Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord

James 4:1-3—What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Words are powerful.  When we speak something out loud, we place energy into the universe with the power of our intention.  Our mindset, hearts, and desires, then, are more significant than we can even understand.  Our culture here in the United States teaches self-reliance and encourages people not to trust each other.  It brutally condemns failures and only respects those who can alone pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.  Success in this country is measured in terms of wealth and accumulation of power.  All of these values are contrary to God’s ways, though.  He wants us to be reliant on Him and to know our impotence to do anything without His divine intervention.  He wants us to be in relationship with each other and to love one another without passing judgment on each other.  But the reality is we come to God each day with a worldly mindset that is hard to escape.  The prayers we lift up emanate from bodies that live in this world, and it is difficult to escape our humanity.  That is why it is so important to listen to God and pray for him to shift our spirits so that we may see what He sees.  We must continually seek to be more like Him and allow Him to come alive in us. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, consider your habits of prayer.  Set aside any personal wants, and take a moment to listen to Michael W. Smith’s “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” Make this song your prayer today.  Ask God to speak to you and reveal His perfect Will for your life.  Rejoice in His Name and lift up praise to Him.

Hi God, It's Me!

Luke 6:12—One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to hear Jesus praying?  What might He have said out loud during these prayers that lasted all night?  As God Himself, He was all-knowing and all-powerful, so He really didn’t need to pray to God in the same way that we as weak humans need to pray to God.  Yet, He diligently prayed, constantly prayed—He fasted and prayed throughout His life.  Of course, He was modeling the prayer-life He wanted us to have.  But I think it was more than just that.  Even though Jesus didn’t need anything from God, He still wanted to be in relationship and communicating with Him.  Jesus’ prayer-life is not so different than our relationships with each other.  Just like we might get the urge to call a friend when something wonderful happens, or when some tragedy strikes, or when we just want to check in and see how the other person is doing, Jesus wanted to be talking to God.  At times, I think our prayer-life can get into a rut where we only ask God to fulfill our earthly dreams and desires.  We spend a lot of time talking, and not so much time listening.  And our talking is really more about asking for things—not so much just being in a conversation.  Think about how long you would want to be in relationship with a person who only ever called when in need.  Those needy friends are taxing and we tend to keep them at a distance.  Fortunately for us, God wants to be in relationship with us, and He asks us to throw our needs onto Him.  Imagine, though, how close we could be to Him if every once in a while we prayed just to check in and not to ask for something else.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for the gift of relationship with Him.  Lift up a prayer of connection by saying “Hi God, it’s me.  You are on my mind, and I just wanted to tell You how much I love You.”  Today, don’t ask God for anything—just praise His Name and rejoice in His presence.

Be Blessed

Matthew 5:7-10—“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

God sees each of us in a way that no other human is capable of seeing us.  He sees our inner thoughts, He understands our hearts, and He knows what motivates our every move.  As followers of Christ, we are called to be loving, merciful, pure, and peaceful—because that is the example Jesus laid out for us.  When we follow God, when we pursue righteousness, there will be times when the world condemns us, when the world won’t understand our actions.  The world’s rejection may hurt us, and it may cause us to be afraid.  But God promises to bless us with the kingdom of heaven.  He will fill us up and reveal Himself when we pursue Him above all else.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise God for loving you enough to know the real you.  Open your heart to Him and ask Him to flood you with His merciful Spirit.  Pray that you would be a peacemaker in this angry world.  Thank God for His promise to love you and reveal Himself to you.

Space to be Blessed

Matthew 5:4-6—“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus details numerous blessings and the types of people who are positioned to inherit those blessings.  His characterization of bless-worthy individuals is the polar opposite of what most people would think.  As humans, we do not desire mourning, we do not respect the meek, and we tend to only care about righteousness if it doesn’t require any effort on our part.  Each of these conditions, though, creates space within us as humans, and space is exactly how God gets inside to unite with us.  Think about how you feel when you have lost someone or something—often, people will say, I feel so empty inside.  In a different way, the meek create space by never being controlled their own selfish desires—they are humble and not egocentric or self-centered.  Similarly, those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness are putting others first and risking their own comforts and desires to achieve a higher good.  By creating space within themselves, these types of individuals are in a position to receive the blessing of more intimate relationship with God.  As this happens, a level of loneliness can arise with regard to other humans because, frankly, other humans aren’t going to understand why you are not more self-centered.  Fortunately, the blessing of relationship with God is so great that it never feels empty or lonely (like human relationships so often do). 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for the gift of relationship with Him.  Pray that He would guide you in creating space to receive the full blessing He is waiting to rain down on you.  Praise Him for His infinite wisdom and unlimited love for you.

