Day 132: Living With Certainty

Day 132
Ruth 1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:1-34

The photo above is when I worked at a bible camp and did ropes courses during the summers. Each summer, we'd take on the Leap of Faith at least once, just to get our feet wet a little before campers came. While I would like to say that leaping off of that pole was an easy thing to do, I still doubted at least a little each time that the ropes would hold me, or that people would catch me at the bottom. Yet with God in our lives, we can hold tightly to Him and know He will not fail us. He is even more dependable than those ropes I had to rely on. If we could just live like He has us, our stories would speak volumes.

Holding certainly to God's power honors Him with your life. Ruth and Naomi's story is one that speaks volumes of where God is in their lives. How certain are you that Jesus indeed has risen from the dead to save you? When you can grasp His power and intentions for you, you can move in your story in a powerful way.

Picking up everything and moving to an unknown land can be a nerve-racking thing, especially as a widow in Old Testament times. The book of Ruth is such a breath of air after reading of the destruction and disobedience in the book of Judges. It shows you that there were still people that obeyed God and put Him first in their lives. We see an unselfish love from Naomi as she works to send Ruth and Orpah back to their land so they can remarry and carry on their lives. Orpah agrees with hesitation, but Ruth sticks to Naomi unswervingly.

The way Ruth cares for her mother-in-law is quite a testimony of the person she is, and this reputation gets the ear of Boaz, who is one who looks to the Lord. I think many times, ladies (guys too) especially try to manipulate a situation to gain a relationship, rather than serving the Lord and waiting on His timing. God knows you are ready for a relationship when you can serve Him without putting that relationship ahead of Him. Ruth worked hard to take care of her mother-in-law. Her heart of service and diligence stuck out to Boaz, and he noticed her and in turn, promised to take care of her. Are you serving the Lord while you patiently wait for His timing in your life? Are you showing Him that He is more important to you than what's next in life?

Paul sends a reminder to the people of Corinth that they need to live certain in the resurrection that saves them from their sin and separation from God. Without the resurrection of Christ, we live pointless lives as Christians. Without the hope the He gave us through His sacrifice, we have nothing to look forward to. How different does your life look because you are certain of the resurrection of Christ? Consider Ruth's life for a moment here. She lived in service to God, knowing her place in His authority and love. Because she knew that God's plan was good for her, she served without hesitation and took care of her mother-in-law. Because of her certainty in God, she was blessed. How does your life show you are certain about Christ's resurrection and goodness for your life.

How does your life speak certainty to what Christ has done for you? Do you manipulate situations to get your way and worry about Him taking care of you? Remember Ruth and her faith as she pressed on with certainty that God would take care of her. Because of her faith and her trust in Him, she was blessed. Because she proclaimed His name and served Him first, she was blessed by God with a man to take care of her. Are you showing God that He can trust you to put Him first before He gives you that thing you really want? Show God that nothing will ever shove Him aside in your life. Live with certainty that He is there.

Day 122: Dangers of 'What If'

Day 122
Judges 1-3; 1 Corinthians 7

How often do you entertain an idea that starts out with "what if..."? The phrase in it of itself is not a bad one. In fact, you need to ask "what if" sometimes to set goals and dream. But saying "what if" in the mindset of falling into temptation and truly thinking the grass is greener elsewhere than with God is a dangerous road indeed. Another phrase that can stand as a dangerous one is "if only". We'll see the dangers, and even some benefits, of these phrases play out in today's reading.

As the Israelites continued to fight and try to drive out the other nations that were in the Promised Land after Joshua's death, we read that they weren't so successful anymore in totally driving out the people. The reason is unknown as to why they couldn't successfully drive them all out, but there could be many reasons - tired, would rather compromise than fight, didn't have a solid leader anymore, etc. The Lord was still with them, however, and they were able to live with the people rather than lose the battle completely. Not fully completing the work God leaves for you can be something that causes you to ask "what if" and say "if only." He intends good for you, yet you also need to work for it.

We see the generation of Joshua die out and the people growing up forget what God had done for their ancestors and begin to find other means of happiness outside of God. Speaking in terms of "if only" or "what if" can lead us down some dangerous roads. We can be like these people who forget what God has done for us in the past and start exploring more exciting ways to experience life. While those things may seem exciting at the time, they lead to devastating circumstances. Because of our "what if" we can fall into the trap of what this world says makes us happy and forget what truly makes us holy and ultimately happy.

