Day 25…2 Thessalonians 3:1

"Brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:1) 

Notes from the devotional:

• Many pastors find themselves simply overwhelmed. Overworked, sometimes underpaid, under constant spiritual attack, many feel they’re over their heads.
• Pastors are expected to be all things to all people – expert counselors, deft mediators, eloquent preachers, gifted financiers, noble visionaries. In the face of these expectations, many pastors wonder if they’re really making a difference for you and me.
• As men of God, we must come alongside our pastors with our service and daily prayers for their families, their marriages, and most importantly, their continued growth in their relationships with Jesus.

My notes:

• I guess I am still in my state of mind from the week, because as I read this, it was really easy to see me in the place of the word pastor.
• Why do I feel so reluctant to ask others to pray for us? Is it a macho kind of “I’m okay, I don’t need help” kind of thing? Is it  a fear of admitting failure? Is it just flat out stupid denial that I need prayer? Or is it something worse – a lack of trust in the power of prayer?
• It is important for me to remember that I need to not only pray for my pastor, but not be afraid to ask others for prayer – to pray that when we get discouraged, when we start to lose our way, we find our way back to him and work for his will and his glory.

Personal challenge:

• Think of something encouraging you can do or say for your pastor this week.
• Pray for your pastor.

~~from Men of Integrity: A Daily Guide to the Bible and Prayer (1999)~~

Jammin' with the boys

Just a video cap with my phone at their lesson this morning. Testing out youtube and posting to the blog and facebook.

Day 24…Philippians 4:19

"God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) 

Notes from the devotional:

• Paul is declaring here a promise to the Philippians regarding their own financial needs.
• The promise here is to supply all your need; but it is all your need. In this, the promise is both broad and restricted.
• The measure of God’s supply is staggering. It is according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Since there is no lack in God’s riches in glory, we should anticipate that there would be no lack in God’s supply.
• However, notice that this promise was made to the Philippians – those who had surrendered their finances and material possessions to God’s service, and who knew how to give with the right kind of heart.
• This promise simply expresses what Jesus said in Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
• In other words, if you give poorly or begrudgingly or in small portion, you will be blessed in kind.

My notes:

• Look, I do not buy into the whole Gospel of Prosperity thing, and I do agree that God meets all our needs. But I have been struggling so mightily with God lately. I feel like Jacob in a wrestling match with him. We are working so hard and giving everything we have to the office because we felt God leading us here. But it seems the harder we have to work the less blessing we receive. That is my perception anyway. It is almost like the more we work out of seeking God’s will, the more difficult our life becomes.
• Again, I have to rethink what I see as “need” versus “want”. But we do not look for riches, and more and more stuff or exotic vacations, etc. We DO want more time to spend, however. Time seems to be stolen from me and Kelly, us with the boys, us with God in bible study and devotional time together. Kelly mainly has had time stolen from her and anything she had that fulfilled her – her sewing, her Christian fellowship with friends and family, cooking, and so on. Is that what God means? Does he mean we don’t need time for any of those things? That we are to spend all our time service the kids who come through our office to the exclusion of our children, our marriage, our time with him> Surely not.
• This is where my anger and resentment and “fist shaking” has been coming from lately. When you are working to the bone serving in the mission field you felt God had provided for you, but are struggling so much that you are having to seriously consider selling your home and renovating your office so you can squeeze your family in to live there, it is hard to feel the joy or blessing God promises us.
• I could really use some Godly wisdom from my friends on how to handle this, because frankly, I am not doing a very good job of it right now.

Personal challenge:

• Thank God for his provision in your life. If and when times come when you feel God’s provision is absent, ask for forgiveness.
• Do not be afraid to ask your Christian family for help. That is what the Body of Christ is for.

~~initial scriptural point of reference from Men of Integrity: A Daily Guide to the Bible and Prayer (1999)~~
~~devotional notes taken from David Guzik’s study noted on Philippians 4 at BlueLetterBible.org~~

Day 23…I Corinthians 12:27

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (I Corinthians 12:27) 

Notes from the devotional:

• Many Americans treat going to church like deciding on a fast food restaurant… “We went to McDonald’s last week, so this week let’s go to Burger King.” We hop around from church to church like looking for the best deal, the best value meal, the Special of the Day.
• It is crucial we keep our family’s roots firmly  planted in our home church. Otherwise, we remain shallow in our commitment , and we will lose out on the support of other Christians when the tribulations come.
• By neglecting to minister within our home church, we also cause other Christians to lose something.
• Jesus says he is the vine and we are his branches (John 15:5-8).
• We are literally connected to each other through our local church.
• Today’s verse shows us the importance of being connected to one another through the church. How we relate to the body of Christ directly affects other Christians.
• We need each other, and the church is the best place to star meeting each other’s needs

My notes:

• Like I said in Sunday School the other day to the youth. We ARE all part of one body. Somebody’s gotta be Sergeant Hulka’s big toe! A person cannot walk without his big toe, and the body of Christ cannot function if vital parts are missing.
• The catch is, we are ALL “vital” parts of the body. We are all unique members of the body - “fearfully and wonderfully made” – to meet a specific God-designed task.
• I thank God for my home church, the relationships I am developing there, and the roles and functions I am able to fill for my brothers in Christ.