God's Blessing: Can you Handle That?

Matthew 5:3—“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Have you ever thought about whether you really want to be blessed? I mean, are you ready to handle the blessings God has for you?  Blessings on God’s terms are quite different than blessings on human terms.  To be blessed doesn’t mean you necessarily get the new car, or the raise at work, or the recognition for a job well-done.  By human measure, blessings don’t necessarily give us the life we think we want, filled with modern conveniences and lots of stuff.  Blessings on God’s terms mean we can enjoy a closer relationship with Him. To be poor in spirit means to be empty of selfish, worldly desires.  It means that because worldly wealth, prosperity, and success are not the focus of your desire, you have made room to be filled by the Holy Spirit. You don’t have anything distracting you from being consumed in God’s love.  In God’s love, we experience His Kingdom and find peace.  His love lifts us above the fray of this world so we can no longer be affected by what happens around us.

Today as you pray and meditate on this passage, reconsider your concept of blessings.  Praise God for His Work in your life and the blessing of relationship with Him.  Open yourself to deeper relationship with Him by praying to be emptied of worldly desires.  Ask God to reveal His will for your life so that you might seek Him more each day.

God is in Control

Ecclesiastes 5:8—If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

We don’t have to look far to see oppression and injustice.  It lives in our backyards, down the street, across our nation, and around the world.  Sometimes we feel subjected to the oppression and injustice, and other times we feel powerless to stop it.  It might seem natural to question God and ask where He is in all of this or how He can allow such injustice and oppression to occur.  Or perhaps we don’t see God in it at all and we begin to believe that humans have the power to control everything that happens.  At all times, we must remember that God brings all things together for good, but it does not mean that he never allows a bad thing to happen.  After all, humans have free will, and we are imperfect.  We make lots of mistakes, which proves we really aren’t in control after all.  God who loves us is always in control—He has a greater plan than any of us could possibly imagine.  For that plan to be revealed though, we must trust in Him and pray constantly for it to be revealed.  Our faith must abide deeply and our prayers must flow beyond just our personal selfish interests – we must pray for those in the world who do not know how to pray for themselves.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, declare to God that you trust Him completely.  Praise Him for His perfect and knowing plan, even in those times when you don’t understand everything that is happening.  Pray for those in this world that lead campaigns for oppression and injustice that their human plans would be foiled and their hearts would be changed.  Pray for those who fight against oppression and injustice that they would be filled with wisdom and empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s Will for His Creation.

Word!

2 Timothy 2:14-17—Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. Avoid profane chatter, for it will lead people into more and more impiety, and their talk will spread like gangrene.

God has given us the gift of His Holy Word which has existed since the Beginning.  As Christians, God expects us to study His Word so that we gain a better understanding of who He is and the plan He has crafted for our lives. We are not supposed to get caught up in mundane arguments about translations and specific word choices—those conversations are counterproductive and actually tend to pull us away from God.  The only way to know and understand God is by reading and studying the Bible for ourselves because He speaks to us through His Word.  We certainly need teachers, mentors, and fellow Christians who we can trust to guide us and study with us.  But we shouldn’t ever allow human arguments over word choices interfere with God’s Divine direction.

Today as you pray and meditate, praise God for blessing us with the gift of His Divine Word. Offer yourself to Him as a student hungry for the treasure of knowledge tucked away in each page.  Pray that God would reveal Himself to you as you study His Word so that you never doubt who He is. 

God's Thoughts & Ways

Isaiah 55:8-9—For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We live in a world in which evil, injustice, and tragedy exist, and God does not always prevent us from experiencing negative circumstances.  His promise is not that we will never pass through difficulty; in fact, adversity is often the time when we lean in closest to Him and grow spiritually.  But knowing this does not necessarily make it easy to live in difficult times.  It’s normal to cry out for answers, to sob in our grief, and to feel broken in our humanity.  During these times, we should lean into God and trust His infinite wisdom.  He sees us so very differently than we are capable of seeing ourselves.  We can’t even begin to imagine how he weaves together the moments of our lives for His glory.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, pray for a blanket of peace to descend upon you, your neighbors, and your city.  Praise God for His knowing ways and ask Him to reveal Himself to those who are suffering right now that they would be comforted by His presence.  Be faithful and profess your trust in God’s ways.  Pray that He would use you to bring comfort to others in their times of need.

