aspalding

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 36-38
Today's Key Verses:  ²⁴About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."
(Genesis 38:25 ESV)
Observation
In the middle of the Old Testament story of Joseph, while Jacob is mourning (what he believed to be) the loss of his son Joseph, another son, Judah, separated himself from the family group and took up with a Canaanite friend, Hirah the Adullamite (Genesis 38:1). Judah, like Reuben, had previously shown a fair amount of independence during the fraternal negotiations over how to get rid of Joseph, and had suggested that they sell their youngest brother rather than kill him (Genesis 37:27). In Chapter 38, though, he took this independence to the next level. Judah left his brothers to join up with Hirah, and then made matters worse by marrying a Canaanite woman. By the time she died, Judah was steeped in the Canaanite culture, and decided to join the raucous sheep-shearing revelries with his friend Hirah. In the spirit of the festivities, he saw no problem propositioning a woman who might or might not have been a shrine prostitute. He assumed that she was a prostitute because she covered her face, but as Joan Goodnick Westenholz points out in a carefully researched article in The Harvard Theological Review, this was presumptuous on the part of Judah. And he was not dissuaded by the fact that if she was a prostitute, she would have been connected to the pagan religious practices of the Canaanites. In any event, after Tamar later was discovered to be pregnant, Judah attempted to solve two problems (the embarrassment of a pregnant daughter-in-law, and the ongoing dilemma of his duty to have is youngest son father a child by her) with one solution. He attempted to kill two birds, but not with one stone. He ordered her to be burned rather than stoned. Again, this reflected a closer connection to the Canaanite culture (where life was less sacred and where burning a convicted woman was more common) than his Hebrew culture (where the Mosaic law would eventually call for the stoning of adulterers - Deuteronomy 22:20-24 - and would reserve burning as the capital punishment in only a few specific circumstances - Leviticus 20:14; 21:9). Even prior to the Mosaic law, Judah had adopted a lifestyle that involved more permission to behave in sinful ways than the manner of living in which he had been raised by his parents. When he realized that he was the father of Tamar's baby (as a result of his own immorality), he was overcome by the realization that he, not Tamar, was deserving of the most severe punishment.
Application
It is commonly believed that cultural relativism (the idea that different cultures have different mores or customs) entails moral relativism. In other words, it is often presumed that just because a culture permits a behavior, that behavior is necessarily morally acceptable and right. Various cultures at various times and places have adopted a wide range of deviant practices, from infanticide to pederasty to cannibalism to the severe oppression and humiliation of women ... to any number of sexual and social practices. This can be appealing, and can work well for folks who prefer to "shop" cultures and sub-cultures in order to find and adopt cultural mores that suit their fancy. And it worked well for Judah, to the extent that Judah abandoned the mores of Jacob (and the God of Jacob) and took up the ways of the Canaanites. By God's grace, Tamar brought Judah face to face with his own depravity, and in his epiphany of remorse he repented. He suddenly realized that the lifestyle he had permitted himself was in complete opposition to the character and the holiness -- and the law -- of God.
Prayer
Father forgive me ... in Jesus name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 31-35
Today's Key Verses:  ³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household." ³¹But they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"
(Genesis 34:30-31 ESV)
Observation
Chapter 34 of Genesis is the godless chapter. God is not mentioned. But the depravity of (godless) humanity is on full display. After you first read about the rape of Dinah and the genocidal response of her brothers, you'll be tempted to try to figure out who was the most wrong. Prince Shechem the date-rapist? Dinah the teenager who wandered into a dangerous town alone, apparently without parental approval, protection or oversight? Her self-appointed vengeance-seeking vigilante brothers who had no need for such niceties as (the pre-Mosaic tradition of) lex taliones? In this story, everyone is a loser. Dinah's only active behavior in the telling of this story is her stroll into town; after that, she becomes the silenced object of rape, and her rape then becomes the nominal justification for mass murder. Simeon and Levi lose not only their father's respect, but also see their inheritance diminished (Genesis 49:5-7). An entire town is wiped out, except for the women and children who are taken captive. And Jacob laments his loss of reputation and sense of security among the Caananites. Everyone's to blame, including Jacob. After all, none of this would have happened if Jacob had not stopped to settle in this area instead of proceeding to Bethel according to God's plan for him (Genesis 28:21; 31:3, 13). And none of this would have happened if Jacob and his family had been less concerned about getting along with the Canaanites, and more concerned about staying focused on God and His plans for the Israelites. Instead of worrying about how he looked and smelled to the Canaanites, Jacob should have been solely concerned about whether he was becoming a stench in God's nostrils.
Application
How can we avoid loving this world and the things of this world (1 John 2:15-16)? How can we avoid being lukewarm about our journey in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, thereby triggering God's gag reflex (Revelation 3:14-22)? Instead, how can we become a pleasing aroma to God (Genesis 8:21; Isaiah 43:24; 2 Corinthians 2:15 Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 4:18)? One way can be found in Chapter 35 of Genesis, where, in the aftermath of the Shechem atrocities, Jacob instructed his household and all who were with him to rid themselves of their idols (Genesis 35:1-4). Only then did God provide miraculous protection for the Israelites as they obediently journeyed to Bethel (Genesis 35:5-7). And so whether our idols are our reputation and acceptance within our culture (as with Jacob, and possibly Dinah, in Genesis 34), or, wealth and social standing (as with the Laodiceans in Revelation 3:14-22), or, control over our circumstances aside from our dependence upon God (as with the Israelites who had been secretly turning to and relying on their pagan idols as seen in Genesis 35), the lesson of Shechem is the same. We offend a jealous God when we turn to and rely on these idols; we need to once again avail ourselves of the Gospel and of God's mercy ... and, like Jacob, bury our idols once and for all. Meanwhile, there is no "most wrong;" there is only wholehearted love of God, or, not.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, radicalize my love for You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Genesis 30
Today's Key Verse:  ⁴¹Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. ⁴²But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.
(Genesis 30:41-42 ESV)
Observation
A casual reading of this passage might lead a reader to the conclusion that it refers to fertility magic. It does not. Bark and branches were placed in the sight of these various animals, and as a result their breeding patterns were affected. (While some superstitions, connecting what is seen by animals -- or humans -- before, during or after sex, with the resulting offspring, did develop in Europe during the Middle Ages, no such superstitions have been associated with the cultures of Biblical times.) Some commentators have drawn a different conclusion, by assuming that Jacob's arrangements of branches and bark served as an aphrodisiac. But a careful reading of this chapter reveals that the effect is the opposite: Laban's stronger animals were placed in front of the rods and did not bear offspring; the weaker ones were not placed in front of the branches, and did bear offspring. The somewhat delicate bio-mechanics of this process need not be detailed here, but are carefully and tactfully explained by Prof. Noegel in an article published in 1997 the Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University. The main point of this passage is summed up in verse 42:  the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. There was no fertility magic here, just plain old everyday payback. Or, you might even say, revenge. Or gamesmanship, but, seemingly, "fair" gamesmanship. After all, Laban had tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, and had cheated Jacob out of his wages at least ten times. Now, Jacob practiced selective breeding in order to ensure that his striped, speckled, and spotted sheep and goats would come from the strongest animals in Laban's flocks. In fact, at Genesis 30:28 and Genesis 30:32, Laban and Jacob, respectively, refer to Laban's livestock as representing Jacob's back wages. By using trickery and manipulation, Jacob eventually beat Laban at his own game, and walked away with all that was owed him (plus some). But was this ethical? Was it consistent with godly standards of honesty and loyalty?
Application
Trustworthiness means that a person is worthy of bring trusted. If I am to be trusted by you, this means that I will treat that which is important to you, as being at least as important to me. Here, despite all of the ways in which Laban had been unfair to Jacob, Jacob was nevertheless being entrusted with Laban's flock. But, since he was out of sight and a long distance away from Laban, Jacob had the opportunity to treat Laban's flock differently than Laban would have wanted. Jacob had the freedom to manipulate the breeding patterns to his advantage. He did not optimize the entire combined flock; he optimized his own sheep at the expense of Laban's. He had the ability to do this (because he was in control of the situation), and he had the authority to do this (because he had been entrusted with the combined flock). Control plus authority equals power. Just because he could manipulate the breeding pattern, does not mean that he should have. Isaac had given Jacob his blessing (Genesis 27:28-29), and God had promised blessings to Jacob personally (Genesis 28:13-15). But just as he had tricked his father, Isaac, in order to receive a blessing, Jacob tricked Laban in order to add to his flocks. He was untrustworthy, even as he went about his work quietly and out of Laban's sight. He was untrustworthy.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, please allow your Holy Spirit to remind me of your presence, even when no one else can see me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 27-29
Today's Key Verse:  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
(Genesis 29:20 ESV)
Observation
Time is an elusive concept, in part because, as we see in this passage, our perception of time is not always consistent. Sometimes time flies, and sometimes time seems to crawl. When, for example, I think about a car accident I had many years ago, I remember it in slow motion (the other car crawling toward my car, slowly crumpling the fender and causing the windshield to slowly crack, etc.). Even though it took place within a second or two at most. When we try to understand time can think of time as a linear process (that is, a progressive succession of events past, present and future), or, we can think of time as forever present (with relative notions of earlier and later, but the a sense that we really only live in the present and that all times are equally real, whether earlier or later). This distinction and tension between a tensed "river of sequences" view of time, and a tenseless "sea of ice" view of time, was designated as A-series time (tensed) versus B-series time (tenseless) in a paper published in 1908 by John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart (1866-1925). No, it's not a typo, that's really his name. Since that, um, time, many scientists have have endorsed the B-series of time partly because it seems to map more closely to Einstein's theory of relativity. Despite the Biblical warning at 2 Peter 3:8 that to to God one day can be like a thousand years (that is, God is not confined by our human notions of time), followers of Christ sometimes find themselves arguing about young-earth/old-earth understandings of the cosmos in an effort to better grasp the concepts of space and time and reconcile them with the Biblical accounts of creation. In the midst of all of this, here are some very simple observations: God is the creator of time, and is not bound by time. God is also our creator, and He created us within a space-time continuum. He reveals Himself to us over time. God interacts with us through time. The narrative of redemption takes place over time (from the beginning, at Genesis 1:1, to the fall, through the history of the Old Testament, through the Gospel and the New Testament, through the history of the Church, and on to a coming return of Christ and a New Jerusalem in the future).