Personal challenge:

• How does your life show that church matters to you?
• Ask God to show you how you can be a “need meeter” in your church.

~~from Men of Integrity: A Daily Guide to the Bible and Prayer (1999)~~

Day 22…Luke 1:26-38

"Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) 

Notes from the devotional:

• Theologians us a trio of words to describe God:
  • Omnipotent (all powerful)
  • Omniscient (all knowing)
  • Omnipresent (everywhere present)
• God has commented on his omnipotence in the Bible:
  • When God spoke to Abraham and Sarah about a son, when Sarah laughed at the notion… “Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:13-14) …of course not, nothing is too hard for the Lord.
  • When God spoke to Mary about  having a son…Mary’s questions were answered by the firm assuring statement, Nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
• God’s statements to Sarah and Mary about divine omnipotence need to be seen in the context of divine will. God was stating that nothing would hinder him from doing what he willed to do.
• There is a great challenge and wonderful comfort in these words.
  • The challenge lies in the fact that resistance to God is little short of suicidal.
  • The comfort inherent in God’s omnipotence means that he will come through in the end. Praise the Lord!

My notes:

• Why do I always worry so much? God can do what he says he can do, and WILL do what he says he can do. If God has stated that he will take cares of the birds, then he surely will take care of us!
  • “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? … But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you.” (Luke 12:24-25, 31)
• I’m not talking about the Gospel of Wealth that some evangelists spout off about (I’m looking at you, Mr. Osteen). I’m talking about God taking CARE of us. That doesn’t necessarily mean wealth, or prosperity, or fame, or anything like that. I am talking about your needs. And most of all your eternal salvation. If God is going to take care of what I need… my manna from heaven… why do I worry so about storing up anything.
• The only thing I really have a hard time getting away from is the desire for time. I want more of it. It seems that all my time is taken up for others. All Kelly’s time is taken up for others, when our own children (and house) and spiritual development seems to be neglected. Can anyone help me not be so resentful over this? That is probably my biggest struggle. It is making me resent the job I do and the call I feel God has placed on Kelly and me.
• I am guilty of the sin of disbelief. Please, Lord, forgive me my disbelief and lack of trust in you. Forgive me my resentment and anger and fist shaking Lord. Help me believe in your love for me and omnipotence and desire to care for me despite me. Thank you for your provision and sustenance daily.

Personal challenge:

• Do you believe God can and will do what he says he can do?
• What is keeping you from trusting in God’s omnipotence in your life?

~~from The One Year Book of Devotions for Men (Stuart Briscoe, 2000)~~

Day 21…Mark 7:15

"Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.” (Mark 7:15) 

Notes from the devotional:

• It’s not easy to be pure in an impure world.
• Even if you become a cultural ostrich and avoid all movies, listen only to Christian radio, and read only Christian books and magazines, you’re still going to struggle.
• You will never become a godly man by negation. A pure, pollution-free environment doesn’t make pure people. Jesus makes it clear that what’s inside a man defiles him. That’s where we need to start.
• If a farmer doesn’t plan seeds, he will never harvest a crop – doesn’t matter how weed-free the ground is. In the same way, we can only reap a harvest of purity and integrity by planting the good seed of God’s Word into our lives.
• The devotional writer is not talking about merely reading the Bible. He is talking about allowing the Hly Spirit to pant the truths of the Scripture deep into our hearts and minds through consistent Bible reading and memorization, meditation, and prayer.

My notes:

• Yet again… God is reminding me for the need to be in the Word every day.
• It makes sense and I can see it in my own life. I have tried and tried and tried over the years to “keep my mind and eyes clean” (if you know what I mean) by “bouncing my eyes off of “ tempting images, keeping my mind clean, avoiding tempting images on TV and in movies, having computer screening apps on my computer, and so on. But they never work for long. It is because I am not trying to clean my mind and heart from within. If I try to empty that part of me, it is going to leave a void. And my sinful nature is going to fill it with, well, sinful things if left to its own devices. Therefore if I want to remain a man of integrity, that void needs to be filled by forcing the sinful nature out of the way and filling that void with God’s purity and integrity.
• If I focus on filling my heart with God’s Word, there will be less room for my sinful nature to flood me with other things.

Personal challenge:

• What are you planting in your heart?
• Ask God to plant the truths of the Scripture deep into you.

~~from Men of Integrity: A Daily Guide to the Bible and Prayer (1999)~~