Tag Archives: witness

April 27

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I Chronicles 12:23-40, Psalms 2, 78

I thought it was interesting to see how some of the warriors were described. ‘Zadok, a brave young warrior’. ‘Issacher understood the times’. ‘The men of Zebulun were experienced soldiers’. ‘Men of Daniel ready for battle’. ‘Men of Ephraim were famous in their own clan’. (that one makes me smile)

So God is asking me how I think I would be described. How would I want to be described?

‘Connie the lazy one.’ No, I don’t like that. ‘Connie the gossip’. Doesn’t work for me, either. ‘Connie the teacher, the school counselor’. I loved my career in public education. But I don’t think that defines me, either.

I think I’d like to be described as ‘ Connie, the woman who loves the Lord’. Or ‘Connie, God’s servant’. Or ‘Connie the caring one.’ How about ‘Connie, one who looks like Jesus’.

What is it I want people to see in me? What defines me?

I know when I stand before the Lord he will describe me as ‘Connie, the one who is righteous and holy because she accepted mine.’

But until then I have some thinking to do. Maybe I have some changing to do. Because the reality is people are describing me whether I want them to or not. I need to consider carefully what they are saying.

God, thank you for your word to us today. Help us to consider how we are representing ourselves… how we are representing you. May we be rightly described as Godly people. It will glorify you if we are.

April 13

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I Samuel 13:23-14:52, I Chronicles 8:1-9:1

Jonathon demonstrated faith in God when he went into the Philistine outpost. “Perhaps The Lord will act in our behalf,” he said. “Nothing can hinder The Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”

God was with him that day and Jonathon and his armor-bearer were victorious in battle.

It’s true, you know. God has accomplished great things when one or two people have faith in him.

Billy Graham is one man but thousands have come to the Lord because he trusted God with his career.

Fannie Crosby was one lone blind woman who wrote hymns that still speak to people today.

Two spinster sisters we called Aunt Minnie and Aunt Rose taught Sunday School and prayed with dozens of boys and girls to receive Christ as their Savior.

God uses individuals, men and women who trust him, to win individuals. He justs asks us to have faith and get out there. Let’s remember that as Christians, he is with us and can do great things when we obey.

April 1

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Judges 1:1-3:6, 17:1-13

Here’s something that made me sad. 2:10 tells us that after Joshua and his peers had died, another generation grew up who “knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.”

How was that even possible so soon after God had miraculously rescued them from slavery? How could they not talk about manna from heaven, shoes that didn’t wear out, water from rocks, crossing seas and rivers on dry ground, 24 hours of daylight, not to mention the pillar of fire and cloud? I know these people hadn’t witnessed many of these things first hand, but those things are what made them who they were in the sight of the nations. How could their children not know?

My dad loved history. He read about it, watched programs about it, talked about it. But I have to say I didn’t inherit his love of learning about the past.

Maybe that’s what happened to Israel. Maybe when parents talked about their grandparent’s journey, their teenagers rolled their eyes and thought, what does that have to do with me? Boring!

It’s our responsibility… and our privilege… to pass on to our children the good news of Jesus Christ. Not as some historical figure who lived an interesting life 2,000 years ago. But someone who is alive today, who radically changed our lives when we let him into our hearts, someone with whom we have a vital relationship today. And someone who wants to be as real to our children as we are.

Do your children know about how your life was changed when you met Jesus? Have you shared with your children how he is working in your daily life? Do they know what you are learning from your time in the Word? Can your children see in you that Jesus is more than an historical figure? Don’t assume they know without you intentionally sharing it with them.

If we don’t, we run the danger of raising a generation who neither knows the Lord nor what he has done for his people throughout the ages. Let’s determine to make Jesus real in their lives so that they will do the same for the next generation, too.

Father, again today I pray for parents. May they be intentional about sharing you with their children on a day to day basis. And I pray for grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We who love children not our own. May we be faithful as well, as we show our loved ones that Jesus is alive and relevant in 2013, that following you is the coolest, most exciting, and most blessed way to live.

March 25

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Joshua 3-6

God had parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross on dry ground during their escape from slavery in Egypt. Now he parts the Jordan River so the Jews could enter the Promised Land forty years later. Most of the people who crossed the Jordan were either too young to remember or hadn’t been born when the Red Sea parted. They had heard the accounts from their parents and Moses. But now they were experiencing the miracle for themselves.

Not only did a new generation of Jews witness the amazing power of God… but so did a new generation of foreign nations. 5:1 says the hearts of the Amorite kings west of the Jordan melted and they no longer had courage to go against Israel because of the power of their God.

Once again God chose the people of Israel to reveal Himself to the world. And once again I am challenged to allow God to do the same in me. Whether it’s the example of my walk with the Lord on a day to day basis, or the privilege of being a witness of God’s power in times of trouble. My prayer is that others will be drawn to God because they can see evidence of Him in me.

March 20

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Deuteronomy 23-26

Sometimes when I read the Bible certain things jump out at me. Other times not so much. This morning was one of those “not so much” times. I would love to know if God pointed out something to you as you read today.

In these chapters of Deuteronomy Moses continues to talk to Israel about the Promised Land, about how God wants them to treat each other, about where they have been.

I am reminded that this is Moses’ last address to the people before he dies. He tells them how important it is that they not sin, that they treat each other fairly, that they do the work that needs to be done. The nation of Israel was to look and act differently from every other nation on earth. And God would bless them.

As I meditate on God’s Word today God is saying the same thing to me. He wants me to stand out from the crowd as well.