Application
Despite the flex that we perceive in time on occasion, time is gifted to us in a linear A-series fashion. The only Person who could fully experience B-series time would be God. But when we experience flex in time (like my car accident, or like Jacob's experience as he joyfully served an additional seven years for Rachel), it's almost like we are glimpsing time the way God experiences it, that is, without the confines of milliseconds, eons, or anything in-between. We can be grateful when the gift of time seems linear and stable, because this allows us to plan our days and to be good stewards of the gift. We can also be grateful when our God allows events (including emergencies, health problems, weddings, funerals, accidents, and crises of all kinds) to disrupt, and sometimes shatter, our schedules and routines. When He does this, he reminds us that His is the sovereign Lord of time, and of our time on this earth, and that every second (and every breath) is owed to Him.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for the amazing and puzzling gift of time. Help foster my love for you, so that like Jacob my sense of time is absorbed into my love for you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Luke 18
Today's Key Verses:  yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"  Luke 18:5  (ESV)
Observation
When Jesus tells this parable of the persistent widow, He both starts and finishes with an explanation of the "moral" of the story: keep praying! In the first verse of the story, Luke 18:1, we are told that Jesus told this story for the specific purpose of telling us that we " ought always to pray and not lose heart."  And as soon as He finishes telling the story, Jesus again drives the point home by telling us in verse 6 to learn a lesson from this unjust judge, and that lesson, verse 7, is that we should cry out to God "day and night," and not only cry out, but to expect God, in His justice and mercy, to respond. But what I find most interesting in this passage (as I read it this time, anyway), is the verb "bother" in verse 5, as in, "this widow keeps bothering me." In the NLT this expression is rendered "this woman is driving me crazy," and in the KJV the verb is "troubleth." Actually, in the original Greek, this bothering, this troubleth-ing, consist of two words: parechō and kopos (think Perry Como ... or not...). The first word, parechō, is a verb that focuses on the widow's reaching out, and presenting herself, and drawing near, to the judge. The second word kopos modifies this action by saying that is is continual and persistent, like a constant drumbeat. Neither word focuses on the hearer of her plea, that is, the judge, which is why the NLT "driving me crazy" is probably not as accurate as the ESV translation, "keeps bothering me." The first half of Verse 5 is about the persistence of the widow in coming to the judge, presenting herself, and doing so often and continually. It's not until the end of the verse that the focus turns to the effect that this has on the judge. This is important, because we should separate the widow from the judge. The widow's actions are not necessarily a "bother" or a "trouble" to God (like they apparently are to this unjust judge). The first part of verse 5 points to us, and how we can learn from the the widow who continually comes to the judge, presents herself, and draws near with her petition, vigorously and consistently and in faith. We can skip to verse 7 to find out the reaction of the Just Judge. And we can eventually see that the faith that Jesus is looking for in verse 8, is the same faith that drives the widow to keep drawing near to God with an expectation of a response consistent with His Person, His will, His justice, and His mercy.
Application
Do we "bother" God with our prayer? We should. We should not only bother God, but we should keep bothering Him. That is not only what He invites us to do, but, it is an expression of our faith. It is an exercise of our faith. When we live in, and through, our prayer, we are living in Him.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for inviting me to pray. As I finish this short blog, I will spend some time drawing near to You, and seeking Your intervention in my life. And I will do so in Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Job 5 & 6
Today's Key Verses:  As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause.  Job 5:8 (ESV)
Observation
As Job suffers from his calamities, Eliphaz tries to give him advice. Eliphaz is convinced that in God's system of justice, Job's troubles were necessarily caused by Job's sin. He goes so far as to suggest that the innocent don't die and that the upright are never destroyed (Job 4:7). It is those who plant trouble and cultivate evil (4:8) who suffer in the manner of Job. Under this system of justice, Job should know that he is not innocent or pure (4:17), and so, in the midst of this suffering, he should cry out for forgiveness for his sins. Perhaps he has been harboring resentment or jealousy (Job 5:2), or some other sin. After all, people are just plain sinful (5:7). Eliphaz concludes that all Job needs to do is go to God, present his case (5:8), and accept God's judgment (5:17). If he would "take care of business" with God, God will surely restore him and rescue him from evil, death, the sword, slander, famine, wild animals, the stones of the field, home invasions, theft, and childlessness. Get right with God, and He will make it right with you. Eliphaz knows all of this, based on visions (4:13) and life's experience (5:27). Job's problem, though, is that he feels abandoned by God (Job 6:4) and by his friends (Job 6:14-15). Job is so miserable that he does not believe his lack in praying that this or that simple prayer, or is not having confessed this or that sin, or his failure to properly "do business with God," is all that is wrong. His idea of God is bigger than Eliphaz's. Job understands that God at one time blessed him more than he ever deserved, but now his is utterly helpless without any chance of success (6:13). Both the prior blessing, and the current travails, are within God's power and providence. And so just has Job was grateful to God in the past, he feels "safe" in God's presence to go to God with his complaints. There doesn't have to be a "cause" that permits wild donkeys to bray when they have no grass, or oxen to bellow when they have no food (6:5), or people to complain when their food is too bland to eat (6:7). Even though Eliphaz was right when he said that no person can be pure and "in the right" before God (Job 4:17), God's withholding of blessings is not always a punishment. Sometimes God withholds blessing for other reasons, such as, to allow us to become more aware of Him and more dependent upon Him. Or, for reasons we will never understand. And there are occasions when our prayers necessarily start with nothing more than, "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched..." (Psalm 69:1-3) At those time, we are so desperate, that we don't have a rational "cause" to "commit." We just have our state of total and complete dependency upon God. That's the starting point of true faith. Not some notion of our need (or ability) to "work things out" with God. Pain and suffering, the withholding of this or that blessing, don't require a "cause." Sometimes pain just is.
Application
God blesses us each day with grace. Every breath we take is a gift. Everything we can see, or do, or think, or experience, is made possible by God and His gifts. Life itself is the most precious gift of all. But God does more than this: like He does with the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, he sustains us with food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-33). When we notice (usually when we are busying ourselves at the task of comparing ourselves to others) that we are lacking in some way (health, physical comfort, financial security, love and friendship with others, etc.), we can think of this as some overt act of punishment from God (which it could be), or, we can think of this as God's decision, within His sovereign right and power, to withhold or withdraw certain blessing, for His reasons alone. The latter possibility takes more faith than the former, because the latter recognizes God's sovereignty while the former is premised on our own human ideas about justice. We need to be very careful about this: we don't have the mind of God, so we can't impose on Him our ideas about justice. This is the tension in this first dialog between Job and Eliphaz: Eliphaz assumed that in God's system of justice Job was being punished. Job, on the other hand, insisted that before he started to try to sort out the pluses and minuses of his sin and punishment, he ought to be able to simply cry out to his God in his pain and misery. That act of faith on Job's part, might well have been what God was seeking all along. In which case, God's creation of a pathway of dependence for Job, was a gift to Job.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for the gift of life, and the gift of my life and those you have placed into my circle of loved ones and friends. Please prepare my heart and soul, and strengthen my faith, so that when it appears to me that you are taking away a particular blessing, I will respond in and with complete faith in You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Job 3 & 4
Today's Key Verse:  Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?  Job 4:6  (ESV)
Observation
One of the most familiar verses in the Bible is Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." The word fear, as used in Proverbs 1:7, is yir'ah, which is the same word used in Job 4:6. It is a very strong word, that speaks of an entire range of temerity, from reverence and respect, to absolute terror. I have heard and read many commentators who would want to play down this word, and apply it in only its mildest sense at Proverbs 1:7 and elsehwere. But notice how this word is used in the latter part of Jeremiah 32, as God speaks of how His wrath will be poured out on His people -- and how He will eventually gather them back into Jerusalem, saying at Jeremiah 32:38-40: "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." When you consider how God allowed the entire population of Jerusalem to be placed under the complete control of the army of the king of Babylon, they had nothing left to rely upon except God. They were given over to sword, famine, and pestilence (Jeremiah 32:36), with the godly goal that in the end they would know real fear, real yir'ah, that is, fear of a God who is not only more powerful than the king of Babylon, but a God who holds the king of Babylon in the palm of His hand. That sounds like more than respectful reverence to me; it sounds like a deep, gut-level awareness of and appreciation for a mighty and awesome Creator and sovereign King of the universe. Which brings us back to a question about Eliphaz' question, at Job 4:6: If Job's fear of God is true and proper and in alignment with Proverbs 1:7 and Jeremiah 32:38-40, what room would Job have for any reliance of his own on the integrity of his ways? In other words, if he is truly allowing his fear of, and faith in, God to be his hope, where is the room for any hope in his own integrity? Mushy fear of the Lord leaves room for some hedging: Trust God but do your best just in case. True fear of the Lord, true yir'ah, does not: Trust God. Period. But this hedging is characteristic of Eliphaz, whose first speech to Job covers the waterfront from trusting God (mentioned only briefly here at Job 4:6), to trusting in his (Job's) integrity, to a sense of despair because nobody (not even angels) can match up to God's holiness and wrath, to a sense of resignation because God punishes those who do wrong ... Eliphaz does not have one message for Job, he has about four or five. Two of them are contained in this one verse.
Application
After almost a decade since the 9/11/2001 attacks, there are still a few billboards and bumper stickers that read: "In God we Trust; United we Stand." That particular combination of statements was quite popular in the immediate aftermath of that 9/11 disaster. But when paired together in this matter, those two statements are actually inconsistent if not incoherent. If we truly trust in God, we would understand and appreciate that our own "stand" would mean nothing in the face of His power (protective or otherwise). A more coherent claim might be that, "United we Stand, but our Real Trust is in God." Or something like that. Of course, my re-write doesn't read as nicely, and wouldn't have the same billboard or bumper sticker impact. But it is interesting that this post-9/11 combination of statements is very similar to Job 4:6: Trust God, but also expect your integrity to carry the day. Which is it?