I am the Vine, You are the Branches

John 15:1-2—“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

As Christians, we are charged to abide in Christ like the branches of a vine and bear fruit for Him.  Through this metaphor, Jesus is trying to tell us that we cannot live without abiding in Him just like a branch cannot survive once it has been cut off from the vine.  He is also telling us that unfruitful Christians will weaken His Kingdom just like unfruitful branches weaken the vine and other branches.  Dead and unfruitful branches must be removed from a vine to protect the vine and the other branches.  Branches of a vine also need direction and pruning as they grow—left untouched, the branches of a vine will grow unruly and tangle up like a big clump.  With a gardener’s wise touch, however, the branches can be pruned and trained to grow in the right direction.  Through this metaphor, Jesus specifically refers to a fruit-bearing vine, not just a flowering vine.  He has called us to a purpose, not just to be a pretty ornament for His Kingdom.  Christians bear their fruit through the lives they lead-their temperament, attitude, and love for others.  A Christian’s fruit should honor God by doing good, knowing and sharing His Word, and following Jesus’ command to love one another.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, consider the type of branch you want to be.  Compare that to the type of branch you are.  Are they the same thing?  Do you bear fruit for the Lord—are you in a period of pruning and shaping—are you at risk of being removed entirely?  Praise God for reserving a place for you as a branch on His Vine.  Pray that He would tend to you so that your fruit will multiply and your branch will grow as He has designed.  Renew your commitment to abide in Him and His Word so that every moment of your life honors Him.

Teach Me, Lead Me

Psalm 25:4-5—Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

When we study the Bible, we read about how God has spoken out loud to people.  This day and age, though, it seems easy to question whether God still does speak out loud.  Just yesterday someone was asking how to understand the difference between God’s voice and our own internal voice.  I do think that God still does speak out loud, and when He does, it is with a voice that is unmistakably, undeniably, the voice of God.  But that is not the only way He speaks, and for someone who is not used to listening for God, it can seem overwhelming to figure out when God is the One really doing the speaking.  This passage gives us two concrete ways we can prepare our souls to hear God.  The first involves learning God’s ways and allowing Him to teach us His paths.  When we study the Bible, pray, and meditate, we are learning God’s ways.  God reveals Himself through His Word, so the more we study it, pray it, and meditate on it, the more we will understand Him.  When we understand His Word, we can better understand and discern His voice speaking to us through His Word.  The second involves us following God as the leader of our lives.  God has promised to provide for each of us, and if we start paying attention to what is happening in our lives, we begin to see God’s path and His Will laid out for us.  When we are paying attention, we can hear God speak to us through our circumstances and even through others in our lives.

Today as you pray and meditate, thank God for the gift of His Word and His perfect plan for your life.  Pray for a spirit willing to hear His Voice both through His Word and through the circumstances of your life.  Seek Him with all your Heart.

3 Tools for Finding Joy in Adversity

James 1:2-4—My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

The command in this Scripture is entirely at odds with our natural human response during difficult times of adversity.  I don’t know anyone who shouts for joy when something goes wrong.  Who is happy when navigating the political climate at work?  Who rejoices during an argument with a family member?  Who is thrilled about financial difficulties?  The truth is, though, that God uses times of adversity to grow our spirits and prepare us to receive richer blessings in this life and the one after.  Even so, to get to a place of true joy in the midst of adversity takes effort and complete reliance on the Holy Spirit.  Let me offer you three tools for following His command to consider your adversity nothing but joy.  1. Acknowledge to yourself that whatever difficulty you are dealing with in your life is too big for you to handle alone; 2. Say it out loud to God that you cannot handle the adversity alone and that you need His intervention to guide you through it; 3. Be honest with God about your pain, your confusion, even your anger—God can take it, and He wants to take all our burdens from us.  Avoid getting so wrapped up in your own emotions that you can’t see the potential for growth and spiritual renewal, and don’t judge yourself for feeling these natural human emotions.  Christians are still human, after all—the difference is that we have a Savior who can really comfort us during times of pain and adversity.  By being honest with God about how we are feeling, He can help us work through any difficulty with a spirit of joy that passes all understanding.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, consider those areas where you are experiencing adversity in your life.  Pray to God and acknowledge your human weaknesses in resolving these problems. Ask for His intervention, guidance, and peace in these areas.  Speak with Him honestly about your emotions and trust that He is listening.  Thank Him for the opportunity to grow in your faith, and pray that He would bless you with a joyful spirit as the adversity evolves and resolves.

