Tag Archives: witness

February 19

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Leviticus 11-13:46

God gave Moses instructions for healthy living. The Israelites were taught what foods to eat and not eat, what to do with dead animals, when to bathe and wash clothes, and how to treat diseases. God wanted the nation of Israel to be the cleanest, healthiest, most civilized nation in the world.

To us, much of what is written here is common sense. But it wasn’t so common back then.

I’m sitting here wondering what God would say to me today through His Word. Maybe He would like His people to in 2013 to be the cleanest, healthiest, most civilized people on earth. Not that we can’t eat a pork chop or enjoy shrimp if we want. And with modern medicines we don’t have to get out of town when we’re sick.

But in God’s spiritual kingdom He is calling us to be holy because He is holy. He wants us to be free from sin, cleansed, pure. He wants our thought life, our daily tasks, our conversations to be healthy. And he wants us to be careful about what kinds of things we put in our minds and in our hearts.

God, thank you for your Word and the privilege we have of reading it this morning. Help us, as Christians, to be holy as You are holy. Teach us how to keep our minds and hearts free from all that is unclean. And may You find us faithful.

February 18

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Leviticus 8-10

Were Nadab and Abihu so puffed up about their new-found status as priests that they thought they could do whatever they wanted? Did they have this great idea and think they could impress God with their ingenuity? I’m very sure they believed in God. But they must have thought they could go to Him on their own terms.

Scripture says that one day, at the name of Jesus EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. There is NO OTHER name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus said… I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except by me.

John 3:16 makes it clear that eternal life comes through believing in the Son. His name is Jesus. Not Buddha or Mohammed or any other false god. I didn’t come up with that. God did.

Do we really believe that? Then we had better get busy letting our loved ones know because they might be trying to get to God using unauthorized fire. Ask Nadab and Abihu how that turns out.

Heavenly Father, help us today to reach out to someone who is lost. Help us to intentionally introduce them to the only one who can save.

February 2

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Exodus 1-4:17

Oh Moses.  History has remembered you as a great leader, a faithful saint. But you were a coward, weren’t you? You tried to talk God out of His plan five different ways, even pleading with God to please send someone else to do it!

But in the end Moses was obedient and we know the nation of Israel gained their freedom through him. God took an insecure, hot-headed, flawed man and because he was obedient, brought his people to the promised land.

Have you ever argued with God? Have I? It probably didn’t sound exactly like the conversation between Moses and God. It probably was more like God laid a person on your heart. You had the thought of reaching out to that person but you pushed the thought aside, thinking you wouldn’t know what to say. Maybe it’s a change of address or career change. Maybe it’s teaching Sunday School or writing a blog. And each time God plants that idea in our heads, instead of praying about it and obeying we, like Moses say… please send someone else. Who am I to lead? What have I to say? What about my past sins? People would think I’m a hypocrite.

God is saying to us… I will help you speak and teach you what to say. He said that to Moses. He says that to me. And I’m thinking He’s saying that to you, too.

Father in Heaven, help us to recognize your prompting and give us the courage to obey. You promised to help us speak and teach us what to say. We are going to hold you to that. Go with us as we listen to your voice and go where you want us to go, do what you want us to do.

February 1

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Genesis 47:13-50:26

Every time I read this passage I am struck by what occurred between the brothers after their father Israel died. They had lived for years in Egypt with Joseph. Their brother protected them and cared for them. But somewhere in their hearts they still felt guilty for mistreating Joseph in the past and were afraid his kindness to them was merely for their father’s sake.

What Joseph says to them after they bury Israel is something I am reminded of during tough times. They had meant to harm Joseph but God had another plan. God took Joseph’s captivity, used Joseph’s obedience, and provided salvation for Joseph’s family.

God didn’t make the brothers sin that day they threw Joseph in the well. That is not consistent with his holiness. But because the brothers sinned and because Joseph remained faithful, God was able to use the situation to bring about good.

We make choices every day. Sometimes we choose to sin. Sometimes we choose obedience. And even if I am going through a difficulty not of my choosing, I want to remain faithful like Joseph did.

It is then, and only then God can accomplish something good out of the pain.

God, my heart is hurting. May you find me faithful and allow you to use these painful circumstances to reach someone for Jesus’ sake.

January 31

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I Chronicles 4:1-23, 7:1-5, 12-13, 30-40    Genesis 46:13-47:12

I am sometimes tempted to skip over the long list of difficult-to-pronounce names in the genealogies. I know they must be important or they would not be included in Scripture. Why did God inspire men to carefully record the descendants of his people? And why include that list more than once?

As I sit here this morning and reflect on these verses I am struck with the thought about my own genealogy. I’m not talking about biological relatives. I am talking about my spiritual lineage.

Listed there are my dear Mother, two spinster sisters we called Aunt Minnie and Aunt Rose who taught our pre-school Sunday School class and who prayed with me. My grandparents are there. As are those who introduced them to the Savior. Aunts and Uncles who loved the Lord, pastors whose messages encouraged and convicted me. A missionary named Alice who spoke at our church when I was twelve. The list goes on.

I thank God for these saints whose lives have touched mine and helped to mold me into the Christian woman I am today.