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, through your Holy Spirit, please help me to truly and completely fear you in love and in the confidence that comes only from my standing in and through your Son. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Job 1 & 2
Today's Key Verse:  In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.  Job 1:22 (ESV)
Observation
God's sovereign direction was ultimately the "cause" of Job's loss of family and wealth. At Job 1:12 and 2:6 God gives Satan limited discretion to attack Job, and at Job 2:3, God acknowledges that it was His decision to permit these events. But at Job 1:22 we read that Job did not charge God with wrong. The NASB and the NLT (and the Message) use the term "blame," i.e., Job did not "blame" God. And yet, wasn't God to blame for this? Actually the literal Hebrew here involves two words: the verb nathan (to appoint or assign or designate or ascribe); and the noun tiphlah (emptiness, folly, silliness, foolishness, unsavoriness, unseemliness). And so the ESV rendering that Job did not "charge" God with "wrong" is a literal translation, even though the word "wrong" is more loaded with moral gravity than tiphlah seems to require. A fairly accurate paraphrase might read, "Job did not accuse God of acting foolishly or without good and godly cause." The Hebrew has more to do with Job recognizing that God had His good reasons for allowing these events to occur, than Job acknowledging that God was ultimately responsible. In other words, Job already know that God was responsible (as seen in the previous verse), and so verse 22 is a statement of faith: Job accepted on faith that God had His morally perfect reasons for doing what He did to Job.
Application
Sometimes we like to assess God's performance. We like to question God's wisdom in allowing this or that circumstance or condition in this world, or in our life. When we do so, we sit in judgment toward God, as if He were on trial and we are the jury (or the judge). This involves two steps in our thinking: first, we consider a "charge" of accusation of possible wrongdoing on God's part, and second, we assess whether that charge is justified by the evidence. (Occasionally we go through this drill, and we are pleased with ourselves because, after examining all of the evidence in light of God's word, we cleverly and smartly fine tune our theodicy and we conclude our assessment by arriving at the "correct" conclusion that God is both powerful and good, and so we "acquit" Him of wrongdoing.) But here at the beginning of the book of Job, Job did not "charge God with wrong." That is, he not only did not sit in judgment, but he never even suggested the possibility that God might have been unfair or unreasonable or blameworthy in any way. He never got to the second step (assessment) because he never raised the issue in the first place. Job's faith in God made it unnecessary for him to consider -- and resolve -- the possibility of God's unfairness. This willingness to allow faith to trump reason in the face of disaster was counter-cultural in Job's time, and is even more so in these post-Enlightenment modern times.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, through your Holy Spirit, please help me to be more yielded in my understanding and appreciation of your holy and perfect sovereignty, no matter what happens in my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 21 - 26
Today's Key Verse:  But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. Genesis 21:9 (ESV)
Observation
There was a lot of laughing in the Abraham and Sarah household, and not all of it good. The parents, of course, laughed at God's promises (Genesis 17:17; Genesis 18:12), which is never a good thing. But here in Genesis 21 we see Ishmael laughing, and in Genesis 26, Isaac laughing. Or at least that's the way the ESV reads. In all of these verses, the verb "to laugh" is tsachaq. In the Hebrew, that verb is somewhat ambiguous, which is why, at Genesis 21:6, various translations have Ishmael laughing [ESV], mocking [NIV, NASB, KJV], playing [CEV], and making fun of Isaac [NLT]. Similarly, when translating the same verb, tsachaq, at Genesis 26:8, various translations have Isaac laughing [ESV], caressing [NIV, NASB, NLT], hugging and kissing [CEV], and "sporting with" Rebekah [KJV]. What if these various friendly (hugging and kissing, caressing, playing with) and unfriendly (mocking, making fun of) interpretations in Genesis 21 and 26 were switched? What if Sarah saw Ishmael, who at the time was a teenager, acting inappropriately in a physical or forward way with Isaac, whose weaning was being celebrated (making him around 3, or as old as 5, years old)? Would that help to explain Sarah's "over the top" reaction, banishing Ishmael and his mother from her presence and that of Isaac (verse 10)? Some Christian and Jewish Bible scholars and commentators have considered this possibility. But irrespective of whether Ishmael was being appropriately friendly (playing with), inappropriately friendly (molesting), or inappropriately unfriendly (mocking, making fun of), Sarah reacted as if either her son was being disrespected or threatened or interfered with or attacked in some way, or, his legacy was. Or both. And whatever Sarah saw or thought she saw, this thing was also a very serious, and very displeasing, matter to Abraham as well (verse 11). Notice that God did not chastise Sarah for her emotional response, OR for her proposed "over the top" solution to correct this crisis. In fact, he agreed with her solution and saw to it that her solution was implemented. He told Abraham to calm down to the point where he could go about the business of taking care of business, i.e., doing exactly as Sarah asked. All with the assurance that God's promises would not change as a result of this crisis: both sons would eventually be the founders of nations (verses 12 and 13).
Application
Sometimes when we see something that does not "look right" or "sound right" to us, our suspicions are raised and, in our spirit, we sense that something is terribly and deeply wrong. We can't always put our finger on the problem, but we "just know" that things are not what or where they should be. Today, just as when Sarah was alive, subtle but serious danger signs are sometimes immediately sensed by parents or guardians (including chaperons, teachers, pastors, and youth leaders), especially when adults or older teenagers are overly interested in, solicitous of, or a little too silly or physical or strange or playful with, younger girls or boys. This can happen in person, via text message, online or any combination of these means of communication. And when parents' own children are being approached in this way, parents can sometimes react in ways very similar to Sarah's: "Get that creep out of my life, out of my kid's life, and, if possible, out of the country and off the continent! Now!" When this happens, Genesis 21 is a helpful guide: parents, and the church, need to do what needs to be done, first to protect the young ones. The long term consequences can be sorted out later, but for the immediate time frame, our youth need to be protected. After all, Sarah's reaction was not really all that different from that of Jesus, who suggested that those who lead little ones astray should have a huge rock (millstone) attached to their neck and be thrown into the sea (Matthew 18:6-7). And, not just into the sea, but, into the depth of the sea! We need to remember this duty to properly read the signals and properly protect, both in regard to our chronologically young ones, as well as our spiritual young ones who are new and fresh followers of Jesus (again, Matthew 18:6-7).
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for those in our midst who, like Sarah, are gifted with the ability to see when the little ones, including both our young ones and also new believers, are at risk. Help them, and help me, to be ready to respond to such threats with Your wisdom and in Your will. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Philippians 2
Today's Key Verses:  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Philippians 2:8 [ESV]
Observation
How is it that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, would "become obedient" to God the Father (Romans 5:19)? Not so much "that" He would (He did this out of love, John 15:13; Galatians 2:20), but, in view of the unity of the Father and the Son (John 17:11, 21), "how" did that work? In addition to what we can learn about the Gospel from Philippians 2:8, what can we learn about obedience, and emulate, from the obedience of our Savior? A clue is provided in the word "obedience" itself (hypēkoos) in the inspired original Greek. As in English, the Greek for obedient word comes from the verb "to obey" (hypakouō). This difference is that in English, the work "to obey" simply means to comply with an instruction, rule, law, etc. But in the Greek, hypakouō actually means to listen and respond. There is both a listing and a responding that is included, much like answering a doorbell or a phone. In Greek, hypakouō really means, to give ear and hearken to a command and submit to it. It has more epistemology embedded into it than best corresponding the English verb, obey. It doesn't just mean, "Obey!," it means, "Listen up and do what you are being directed to do!" Which is why sometimes when parents or drill sergeants or teachers or coaches or others in authority aren't being obeyed, they often say, "Listen up!" before they repeat their instruction. Taking this back to Philippians 2:8 (and Romans 5:19), how was it that Jesus obeyed? By listening to His Father and then in humility obeying what His Father had to say.
Application
This understanding of the Greek word for obedience not only helps us understand the Gospel and the Trinity a bit more (one God, yet three separate voices-in-unity), but it helps us follow Jesus' example. To obey God, is to take on the Word. To dive into God's Word, to be enveloped by His Word, and to bury His Word within us. We are often told, for example, that Scripture memorization and daily Bible devotions are two very important spiritual "disciplines." That's because these two disciplines, along with prayer, bring us closer to God's voice. This, in turn, directly affects how we live. We can better obey (that is, we can do a better job of following Christ and representing His Gospel and His Kingdom to a lost world), if we "Listen up!" Humility, leads to intentionally placing ourselves under the authority of God's Word, which leads to growth in our faith and in our fellowship with God, which can lead to better obedience and a more honest and transparent prayer life. In a word, discipleship.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me, through your Holy Spirit, to listen up. Help me to be a more intentional, more Word-informed and more Word-driven disciple. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 16-20
Today's Key Verses:  When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,  Genesis 17:1 (ESV)
Observation
In Genesis 17, there is a condition and a command and a covenant. The condition, or precondition, is that of Abram's faith, which was counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). The command is here, in the first verse of Genesis 17: Be blameless (tamiym). The only requirement of the covenant is circumcision. Circumcision confirms the relationship between God and His chosen people. And blamelessness is the expected (and commanded) result of that (confirmed) relationship. Righteousness is vertical, covenant is personal (very personal), and blamelessness is horizontal. This is the second time that blamelessness (tamiym) appears in the Bible; the first time was in reference to Noah (Genesis 6:9), who was considered to be blameless "in his time" or "in his generation" (that is, within the cultural understanding of wholeness and virtue as of his time). At Genesis 6:9, Noah is considered to be both righteous (tsaddiyq) and blameless (tamiym). The difference is that righteousness points to the essence of the person (including what is in his heart), while blamelessness has more to do with appearances. In most of the rest the Old Testament, tamiym is used in references to the spotlessness of animals (lambs and bulls) selected and used for animal sacrifice. The animals could never be completely free from defect, because of the Fall (every creature has some genetic imperfections, and every creature eventually ages and dies and decays). But, from the horizontal viewpoint of the priests and Levites, some animals would appear to be flawless, and only those animals would approximate the standard of perfection worthy of the LORD. The idea of blamelessness, then, has much to do with the representation to others of a relationship with God. Abram was commanded to walk before God blamelessly: God would know of Abram's essential non-righteousness, that is, God would know of the sin in Abram's heart (just as God would know of Abram's faith), but Abram was commanded nonetheless the make sure that when he walked (and talked and acted and thought), he did so with an awareness of and a reflection of his intimate, covenantal relationship with God. So, let's review: God selected Abram. Abram responded in faith (Genesis 15:6), and his righteousness (tsĕdaqah) was based on his faith. God confirmed that relationship several times and in several ways, and here in Genesis 17 God explains how Abram and his household and family are to also confirm the relationship by circumcision. And so, of righteousness, blamelessness, and circumcision, Abram was in good shape for two out of three. He had the faith, and he could achieve the circumcision. Blamelessness, that is, representing his faith and his relationship with God to the world, was more of a challenge, as can be seen in Genesis 20 when he repeats his pattern of pawning off his wife as his sister so as to save his own skin. This confused Abimelech (to whom Abraham should have reflected his faith and relationship), but not God. God graciously and mercifully continued to take into account Abraham's faith. And so, despite Abraham's sin, God still refers to Abraham as a prophet (v. 7) when He explains things to Abimelech.
