16 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 11:1-36
• Ezekiel 6
• 2 Samuel 6
• Psalm 46

Observations:

• Luke 11:13
• Luke 11:34

The Luke passage today is a collection of small encounters, but the two passages listed above stood out to me. Part of it is because there is a very real, palpable spiritual struggle going on that I am battling. The other part, well, one is a word of hope that we, though we are sinful know how to give good things, so how much more would God, who is perfectly good be able to do so, and the other is a caution and warning to remain spiritually healthy, to not allow your spiritual eyes to become occluded. This is something that I am reminded of today, as I attempt new strategies to not simply run from sin, but to engage it and move past it, relying on God to see me through. These strategies, I am coming to realise will and do put me in the line of fire, so there is ever more reason to carry with me the shield of faith.

In Ezekiel 6, we see the results of generations of sinfulness, of increasingly hardened hearts and occluded eyes. 

Incidentally, in 2 Samuel, we see both a hardened heart and a tender heart. David, brought the ark into Jerusalem with singing and dancing, himself leading the throng. Michal, his wife, however, scorned David for his self-abasement, not recognising his worship of God and was never blessed with any children throughout her marriage.

In the psalm, we see praise given to God for his strength, refuge, and victorious nature - something that is always good to remain mindful of.

Application:

Well, I need to keep my eyes on God, keep in God's word, first of all. Secondly, I have the reminder from the psalm of God's victoriousness. As I engage in warfare, I can and should be confident of God, just as I should be spending time with him daily and throughout the day to be equiped to wage war. I see the example of Michal and the punishment of Jerusalem and recognise that I want my sin to be relieved from me, that I would not be weighed down by my sins, to risk falling back into them, but I desire freedom.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your victory. Thank you for the strength you provide.

As I engage more seriously in spiritual warfare against my own sins, I ask for wisdom and insight into the deep-seated causes, facilitators, and enablers of my sin. Enable me to more effectively combat my temptations by pressing onward towards you, not focusing on myself, cowering behind your forgiveness. Help me to face my temptations and quell them instead of running, but let me do so with wisdom, not by simply allowing myself to gratify the temptation as a means of desensitising or deflating the temptation, but the rather see the temptation, acknowledge it, and rebuke it. I'm still trying to decipher what this means in practice anyways, but give me wisdom.

Grant my wife patience as well. This is likely to be a long process and trying to her. Help her to persevere with both jobs and to be able to serve you. Give her opportunities to connect better within the church and to engage in ministries tailored to the skills you have given her.

Be with my parents, Lord. Grant them the wisdom about their future. Do they stay overseas or return to the USA? Do they remain with their senders or become independents? These are answers they need to questions that feature very prominently right now.

Be with my sister, Lord, as she's engaging in choices that do not reflect you or truly honour you. Help her to find the stable root in you that she's been without.

Amen

15 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 10:25-42
• Ezekiel 5:5-17
• 2 Samuel 5
• Psalm 45

Observations:

• Ezekiel 5:7-9

Ah, I love this passage in Luke. Here, we have one who is familiar with the law and who understands it asking Christ for some interpretation. He knows that the summation of the law is to love God and Love your neighbours (paraphrased), but he's asking for clarification on who his neighbour is. Jesus' response: the person in need. Period. End of story. (it really plays off of yesterday's reading, but I'll get to that later).

In Ezekiel, God gets real serious. In a complete opposite tone, we see God explaining the reason for Jerusalem's punishment. Not only are they wicked and breaking God's law, but they are so wicked, they make the surrounding nations, already very wicked by God's standard, look good. In response, God is about to unleash a punishment on Jerusalem which he had never done yet and never would do afterwards.

In 2 Samuel, we see David's coronation and the strength of his rule, as God was with him (note, this is all pre-Bathsheba). In the psalm, we see, somewhat differently, a praise given to the king, for he follows God and is honoured by God.

Application:

So, it's really interesting to see the contrast from the psalm and beginning of David's reign to the destruction wreaked upon Jerusalem for its wickedness - shows how far something that was started off well can fall.