Extraordinarily Gifted, Say What?

Romans 12:4-8—For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

It fills me with wonder and awe when I think of how God, the Maker of the universe, uniquely and specially created me.  Not only did He craft me to for my own life, but He has packaged me together with particular gifts and personality traits so that I can accomplish a distinct purpose—and no one else in the whole world is particularly equipped exactly the way that I am. Anyone who is in Christ shares in God’s grace and blessing of spiritual gifts, but he has apportioned those gifts differently in each person so that we are all fulfilling essential roles. Sometimes, it’s hard to see within ourselves all the gifts God has given.  Other times, it is hard to recognize in others the spiritual gifts God has given to them.  Sometimes, we crave more prominent, or showy, gifts so we can stand out.  Other times, we wish our gifts wouldn’t shine so brightly because we need some time out of the limelight. Through the blessing of gifts, God empowers us to do the work of His Kingdom.  We are called to grow in our spiritual gifts to bring honor and glory to His Name.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, praise Him for the spiritual gifts He has given you.  Pray that He would see fit to reveal to you your unique blend of spiritual gifts and the role you are to play in His Kingdom.  Thank Him for creating His perfect plan and giving you a specific place in that plan. 

God First

Colossians 3:12-17—As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Sometimes it is hard to remember to do everything in the name of the Lord.  After all, most of us have secular jobs where we spend most of our days doing and talking about things that seemingly have nothing to do with God.  Imagine, though, how amazing our lives could be if we put God first in all areas of our lives.  Think about the peace you could have at work and the relationships you could build with your colleagues.  This Scripture gives specific instructions for how to put God first in all areas of our lives.  So, when we forgive our boss for being short with us, when we show kindness to our assistant, or when we show humility amongst our colleagues, we put Christ first.  We are called to forgive others, even if every earthly part of our being screams at us to hold on to the grudge.  Christ fills us with His love and we ought to be vessels spilling that love onto everyone around us.  Our human nature is weak, though, and we cannot fulfill these instructions without leaning on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength.  That is why Bible study and prayer are essential—they connect us to God so tightly that He remains at the forefront of our minds, and kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love become more natural in our daily lives.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, cry out joyfully to the Lord and thank Him for all He has done.  Confess to Him those times and situations where your human nature has taken over and pushed Him out of first place in your life.  Consider any anger, resentment, and judgments you are holding on to.  Offer those up to God—ask Him to take those away and fill you with the spirit of forgiveness toward those people in your life.  Ask Him to forgive you for your shortcomings in putting Him first in your life.  Rededicate yourself to Him, and pray that He would fill you with the Holy Spirit that you might show compassion, kindness, and love toward others. 

Where Is Your Treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21—“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

While we are alive on Earth, God has promised to provide for our needs.  We are commanded to be good stewards of those provisions, which means we shouldn’t waste what God gives to us.  He expects us to take care of what we have, spend money wisely, and use our blessings to help further His kingdom.  Part of being a good steward of resources is saving for the future, both our own and our future generations.  But we also must be mindful of becoming too obsessed with Earthly possessions.  Being a good steward does not mean that we treasure what we have over our relationship with God.  Especially in Western cultures, it is easy to get caught up in what we have, what we want, and what we wish you could have.  When we are so consumed with acquiring more wealth, our heart is tethered to Earth, not God.  The key to intimacy with God is finding a place of gratitude and contentment for what He has provided while at the same time releasing our desire for more.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, examine your heart.  Be honest with yourself about where your treasure is—do you acknowledge God’s hand in all the blessings in your life? Do you show your gratitude by returning to Him a portion of what He gives to you?  Would you be willing to walk away from what you have if He called you to do it?  Offer praise and shouts of joy to God for his generosity toward you.  Pray that you would be a good steward of His treasures, never allowing Earthly treasures to interfere with your relationship with Him.

