Tag: Sanctification

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Cobwebs

Daily Reading

Colossians 1-4

Daily Thought

She came every week with her mom to the Wednesday night prayer meeting. She was twelve, the youngest in the room, but she liked to pray and she liked the prayers of the people who came. Except one man. He prayed long every week, and every week finished with the same words, “and now, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of our lives. Amen.”

At long last, she could take no more. The man, as always, prayed what he always prayed, finishing, as expected, with “and now, Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of our lives.” But before he could say “Amen,” she jumped to her feet and shouted, “Don’t do it, Lord! Kill the spider!”

That’s what Paul is shouting in his letter to the Colossian church, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5). In our war against sin, it is kill or be killed. We don’t need a cleaning, we need a killing, because sin is a fight to the death. It is not the cobwebs, but the spider; not our actions, but our “passion, evil desire, and covetousness” (Colossians 3:5). The heart of the matter is found in our hearts.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ~Colossians 3:15-16

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are holy and good. You didn’t save me merely to make me a better person, but a new creation, to die to myself and become a new life in You.

I don’t want to think and act the way I used to, but rather, to live the life You created me to live. May I put to death the desires, the thoughts, the habits of old, and put on the new life you have given me, a life of love and compassion, of goodness and peace, of thanksgiving for a better life, the best life, a life that gives You glory and pleasure.

Amen

Daily Question

What need to be put to death in your life?

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Bad for Business

Daily Reading

Acts 18-20

Daily Thought

In 1904, a revival broke out in Wales, and over one hundred thousand sinners suddenly put their trust in Jesus Christ. It was reported that crime slowed to a standstill. Taverns and brothels were deserted because churches were packed. Sir T. Marchant Williams, a circuit judge, observed that his work was much lighter, especially regarding drunkenness and related offenses. The police force had time to form a choir and sing at revival meetings. Coal miners stopped cursing and their donkeys and mules stopped obeying instructions when they could not understand the gentler words of their masters. 

The revival lasted less than a year.

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” ~John 3:19

The city of Ephesus is a city of idols and its Temple of Artemis counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul entered this city proclaiming Jesus as the true Lord and Savior and “gods made with hands are not gods” (Acts 19:26), which is exactly how they made their gods, and more importantly, sold their idols. Idols were bad gods, but good business. “A man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen” (Acts 19:24), but the preaching of Paul was turning many away from idolatry, so he called his fellows together with a warning, “there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing” (Acts 19:27). The former concerned him more than the latter. 

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” ~1John 5:21

That’s the thing about Jesus, he changes everything. The collateral “damage” of Christianity is it may be bad for business if your business depends on the bad.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, you are the King of kings. May Your Kingdom be established on earth. Your grace has changed my heart. May it change my community. May “In God We Trust” become a reality in this country. But first, may it be a reality in Your church. Purify Your people God, so that we might be a light and a blessing to the world.

Start with my heart, God. I cannot show You to the world unless the world can see You in me. Create in me a clean heart, fully devoted to You.

Amen

Daily Question

What have you stopped doing once you put Jesus in charge of your life?

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God’s Not Done Yet

Daily Reading

Judges 19-21

Daily Thought

The best thing about chapters 19-21 of Judges is they are the last chapters of Judges. Judges is over, and none too soon. The period of the Judges began when Joshua died “and there arose another generation after him who did not know the Lord” (Judges 2:10); was characterized by the oft-repeated, “the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; and 13:1); and closes in summary, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). How often what is right in our eyes is not so in God’s?

The hope of Judges is that the book will end, but God will keep going. And he does. God’s story continues through Ruth into 1&2 Samuel, when, at last, Israel does have a king, a king after God’s own heart, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people” (1Samuel 13:14). Even that is not enough, and the story is far from over, because there is a King to come, the King of kings and Lord of lords, “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 25).

God’s unfolding story is best captured in the words of the apostle Paul, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). If it’s not good yet, God’s not done yet.

Daily Prayer

My Father in heaven, Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I’ve met the King, my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I will follow Him. May my life display my allegiance, for I am an ambassador of the good news of salvation.