Application
Abraham had trouble with the blamelessness thing, even though, as here in the first verse of Genesis 17, it was commanded by God in the most fearsome and awesome manner. We walk and talk and live in the very presence of God, and yet we, too, act too often as if God was not even there. This despite our own confirmation of our relationship with God through our profession of faith and our baptism (Colossians 2:11-12). And, like Abraham, we mess up our efforts at blamelessness with chronic patterns of behavior, as if we are incapable of learning from past sins (and past confessions of sins and past declarations of our own repentance). But we need to remember that blamelessness and righteousness are too different things. Our righteousness before God is not based on our blamelessness (good thing!): it is based on our faith, just as it was for Abraham (Hebrews 11). It is out of love and devotion to our King, Jesus Christ, and out of gratitude for the sacrifice of the truly spotless Lamb-who-is-Worthy (Revelation 5:12), that we re-commit each day's walk before Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, my King and my Redeemer, may you be glorified as I walk before you and as I attempt to represent You and Your kingdom to the Abimelechs in my own life. Help me to do so for Your glory, without regard to what might happen to me in the process. Make it happen, I pray. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 12-15
Today's Key Verses:  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.  Genesis 15:16 (ESV)
Observation
Some aspects of the iniquity of the inhabitants of the Promised Land are described in more detail at Leviticus 18:25-30, dealing with sexual sin. God prohibits any kind of sexual involvement within the home or community outside of heterosexual marriage, including merely looking at the nakedness of others, and explains how such sins pollute the land to the point where the land vomits out its inhabitants. Here in Genesis 15, the land was being polluted, but not quite to the point of God's retributive response. Despite God's holiness and inability to tolerate sin, God's mercy results in His allowing for some time to repent before He administers justice. That's the Gospel: God withholds His justice while making repentance possible. Once this grace period has elapsed, His wrath is properly and justly unleashed. In fact, the unleashing of His wrath is justice in and of itself, but, it also brings a stop to the manner in which these pagan cultures "teach" others, including God's Chosen People, to how to sin by going after these same abominations (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). Meanwhile, the Amorites were guilty because they had the presence and the example of God's Chosen People, representing to them God's holiness and His laws. Like Rahab (Joshua 2:10-11), they were aware of God's intervention at the Red Sea, His assistance to them in battle, and His presence among them. The (good) news traveled. They had been made aware, and they were given a grace period to repent, but they did not repent. Since they did not repent of their evil during their grace period, God would eventually discontinue his mercy toward them (Jeremiah 18:7-10) at the conclusion of that period of time.
Application
Whenever we look around and see evil, we are tempted to ask why God permits it. We can ask this question as often as we want, and in as many ways as we want. But the answer is always the same. God's justice is perfect, just as Moses declared in his song at Deuteronomy 32: "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he." We can be sure of God's justice, even if we are unaware of His timing. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). A better question, instead of why, might be, how long? (Psalm 35:17; 94:3)
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for the grace period of the first 30 year of my life, when I ran from you even harder and more often than I ran to you. And thank you for the grace period of the time since I became a follower of your Son, during which time you are right to ask of me, in view of my stumbling and faltering and easily distracted walk in His footsteps, "How long?" In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 6-11
Today's Key Verses:  Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."  Genesis 11:4 (ESV)
Observation
The goal of the builders of the Tower of Babel was to make a name (shem) for themselves, so that they might not be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. They understood brand management. By making a name for themselves, these people would achieve a certain amount of immortality, and a certain amount of power or control over their destiny. That's also why their activity was essentially religious: by building a ziggarat connecting the earth to the heavens (literally, a gateway to God, or "Bab-El"), they could control access to God and hopefully cause God to help them meet their needs and desires as they saw fit. Even their deliberate effort to concentrate themselves in one location was a power play that violated God's command to replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1,7). These selfish, self-aggrandizing and self-deifying efforts emulate those of Satan (Psalm 29) and serve to reduce the glory of God's name.
Application
God is careful to protect and foster his brand, that is, his Name. He declares that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 5:9; 6:15; 24:19; and 1 Kings 14:22). And so whenever we "elevate" ourselves (or, or own personal brand, or that of our family, our community, our group), we repeat history. We stir God to jealousy with own personal strange gods, and with our abominations that provoke Him to anger (Deuteronomy 32:16; 32:21; Psalm 78:58). We do need to engage in reputation management, but for the sake of the God and His kingdom, not for our own sake. From the outside, as we flourish on this earth and expand our domain, this distinction might not at first glance be obvious. But God knows our heart, and so He knows the difference (sometimes better than we do). Our personal narrative must not read, as in Genesis 11:4, "OK, let me build my life and my life skills and my reputation, so that I can expand my domain and my power. Otherwise, I'm likely to be banished or demoted to social and economic anonymity and servility and nothingness in this life." This is the opposite of Jesus' purpose on this earth, that is, to glorify the name of God and to establish His kingdom on this earth (as in the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed by your name, your kingdom come" [Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2]).
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, may my life glorify your name and your Kingdom, not my own. In Jesus' powerful Name I pray, because it is only in and through His Name that I am anything at all in your eyes. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Genesis 4 & 5
Today's Key Verses:  and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  Genesis 4:4-5 (ESV)
Observation
There is a fair amount of speculation about exactly why God had no regard.for Cain and his offering. Had a blood sacrifice been required? (Genesis provides no record God requesting or requiring a blood sacrifice at this early point in history.)  Was there some other divine instruction concerning the proper sacrifice to offer to God, not recorded in Genesis, that Cain disobeyed? Was it because Cain thought that his offerings should be acceptable to God regardless of what God desired? Was it because, as Josephus suggested from his understanding of some Jewish traditions, that God preferred sacrifices of things that grow spontaneously and in accord with natural laws, rather than things forced from nature by the ingenuity of grasping man? Was Abel's sacrifice of the first-born of his flock a necessary and sufficient expression of Abel's acknowledgment of himself as a sinner (signaling the Messiah), and Cain's sacrifice did not represent this much Gospel content? Was it because Cain offered his sacrifice grudgingly rather than cheerfully and wholeheartedly? Was it because Abel brought the best that he had ("of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions") while Cain brought "of the fruit of the ground," in a sense, whatever was laying around or hand at the time? Was it because God fore-knew, ahead of time, that Cain would reject God's Word to him (Genesis 4:6) and would allow pride and selfishness to rule no matter what? Was it because God's favor of the second son would be an early signal and an early expression of the second-born motif that would run through much of the rest of the Bible (Ishmael-Isaac, Esau-Jacob, Leah-Rachel, Joseph and his brothers, Judah and his brothers, Zerah-Perez ... all the way through to the reconciliation of Gentiles with God's original Chosen People)? As I read various commentators, many will respond with a hearty and confident "Yes!" to at least one, if not several, of these questions. But the fact is that we are not told the condition of Cain's heart as he selected and offered his sacrifice. What we are told, is that when God rejected Cain's sacrifice, Cain did not respond with humility, repentance, or a desire to look further into God's Word to learn more about the holiness and sovereignty of God, on the one hand, and the root of his failure, on the other. Instead, he reacted with an anger that eventually resulted in murder.
Application
Redemption is accessible only to those who are willing -- by God's grace -- to humbly submit themselves to God and to His Word. We all sin. It's how we respond, on this earth, to God's graceful revelation to us (that is, how we respond to the gracious conviction of the Holy Spirit), of our sinfulness and our continual need for our Redeemer, that really matters. What really matters is not, as in the case of Cain, the gory details, the specific motives, and the precise thoughts and actions that comprise our sin. All of that is fully part of our sin, our sin nature, and, compared to God's perfect goodness and holiness, our total depravity. And all of that can be confessed, once we understand to Whom we may, and need, to confess. As in the case of Adam and Eve, sin is quick and deadly, whether we understand all of sin's parameters and specifications or not. But a proper understanding the significance of that quick and deadly sin can require, well, an entire Bible.
Prayer (Psalm 25)
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 the day long.. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Genesis 1-3
Today's Key Verses:  "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.". Genesis 3:5  (ESV)
Observation
 God knows (yada`); and if you eat of it, you will know (yada`). There is an empirical quality to this verb "know." It points to experience, discovery, a coming to see something. It is based on inductive reasoning, that is, conclusions drawn from a gathering of facts and evidence, not necessarily faith as such. The BDB Hebrew lexicon offers these English expressions as a way of helping to appreciate the meaning of yada`: “to know, learn to know…to perceive…to perceive and see, find out and discern…to discriminate, distinguish…to know by experience…to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess…to consider…to know, be acquainted with…to know how, be skillful in…to have knowledge, be wise.” In regard to good and evil, this verb speaks to the moral capacity to choose good and evil. This is something that some people, such as very small children, and to some extent those who are severely mentally disabled, do not have (Deuteronomy 1:39). God has this capacity (Genesis 3:22), and when humans aspire to have this capacity they are trying to be, as the serpent suggested in today's key verse, like God.
