Improved vs. New // 02.13

"Jesus was very clear: 'Apart from me you can do nothing' (John 15:5). We may have thought that being a Christian meant being better, improving ourselves, and having a profound reason to obey God and do good works. If so, we set our eyes on the result of the Christian life and forgot the means to get there. We cannot become mature disciples except by supernatural means. Jesus did not come into this world to make us better; He came into this world to make us new. There's a significant difference."

* * * * *

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ." —Galatians 3:2

Internally received & externally expressed // 02.12

"God's character is expressed in His works. What He does emanates from His personality. He expects the same of us—our faith will result in works. The fruit of the Spirit is not just internally received but externally expressed. God meets us in the deep, inward spaces, but He always leads us outward. His Spirit does not invade our being to remain hidden. We are the display of His glory, not its best-kept secret."

What am I doing on a daily basis that expresses that God lives within me? It seems too little to be of importance. There are moments of volunteering, but far too few moments of daily affirmation and love for those around me.

Dear God,
Please use me. Fill me with your Spirit and show me how to live every day. Help me to love more, to think of you more, to express your will and desire through me. Help my expressions to be worthy of You.
Amen.

No need for human approval // 02.07

"The need to impress. The desire to stay out of trouble. The tendency to compare ourselves to others. The urge to maneuver and manipulate. All of these are products of our natural fear of man. If 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' (Proverbs 9:10), the fear of man is the end of it. We cannot serve Him well with our eyes on popular opinion....
"God commands us to resist the urge to run with the crowd. It's an urge based on insecurity, rooted in our former alienation from our Creator. But once reconciled to our Creator, w have no need for human approval. There is no crowd to please, no culture to accommodate, no hoops to jump through for the momentary applause of a fickle audience. Best of all, there is no snare to fall into. Living Godward lives, we are kept safe from the false values of this world."

choices reveal our desires // 01.29

"Choices. . . . reveal our desires. Sometimes the desires they reveal have no moral or spiritual consequences . . . Other times, the desires revealed by our choices have a profound spiritual result: Our taste for obedience is exposed. . . . Our deepest loves come to the surface in the choices we make. Even when we deny our strong desires, we demonstrate that we must have had even stronger ones directing our choices. . . .
"Have you struggled with an addictive behavior? Have you repeated the same sin over and over? Understand the statement you are making when you indulge in it: You prefer the passing pleasure of a sinful desire to the fellowship that comes from obedience. It's a revealing choice. Refuse to be trapped by it. Let righteousness—an unrivaled desire for God—deliver you."

I have found myself trapped in a rather silly but nonetheless addictive behavior lately: playing Scrabble on my iPod every night before bed. I have felt God nudging me to pray and read the Bible at the end of the day, but most of the time, I have pushed aside that desire to play a game that ultimately frustrates me and leaves me less fulfilled than when I started. And to make it even crazier, I find myself seeking approval from the game. You see, the computer can show you when you have played a good word and let you know when you could have played something for better points. It does this with a little face that smiles big when you play a good word. I find myself wanting to get that face to smile—I want the satisfaction that comes from a computer game telling me I was smart! How crazy is that? And how pathetic. I have to stop this behavior. Tonight will be the night I do so. This devotional could not have come at a better time to remind me of the foolishness of my recent behavior.

"Let righteousness—an unrivaled desire for God—deliver you."

"visible" vs. "real" // 01.28

"Those who only see the many enemies [around us] are not focused on reality. They are only focused on the visible. They have forgotten a foundational principle of the spiritual life: The 'visible' and the 'real' are two vastly different things. . . . What you see is not all there is. Above and beyond your problems are:
(1) the power of the Lord of Hosts;
(2) all of His obedient servants ready to do warfare on your behalf; and
(3) your prayers and your faith—the clear lines of communication between you and your Deliverer."

Psalm 3, the reading for the day, is one of David's cries out to God about the enemies surrounding him. But David always seemed to remember that what is "visible" is not always what is "real." He knew, as we should know, that God is working for us in ways we can't always see.

"The 'visible' and the 'real' are two vastly different things."

A new year, a new direction

After discovering that reading through the Bible in a year was too much for me, I thought I would try a new approach this year: a one year devotional. Thanks to Tyndale graciously giving out free products, everyone at Tyndale has the opportunity to either read through the One Year Bible or a One Year devotional. I chose one of our new myBooks devotionals, The One Year Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegren. I've heard great things about Chris' writing, but I have never read any of this works. Ten days into this journey, I'm glad I picked this one up.

I hope throughout this year to discuss my journey and reflect on some of the more moving devotions. Yesterday's devo was the first that really got me thinking.


The Depth of Mercy // 01.25
"Though we know His grace, we often get confused. We come to view Him as lenient rather than merciful. The difference is monumental. He does no casually dismiss our sin—see the Cross as exhibit A. No, He forgives it. Knowing the difference has huge implications for us. When we see Him as lenient, we will be casual about sin, just as we assume He is. We will take Him for granted and never know the depth of His love. We will pray with sinful, distorted hearts. [But] When we understand mercy, we will grieve and repent. And we will never again approach Him with a sense of entitlement."