On another bent, I really, really want to focus on the Luke passage. Yesterday, we were seeing the qualities of what true missional action looks like and last week, we saw what exactly love looks like. Today, we see where love and selfless missional living meet. Who is your neighbour? The person living next to you, the guy in the car in front of you, the random dude on the other end of the phone at the call centre, the random person living on the street on the other half of the globe. These are all your neighbours. So, we must love them, we must go and teach them about God and share his love to them. That is missional living. In this passage, a Samaritan, who was reviled by and reviled the Jews came to the aid, at his own expense, of a Jewish man. There is so much we can learn here, if we only live and walk in obedience.

Prayer:

Lord, give me the heart of this Samaritan. Help me to grow in my understanding of your love and in both showing your love to others and in actually loving others as you love them. Give me the boldness to go out and witness as you commanded, and give me the heart to love sacrificially.

Lord, spread this love and understanding around me. As I grow, help others to understand and to join in: the kids at youth, my classmates, my wife. Help us to come together in your word and in our love to make a difference here.

Be with my parents, Lord, as they are praying over a life-changing decision. Communicate your will to them - whether they should stay or go, whether or not their ministry field is changing.

Be with my wife as we prepare for some next steps in our lives, getting ready for her to return to school. Help me to understand and appreciate her better. Give me the wisdom to speak well, and the love to love passionately. Help me to better support her in this.

Amen

14 September 2015

Scripture:

• Luke 9:51-10:24
• Ezekiel 4:1-5:4
• 2 Samuel 4
• Psalm 44

Observations:

• Luke 10:13-14

Let me just say this: the whole Luke passage is phenomenal. I wish more people read this segment. 

Missions is selfless, is harsh, it lacks the comfortable amenities of home, and yet, there is power that comes from Christ. If you want to see faith in action, go speak to a missionary; ask them their stories.

Seriously, I could just leave the devotional here, but I'll continue.

Ezekiel, conversely, is prophesying the siege of Jerusalem (and by the description, it looks to be a rough siege). The 2 Samuel passage clearly shows David's character. Many kings in the day, especially if they were of a different dynasty, would kill off every other possible heir. Here, David punishes the men who sought out Saul's family and killed them, where most kings would have rewarded them. In the psalm, it appears as though the psalmist is asking God why, though he and those with him are following God faithfully, others deride, slaughter, and mock them and is asking for God to rise and come to their aid.

Application:

Really, I see a call to live differently. David is recognised and commended for his difference in attitude. Christ sends out 72 disciples with instructions that set them apart from everybody else. In the psalm, David is persecuted for following God, yet in Ezekiel, God is punishing Jerusalem for disobeying him and becoming like the cities and nations all around her.

Knowledge of and a relationship with God demands difference. We cannot say we know God and continue our lives unchanged from the world. James describes those who hear God's word and do not act as those who see themselves in a mirror then, when walking away, forget what they look like. It should be absurd for a Christian to not be affected by his relationship with Christ.

We'd think it should be absurd, and yet, we so often sell our faith short because of what others will think. We make the mistake of Jerusalem and try to fit in. I know. I, myself, am included in this group. Too many times, I have passed up on the opportunity to show Christ boldly, to evangelise to my friends, to make an active stand for my beliefs, instead, taking the easy route to basic acceptance by implicit agreement, non-action, and passivity.

Living out the gospel is difficult and has high demands, but it's how we should be living.

Prayer:

God, I'm sorry. I really don't quite know what to say or how to say it. I'm easily complacent. I mistake my timidity in actively standing apart for the meekness which should make up a follower of you. You know where I stand, Lord. I'm looking at my past and current states, disappointed and ashamed with my track record, but willfully hoping that I'll be bold and outspoken in the future. I know what they say, that the future starts today, but yet, I feel like I can put off this change for countless tomorrows.

Lord, replace my spirit of timidity and fear for one of boldness. Help me to step out and go, do, as you command. I thank you for my wife, to whom such boldness, despite her shyness, comes so easily, but I ask that I would not become so complacent as to let her do and work, but to grow in myself, to put aside what is for what should be. Change my heart, Lord, please.

