Category Archives: Bible

December 27

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Revelation 2-5

As we jump into the book of Revelation, I am not going to even try to interpret John’s vision. I’m not going to try to convince you to believe that a Great Tribulation will occur before… or after… the Rapture. I’m not going to try to identify an antichrist or talk about lamp stands, bowls, and four living creatures. 

I know there are a lot of dear Christians who spend a lot of time and energy trying to uncover the mystery behind the words written in this last book of the Bible. But instead, I am going to do what I’ve done every day this year. And that is to ask God what he would have me learn from his Word about my relationship with him, about my service to him, and my response to his grace.

As I read the letters to the seven churches I noticed that with each one God pointed out what appeared to be true, then told them what WAS true.

Like the church in Ephesus. They didn’t tolerate wickedness, but when it got right down to it, they had no love.

In Smyrna God saw their poverty yet told them they were rich because of their faithfulness.

Pergamum were true to God, yet they tolerated false teachers among them. God told them to repent.

Sardis talked the talk, they had a great reputation but they were dead.

Philadelphia was struggling but God commended them for keeping his word and not denying him.

Laodicea was indifferent about their faith. They had everything they needed materially and didn’t even realize how poor they really were.

God is saying to me that it’s not enough just to look like a Christian. There is so much more to this than just going to church and saying grace before a meal or reading my Bible and blogging. God is much more interested in my heart’s condition.

Each of the seven churches will receive exactly what they need. And that’s what God wants me to realize today. If I’ve lost the love, if I am indifferent, if I am too comfortable or have tolerated sin in my life, I have only to go to my Savior and confess, knowing he will give me exactly what I need to be the person he intends for me to be.

And one day, I’ll join that amazing worship service John tells about in his vision. I will sing with every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever.

Amen!

God I thank you for John’s vision. My prayer is that you will reveal to us who are reading it here at the end of 2013 the things that will encourage us or convict us, excite us or break our hearts. Then, Father, may we use what you are teaching us to lead others to your saving grace. Thank you for letting us have a glimpse of heaven. I can only imagine!

December 26

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I John 4-5; 2 John; 3 John, Revelation 1

In his letters, John is emphatic about the fact that Jesus is God in the flesh. This is a fitting subject one day after Christmas, isn’t it? John says in 1 John 4:2&3 that if you believe Jesus has come in the flesh, the Spirit within you is from God. And he says, if you don’t believe Jesus is God with us, the spirit within you is the antichrist. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.

As you read John’s letters you can’t help but notice a repeated theme. Love. Love of God toward man. Love for Jesus. Love for the Father. Love for one another. 

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16b)

We love because he first loved us. (verse 19)

This is love of God; to obey his commands. (1 John 5:3)

Is your life defined by love? Is your love for God evident in the way you live, set apart, holy, obedient? Do you love others? And do they recognize your love by the way you treat them with kindness and respect?

If God is love and if he lives in us who have accepted his grace, love will be a natural outpouring of his Spirit within us. God demonstrated his love for us when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, when he went to the cross and shed his blood so each of us could be forgiven, and when he rose again. We demonstrate our love for him by our obedience.

Dear God, thank you for Jesus who is God in the flesh. Thank you for the privilege of celebrating his birth. But may we not forget why he came. May we remember the cross. And may each of us accept the forgiveness your death purchased. I pray that you will find us demonstrating our love for you by the things we do, the places we go, the words we say, even the thoughts we think. How can we help but love you when you loved us so!

December 25

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Hebrews 13; I John 1-3

Jesus is born! God became flesh and blood. He didn’t come as an adult, or even to a family with prestige. God humbled himself and started life as an infant, just like we did. He was helpless, totally dependent on others. His mom fed him when he was hungry and changed his diaper when it was wet and messy. Mary and Joseph heard Jesus’ first words. Did he say, “Mama”, or “Dada”? They watched Jesus take his first steps on chubby, wobbly little legs and held his hand when they crossed the street. They kissed his boo-boos and read him bed time stories. God himself became one of us!

John reminds us that this same Jesus, who we know as Christ, who died so we might have life, who rose again and ascended into heaven, is coming again. John wants us to be able to face him on that day confident and unashamed.

Today we celebrate the birth of the Savior. Do you know him? How has Jesus’ birth effected you in 2013? Have you accepted his grace? Have you invited him into your life? And do you represent him well by your actions, your words, your love for one another?