Lenient vs. Merciful—Too often I fall into the trap of thinking about God as lenient or accepting of my sins. That is so not the case. God doesn't like sin; he hates everything about it. But through Christ and the Cross, He created a way to forgive us for our sins, to forgive me for my sins. God, please help me confess my sins, accept your mercy, and live in your love. If I can remember every day how much you love me, I can live free of sin, worries, fear. I can live fully to follow your plan for my life.

The reading for this devo so eloquently reminds us of God's glory:
"Sing a new song to the Lord!
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Sing to the Lord; praise his name.
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. . . .
"O nations of the world, recognize the Lord;
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! . . .
"Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor."
—Psalm 96:1-2, 7-9

Memorize this . . .

But as for me, I will sing about your power.
Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.
—PSALM 59:16

Memorize this . . .

"You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today . . . "
—1 SAMUEL 24:17

Memorize this . . .

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
—PHILIPPIANS 4:4-8

Memorize this . . .

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
—EPHESIANS 4:15

Memorize this . . .

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—ROMANS 8:38-39

Memorize this . . .

For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.
—DEUTERONOMY 2:7

Travels through Exodus . . . part four

Exodus 28:3 . . .
"'Instruct all the skilled craftsmen whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom.'"
God moved the hearts and minds of people to be inspired to design. God calls people today to be filled with the desire and skill to design for a greater good.

Colors of the Tabernacle . . .
—gold
—blue
—purple
—scarlet

Exodus 28:15-43 . . .
The priests wore reminders on their shoulders and over their hearts of their commitments to the people. We should all be so good-and bold-to wear reminders of our purpose in life. This clothing was not ceremonial; it was required to be in the Lord's presence.

When did I sign up for this?
It's interesting that the Bible never mentions if anyone ever asks Aaron and his sons if they want to be priests. I wonder what their reactions were to the news that they had been set apart for this job.
It's also interesting that no one ever asks Moses if he wants to continue leading the people. I can imagine him saying, "Didn't I just sign up to help get everyone out of slavery? Why do I have to keep leading this group of complainers?"

Exodus 31:12-18 . . .
"'Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is the sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation.'"
Why do I so easily ignore the Sabbath? Why don't I care about being "cut off from the community"? Actually, I do care or I would if I thought it mattered. So why do I think this command doesn't apply to me? Is it because society ignores this so completely, so I think I can too? What if we started with one day a month? How would our life be different? What would we do?

Exodus 32:21 . . .
Aaron nevers owns up to his part in creating the golden calf. He encouraged the worship of an idol when he knew far better and never defended God to the people. Why was he sparred when others weren't? Was it for redemption and entrance into the priesthood?

Exodus 34:33-35 . . .
Moses' face was "radiant" after speaking with God. How long did this last? Was it just this time or did this happen every time he spoke with God? Wouldn't such a visible reminder of God's awesome power be a comfort to the people? Why were they so afraid of Moses that he felt compelled to wear a veil?

Exodus 35:20 . . .
What an amazing time: A people who saw God's great power in their rescue from slavery and in their ability to eat and drink daily in the desert are punished for their rebellion against God. Now, those "whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved" brought all of their prized posessions, many or most of which were given to them by the Egyptians, as offerings to God. What a journey! It's amazing that the people gave so much that they had to be told to stop giving. What an outpouring of love for God! (Exodus 36:4-6)

Exodus 38:26 . . .
At this time, there were 603,550 Israeli men over the age of 20, which means there must have been more than a million people wandering in the desert. Imagine the number of people that will have to die on a daily basis for all of these men to die in the 40 years before entering the Holy Land: roughly 40 people per day.

Travels through Exodus . . . part three

Exodus 21:12 + 21:23-25 . . .
"'Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.'"
Does this mean God is for the death penalty? Can we murder to administer justice on Earth?
"'But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot. a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.'"
How does this match up with when Jesus says we must "turn the other cheek"?

Exodus 24:15-18 . . .
Moses goes up the Mt. Sinai into a cloud of "consuming fire" and is there for 40 nights. Is it no wonder that the Israelites wondered what happened to Moses? Did they think him dead? Were they afraid because of all this? And how did Moses remember/keep track of all of the instructions he was given? The tablets? A great memory?

Exodus 25:2 . . .
"Accept the contributions from all those whose hearts are moved to offer them."
Duty is not a reason to give; passion is.

Exodus 25:8-9 . . .
"'Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.'"
God will then speak to Moses from between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. (Exodus 25:22)

Leadership principles in action . . .

Exodus 18:21 . . .
delegation of duties to talented people who are placed in positions of authority

Exodus 18:22 . . .
let leaders decide small matters for themselves; this lines up with Todd's A.C.T.S. philosophy

Exodus 35:30-35 . . .
Moses establishes these men as the leaders of the building project, so the people will know whom to listen to and seek advice from.