Only one life, so soon will pass

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 13:1-59 

Mark 6:1-29

Psalm 39:1-13

Proverbs 10:10

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 39:4-5 "

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. 

Remind me that my days are numbered— 

how fleeting my life is. 

You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. 

My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; 

at best, each of us is but a breath."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

The verses for today remind us how short our lives are. If we aren't careful, we will get caught up in the details of each day and come to the erroneous conclusion that we're going to be around for a very long time. 

Yet, in my conversations with the elderly, I often hear that they cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. As I approach my 50's, I'm coming to the same conclusion.

So, here are some things to consider doing today:

• Reflect on how temporary life is.
• Live today on purpose.
• Do something today that will outlast today (an act of kindness to someone else).
• Be open for an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone you run into.

The blessings of listening

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 11:1-12:8 

Mark 5:21-43

Psalm 38:1-22

Proverbs 10:8-9

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Proverbs 10:8 "The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

The core sin that each of us struggle with is pride. It would seem that all of our other sins stem from that one - we sit on the throne of our own heart and do as we please.

Well, the writer of Proverbs tells us in today's verse of the day that the wise person is not proud. He doesn't think that he has it all together. He doesn't mind it when someone points out some area of his life that needs attention. In fact, it makes him glad to receive that correction. 

Why?

Because he knows that he is a better person for it. Someone has informed him of an area of his life that needs attention and he takes that information and makes the necessary adjustments.

A proud person doesn't listen, though. They don't like it when someone points out an area of concern in their life. They are too busy talking ("babbling"). They are not humble enough to acknowledge that there are plenty of things they can learn from other people. Instead, they may grow angry at someone for pointing out a flaw in their armor.

What is the result?

Proverbs 10:8 "The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces."

Since someone who is proud is too busy talking so that they don't receive helpful instruction from others, they will "fall flat on their faces." They may experience the negative consequences of their actions that could have been avoided if they had only listened to others.

So, are you someone that is glad when other's instruct you or are you too busy talking to listen to other's helpful counsel? The Lord would have us realize that we are blessed when we step off the throne of our hearts and humbly receive what others say.

Wisdom and God's Word

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 9:7-10:20 

Mark 4:26-5:20

Psalm 37:30-40

Proverbs 10:6-7

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 37:30-31 "The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Do you want wisdom? Do you want the ability to properly assess things? Do you want the ability to know in your heart what is right and what is wrong so as to make the right choices?

Then, the verses for today speak to you. It says, "The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice."

But, the question is "How?" How does this person get to a place where they have grown in wisdom?

The very next verse gives the answer: "The law of his God is in his heart..." He regularly spends significant time with God's Word so that it is no longer just words on a page. Those words are making their way into his heart. God's Word is taking up residence within him.

Friend, all that God has for you is tied up in His Word. If you want to grow in wisdom, you've got to spend time in His Word. Each and every day, set aside at least 15-30 minutes reading and reflecting on a section of Scripture. Soon, you'll realize that it's becoming a part of you, changing you, and you will be blessed by it!

The Lord enjoys those who follow Him

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:


Leviticus 7:28–9:6 
Mark 3:31–4:25 
Psalm 37:12-29 
Proverbs 10:5

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 37:23 "The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." 

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

How Jesus made big decisions

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 6:1-7:27
Mark 3:7-30
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 10:3-4


BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 37:4-5 "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you."


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In this morning's reading, we came across a verse that seemed to have little to reflect on. Here it is:

Mark 3:13-14 "Afterward Jesus went up on a mountain and called out the ones he wanted to go with him. And they came to him. Then he appointed twelve of them and called them his apostles..."

This was the occasion on which Jesus selected the 12 guys that He would disciple for 3 full years. Some of them would write books that would end up in Scripture. Some of them would take leadership roles in the early church. Others are never heard from again in the book of Acts but we assume they were used greatly by God.

Jesus dare not get this wrong. When He chose the 12, He needed to choose wisely.

So, what did Jesus do to enable Him to choose wisely? This is helpful information because we, too, need to make big decisions from time-to-time.

While there are many biblical principles that enable us to make good decisions, here are two:

1. He went to a place to think and reflect.

Mark 3:13 tells us that He "went upon on a mountain." Jesus often went to secluded places (desert, mountain, Garden of Gethsemane, etc.) so that He could be alone and reflect. 

There is much to be said about the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. There is a reason for the 4th Commandment where we are encouraged to have one day a week where we do as little work as possible and quiet things down around us. I wonder if the stress levels that so many people struggle with couldn't be greatly diminished by taking time to get away each week. Our brains would certainly be clearer so that we could make better decisions.

2. He spent time in prayer.

While Mark's account doesn't mention prayer, Luke's does:

Luke 6:12-13 "One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles..."