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God. And that is what we are! (I John 3:1)

Provided by the One whose birth we celebrate today.

Dearest Jesus, I am glad we set apart this day to remember your birth into our world. At least for one day a year, the entire world stops and honors you, even if many don’t get it. May we who do get it, who are your children because of your love and your sacrifice, not get caught up in the presents and the parties. May we recognize what it cost you to be born that day. May we not forget that the baby we celebrate grew up and 33 years later suffered and died because of our sin. And may we live our lives in such a way that when you return… and you will return… we will be able to meet you with confidence. I  pray that in this season of remembering, many will come to you and accept you into their lives, repent of sin, and follow you. That’s why you came in the first place. Happy Birthday, Jesus.

December 24

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Hebrews 10:19-12:29

The “Hall of Faith” is included in the passages we read today. We saw the accounts of the people listed here for ourselves as we read through the Bible in 2013. People like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses whose stories many of us were taught since we were children. Others we read about who might not have been as familiar like Rahab, Barak, Jephthah and others who also lived lives of faith. I hope you can identify people in your own life who display faith in God as they go about the day-to-day. And I pray they would add your name to their own list.

Think about Joseph’s faith – or Mary’s. What we are celebrating today and tomorrow was something that could have resulted in great shame for Joseph and death for Mary had they not had faith that what God told them was true. Think about the early church and the faith they demonstrated by being baptized publicly to identify themselves with Jesus. 

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. The reality of the blessings that result from having faith in God should not be denied.

What does having faith look like in each of us on the Christmas Eve, 2013? Hebrews 12 says we should throw off sin and run. We should fix our eyes on Jesus, grow up, and not lose heart. The faith we stand on is sure and solid and true, if we put our faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I pray that everyone reading this blog will have faith in God, believe His Word, and accept His Son. And I pray that our faith will serve as a part of the cloud of witnesses people are seeing and be drawn to the Savior, too.

May you know the joy, the confidence, the blessings, and the love that come from having faith in the One we celebrate this Christmas.

 

December 23

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Hebrews 7:1-10:18

I worked with a dear woman who believed she had a previous life in England during the time of the Tudors. She wasn’t crazy or weird or anything. She just felt a connection with that time in history and attributed it to a previous existence. 

The writer of Hebrews says, “Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement…” as a given. There was no long explanation of this truth, just the simple statement as though everyone knew it already. Like saying, “as sure as you’re born” or “as sure as Monday follows Sunday”. 

We are celebrating the birth of Jesus this week. I hope you have a wonderful family time and that you remember why we celebrate. But, dear one, what you do in your personal life with this baby, this Jesus who was born to die in your place is all that really matters in this lifetime.

And what you decide about Jesus while you have life on earth will determine your eternity. This life you are experiencing right now in 2013 is the only life you will ever have before you face God. There are no do-overs after you die. We’ll all die once, then face judgement.

As sure as you’re born.

Heavenly Father, may we each consider what Jesus’ birth means to us personally. I pray for everyone reading this blog, that they will know the saving grace that comes from accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord. May none of us put off until tomorrow the decision to follow you today. And may those of us who know you already live lives that represent you well. Help us to be ready to meet you when this life is over. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for forgiving us. Thank you for loving us. 

December 22

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Hebrews 2-6

I love milk. My mom used to tell me that, as a two year old, I would snatch my sister’s bottle if Mom wasn’t looking. These days I have learned to drink low fat milk, but every once in a while I buy just a little of the good stuff and drink it like an alcoholic falling off the wagon.

I love milk! But I enjoy steak and potatoes, chicken, pasta, and well… you know. Limiting my diet to milk was fine when I was an infant. But I’m certainly not limiting myself to milk today.

Is that what’s happening in the Church today? Are too many Christians living on just milk? People hear a lot of sermons about God’s love, about the Good Shepherd, about Jesus who pulled little children on his lap, healed blind people and raised the dead. Many Christians are allowing their pastors or some TV preacher be their only source of food, like a baby who lays in his mother’s arms and receives the only nourishment he gets.

Too many of us don’t devour God’s Word for ourselves. The writer of Hebrews tells us Scripture is “sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (4:12)

The Bible reveals sin, lays us bare, beats us up and forces us to our knees before a holy God. It hurts. It refines. 

Just look at what is going on right now. We are getting ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the darling little baby in the manger surrounded by cows and sheep, shepherds and angels, and his young mother gazing into that adorable face. Isn’t he cute?