The 3 Messages Embedded in Our Offerings

Mark 12:41-44—And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The widow in this passage demonstrates her wholehearted devotion to God by offering Him all she has.  What must have gone through this widow’s mind as she prepared to give this offering?  Was she wondering how she would eat without any money to purchase food?  Was she worried that she would have no way to provide for herself because she was giving all her money back to God?  Was she nervous that others would ridicule her small offering?  Based on Jesus’ reaction, it doesn’t seem like she was thinking any of those things.  If she had any worries about how to survive, they were wiped away by trusting that God always provides.  Additionally, because her gift was about honoring God, not pleasing others, she likely didn’t care what others thought of it.  When we give tithes and offerings to God, we say at least three things: (1) Thank you, God, for providing for me; (2) I know that nothing I have comes from my own hand—it all comes from you, God; and (3) It is a privilege and honor to return a portion of those blessings you have given me.  Our offering is something personal between us and God—it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, and we certainly shouldn’t give large offerings just for show.  When we give, we should do it to honor God because we trust Him to provide and we want to thank Him for all He has done.

Today as you pray and meditate on this passage, consider the blessings in your life.  Give praise to God and thank Him for providing for your needs. Prayerfully consider your offering practices and ask God to take any fears, worries, and anxieties away.  Open your Heart to His calling and pray for a cheerful giving spirit. 

Can God Trust You With His True Riches?

Luke 16:10-11—“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.  If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”

It has been said that America is consumed with a virulent (think virus) ethic of consumerism.  The more we have, the more we want. In western cultures, wealth is the mark of success, so from a young age we learn to measure our personal worth in terms of how much we have instead of who we are.  In this Scripture, though, Jesus reminds us that integrity is worth far more than money can buy.  He also teaches that anyone who is irresponsible or spiritually immature will not inherit true riches because that person has not been proven trustworthy.  Keep in mind that God’ true riches are not measured in dollar signs—His ways are not our ways.  His measure is love and deep intimate relationship with Him.  But if he can’t trust us with a little bit of earthly wealth, why in the world would he trust us with the true riches of His kingdom?  And if we think about it, His rationale makes complete sense—it is the same way we treat others around us.  We all have someone unreliable in our lives.  Just recently, for example, one of my students requested I place him on a competition team this fall.  This particular student, however, did not fulfill certain responsibilities I placed on him last year. So, when he came to me this year, I had to tell him that because he had been irresponsible in the less prestigious tasks I assigned him, I didn’t feel I could trust him with bigger responsibilities.  God does the same thing with us—from time to time He puts us in a position to do something we might not necessarily enjoy or that seems beneath us.  When we mishandle our earthly resources, we interfere with our ability to be in relationship God.  But if we faithfully follow and serve Him, we will prove ourselves worthy of greater responsibility. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for blessing and challenging you to be a faithful servant.  Dedicate yourself to being a good steward of the resources He has provided you.  Pray that God would find you faithful in little so that He can entrust you the true riches.

Love One Another

Romans 13:8—Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

In the ancient times, people were quite caught up in following rules.  Their concept of God was that He was easy to anger and demanding.  To disobey the law would be to incur the wrath of God.  Jesus came to Earth to show us that all God’s laws drive at one thing—for us to love one another.  When we love each other, we will treat each other well.  We will not intentionally hurt one another when we build loving relationships with one another.  Most importantly, when we love one another, we gain a better understanding of how God loves us. 

Today prayerfully consider the relationships in your life.  Is there an area where you are holding back love from someone?  Is there an area where your love has become stagnant?  Are there areas where your love for others is flourishing?  Take a moment to thank God for all the relationships in your life and pray for each of those relationships individually.  Pray that your love for others would grow and flourish.  Ask God to guide you in sharing your love with others so that your relationships might help you understand God’s love for you.  Praise Him for His unwavering love for you.

The Gift of Faith

Hebrews 11:1-3—Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

It might see simple, this gift of faith.  Two things—knowing what we hope for and believing in something we cannot see.  This Scripture reminds us that even our ancient ancestors, the first men who walked upon the Earth, had faith.  Sometimes, I think it was easier to hear God back in those days.  After all, there was no television to distract everyone.  People had to tune in to others in their communities for their very survival.  In some ways, they were better at relationships back then because they had to be.  They also better understood the land, animals, and the heavens.  They paid attention to things like the moon and stars.  They knew the extent of their human frailty.  Because of all these things, they were in a position to tune into God and live faithfully.  In our modern society, though, we have many distractions.  We have forgotten to pay attention to the cycle of the moon and most of us figure out the weather by watching the news or checking an app.  We search for answers in man-made things like the Internet or television.  We find it increasingly difficult to have conversations with each other—we’d rather text or send an email.  As Christians, it is essential for us to find that quiet space where we can nurture our faith by connecting with God.  This Scripture reminds us that God created the world with the intention of bestowing faith in us.  It is by His grace that we have faith in Him, and it is our responsibility to honor that gift.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, praise God for the gift of faith.  Thank Him for opening your heart, mind, and soul to communion with Him.  Pray for God to continue speaking to you in a powerful way, and affirm to Him your desire to grow in your faith.  Rejoice in His perfect plan.