Application
It seems odd to us that God would want to "keep us in the dark" by depriving us of certain knowledge, especially the knowledge of good and evil. At least until we think more closely about the Biblical wisdom in regard to epistemology. Augustine's analysis is helpful here. For Augustine, there are two types of knowledge: faith-informed knowledge (or, belief), and data-informed knowledge (derived from our own experience and from our five senses). Yada` refers to this second type of knowledge. About 99 percent of what we know, though, is acquired second hand. Second hand knowledge is not yada`, because it is acquired from the authority of others rather than first-hand. We accept the authority of our parents, our teachers, books, newspapers, the Internet, the Bible ... everything we read and everything we are told, is filtered through our assessment of the credibility and reliability of those who bring us that information. Most of what we know is the result of our rankings of the authority of the sources of information. Each of us maintains a hierarchy of authorities. If you give any credence at all to what you are reading right now, even if only temporarily, it is because I have at least somehow survived your "reject button" sufficiently to allow you to keep reading for the moment. And so Adam and Eve were given a choice. They could rely on God as the sole authority for good and evil (that is, they could give 100 percent credence to His word), or, they could chose to understand good and evil through their own first-hand experience. We know what happened. Rather than relying on God's word (and thereby experience only good), they chose to take on the project of determining good and evil for themselves (and therefore experience both good and, for the first time, evil). In so doing, they made themselves into little gods, and reserved for themselves the right to determine good and evil. All the while rejecting both God and His word as moral authority. For a holy God, this was intolerable. This was idolatry. This was a rejection of Him and of His love for them. This was sin and open rebellion against Him and His word. And whenever we sin, we do the same thing: we appoint ourselves to be little gods who insist on deciding what really is permissible and what is not. Sin is the incorrect, rebellious and ungodly designation and acting out of the impermissible (evil) as permissible (good).
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, I claim your Word as my primary authority. I also confess that I continually act in exactly the same manner as the first Adam. Help me to rely fully and completely on the Second. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Revelation 20-22
Today's Key Verses:  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. Revelation 22:3  (ESV)
Observation
The word latreuō, translated as "worship" in this passage in several English versions of the Bible [ESV, NLT, ISV], is also translated as "serve" [NIV, NASB, KJV] here. The subjects of this active homage are doulos, literally, slaves. As the Revelation closes, there are two camps: those inside the city who are actively serving the Lamb in worship (or, worshipfully performing service to and for the Lamb), in part by doing right and being holy, and those outside the city who are doing evil and being filthy (Revelation 22:10). The servant-worshipers are inside; the "dogs" who are identified as sorcerers, the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice falsehood, are outside (Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15).
Application
Who we are, and what we do, cannot be separated. That is because we worship with our actions, and our actions signal whom or what we worship. To the extent that we worship God, we let go of (in a sense, we sacrifice) our own motives and our own selfishness and our own idolatry, and we move in His direction and according to His direction (Romans 1:25; Romans 12:1). We do this willingly, but in the power of the Spirit rather than merely or solely in the power of our own determination (John 4:24; Philippians 3:3). Worship is active and dynamic, not static. We worship God when we do His will, and we do His will as the outworking of our worship (John 9:31). As Jesus pointed out to Satan in the wilderness, in response to Satan's efforts to tempt Him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God,and him only shall you serve'" (Luke 4:8). Sin, then, is not only the absence of worship; it is active idolatry.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to worship through my thoughts, words and actions, and to be a servant-worshiper, at all times, now and forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Revelation 17-19
Today's Key Verses:  Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10  (ESV)
Observation
The original Greek New Testament did not have quotation marks, and many English translations, such as the most edition of the King James Version, do not use quotation marks. Most English translations that do use quotation marks, put the ending quotation marks at the end of this verse, after the word "prophecy" [e.g., NIV, NLT, NASB]. The ESV does not. The ESV separates the last sentence of this verse from the angel's statement to John. This converts that last sentence into an observation by John, rather than a statement of the angel. This simple shift of a quotation mark actually puts a spotlight on that last sentence and allows it to stand alone as an important "lesson learned" by John in the aftermath of his faux pas (was he exhausted? was he overwhelmed by the drama of the vision? was he overcome by the terror of the destruction of Babylon?). I appreciate this editorial nuance, because there is so much theology embedded in that last sentence. The word "testimony," for example, is the word martyria, from which we derive the word "martyr." (This martyr-testimony emphasis is depicted most strikingly in the altar scene at Revelation 6:9, a circumstance which is turned upside down in passages such as Revelation 12:10-11). The expression "testimony of Jesus" seems to encompass the whole Gospel of the Kingdom of God (both in terms of the testimony from Jesus [e.g., Luke 4:43], and in terms of the testimony about Jesus [e.g., Revelation 20:4]), which at this point in the Revelation is reaching its fulfillment. And the word "prophecy" points to both: (1) a forward-looking expectation of the point in history where Jesus Christ will not only be the King of Kings in principle and in essence, but, with the defeat of Babylon and Satan, in universal experience; and (2) the penetrating, convicting and revealing Gospel-work of the Holy Spirit in the present tense, something that John is experiencing in the Revelation in an overwhelming and unique way.
Application
At Acts 1:8, Jesus' last words before he ascended into heaven were both a promise and an instruction: He promised the power of the Holy Spirit, and He instructed his disciples (among which followers of Christ today are included) to evangelize the world in that power as His witnesses (martys). The power that we receive from the Holy Spirit when we become followers of Christ includes a certain degree of our own prophetic insight about the pervasiveness and oppression of sin in the lives of people on this earth (and their desperate need for the Person and the Gospel of Jesus Christ). Our mission and our commission is to be, in the spirit of prophecy, His witnesses (martys) in our own Jerusalem (wherever that might be), and our own Judea and Samaria, and, to the extent possible, to the end of the earth.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to be a more consistent, more transparent, more faithful, more zealous, and more clear and articulate testimony of, and witness to, Jesus Christ each of the remaining days of my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Revelation 14-16
Today's Key Verses:  and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.  Revelation 14:5 (ESV)
Observation
In Revelation 14:1-5, the 144,000 are standing on Mount Zion, with the Lamb. They have had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. They have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. They are blameless [ESV, NIV, NASB]. Without blame [NLT]. Without fault [KJV]. Amōmos, as used here, is one of four Greek words translated "blameless" in the New Testament. Every time amōmos is used in the New Testament, though, it refers only the status of being redeemed by Christ in the presence of God (Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 5:27; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19; Jude 1:24; and here at Revelation 14:5). The essential nature of the 144,000 is one of blamelessness, because (not, "so that") they are redeemed by the Lamb. In fact, the NASB rendering of Revelation 14:5 does not add the word "for:"  it simply reads "And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless." This is more loyal to the original, inspired Greek, and avoids the causation-confusion that the word "for" creates in English. And so, when Revelation 14:1-5 is properly read, there are two consequences of that redeemed status of amōmos-blamelessness: First, the 144,000 are allowed to actually be in the presence of God; and, second, they give evidence of their redeemed status by their obvious virtue (purity, honesty, etc.). By comparison, anegklētos and aproskopos are two other New Testament words that are translated into English as "blameless." But these two words generally do not refer to our ultimately pure and redeemed state before the throne of God through Christ. Instead, anegklētos refers only to the standard of perfection that we strive for while on this earth (Acts 24:16; 1 Corinthians 10:32; Philippians 1:10), knowing that we will never actually achieve that spotless standard in this life (and that our redemption is therefore ultimately and entirely dependent upon Christ). Aproskopos, similarly, refers to reputation and standing, largely in the eyes of other humans (e.g., Titus 1:6, referring to the requirement that the reputation of church elders be beyond reproach in the eyes of others ... even though in their human state on this earth they obviously are not, and cannot be, sinless in the eyes of God). But others cannot see what God sees: a heart continually warring within itself, despite the inevitable victory that has already been won at the Cross). A fourth word for blamelessness, amemptos, is used both ways: it sometimes refers to the condition of our heart in the eyes of God (1 Thessalonians 3:13), and sometimes refers to the standard of personal character and integrity that we exhibit for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom, that is, our reputation or our consistent witness to our status as children of God in the eyes of other people (Philippians 2:15).
Application
There are two separate ways of thinking about blamelessness. First, amōmos-blamelessness is an essential quality of our human nature that does not exist outside of the redemptive reformation of ourselves by and through Christ alone. It is by God's grace, and through no human excellence or effort that we are amōmos-blameless. Second, anegklētos- or aproskopos-blamelessness is a standard of outward behavior that we are aware of and concerned about, not because this adds anything to our standing before God, but because by walking in the Spirit we give evidence of the Gospel, and we point to the King. We cannot achieve essential amōmos-blamelessness on our own, and when we attempt to do so, we deny the power of the cross. Anyway, that's already been tried, and it didn't work. "For if that first covenant had been faultless (amemptos), there would have been no occasion to look for a second." Hebrews 8:7.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for sending your Son, so that He would provide amōmos-blamelessness for those whose faith is solely in Him. Please help me to draw from that reality in my life, so that I might glorify You with a more consistent, more complete, and more Christlike representation of Him in my life. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Revelation 11-13
Today's Key Verse:  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
Observation
At Revelation 10:7, it is predicted that "in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets." There is a sense of finality, a sense of accomplishment, that is associated with that seventh trumpet. Mission accomplished. When the seventh trumpet does sound, today's verse notes that "loud voices" will make the great proclamation of the establishment the Kingdom of God on earth. And in verses 16 to 18, the twenty four elders will bow and praise God for "taking up his power" and beginning His reign. Finally! In answer to the Lord's Prayer, Thy Kingdom has, in fact, come! .... or has it? A careful "already not-yet" reading of the praise hymn of the twenty four elders reveals that, while Jesus Christ has claimed his rulership over the world, there is work to be done. God's reign over His Kingdom on earth has only "begun," and that the time has now come for "destroying the destroyers of the earth." And, it turns out, that this great moment, which forms the centerpiece of the Book of Revelation (just as this verse serves as the centerpiece of the Hallelujah Chorus of Handel's Messiah), is only the beginning of the end. The entire second half of the Revelation lies ahead, complete with beasts, battles and more new beginnings. It turns out that the arrival of the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, is only the beginning of the end. The fulfillment of the mystery of God, as predicted at Revelation 10:7, will not happen instantly. It will unfold, deliberately and inevitably, according to God's plan.