Thank You, God, that You keep working. That what You began, You will finish, and that it will be once-and-for-all good. Keep changing my heart so that I will desire and delight in righteousness and justice and peace. May I love You fully and out of that love, serve the people of this world who so need to know and trust in the Savior, Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Amen

Daily Question

How can you make the way you see things the same as the way God sees things?

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A Work of Art

Daily Reading

Isaiah 64-66

Daily Thought

A prophet blends judgment with hope; God breaks Israel down, then builds her back a strong and faithful people. “We are the clay, and you are our potter,” explains Isaiah; “we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). “We are his workmanship,” echoes the apostle Paul. Workmanship is English for the Greek poema; we are his poem, a work of art, “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

The Statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance. “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action,” Michelangelo describes his handiwork. “I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. ~Philippians 1:6

“I simply chip away all that isn’t David,” says Michelangelo.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:14

The work of God is molding you, chiseling you into who you are, a masterpiece who glorifies your Artist.

Daily Prayer

My God, You created man and woman in splendor. Eden was good. So were we, until we traded good for a misguided chance to play god. Good is so much better. Thank You for not giving up on us.

Thank you for seeing within me the man You created me to be. God, continue to work on me, removing the stuff that was never intended to be there. I will try to cooperate, but when I don’t, keep chipping, even if it hurts. I trust You and look forward to becoming the masterpiece you made me to be.

Amen

Daily Question

What has God done to shape you into the person you are today?

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Some Assembly Required

Daily Reading

2Peter 1-3

Daily Thought

There is lots of gift-giving at Christmas, but no one out-gives God, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and it doesn’t stop there. When Jesus enters our life, he gives us everything needed to follow him forever, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (1Peter 1:3). That’s quite a Christmas. 

There are, of course, those three words that often come with a gift, “Some Assembly Required.” God gave us everything we need, explains Peter, now start putting it together, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2Peter 1:5-7). “Some Assembly Required” is part of the joy of Christmas as we build our faith and become the person God made us to be.  

Fortunately, it comes with instructions, God’s Word, ”we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place” (2Peter 1:19).

And our Father always helps.

Daily Prayer

Father God, thank You for all You’ve done, and You did everything. You have given me all I need, salvation in Your Son, power to live a godly life through Your Spirit, and You promise to bring Your work in me to completion. Someday, I will live in perfect holiness with You forever. I look forward to that day.

In the meantime, I will follow wherever You lead. Whatever You ask, my answer is Yes. You have my heart, all of it, and my mind and soul and strength. I am Yours. And You are mine!

Amen

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Dragging Feet

Daily Reading

Joshua 16-18

Daily Thought

As the tribes of Israel divide the land and draw boundaries (Joshua 16-18), their disobedience continues. Israel permitted the ungodly to live among them and share the land, “they did not drive out the Canaanites” (Joshua 16:10; 17:13). This was partly to their advantage; the Canaanites provided an additional labor force that served the Jewish nation. But sin always comes packaged with benefits. 

The problem was the Canaanite’s number one god, Baal, the rain god. The Israelites would discover that the Jordan River could not be counted on for water and irrigation; half the year, the Jordan slowed to a trickle. Israel needed rain. Their life depended on it, and they would be confronted with a choice, depend on Yahweh, the one true God, or follow Baal, the false, but enticingly named, rain god. Too often, Baal prevailed. Thumb through the remainder of the Old Testament and the name of Baal never goes away, and eventually it leads Israel back into slavery. Yahweh delivered Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery. Baal put them back.

Joshua would repeatedly challenge the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?” (Joshua 18:3). As God is at work shaping us into his likeness, he is frustrated not so much by our great sins, but by our dragging feet.

Daily Prayer

God Almighty, as I watch the world around me, my faith is strengthened daily. There are signs of You everywhere. The joys of spring as the world blossoms and new life emerges everywhere reminds me that You are the Author of all life, and I can trust fully in You.

My God, I pray that my life, as well, is a continual reminder of You. That I reflect You in my actions, my thoughts, my faith. That I trust my life to You and walk forward at once in courage and faith, knowing that You go before me.

Amen