Unfettered Faith

2 Kings 4:1-7—Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.”

 

What amazing faith this widow demonstrates in this passage of Scripture.  Upon her husband’s death, she must have felt so alone and frightened.  Under these circumstances, she might have been justified in questioning Elisha’s instructions, but she unhesitatingly did what he told her to do.  This widow didn’t have much—only one jar of oil. She had no goods or wares to sell, she had no food to cook—she had nothing else.  Yet, she demonstrated tremendous faith in God, and He rewarded her by blessing and multiplying the oil.  Just like this widow was blessed with the oil, God has blessed us with amazing gifts.  We may not recognize the value of what we have been given, but if we stop to heed God’s guidance in our lives He will multiply those blessings beyond anything we can imagine.

Today as you meditate and pray on this Scripture, praise God for the blessings He has bestowed upon you.  Give thanks for the provisions He has placed in your life, and pray for Him to open your eyes to the bounty of His blessings.  Ask God to guide you in being content with what you have so that you may be a good steward of it all.

Many Gifts, One Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:4-7—Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

God created us to be in relationship with Him and with each other.  Because of the way He has distributed spiritual gifts, He has ensured our interdependence upon each other.  With the exception of Jesus, no man has ever been individually completely whole.  So to experience the full wonder of spiritual intimacy with God, we must bond with one another, celebrate each other’s strengths, and fill in the weak spots with our own strengths.  Key to building strong relationships with one another, and in turn with God, is learning what gifts we have been given and then maturing in those gifts.   Throughout the Bible we see numerous examples of the gifts God bestows on His followers.  For example, the widow at Zeraphath had the gift of faith that sustained Elijah, who was blessed with prophesy.  The apostles were blessed with myriad gifts including healing, discernment, and wisdom, to name a few.  God continues to bless His creation with spiritual gifts intended to foster strong relational bonds.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, thank God for the spiritual gifts He has given you.  Ask Him to reveal your gifts and empower you to use them according to His will.  Pray for guidance as you mature in your gifts and develop strong, loving relationships with other believers and non-believers so that they may come to know Jesus, too.

Our Daily Bread

1 Kings 17: 12-16—But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

The story of the widow of Zarephath always fills me with wonder.  Zarephath was a town outside of Israel, which means that the people living there were not Jewish.  God sent Elijah, a Jewish prophet, there during a time of great drought in the land.  This widow who takes Elijah into her home is destitute and has resigned herself to death because she does not have enough food to feed herself and her son.  Yet, she obeys Elijah’s command to give Elijah food first before she and her son eat.  How is it that a Gentile woman in the Old Testament has such faith to selflessly give away all the food she possesses to benefit another?  She was blessed for her sacrificial faith, and the Lord provided for her and her family, just like He provides for His people now.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, look deep inside and ask yourself if you have faith like the widow of Zarephath.  Pray for a spirit willing to put others ahead of yourself, just as Christ put us ahead of Himself. Praise God for His constant provision and for the blessings he has poured over you.  Commit to using those gifts to carry forward those blessings throughout His Kingdom and beyond.

3 Christian Essentials

Micah 6:8—He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

This verse is one of my all-time favorite verses in the Bible.  This Old Testament passage stands out because it takes the complex theology and draconian rules of the Old Testament and restates them in a sophisticatedly simple way.  Through Micah, God reminds His people that He has already told them what is good.  With the various laws, like the Ten Commandments and others, He gave them concrete guidelines for knowing what is good and how to do good.  Even so, God’s people had turned their backs on Him.  Whether they were intentionally disobeying the rules, had forgotten some of them, or were blindly following them with the wrong spirit, God’s people had strayed far from Him.  Micah came to them with God’s message to stop making things so complicated.  He boiled it down to three essentials: 1. Do Justice; 2. Love Kindness; 3. Walk Humbly with God.  If we stop to think about it, every God-given rule and law falls into at least one of these three categories—He gave us the laws to guide us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him.

Today as you pray and meditate on this Scripture, lift up praise for our loving, merciful, and gracious Father.  Thank Him for enveloping you in His loving Spirit.  Pray for Him to nestle in your heart a faithful compass that will guide you in doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with Him.