Application
This passage in Revelation is similar to the entire Christian experience. The domain of my life has become the domain of my King and Savior, Jesus Christ, and He shall reign over my life forever and ever. Let the battles begin.
Prayer
Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Revelation 7-10
Today's Key Verse: They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. Revelation 9:11 (ESV)
Observation
Does the name the king of the locusts of the bottomless pit (Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek) allude to the Greek god Apollo? Some have said no. Some of the more rigorous scholarship, however, leaves open this possibility. The Anchor Bible Dictionary points out that in one manuscript, instead of Apollyon the text reads "Apollo," the Greek god of death and pestilence as well as of the sun, music, poetry, crops and herds, and medicine. Apollyon is no doubt the correct reading. But the name Apollo (Gk Apollon) was often linked in ancient Greek writings with the verb apollymi or apollyo, "destroy." From the time of Grotius, "Apollyon" has often been taken to be a play on the name Apollo. The locust was an emblem of this god, who poisoned his victims, and the name "Apollyon" may be used allusively in Revelation to attack the pagan god and so indirectly the Roman emperor Domitian, who liked to be regarded as Apollo incarnate.
Application
Human rationality apart from the fear of God, and apart from a love for His law and His wisdom, is the ultimate cause of spiritual destruction. I find it both interesting and helpful that death and destruction are somewhat or somehow connected, in this verse, to Apollo. From Euripides' Ion to Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, the Apollonian principle, which corresponds to Schopenhauer's principium individuationis ("principle of individuation"), is the basis of all analytic distinctions. But the problem with treating moral truths as simply a matter of rational choice, is that God's law is ignored and effectively eliminated.  This is essentially what happened in Genesis 3: Adam and Eve tried to elevate themselves to be "like God" (Genesis 3:4) by asserting the right to make autonomous choices between right and wrong. Ever since that moment of rebellion against God's sovereignty and authority, the human experience has involved a tension (a war, actually) between the Biblical principles of trust and obedience to God, on the one hand, and the Apollonian principle of asserting human autonomy (to the point of eliminating moral guilt), on the other. The depraved human heart cries out, "I will choose for myself!!!" Death and destruction, the domain of Abaddon, are the natural result. Ironically, when Apollyon does lead his swarm of locusts out of the bottomless pit to torment those who have refused God's authority, those "people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them." (Revelation 9:6).
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, forgive me for my rebellious heart. Help me to learn and love Your law, and to follow Jesus zealously in living it. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Revelation 3-6
Today's Key Verses:  Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Revelation 3:4-5 (ESV)
Observation
Some controversies have bubbled up around the reference in this passage to the idea that God might possibly "blot out" or "erase" the name of those who did not commit evil. Are believers who sin (that is, who soil their garments) at risk of having their names erased from the Book of Life? Many commentators, such as John Piper, make the excellent case for the proposition that regenerate believers in Jesus Christ cannot be erased from the Book of Life. Others such as Vic Reasoner, who drift in a more Armenian direction, are not so sure. They cannot get past the notion that God does seem to have an eraser, a truth understood by no less than Moses (Exodus 32:32-33) and David (Psalm 69:27‑28). These are very important considerations, and are addressed seriously and respectfully elsewhere by, I trust, well-meaning commentators, preachers and Bible scholars. What I find to be especially helpful, however, is to focus on the "good guys" of Sardis. How is it that these folks have not soiled their garments? What believer has completed conquered sin? As it happens, the people who have not soiled their garments, have achieved this status, I believe, because they walk (peripateō) with Jesus Christ. That is, they are living, and will continue to live, and pass their lives, connected to, reliant upon, in communion with, in love with, devoted to, and bond-servanted to, their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And any conquering, any avoidance of evil, and any white that might be showing through on their garments, any worthiness on their part, is entirely and completely the result of their walk with and allegiance to Jesus Christ. Through Christ, God's Holy Spirit causes them to walk in accordance with God's will, and prompts them to observe His ways (Ezekiel 36:27). Through the power of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, their delight is in God's truth (Psalm 119:48) and His ways (Psalm 1:1-3), and they walk accordingly (Romans 8:4). As they walk with Jesus Christ, they will always know that their Savior is, at the core, the only true Conqueror, and the only reliable source of conquest.
Application
One of my favorite "irritating little songs" is "Keep Walking," which comes from the Veggie Tales story of Jericho (Josh and the Big Wall). The garrison of soldiers at the top of the wall are played by peas with French accents, who for some reason throw Slushies rather than rocks at the potential invaders while taunting them and challenging them to just keep walking. Which, of course, they do, to the demise of the city and its garrison. I am not sure that the Israelites marched around Jericho in perfect formation, but they kept walking in obedience. This is how we conquer. We keep walking in faith, trusting in Jesus Christ, and the conquering will take care of itself. More accurately, He will take charge of the conquering. All we need to do is trust Him and just keep walking in reliance upon Him. Won't you join me in my irritating little song?
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me to be more responsive your Holy Spirit's leading in my life, so that I may walk with Jesus Christ more carefully, obediently, more consistently, and in a more Christlike manner. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Revelation 2
Today's Key Verse:  But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Revelation 2:24 (ESV)
Observation
The deep things of Satan. The "deep" (bathys) of Satan. Whatever this "deep" is, it is the opposite of the knowledge of God. Jesus observed in his High Priestly Prayer that "this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Paul speaks of "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). Paul acknowledges that his sufferings have been a blessing because his sufferings have helped him to "know Him and the power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). Knowledge matters. Jesus said to some of the Jews of His day: "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also" (John 8:19). And yet knowledge does not just happen. Except for knowledge that comes to us randomly as we experience life, we must choose to learn, before we have knowledge. We must choose to learn, and, we must choose what to learn. The Fall in the Garden took place when Adam and Eve wanted to be able to make moral choices without God, that is, they wanted to "like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). They chose the wrong knowledge. When it comes to the things of God, true wisdom involves choosing to be "wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." (Romans 16:19). When it comes to the deep things of Satan, what we don't know, can help us.
Application
We are wired to learn, and to keep learning. But there are traps to learning. Learning can puff us up (Colossians 2:18-19; 1 Corinthians 8:1). Learning can lead to pride (Matthew 23:7). Worse, learning can lead away from God instead of toward God (2 Timothy 3:5-7). Indeed, the attraction of many cults is the promise to learn "deep things" and "hidden knowledge." But we need to recognize and acknowledge and remember that our almighty, all-knowing, all-righteous God is the source of all truth (Proverbs 1:7), so that as we seek truth we are seeking truth in and from Him. Kendrick Graham's lyrics for the song "Knowing You" capture the mood of this sentiment. The song reminds us that "There is no greater thing" than knowing God.  It is by seeking Him, that we can "get wisdom" (Proverbs 4:7). True wisdom is knowing what to learn and what not to learn.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to learn only your Truth and only your Wisdom. Help me to have the Word of God very near me: In my mouth and in my heart, so that I can do it (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Revelation 1
Today's Key Verse:  and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.  Revelation 1:18 (ESV)
Observation
Jesus Christ holds the keys to Death and Hades. What does this mean? Does "Death" (thanatos) refer to spiritual death, physical death, or both? Does "Hades" (hadēs) refer to Hell (as translated in the King James version), to the grave, or to death generally? A good way to understand what we are asking when we ask these questions, is to realize that we can approach these questions from a larger, eternal perspective, or, from a small, this-life, human perspective. The former approach is especially helpful. It leads us to appreciate the Kingship of Jesus Christ "forevermore," while the latter helps to wrench us loose from the hold that the anxieties of life tend to have on us. If we understand spiritual death in terms of being separated from God, we can remember that Jesus experienced some level of separation from God the Father when he hung on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Psalm 22:1), but also, that He conquered death completely. He freed us from the curse of death by being made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). But even at the more earthly level, e.g., if we are grieving over the recent (or imminent) loss of a loved one or friend, or if we are becoming more and more aware of our own mortality, we can remember two things. First, we can remember that death is an unnatural phenomenon that entered the world through Adam (1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Romans 5:12-19), and, second, we can remember that Jesus died, that he has led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8-10), and, as we see in today's key verse, Look! He is Alive Forevermore!
Application
I have used the expression, "we can remember" several times in my Observations, above. It is often our forgetfulness that hurts us, or does us in. Whenever we sin, we are choosing to forget God's presence, His holiness, his righteousness, and his claim upon our lives. Part of the process of overcoming sin, or a sin, is to allow the Holy Spirit to remind us who we are, and Whose we are. The same holds for sickness, sadness and death. When life disappoints us, troubles us, stresses us, and saddens us, we need to remind ourselves of the Gospel, that is the Story of Jesus Christ (and the implications of that Story for our eternal beings). This one passage (like so many others in the Bible, such as 1 Corinthians 15:54-58) can do the job. It summarizes the Gospel: Jesus is the Living One: He died, and is victoriously alive forevermore, and holds the keys to eternity. Buried in the verse, is the word "Behold" (or, Look!!!) (idou). Look up! Raise your eyes up from the this world of physical and spiritual death. Look up! Cast your eyes upon Jesus. Look up! Look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Look up! Be encouraged. Remember the Gospel!