Many people play the "if only" game when it comes to their relationship status. Paul devotes an entire chapter of 1 Corinthians on this. It is an issue for many now, as it was an issue then. His advice - stay single. As a married woman, I can say I am very happy God placed a husband in my life. However, there is this delusion that many young people (I'm guessing mostly women) don't see through until they are married. They think marriage will solve all of their problems, when in reality there comes a whole new slew of more complicated problems. This is fine and all, but if you marry before you realize only God can fulfill that loneliness, you are in for rocky road ahead in your marriage, and you'll be more miserable than you were when you were single.

The good news is if we fall into the "what if" trap, God will deliver us if we cry out to Him and turn away from the things we thought were better than Him. As promised in Deuteronomy, God comes back to the people when they cry out for deliverance. Despite us betraying Him and putting other things first, like a spouse, child, or other idols, we can give God His spot in our lives back, and He'll come open to us and give you grace. He delivered Israel through the judges He sent in Othniel and Ehud to get Israel back on track. Even though Israel continued to turn away, in the time of those judges, they were on the right track because those judges respected God. Keep God first, and all else will fall into place.

Beware of the traps that come with the "what if" and "if only" statements we make. Those are statements that cause us to be discontent, regretful, and questioning God's place in our lives. Put God first in your life and all else will fall into their spots. Even if you turn away and forget God's place in your life, He is there waiting for you to come back.

Day 106: The Truth Matters

Day 106
Deuteronomy 19-21; Mark 11

The truth always makes a difference. If it didn't, people wouldn't lie so much. Even in Old Testament times, it was work to try and figure out the truth, and there was a process and ritual if the truth couldn't be solved. Today, we'll see why the ultimate Truth matters, as well as the effects of telling the truth in Biblical times when it came to all sorts of situations.

When someone was murdered, there was opportunity for the guilty party to prove it was accidental. There were cities of refuge set up for people to flee too in the event of an accidental murder. God provides a way to give time for the truth to come out and set the accused free. He also provides a boundary for witnesses to be sure there is more than one testifying to prevent any false accusations due to grudges or hatred of the innocent person. God, however, makes it very clear how He felt about murdering and lying in the Old Testament, as He commanded Israel to purge the evil from their community through stoning. Luckily, not all the laws of this time apply anymore, as Jesus' coming changed the rules of how the Old Testament did things, and more grace is provided in lying. It still is a sinful thing in God's eyes and will be judged accordingly, however.

There is powerful truth in God fighting for us if we are on His side. As we read through the regulations for the people going to war, it is stated right off the bat that God is with them. If you are facing a battle in your life now, the same truth holds strongly for you if you are truly a Christ-seeker. The men who went to war also had to be honest with their lives and their selves as they faced a battle they may not have returned from. There is a list of things the officers of the army were to address with the troops, but the one that most stood out to me was the question: "Is anyone afraid or worried?" If the answer was yes, they were to go home so as not to frighten others. The men had to be very truthful as they probably faced taunting and teasing if they answered yes to that question. How often do we try to pass off how we truly feel to avoid judgments from others around us? The truth matters in your heart and in God's eyes.

Chapter 21 is filled with many instances of being truthful and the best practices of being truthful, starting with what to do when the truth can't be found. There are so many things in this life that we'll never know. The ritual laid out at the beginning of this chapter was how closure was made in Old Testament times. God gets pretty specific when it comes to the rights of the firstborn as well. I can imagine many favored kids over others because of the multiple wives, but God makes it clear that they must be fair to the firstborn and to grant them their rights to the inheritance. Don't lie out of favoritism, as this isn't only hurtful, but arrogant.

I think we try to lie to ourselves about Who Jesus is as well. As we read about His triumphant entry into Bethany during the Passover, the different reactions of the people say it all. While it's hard to pick it out in this text, we read about the "Christ-followers" of the time praising Him and laying garments and palms before Him as He rode in. Turning back to the reading of this particular event in Matthew, chapter 21, we read that others asked "who is this?" You may think you know Jesus and what He is really about, but do you? Or have you formed this ideal Jesus in your mind? People in that time saw kings riding into the city on horses, while Jesus rode in on a donkey colt. They were king of war, and Jesus was of peace. Jesus was not the king they were expecting. You may be looking for a Jesus who will provide, and heal, and give you a spouse, and a pretty life that you are picturing. While Jesus is very capable of that, He is ultimately the Jesus Who saves us. That is the truth. Are you disappointed in this truth? Renew your mind and see Jesus for Who He is.