Amen

11 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 8:4-21
• Daniel 12
• 2 Samuel 1
• Psalm 40

Observations:

In the Luke passage today, we have the parable of the sower. Daniel culminates the book with a hopeful end to the prophecy from the last chapter. Again, there is some discrepancy as to when the days numbered apply,  but Antiochus seems a good candidate for immediate fulfillment. In 2 Samuel, we see David receiving news of the death of Saul and his line. What is interesting, what sets David apart from most other rulers is he did not seize upon the crown as it was presented to him, or reward the news-bearer who struck Saul's final blow, but punished the man who killed Saul and had Israel mourn for him as befits a king. This mourning and grief for a king who tried to kill you, whom God abandoned at your own anointing, who sat on the throne when you could and should have been king speaks volumes about David's character and the qualities God desires. The psalm today is praising God for the fact that he listens. The psalmist practically boasts in God, while lavishing his attention and praise upon him as well.

Application:

Keeping in mind the psalm and the Luke passage, I see that it's important to remember the line of communication we have with God and that it's important to check my own life - to make sure I am growing in good soil and not choking myself out with the world's weeds. Even things that may seem praiseworthy - like carrying the message that you have killed off the previous king to the new king - can turn out to be destructive, because of how it may turn out to have acted against the will of God.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you that I can come to you in prayer at any time. Help me to depend greater upon you. Help build around me good soil ad help me to avoid various weeds that may interfere with my growth. 

God, I'll be honest here: I need you. I'm feeling pretty drained and empty this morning and I need you to fill me up and give me the energy to face today. I need that fire burning in my heart today that seeks to honour you.

Amen

10 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 7:36-8:3
• Daniel 11:2-45
• 1 Samuel 31
• Psalm 39

Observations:

In the Luke passage, we see Christ talking about forgiveness and love - how one who is forgiven much loves the forgiver much and one who is forgiven little loves little. He was saying this in response to a pharisee's attitude towards a woman who was serving Christ. In Daniel, we see the prediction of the rise of Alexander, the division of his empire, the wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids, at some point along comes Rome into the mix, before allegories of the Antichrist and hypotheses of references to Antiochus begin to overlap, with a couple commentators suggesting Mohammed, the Arabs, the Turks, and a later antichrist after Mohammed. The general trend amongst commentators I read towards the end of the chapter, however, appears to be in reference to Antiochus. In 1 Samuel, we see the fall of the lineage of Saul, as prophesied.

To be honest, I don't quite follow the psalm. I can't quite pick out a continual theme. We see the psalmist trying to hold in the torrent inside him before gushing to God everything he is feeling, about the fleeting nature of man, about his own sin, about the Lord's punishment. It seems to be the gushing of a desperate man towards one whom he loves and whose affections are not present. After some research, it appears David was ill during the writing of this psalm.

Applications:

Well, we definitely see God's prophesies verified in history, point one for consistency and historical veracity of scripture. This was a dry day for me. I can definitely identify with the psalmist, wanting to just throw a thousand questions at God. I read the Luke passage and recognise my own gratitude to God, though it's diminished by my tiredness. If Medical School were a disease, I understand how David feels. Moving in medical school while your wife works two jobs, trying to plan a semblance of meals, manage finances and paperwork, and engage in ministry while trying to maximise study time, all is draining. Thanks be to God who provides strength to my wife and I to tackle what we can while mired in the craziness of life (she has one over on me - she's trying to get back to school on top of her full plate).

Prayer:

God, I thank you that I have the freedom to just come to you, that, in my most tired and exhausted state I can still come and lean on you. Give me the endurance I need and give my wife the endurance she needs so that we can not only manage life, but face it and grow in it.

Be with my parents, Lord. Give them the wisdom they need to make this upcoming decision.

Help me to complete the studying I need to catch up on in preparation for Monday's test.