Well, let me tell you about this precious baby. Scripture tells us he grew up to defeat sin, to die a horrible death because you and I disgusted him. He preached about the holiness of God and the fact that you and I just don’t measure up. We aren’t good and capable. We are depraved sinners who he will have no problem sending to hell unless we humble ourselves and accept his grace. Christmas isn’t just about love. It’s about sin.

That’s hard to hear. But, my friend we need to grow up. We are at war here and I am afraid we are an army of infants. Believe me when I say Satan is loving that.

I hope you will take charge of your faith in 2014. I pray that each of us will be students of God’s Word, we will study it, meditate on it, memorize it, pray over it. May we allow it to cut us, penetrate our inner most being and reveal those things for which Christ died. Simply put, may we grow up.

God is holy. He demands holiness of us. Trust me, that’s a command an infant can’t obey.

God, I know you love us more than we can imagine. I know you loved us so much you came to live among us and die so that we could be forgiven when we come to you. But, God I know you don’t stop there. You hate sin. Sin makes you sick and angry. Sin separates us from you and you hate that more than anything. Forgive us when we would rather concentrate on your love and ignore the elephant in the room. We are sinners. And without your saving grace we will go to hell for eternity. God, if some reading this today need to accept you as their Savior, I pray they will do that right now. For those of us who know you but need to grow up, I pray that you will point that out to us. Then, Father give us the courage to do it. We want to be able soldiers in your army. Feed us a little meat today and help us digest it for Jesus’ sake.

December 21

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2 Timothy 2-4; Hebrews 1

I love baseball. I am a die-hard Cleveland Indians’ fan and am one of my nephew’s biggest fans whether he is on the mound, behind the plate, or covering second on his high school’s team. 

I played softball for a lot of years. But the older I got, the longer it took me to get from one base to the next. So I came up with a great idea. If the goal of every batter is to wind up at home plate, it makes more sense to hit the ball, then run to third. Why waste time and effort and take the chance of making an out while going to first, then second, then third in order to get home? I figured if I cut out the first two steps I’d have a better chance of scoring.

Well, that might seem logical to someone who doesn’t know the game. But the game has rules. And so does life. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:5 that an athlete doesn’t receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. He is talking about the Gospel, about God’s Word. 

Here is the condensed version:

1.  You are I are sinners. There is no one righteous – not even one.

2.  The wages, or the result of sin is death, hell, eternal separation from God.

3.  You and I can never be good enough to erase the sins we’ve committed. We need a Savior.

4.  Jesus lived, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven so that anyone who accepts his grace can be saved from the sentence of hell.

5.  There is no other name by which we can be saved. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life and no one can get to God except through him. Period.

You might be tempted to take another route. But, just like in baseball, if you hit the ball and go to third… you will be out. God has put it all out there, he wrote and rewrote the rules in every book of the Bible. There is no excuse. And like it or not, there is just no other way.

Heavenly Father, I thank you once again for your written Word, the Bible in which you have so lovingly spelled out the rules. May we recognize our helpless condition and turn to you. May we confess our sins, accept your grace, and live lives that honor you in every way. Forgive us if we are tempted to take short cuts. I pray you will find us, the soldiers in your army, the athletes on your team, pleasing our commander, our coach, our Savior and Lord by following your rules.

December 20

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Jude 1:17-25; 2 Peter1-3; 2 Timothy 1

People have been talking about the Second Coming since the cross. Jude told the first century church, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” Two thousand years later scoffers still follow ungodly desires. The difference is, those desires lead to actions that go viral in our cyber world and portray their depravity as normal. 

So why doesn’t Jesus just come back and put an end to this seemingly rapid decline of humanity? Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:8&9 that God’s timing is not the same as ours. We live life one second at a time. To God, a day is like a thousand years. He’s not slow in bringing justice to the world. He is, however, patient because he doesn’t want anyone to die without knowing him. 

God is asking me what I’m doing about that. As I read 2 Peter 1:3-10 I am reminded that faith in God is not passive. It’s action, it’s goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness and love. It’s caring enough for someone to be willing to offend them by calling sin sin and pointing them to our loving God who wants to cleanse them, who died to save them.

How can I wear the name “Christian” and not do what it takes to make it mean something real and vital? Jesus is coming again. Will he find me faithful?