But will the genealogy end with me? Will there be people in heaven who are there because of me? Will I be listed among the names of those whose lives have drawn them to a saving knowledge of Jesus?

Lord, I thank you for reminding me today that I have a job to do. Help me to influence someone today  in a way that will draw them to You. I want to be a part of someone’s spiritual genealogy. Thank you for the people who are a part of mine.

January 28

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Genesis 40-41

I know there are so many parallels in Joseph’s and Jesus’ stories. Both were only 30 when they began their ministries. They both taught about planning for the future. And I think the storehouses in Joseph’s story are very  much like the gospel in Jesus’.

In the Old Testament people came from all over the world to receive what Joseph had. They came with great hunger, needing to be fed. They recognized their need of food and knew where to turn.

There are hungry people in our world, too. People who recognize an emptiness, a hunger that only God can satisfy. Do they know where to turn? And are we ready to share what we have with them?

Lord, may your Church, those people who know you as Savior, be ready and eager to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I pray for hungry and hurting people today. May they recognize that it’s You they need. And may they be drawn to us. Prepare us to feed a multitude today.

January 24

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Genesis 28:10-30:43

I think one of the sweetest verses in Scripture is 29:20. Jacob worked for Laban seven years in order to marry Rachel. But the Bible says it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

People who enjoy happy marriages are truly blessed. Fifty years with the one you love can seem like a few days.

God is asking… How much do you love me? Does my being in your life make the days go by quickly, even when we are busy sharing the gospel? Is the thought of spending eternity with me so sweet that it’s always before you? Is the work I’ve called you to do done out of love with a joyful heart?

Isn’t it true that when a man and woman fall in love you can see it in their faces? They talk about the other all the time. They can’t spend enough time with each other. Everything reminds them of their love.

Lord, renew my love for you. I want to love you like you deserve to be loved. May I love you so much I can’t help but talk about you and may that love be evident on my face and in my life.

January 23

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Gen 27:1-28:9, 36:1-43, I Chronicles 1:35-54

I don’t feel too sorry for Esau. Yes Jacob deceived their father and received the blessing that should have been Esau’s. But from what I read about the elder brother he wasn’t faultless, either.

Esau brought foreign wives into his father’s home and I imagine the women brought their false gods with them. He was so flippant about his birthright he sold it for a bowl of soup. It sounds like he wanted the blessing of being Abraham’s son but he didn’t feel the need to be obedient.

How serious am I about being in my Father’s family? Do I strive to live a life that honors Him or do I take for granted the blessing of being His child? Am I flippant about my salvation, about the cross?

God I am blessed as your child. Help me to live up to your expectations. May I make you proud today.

January 21

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Genesis 22-24

It amazes me how often people traveled during Bible times. God tells Abraham to take his family and possessions and go somewhere and Abraham goes. God says to go somewhere else and Abraham goes somewhere else. And with him go servants, livestock, gold and silver, tents and food. Abraham tells his servant to go to Nahor to find a wife for Isaac and the servant eagerly goes to Nahor. Rebekah is invited to go back to Canaan and she goes.

And no one had four wheel drive and air conditioning.

I am once again convicted. How many times has God laid a neighbor or friend on my heart and I do nothing about it? I can’t go next door or across town to share Jesus with someone and Abraham traveled hundreds of miles in obedience. I can’t pick up the phone but Rebekah could get on a stranger’s camel and travel to a distant land.

What would God have me do today? Where does he want me to go? In which direction is he leading my life? May I be as obedient as Abraham, as eager as Abraham’s servant, and as trusting as Rebekah.

January 18

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Job 11:27-15:21

I remember reading about Lot’s rescue before. He and his family were living in Sodom when the city was attacked and they were taken prisoner. But it occurred to me today as though for the first time, that God was revealing Himself to Lot through this event. He provided a way out for Lot and his family.

Lot was living in a sinful city. He was surrounded by perversion… and so were his wife and daughters. When Uncle Abram came to their rescue they could have, and should have, settled somewhere else. Did Lot go to God for direction before taking his kids back to the evilness in the city? I doubt it.

This is another example of God using the events of life to draw us to Himself. In this instance Lot accepted the salvation, fled the city to safety but then went right back. Lot ignored God and the end result, as we’ll see later, is he’ll lose his wife and experience how living among the perverted effected his daughters.

Some people acknowledge Jesus as Savior, then go right back to living the same lifestyle they lived before. Before long the evidence of their conversion is lost. What God is saying to me today is that sometimes, in order to be the godly people God wants us to be, we need to make some drastic changes. If we do the same things, talk the same way, laugh at the same jokes, sooner or later we put ourselves in danger of ignoring the salvation that was ours. Lot did that. And the results were devastating.

I know that our unsaved friends need the Lord. And I know that Paul said he became all things to all men in order to win some. But I guess I want to encourage all of us to tread lightly, to go carefully into situations that might tempt us to sin. And never go without going to God first. Our friends and our neighbors need to see us different… better than we were before. Not the same.

God, let me see you in the events of today. Help me recognize the many ways you try to get my attention. May I not pass up any opportunity to do the right thing and draw closer to you. Give me the ability to recognize things that would compromise my commitment to you… and flee. And may my life be such that my friends and neighbors will see You and want to know you, too.