Prayer
O LORD, make me know my end
   and what is the measure of my days;
   let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
   and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! (Psalm 39:4-5)
In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  2 John, 3 John, Jude
Today's Key Verses:  Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1:1-2 (ESV)
Observation
Jude refers to himself as a servant or slave or bondservant (doulos) of Jesus Christ. So does Paul (Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1 and elsewhere), as well as did the entire "inner circle" of Jesus' disciples, that is,  Peter, James and John. Those who are closest to our Lord, think of themselves as his slaves. And, contented slaves at that: one of Paul's most joyful expressions of his contentment in the Lord was the book of Philippians ... written while he was in chains. In part, being slaves to Jesus Christ is our status because we have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). And, in part, being slaves to Jesus Christ is because our lives our yielded completely and entirely -- heart, mind, and soul -- to Him (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Romans 6:19). Indeed, Christianity is often called a "slave religion," in part because throughout history it is a religion that has often seen its greatest growth when being spread by slaves and former slaves; and, in part, because, as Nietzsche observed, it's emphasis on Christ-like humility leads people away from lustful power-grabbing and a pride-driven success ethic. For believing Christians, life (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalms 127:3-5; Romans 6:23), time (Psalm 90; James 4:13-15), work and success (Deuteronomy 8:18) are all gifts from God that are to be received and used solely for His glory. True wisdom, is learning how to exercise good stewardship of these gifts; that wisdom is not always easy to discern.
Application
Throughout much of my life I have admired the idea of the "Protestant work ethic" (even though, as my own father demonstrated to me throughout my early life, working "as unto the Lord" [Colossians 3:22-24] is not an ethic that is limited to those Christians who call themselves Protestants). Only recently have I come to appreciate how thoroughly that work ethic has colored and informed -- and distorted -- my thinking, even to the point of my holding up that work ethic as some sort of idol. The occasion for this insight was the funeral of a dear family friend, a 21 year old handsome, smart, articulate and well-liked young man who committed suicide. Among the storm of emotions and thoughts that overwhelmed me at the loss of this fine young man, was disappointment and sadness at the lost opportunities. But I had to remember that lost opportunities are part of my life, too. Part of everyone's life, actually. But opportunity-aggrandizement is never the primary motive or experience of the believer. What ought to be the primary experience of those of us who, like Jude, are slaves to Jesus Christ, is the "contentment ethic" that Jude prayed for in today's verse: mercy, peace and love.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me not to be judgmental toward others who seem to be ignoring or foregoing economic, academic, work or career opportunities. Instead, help me to be more alert to, aware of, and diligently responsive to, the opportunities that you give me to clearly represent Jesus Christ, His kingdom, His Gospel, and his mercy, peace and love. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 John
Today's Key Verses:  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 (ESV)
Observation
This passage instructs us to not love (agapaō) the world: do not be well pleased, and do not be contented at or with the world. And yet the world seems to have what we need and desire (the desires of the flesh), what we like and want to look at (the desires or lust of the eyes), and what we take pride in. It's as if there somehow needs to be some sort of wise balance between -- or overlap of -- our loving God, on the one hand, and and our finding contentment in this life, on the other. Here, though, we see that to not love the world, is to have a predisposition of maintaining a distance from the world, to avert our gaze from it, and to reject the world as a source of pride and respect. The world, after all, impresses us into the service of the "law of sin" (Romans 7:25), because at its core the world (and the flesh) offers idolatry and sin rather than holiness and worship (Romans 7:18). If Eve had keep this in mind, then the temptation at Genesis 3:6 -- that the tree was good for food (lust of flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of eyes), and that it was desirable to make one wise (pride of life) -- would have been not had the glamor that was being touted by the serpent. The same could have been said about Achan at Joshua 7:21: if he had relied upon God, he might have avoided being taken in by what he saw and coveted and took for himself. When Satan tempted Jesus, following this same pattern, Jesus showed us what it looks like when we maintain a Kingdom perspective rather than a worldly perspective: Jesus gave no quarter at Matthew 4:1-11 when He was tempted with food (desires of the flesh), a vision of all the kingdoms of the world (desires of the eyes) and the possibility of possessing everything in this world (pride). As Jesus tells us at Matthew 6:22-24, there is no balancing, no overlap, no accommodation, between the two kingdoms. No one can serve two masters in their heart, even if they try.
Application
It's not always easy to see how Christians manage this command to avoid loving the world. After all, we are embedded in the world, and we depend on the world for our food, our sustenance, and our ability to survive. And so Christians, like everyone else, must eat, and wear clothes, and work, and interact with people. When Christians eat well, wear especially nice clothes, and glide smoothly and contentedly through life, it may seem that they have arrived at an accommodation of the world that is tantamount to loving the world. Sometimes this is true, and sometimes it isn't. After all, the command to avoid loving the world, is a command that speaks to the heart, not to the quality of life that we live per se. As Revelation 21:8 indicates, there are signals (in the form of wholly sinful lifestyles) that do reliably inform us that a person -- including a nominal Christian -- has, in fact, not given up on his or her love for the world. And yet we must remember that addiction to sin, such as sexual addiction, gambling addiction, gluttony or food addiction, workaholism or greed, etc., is not the same as loving the world. Many who are under the bondage of sin, hate the sin with an all-encompassing loathing. In fact, sometimes the "comfortable" so-called Christians, have a greater love for the things of the world (and are at greater risk, spiritually), than the miserable, uncomfortable "creeps" who are suffering under the burden of sin's bondage (and who continually call out to God for forgiveness, relief and victory). Part of our not loving the world, is our love and compassion for the creeps whose sin makes them desperate for God's grace.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, forgive me for my willingness to look at, and desire, the things of this world with a sinful heart, and for my accommodation of the idol of pride in my life. Forgive me, and help me to compassionately reach out with the Gospel to others who suffer under the weight, the consequences, and the seeming insurmountability of sin. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 John
Today's Key Verse:  Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.  1 John 2:9  (ESV)
Observation
At a first, quick reading, the strong language of the passages at 1 John 2:9-11, 1 John 3:15, and 1 John 4:20 seems to imply that a person who hates his brother cannot really be a believing Christian. In fact, some commentators on 1 John 2:9 (and others like it) emphasize the light versus darkness theme so much, that they conclude that "If you do not love but hate, you do not know God." The Geneva Study  Bible declares that the one who hates another "knowingly and willingly casts himself headlong into hell." Wesley describes anyone who hates as "Void of Christ, and of all true light." Contrast these conclusions with the words of Jesus Christ at Luke 14:26, and the argument can be made that the salvation is all about hating the right people and not hating the wrong people. It's all about who you hate and don't hate. Commentators are often quick to point out that Jesus is using hyperbole at Luke 14:26, but those same commentators seem to miss the fact that in 1 John the apostle is writing to Christians, not to unbelievers. In fact, 1 John 2:9-11 is preceded by 1 John 1, which invites the reader to examine their conscience and confess our sins, and by John's "purpose statement" at 1 John 2:1: "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." John is using passionate, motivational language, in a manner similar to the language of Luke 14:26. This does not mean that the text should be discounted in any way. But if a follower of Christ discovers a seed of hatred within his or her heart, he or she should not fret about his or her relationship with Christ, and should not jump to the conclusion that he or she is not a believing Christian. It does mean, however, that the sin of hatred needs to be recognized for the black hole of darkness that it represents, and that such hatred must be both confessed and zealously addressed. A full and careful reading of 1 John, along with Matthew 18, would be a good place to start in any effort to deal with a lingering seed of hatred, bitterness, or disdain.
Application
Christians can and do hate from time to time. When we feel attacked by another Christian, or when a family member is disrespected by another member of our church, or when someone comes between us and a loved one, we react with anger toward the aggressor. When our will is thwarted, intentionally or not, by a brother or sister in the Lord, we can nurture disdain, envy, bitterness, or malice. If we do try to seek reconciliation, and no real sense of contrition or humility is forthcoming from the person who caused the hurt or injury, we experience frustration that only serves to exacerbate our hidden wrath. These are the realities being addressed in 1 John. Hate, after all, is a relative emotion, not an absolute condition. The New Testament word for hate is miseō, which covers a range of negative emotions from white-hot wrath, to disdain and contempt, to malicious disregard and disinterest. At one extreme, hate is the harboring of a death wish toward another (Matthew 5:20-22; 1 John 4:20). At the other extreme, hate is simply the absence of love and devotion (John 13:34-35; Luke 16:13). Hatred at any level, though, is sin and is repugnant to our holy and loving Lord. The only hatred we ought to harbor, in fact, is hatred of sin, darkness, and separation from fellowship with God (John 3:20). Other than that, we need to hate hatred. But that brings right back to 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins (including our residual love for the word and our residual tendency to harbor less-than-love toward others), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, I don't always love. In other words, I sometimes hate. Forgive me. Help me to love, because He first love me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  2 Peter 2-3
Today's Key Verse:  For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 2 Peter 3:5 (ESV)
Observation
The expression "deliberately overlook" (thelō lanthanō) is also translated "deliberately forget" in the NIV and NLT. There are two facets to this notion: choosing not to remember, and, choosing to forget. We must choose to make the effort to remember. Peter explains in 2 Peter 3:1-2 that he thinks of both of his letters essentially as reminders, so that we will never forget the principles and truths taught by our Lord and Savior. But we must also choose not to forget. That is, from the term lanthanō, we are being asked to never hide away, ignore, discount, disregard, refuse to take notice of, or remove from our awareness, God's Word and His truth. 2 Peter 3:5 seems especially poignant today, as we see and hear and read the work of evolutionary scientists who seem to "turn a blind eye" toward the ever-increasing evidence of intelligent design and creation of the the universe. Many commentators on this verse have made this observation. Adam Clarke, for example, notes that "They shut their eyes against the light, and refuse all evidence; what does not answer their purpose they will not know. And the apostle refers to a fact that militates against their hypothesis, with which they refused to acquaint themselves; and their ignorance he attributes to their unwillingness to learn the true state of the case." Henry Morris's Defender's Bible offers this comment about the scientific community's near-universal "choice" to accept evolution despite contrary evidence: "It is remarkable that such a universally dominating theory of origins, meaning, and destiny could be based on absolutely no genuine evidence at all! There is no scientific or historical evidence that any significant evolutionary changes have ever taken place, and the most basic laws of science (the laws of probability and thermodynamics) prove that genuine macro-evolution could not happen at all. As Peter prophesied, this belief would be based on 'willful ignorance.' They are 'without excuse' (Romans 1:20)."  These observations are also consistent with the Biblical model of the human experience: the will has more to do with our "objective" reasoning than we are usually willing to admit. As Barnes summarizes this notion, "the will has usually more to do in the denial and rejection of the doctrines of the Bible than the understanding has."