Holy God, I thank you for your promise to come back some day and take us who know you home. I look forward to the moment when I can look you in the eyes and worship you face to face. But, God, while I still walk this earth, may you find me faithful. May I not sit back and relax in the wonder of my salvation. I want to grow, I want to walk with you, I want to be your arms and legs, your voice and your love to people who don’t know you yet. I want to be a soldier in your army with the intent of seeing souls saved for Jesus’ sake. Teach me through your Word and help me to be the woman you would have me be today.

December 19

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I Peter 2:13-5:14; Jude 1:1-16

In the 80’s, the school district where I worked was in financial trouble. For two years they closed schools and laid-off dozens of staff. As a music teacher with less than ten years experience, I was expendable. I found out in April my contract wasn’t going to be renewed. All of us who received that news reacted differently. Some were angry and filed grievances with the union. Some took all their sick days and stayed home. Others plunged into deep depression. Me? I kept going. We had our spring production at the elementary where I taught music, and my bands put on their regular spring concerts. I didn’t get caught up in the complaining about the administration or obsessing about what I was going to do.

I was single, had rent to pay, and the bills kept coming in. But I didn’t have a sense of doom. As it turned out, after only one year, I was called back to that same district. And I stayed there for the next 30 years. One day I was sitting around the table in the teacher’s lounge and one of the teachers commented about my lay-off. She said she had watched me during that time and was amazed at how losing my job had not changed me. I told her I knew that the school board wasn’t in charge of my life, that God was in control and I trusted him. She said- I wish I had that same confidence. To which I replied – you can! I asked if she wanted me to tell her how and she said, maybe later. We never revisited that conversation but I pray a seed was planted that day that produced fruit.

Peter reminds us to live lives in such a way that when people ask us to give a reason for the hope we have, we will be ready. Because people are watching. They are judging God by what they see in us. They are wondering if having Jesus in their lives would be better than what they have without him and they are watching us to see if what we have is real.

If you have been on this ‘reading the Bible through in a year’ journey with me, you know that we lost my 22 year old nephew Geoffrey in an auto accident in June of 2012. I am not going to tell you that Geoff was a saint, or that he always did the right thing. But I would like to tell you the verse we put on his tombstone. It’s I Peter 3:8:

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

You see, Geoff lived his life like that. He was a peace-maker, he was kind to everyone and went out of his way to befriend the down-and-outers. He had a sweet spirit and a tender heart. And he had no idea how incredible he was. And people noticed. People still comment on Facebook or call his mom to say how much Geoff still means to them.

Friend, what do people see when they observe your life? Because they are watching, they are taking notes, and they are judging Christianity by what they see in you. For myself, I want them to see I Peter 3:8 in me. And I pray they will want Jesus in their lives because they see how amazing he is in me. 

I believe if the things we read in I Peter 3:8 are evident in our lives, people will ask us to give a reason for the hope we have. Let’s pray that we’ll be ready to give them the answer and introduce them to their Savior. God bless you as you represent him today.

December 18

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Titus; I Peter 1:1-2:12

The older I get the more I feel like I don’t “fit in” to my world. I don’t find funny the things many people seem to laugh at. Like commercials where grown men act like little girls or play “Jingle Bells” in their boxers.

I don’t watch most sit-coms because I just don’t see the humor in sexual overtones or portraying fathers as idiots. My definition of “having a good time” doesn’t involve alcohol. I get angry when I see pictures of sad, abused puppies plastered on TV with the attempt to get me to contribute to the ASPCA when there are thousands of babies – human beings- who are being murdered every day and I don’t see their pictures on TV telling me how unfair that is. I believe legalizing homosexual marriages is a slap in the face of God. And I am sad to think what kind of world we are fashioning for my great nieces and nephews.

I don’t appreciate the trend of churches to entertain on Sunday mornings, emphasizing a “worship experience”, or pastors who jump around and tell jokes. I crave meat when there is just too much puff pastry.

No, I don’t fit in. But Peter says that’s ok. In fact, he encourages us to live as aliens and strangers in the world. He reminds us that God tells us to be holy as he is holy. And that involves abstaining from sinful desires, living such a good life that people will notice and want what I have in Jesus.

I don’t want to pout about not fitting in. Who wants to be around a Debbie-Downer? I want to express my love, my joy, my Savior to everyone I meet. I hope they see me as different. I pray they see me as better.

Dear God, thank you for saving me. I pray that my life will stand out, that I won’t compromise what I know is true in order to fit in to a world that is running from you. Give me strength. And may someone be drawn to you today because they see a difference in me and want what I have in you.