Amen

9 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 7:1-35
• Daniel 10:1-11:1
• 1 Samuel 29-30
• Psalm 38

Observations:

• Luke 7:22

In Luke, we see Christ's encounter with a centurion, his encounter with a widow and her late son, and to some disciples of John the Baptist. What stands out to me, really is Jesus' response to the disciples, asking if he is the one prophesied to be coming after what he has just done. 

"Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them."

 I got chills reading that statement. Christ is basically saying (to my mind) "Miracles are happening. The impossible is occurring. Why are you even still wondering?"

In Daniel, we see Daniel waiting on word from God. When the word is delivered, we see the messenger apologising for the delay, as he was engaged in battle with a demon ruling over Persia. 

In 1 Samuel, we see the Philistines whom David was serving in exile dismiss him from the upcoming battle against the Israelites, so, upon returning to his temporary home and finding it sacked, he had and took the opportunity, at the Lord's assurance, to track down and destroy the Amalekite band who laid waste to the city of Ziklag (and stole David's two wives).

Lastly, in the psalm, we see the psalmist prostrating himself before God for his own sins, waiting on God for forgiveness.

Application:

We are living in the midst of spiritual warfare. If there were ever any doubt, the Daniel passage dispels that. Moreover, God is and has been doing amazing works on this earth; it is apparent where the true power is. This is the God we serve - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead walk. How can we be anything other than radical, anything other than bold with this kind of realisation. Jesus himself stated it, and rather matter-of-factly, too. There is no other power. There is no-one else.

As for me, I'm relying on God. I'm standing on His side, when the battle lines are drawn.

Prayer:

God, you are powerful, amazingly so. Thank you so much for the reminder of what you can and do in the world around us. I ask that you would find me a fitting tool to use, that you might be shown to those around me. The sins and death that I still walk in, Lord, remove from me. Renew me with your righteous power, that I may be fully equipped to fight against the spiritual powers that seek to oppress this world you have created. Make me bold, confident in your power.

I pray for this same realisation in my wife, in my school, and in my church, that we would be unashamedly working towards your goals, standing for you amidst the society that tells us to assimilate and shut up.

Lord, let this display of power that you showed two thousand years ago be present and visible today, in our society of skeptics, that they may have no other option but to acknowledge you.

Amen

8 September 2015

Scriptures:

• Luke 6:17-49
• Daniel 9
• 1 Samuel 28
• Psalm 37

Observations:

• Luke 6:30  

Reading from Luke, it looks to be a similar transcription of the sermon on the mount. What stood out to me were two things: firstly, the above verse, which says "Give to all who beg of you," (which every South African probably is convicted by) and that the passage as a whole really is talking about the quality of a Christian's life, what it looks like, and how it should be lived. The Daniel passage has him crying out to God, acknowledging the sins of his people against God and God sending an answer to him regarding the rebuilding and fall of the temple in Jerusalem and Jerusalem itself. This prophecy, some think, alludes to the first coming of Christ and the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans. The 1 Samuel passage is the oft-retold story of Saul and the medium at Endor, where Saul, abandoned by God and afraid of the Philistines, sought a medium to speak with the deceased Samuel, who proclaimed his death and the death of his sons in the upcoming battle. The Psalm speaks of the Lord's defense of those who rely on him.

To me, what really stood out off all of these passages was Luke 6:30. I know I'm usually guilty of turning aside those begging and asking something of me. I know I have become callous to those around me.

Application:

Really, It all flows. Live more like Christ - embody the lifestyle presented in Luke 6. In doing so, we find ourselves not needing to worry about the Lord's rejection, as Saul did and the psalmist didn't.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to embody you more in my life. Help me to better show faith, hope, and love in my life, that those who see me notice that, frankly, I am not acting like a typical person and see that it it truly you acting through me, your likeness dwelling within me that leads me to move accordingly.

Thank you for the smooth move and I ask that you would help my wife and I unpack quickly and get the small details all squared away, so that we can return to a more normal pattern of life. Give her strength to endure today, as she works through both jobs today. Help us both to display you to our new neighbours.

Amen