through the promise of His presence. The “everlasting covenant” in verse 3 is a reminder of a promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7:8–16. Through David’s family line, a Savior would come to reconnect people to God. Later, in John 6:35 and 7:37, Jesus extended the same invitation Isaiah gave, thus identifying Himself as the Savior foretold by Isaiah and other prophets.

Hungry? God invites you to come and be filled in His presence.

Father, I long to know You more. Only You can satisfy my deepest desires.

Only God will satisfy our spiritual hunger.

What’s in a Name?

From: Our Daily Bread

 September 13, 2018

Read: Matthew 1:18–25 | Bible in a Year: Proverbs 16–18; 2 Corinthians 6

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:21

“Gip” Hardin, a Methodist preacher, named his son after the famous preacher John Wesley, reflecting Gip’s hopes and aspirations for his baby boy. John Wesley Hardin, however, tragically chose a different path than his ministry-minded namesake. Claiming to have killed forty-two men, Hardin became one of the most notorious gunfighters and outlaws of the American West of the late 1800s.

In the Bible, as in many cultures today, names hold special significance. Announcing the birth of God’s Son, an angel instructed Joseph to name Mary’s child “Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The meaning of Jesus’s name—“Jehovah saves”—confirmed His mission to save from sin.

Unlike Hardin, Jesus completely and thoroughly lived up to His name. Through His death and resurrection, He accomplished His mission of rescue. John affirmed the life-giving power of Jesus’s name, saying, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). The book of Acts invites everyone to trust Him, for, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

All who call on Jesus’s matchless name in faith can experience for themselves the forgiveness and hope He provides. Have you called on His name?

Thank You, Father, for providing salvation through Your Son, Jesus. I love You.

Jesus’s name is also His mission—to seek and to save that which was lost.