He is one who curses the fruitless, as He did with the fig tree. The disciples were impressed He had actually cursed it, and Jesus told them that they needed more faith to believe in what the Lord could deliver.  Are you living a life that is fruitful and faithful? Or one that is self-serving and complacent, like the money changers who took advantage in the temple? The hard truth is that God wants you to believe that He can move anything with no doubt in your heart. Forgive others fully before making your request to God. If you do, God will forgive you. A scary truth is if you don't, He won't forgive you. The religious leaders couldn't handle Christ's truth. They wanted Him gone, as He made them look bad. Are you too stubborn to accept God's ultimate truth?

Take inventory of your life and think about the truths that are throughout your Bible. Many of these truths are very encouraging and meant to help you through the toughest situations. Others are to protect you from false accusations and hurt. Others, however, will hurt if you truly grasp them and apply them to your life. See Jesus for Who is truly is, and not the ideal Jesus you have made up in your mind. Are you disappointed in Who truth says He is? Remember He is a humble King and a saving King. The truth matters. Learn it, embrace it, apply it.  

Day 100: Giving Our All

Day 100
Deuteronomy 4-6; Mark 8

We have motivation to go all out for God. Simply remember how good He has been to us should be more than enough to make Him the center of our thoughts, lives, actions, words, etc. Moses wants to be very clear to the people never to forget what God has done for them. In fact, he tells them to treasure it so much, that they pass it down for generations. Have you considered giving your stories of what God has done in your life to your children and friends? Think of the impact you could have if you simply gave all of your glory to Him and shared it with all around you. Smile, and let people know why you smile so much. He is enough for you, and that is every reason to be joyful despite this world and this life.

There are so many things we can put between our hearts and God. Creating idols is more than just making statues and moldings, as you've read about throughout the Bible already. It can be anything from social media to a person you admire. Creating idols happens when you put something ahead of God and you seek it more fervently than Him. We all fall to this often. It is easy to get so wrapped up into other things like sports, family, careers, a mission to find someone, be someone, etc. that we forget to put God first in line. We get too tired to give Him even a percentage of our time. We get too worried to give Him a percentage of our finances. We get too busy to remember to ask His advice. None of the things I listed above are bad within themselves, but when we give to those things, we can't give our all to Christ. Fortunately, God tells us that if we search for Him with all our heart and soul, we will find Him. He will never abandon us, because we are the ones that have grown distant from Him, not the other way around. Give Him your all.

The way you live your life now will make a lasting impact on the family you leave behind. Giving Christ our all will set a standard for the generations to come. This isn't to say that they will for sure live by Christ, but the foundation will be there for them to decide how they will build on it. It's interesting if you look at the 10 Commandments, and see how they are sorted out. 4 of them, the first 4, are dedicated to how we should love God, and 6 of them on how we are to love others. If you have a heart that follows God, the rest on loving others will fall into place. If you live your life honoring anything but God, that is what your children will learn and notice about you. What legacy do you want to leave? One that gives it all to God and in turn pours out to others, such as your family, those in need, neighbors, friends, etc? Or one that gives your all to success, achievements, destructive things, etc, and teaches your kids that without those things they are nothing? God will show them how much they are worth more than anything else in this world can.

Bring Christ everything you have - including your concerns, big or small. We read that Jesus was concerned for the people who hadn't eaten in the crowd of 4,000. I know I get concerned with my feelings of inadequacy and clumsiness in this life. I feel dumb bringing them up so often. Yet God cares even about my smallest doubts, worries, and fears. We see as He takes the things that seem so small, such as the seven loaves and couple of fish in a crowd of 4,000 hungry people, and turns it into something miraculous. I have to chuckle when the Pharisees ask Jesus to perform a miraculous sign for them right after this. How many times do we begin to doubt Christ's ability in us after He has done something so great for us? The trouble is we try to see God's miracles as these HUGE things, yet He works miraculously in the tedious details of how things fall into place. How has realizing this and recognizing this in your own life made all the difference in trusting God with everything you have? Jesus warns His disciples that a little bit of evil can corrupt a whole person's heart, as He states with the yeast commit that the disciples didn't understand. Give your little struggles to God so He can protect you from them becoming large ones that take you over.