Even Jesus, God with skin on, felt the need to spend all night in prayer before a major decision. If He did this, how much more should we spend time in prayer before making a decision?

For further reading:
A book that is very helpful in revealing how Christians should make decisions is "Decision Making by the Book" by Haddon Robinson. It's an easy, short read and is definitely worth your time.

Guilty, and didn't even know it

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 4:1–5:19 
Mark 2:13–3:6 
Psalm 36:1-12 
Proverbs 10:1-2


BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Psalm 36:7 "How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings."


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):


Did you know that you could experience negative consequences from God for a sin that you didn't even commit?

That may not sound fair and it certainly doesn't sound like something we are led to believe that God would do. But, God does this sometimes.

Leviticus 4:13 "If the entire Israelite community sins by violating one of the LORD’s commands, but the people don’t realize it, they are still guilty."

Did you get that? The whole nation of Israel could be seen as guilty by God and they didn't even know that they had sinned.

One specific illustration of this is found in the Old Testament book of Joshua. A man named Achan stole some items from Jericho when God had told them not to take anything. Most of the Israelites didn't even know of his private sin. Yet, listen to the following verse...

Joshua 7:1 "But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the LORD. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the LORD was very angry with the Israelites..."

How do we make sense of this? Is God unfairly punishing us for someone else's sin? Nope!

Ezekiel 18:20 "The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness."

God is not going to punish us for someone else's sin.

So, how do we reconcile the original principle - that we can be declared guilty when someone commits a sin and we don't even know it?

Simply put, God often looks at us as part of a group. When God see us, He may look at us as part of the group of our larger family. He may also see us as a part of our church. Or, He may see us as a citizen of our country. (The possibilities are endless.)

When a country sins and falls under the judgment of God, Christ-followers aren't exempt from the trouble simply because they are Christians. As God moves against the nation, Christians will experience God's disfavor, too. Why? Because they sinned? Nope. It's because they are a part of the group that God is moving against.

When a church sins, even if it was 50-100 years ago, God's favor may never be free to rest on that congregation until they repent. Even if those who committed the sin aren't alive, the group they were a part of is not yet free to be blessed by God and anyone who partners with it will experience the same fate. Repentance - for a sin we didn't commit and yet was committed by someone in our group - needs to take place.

So, what are we to do? We realize that we can experience negative consequences for our own sin AND the sin those in the group(s) we are a part of.

Simply put, repent. If you become aware of a sin that your church (family, business, school, etc.) committed years ago and you think that the group never repented of it, ask the spiritual leadership to lead in a time of corporate confession and repentance. Maybe you will find that in doing so that you will wipe the decks clean of any sin and God will be free to bless.

To serve or not to serve, that is the question

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Leviticus 1:1–3:17 
Mark 1:29–2:12 
Psalm 35:17-28 
Proverbs 9:13-18


BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Mark 1:35 "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray."


REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Throughout Jesus' ministry, there is an obvious tension between what He desired to do and what people wanted Him to do.

He saw people's deepest need and wanted to teach them and invite them into the fellowship that He enjoyed with the Father. That was His primary desire. Healing people was a secondary activity to show that He genuinely cared for people and to validate that He was who He said He was - the Son of God.

Yet, while people flocked to hear Him teach, they primarily wanted to see Him perform miracles. They also wanted Him to fix their problems. They wanted Jesus to focus on the secondary issues.

Jesus was focused primarily on the eternal; they were focused primarily on the temporal.

... and things haven't changed much in the 2,000 years that separate us from the New Testament events. We tend to focus on the temporal while God is primarily focused on the eternal.

If you don't believe me, just pay a little extra attention to "prayer request" time when believers gather together. Most of the time, we are praying for sick people. We spend most of our efforts praying to keep Christians out of Heaven rather than praying for lost people to receive eternal life so they can go there.

In this morning's reading, we come across a passage where Jesus clearly chose the primary over the secondary. He was enjoying time with His Father when He was told that people wanted Him to spend yet more time fixing their temporarily issues. Listen to what He did.

Mark 1:35-38 "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, 'Everyone is looking for you.' But Jesus replied, 'We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.'"

Did you get that? Jesus had spent the previous night healing people. Now, very early in the morning, more folks had shown up to Peter's house (where Jesus was staying) to get fixed. 

... and Jesus said, "Let's go somewhere else."

Never get so focused on the secondary that you neglect the primary. Those around you have temporary, tangible needs. Virtually everyone does. If you are able, meet those needs. 

But, if that is the extent of your ministry (or your church's ministry), you're settling for the temporal and neglecting the eternal. Essentially, everyone you and I meet desperately needs a relationship with the Father. That's primary.

So, serving others' needs is good. It's helpful. But it is only secondary. See it as an avenue to get to the primary - telling them about Jesus.