Dear God, You are asking me to be the person in my neighborhood with a reputation for being honest, kind, moral, caring and trustworthy. May I stand out from the crowd as someone who loves You, obeys You and is blessed by You. And may they recognize my Savior as they observe me today.

March 15

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Deuteronomy 6-8

Did you recognize a couple of these verses as ones Jesus quoted in the gospels? 6:5 and 8:3 were both spoken by the Savior during his time on earth. He taught by example that knowing Scripture is important in the life of a believer.

Moses challenges us to put God’s commands in our hearts, to impress them on our children, to talk about Scripture in our homes and as we go about our day. He even suggests we wear symbols on our foreheads and paint our doorposts with Scripture.

I have to ask myself if God’s Word is that visible to others when they look at my life. Do I display God’s Truth in my actions and in my speech?

I may be the only Bible my unsaved friends are reading today.

You know, there are a lot of good books out there that talk about Scripture. There are some great commentaries. There are even some blogs about Scripture :).  But there is no substitute for the real thing. I hope you spend time every day reading and thinking and talking about God’s Word.

Parents, I trust you are teaching your children to love God’s Word. I hope they observe you spending time in those precious pages.

My prayer is that we all will take Moses’ challenge. May Scripture play an important part in our day to day lives. May we  not only read, but commit to memory verses that speak to us. And may others see the God of Scripture in us.

March 8

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Numbers 25,26 and I Chronicles 7:14-29

When Phinehas learned that an Israelite man had blatantly disobeyed God, he went to drastic measures to stop him. Phinehas’ obedience stopped a plague that was destroying Israel.

Here is what God said about Phinehas:

“… he was as zealous as I am for my honor…”

What does it mean that God is zealous for his honor? The commandment about not having any other gods before him isn’t a suggestion. When God says be holy he is not talking in generalities. God is serious about revealing himself to a lost world through the obedience of his children.

And God knows time is limited compared to eternity. God doesn’t have time to play around. There are lost people to win and he is not willing that any should perish. We’ll have opportunity in eternity to relax and enjoy our position in Christ.

Until then we have work to do. Let’s be as zealous as God is about his honor. Let’s get busy and share him while we still have time.

Father, we sometimes forget the urgency in our message. Help us to be zealous about revealing you to our friends and neighbors who still don’t know you.

February 24

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Leviticus 24-25

In the middle of giving the law, the writer of Leviticus stops to tell a story about a man who blasphemed the Name with a curse. In the heat of anger, the man used God’s name in vain. The result? God told the Israelites to take the man outside the camp and stone him. The Israelites obeyed.

I want to suggest that we need to watch our own mouths. OMG should never be a part of a Christian’s vocabulary in any form. Using God’s name like that is a sin and, in the Old Testament, punishable by death. God demands we respect everything about him, including his name.

When I worked in the middle school and a child would say, “Jesus”, or “God” in a curse I often said,  “Please don’t talk about my friend like that.” I don’t know if that was the right thing to say but more than not I would get an apology. Sometimes, though, the child didn’t even know they had said it, it was such a part of their vocabulary.

Dear Christian, let’s honor God with the respect that is due him. Let’s be careful not to use his precious name like unsaved people do.

February 22

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Leviticus 19-21

As God was giving the details of his law to the Israelites he said, “I am the Lord your God” at least a dozen times in these chapters alone. He also reminded them several times to be holy, to accept his holiness, because He is holy.

The rules God gave his people were not given to kill their fun. The rules were given so that God could bless them and the world would want to follow Him, too.

We are under grace in 2013. We know that salvation is not found in following rules. But the reading of these rules today reminded me that they are not about earning salvation. Read these rules again and think about it. If we lived accordingly there would be happier marriages, healthier people, peace and honest dealings. If Christians alone lived accordingly, wouldn’t unbelievers be drawn to us?

Again I’m reminded to be holy because God is holy… and He is the Lord our God.

Father, I pray that your people… that I… would live lives that set us apart from the world. May we obey you, to live holy lives because You have forgiven us. May others see You in us.

February 20

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Leviticus 13:47-15:33

Where’s a good bottle of Clorox when you need it? Most of us in this country have it so much easier to be clean than the Israelites had in the desert. Most of us have hot water we can run right in our homes. Our cabinets have multiple bottles of cleaning supplies. Our clothes come out clean with the use of detergent in our washers. And our dishes are sanitized each time we run the dishwasher.

There really is no excuse for most of us to be dirty.

Do we take cleanliness for granted? I’m not saying we should get rid of any of our conveniences. I’m going to do laundry today and I’m not going to take it to the river. But don’t we kind of take for granted that the person whose hand we just shook is clean?

Spiritually speaking, it is much easier for us today to be cleansed of sin. No animal sacrifice is required. Seven days aren’t required for purification. We need only to repent, to ask Jesus to come into our lives and just like that… our sins are forgiven, we are whiter than snow before a Holy God.

Let’s not assume, however, that the person whose hand we just shook… even as we greet him in church… has been cleansed from sin. There are many good people who are lost because they haven’t made a decision to accept Christ.

And let’s not assume that that person the Lord has laid on our hearts knows Jesus as Savior. We need to be about letting unclean people know how to be cleaned up by the One who loves them so very much. We know it’s there for the asking.

God, I pray that you will point us toward someone who needs a cleansing today. Help us as we introduce them to You and show them how easy it is to be washed in the blood. May  each of us begin this day allowing you to clean us up, too and make us ready to serve you.