Jesus didn't come to receive glory and status, but to serve and to give. He tells us to lose our lives for Him, so that we may have life fully. This may seem counter-intuitive, but when you can honestly let go of everything this world offers you, including family, trusting Him to take care of it all, there is quite a freedom released within you. When you realize that all you need is Jesus in this world, it takes so much pressure off. However, if you try to hang onto things in this world, only giving Jesus half of your time and energy, you will get neither of them. Peter tries to cling to the life he has with Jesus on earth, without fully grasping the bigger picture of why Jesus came and what His mission is. When we fail to see the bigger picture and the ability of God, we lose out on His power. Give Him your all, so that you may experience Him fully and openly!

The essential part of today's reading come out of Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Listen to ONLY God and value ONLY His opinion.
Love Him with all of your heart - a heart is what we use to think and feel with. It is an emotional symbol of us.
Love Him with all of your soul - the very breath you breathe - honor Him with it.
Love Him with all of your strength - Glory be to Him when you achieve anything. Give Him your all when the load is too much.
Commit yourselves wholeheartedly to His Word and His ways. - What you do will leave ripples behind, for good or for bad.
Repeat them, teach them, talk about them, write them everywhere - His Word, His ways, Christ in general should be what you center everything you are around.

Love God fully. Give Him everything. Experience Him completely in losing yourself in Him. There are so many other options in this world that can hoard what is His - our time, our finances, our agendas, our goals, our missions to be happy, etc. None of these are bad, but all must be put in the faithful hands of your Heavenly Father. Love Him with all of your heart, soul & strength. Lose it all for Him, and you will find everything you have ever needed.

Day 90: Judgment: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Day 90
Numbers 16-17; Mark 2

It seems that in the world we currently live in at the moment, people feel very much at liberty to judge others and decide who they are based on surface evaluation. When you take the time to think about God's judgement and how Jesus handled judgements as we read about today, our petty gossips and calls can be put to shame. Our God is One of jealousy and wrath if we continually complain against Him. Jesus looked beyond the sin of a person, as we read about today as well. Let's learn from these instances today.

We can all think pretty highly of ourselves at times. We think we are the best, the most holy, the most worthy... Yet if you are a Christ-follower, you should know that the foot of the cross is a level playing field. It doesn't matter how the sin the person next to you committed and and few sins you've committed line up in comparison. You're both sinners and need redemption. We read about some jealousy in Numbers as the leaders fight to go up against Moses and Aaron, claiming that a new leader needed to be in charge. Moses tells him to be ready for the Lord to choose (as this is what a great leader would do - leave it in the Lord's hands). As you read, you see it didn't quite work out for Korah and his cohorts. The Lord's wrath spilled out upon them and their families, as well as the people offering incense. The judgement was put in God's hands, rather than that of Moses or Aaron.

Rather than trying to constantly throw guilt and judgement around to people you believe deserve it, allow God to handle it. The people who tried to overthrow Moses knew better, but allowed their arrogance to get in the way, thus the Lord took radical action upon them. As the people continue to grumble the very next day, we again, see the Lord's anger stir up. As you sit and read about their complaining, I bet like me, you just shook your head and wondered how the people could be so dumb. Yet look at your own life and what you have. Consider all the Lord has done for you and then put it up against the times you weren't happy or you complained. We fall guilty as well. Remember to thank the Lord for what He has given you, rather than being discontent with it. We don't deserve any of it, yet we act like we deserve the kingdom at times.

As Jesus carried out His own ministry, He too was surrounded by judgement-casters. The religious leaders obviously didn't support what He was doing and not only judged Him, but the people He hung around with. How often do we stand on the sidelines and talk about "those people" or share about who so n' so is hanging out with. Before you judge, consider who Jesus hung out with and what He came here for. He states as he was eating with Matthew's friends that the healthy don't need a doctor, but the sick do. The perfect people don't need Jesus, but the imperfect do. Here's a hint: NONE of us is perfect.

Not only did the religious leaders cast judgement about the people Jesus hung out with, but in turn, cast judgement on Who He was. We do this all the time. We need to decide each and every day Who Jesus is to us. The leaders doubted. We may doubt too. So many thought He was crazy, evil, or that He was indeed the living God among us Who died so we may live. The choice is yours. No one can make it for you. Decide today and everyday Who Jesus is to you. He doesn't need our approval, but we most definitely need His. The good news is, when you run to Him, you are approved.

Judgement is good, as it helps us grow when it comes from the Lord. Judgement is bad, when we try to do it ourselves to others. Judgement can be ugly, as we read today in Numbers. One thing is for sure, however: Judgement is to be done by God. Stop casting it yourself and deciding who is worthy around you. Simply exist in the light of Jesus, loving others, and allowing Him to do the rest. Why make more work for yourself?