Application
Over the last few years, cognitive psychologists and neurologists have been developing a robust and empirically supported notion of "directed forgetting." The idea has gained sufficient scientific support, that therapists have begun to develop regimens and procedures for training patients to forget certain things (usually traumas or unpleasant events).  See, for example, this article. We really can, scientists now tell us, "deliberately forget." So when Peter writes, "don't forget' (as at 2 Peter 3:8), and "be diligent" (as at 2 Peter 3:14) and "take care" (as at 2 Peter 3:17), he is reminding us to deliberately remember God's grace in our lives, and His call on our lives. We can remember or forget; it's our choice.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to be more mindful and more diligent, so that throughout this day and the days to come I may be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  2 Peter 1
Today's Key Verse:  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10 (ESV)
Observation
The online ESV Study Bible offers this Notes entry for the phrase to make your calling and election sure: "Growing in the Christlike virtues mentioned in 2 Pet. 1:5–7 will give believers increasing confidence that God really did call them and really did elect them to salvation before the foundation of the world." However, the word "sure" (bebaios) as used in this passage, literally means stable, fast and trustworthy. This is just as important for others in the world (especially nonbelievers) to see, as it is for believers themselves. The NLT opens up this meaning a bit more than some of the other translations, by rendering the phrase this way: "prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen." Prove to whom? To oneself? Or, to others? The answer seems to be both. Most commentators seem to focus on the "prove to oneself" aspect, but the "prove to others" is at least as important, if not more so. Our representation of our devotion to Jesus Christ, to a lost world, is after all the project to which we are called. Thinking along these lines also colors the last part of the verse differently. If I am a zealous and devoted follower of Jesus Christ, I am nevertheless likely to "fall" in some way (whether it is obvious to others or not). But my relationship with Christ allows us to seek and find forgiveness. We may sin, but will will not "fall" in the sense of "becoming wretched" (ptaiō). This too, is part of our witness. A follower of Christ whose sin does become public, is not in bondage to the shame and guilt that can overcome a nonbeliever: part of the believer's witness is their willingness to acknowledge their failings, and to humbly seek forgiveness from God and from those they may have hurt or negatively impacted in some way. When we have the confidence of, in the words of 2 Peter 1:1, faith "by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ," we can fail (sin) without falling (that is, we can remain confident in our standing as a result of the work of Jesus Christ, and we can press forward after seeking and finding forgiveness).
Application
In higher education, it's important to learn how to fail. Some college students who were academic superstars throughout their primary and secondary education, never experienced a failing grade, and hit the wall once they arrive in the classroom of a particular professor. This can also happen in graduate school, for students who sailed through their undergraduate program without a glitch. For example, at Wayne State University, a doctoral student who never experienced failure, gunned down his doctoral adviser (professor) when he began to see his dream of earning a PhD begin to fade. Faith should work differently. For a person whose faith is in the Person of Jesus Christ, a stumble here or there provides an opportunity to "prove" to the world, or show the world, our dependence upon Him and His grace and forgiveness. We have no need to despair, even in sin. Of course, if we cultivate the virtues described in 2 Peter 1:5-7, then, as verse 8 reminds us, they will help to keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful in our walk. In other words, it's one thing to "prove" the grace and forgiveness that is ours in Jesus Christ. But it is another, much better and more positive thing to prove the godly and righteous life that comes from walking in the Spirit.
Prayer
 Holy Spirit, please help me to to supplement my 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. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Peter 3-5
Today's Key Verse:  For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;  1 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
Observation
This passage reads like a proverb. It promises that life will be improved if we can keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking evil. It implies that loving life and seeing good days are worthwhile goals. For most of us, this is an easy principle to accept. (As Spurgeon once said, "The rewards of virtue are the baits with which the young are to be drawn to morality..") Indeed, Jesus said that He "came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10)." The word for life in John 10:10, zōē, is the Greek word for the optimal fullness of a life well lived. And the word for abundantly in John 10:10, perissos, means beyond all expectations. Jesus came to ensure that we could flourish spiritually, and Peter reminds us that we can interfere with that project if we allow ourselves to revel in bitterness toward others. The NASB changes the word order of 1 Peter 3:10, and speaks of "the one who desires life, to love and see good days," but the sense of the combination of agapaō (to love) and zōē (life) comes through in either rendering. This quotation of Psalm 34:12–16 is a reminder that we are called to continually and faithfully live a life that is pleasing to God. The verse is embedded in a context that emphasizes peacefulness, unity, and the avoidance of bitterness and vengeance. Like verse 7, which suggests that God is more open to the prayers of a respectful husband than one who is not, verse 12 observes that God is more attentive to the prayers of the righteous peacemaker than to those who seek vengeance and speak evil. Verse 9 sums it up in one verb: Bless. Eulogeō.
Application
We need to be able to speak to God with a holy tongue. As James observes (James 1:26 and 3:1-10), we need to "bridle" our tongue. This is not easy. Especially when we find ourselves interacting with those who insult us, shun us, or disrespect us out of insecurity, pride, or envy. These can include co-workers, relatives, and people who are part of a group of friends or acquaintances. We might hold our tongue when we are in their presence, but we can hardly wait to complain about them behind their backs. Even though our complaint might be "justified," we learn from 1 Peter 3:10 and elsewhere in the Bible that our own fullness of life -- our own happiness -- is impacted when we carp and complain about the indignities we suffer at the hands (and tongues) of others. Even our prayers can be hindered. The tongue that speaks and sings our prayers to God, must be a bridled tongue, a tongue that is kept from evil.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, I confess that I complain too much. This is ridiculous, because you have blessed me beyond my ability to describe. But it is also sinful. Please forgive my evil tongue, and, through your Holy Spirit, help me to speak only good and not evil. In Jesus' name I make this plea. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Peter 1 & 2
Today's Key Verses:  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,  1 Peter 1:18  (ESV)
Observation
The expression "futile ways" (mataios anastrophē) is also translated "empty way of life" in several versions of the Bible. The King James (AV) translation uses "vain" as the English for each use of mataios in the New Testament, including at 1 Corinthians 3:20. The expression is a throwback to the "vanity" lament of Ecclesiastes 1 and 2, and is an acknowledgment of the existential states of both dread and boredom that are characteristic of the human life experience. We were ransomed from emptiness, meaninglessness and purposelessness, which are what we inherited from Adam. All people, including those born rich, and those born poor, as well as those who acquire wealth and those who lose wealth, suffer from this inherited affliction. In fact, wealth and worldly accomplishments are fleeting (Proverbs 23:4-5), and they draw us away from God and further into a sense of emptiness (Jeremiah 2:5). We inherited from our ancestors the tendency to foolishly chase after vain things, that is, idols. We inherited Adam's proclivity to turn from God and chase after vain things, that is, after idols ("vain things," or mataios, in Acts 14:15). An anastrophē, or way of life, that is doomed to emptiness, now and forever.
Application
That wealth is fleeting has become more obvious in these economic times. People around the world have lost value in their homes, their retirement accounts, and even their currency. Jobs are lost, and an entirely new sense of meaning is found in the expression "under-employed." The world economy is reeling, and national leaders and legislators seem to be clueless about how to right the ship. But even if wealth is earned and accumulated, it does not "fix" the emptiness of life: in many cases, wealth magnifies this aimlessness. In these postmodern times of listlessness and angst, the Gospel shines as a beacon of hope.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for sending your Son, to ransom and rescue me from the futility of this life. Please lead me and help me to live out the hope. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  James 1 - 5
Today's Key Verses:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith,  James 1:5-6a  (ESV)
Observation
In some ways, James 1:5-6a can be read as the thesis statement for the first three chapters of James. Verses 1 through 4 point to the need or motivation for wisdom (that is, troubles and testing). James 1:5-6a invites us to seek our much needed wisdom in God, but to do so in faith alone. It is God's wisdom we seek, not worldly wisdom. Verses 6b through 18 are reminders of what it means to be "in faith," despite the conflicts of life. The remainder of the first chapter describes what Godly wisdom looks like when it is put into practice, while the remaining chapters describe the problem of blending God's wisdom with human wisdom. The nature of God's wisdom is described once more at the end of the third chapter. The thesis is repeated at James 5:8: "Come close to God, and God will come close to you." For James, as for Solomon (Proverbs 1:7; 2:6-10; and 9:10) and David (Psalm 111:10), the source of wisdom is God alone. For a believer to think or act otherwise would be to try to have a double heart (Psalm 12:2).
Application
In Summa Theologica, at Question 62, Thomas Aquinas made the following comparison: "Now the object of the theological virtues is God Himself, Who is the last end of all, as surpassing the knowledge of our reason. On the other hand, the object of the intellectual and moral virtues is something comprehensible to human reason. Wherefore the theological virtues are specifically distinct from the moral and intellectual virtues." By theological virtues, he is referring to faith, hope and charity. But intellectual and moral virtues, he is referring to the humanistic virtues as articulated by Aristotle in the Nichomachean Ethics, as well as to the classical Greek cardinal virtues of justice, prudence, courage and temperance. In this simple little quote, Aquinas is laying the groundwork for the philosophical separation of reason from faith that has influenced Western civilization and culture from the Renaissance, through the Enlightenment, to today. If Aquinas is compared to James, the first sentence of the Aquinas quote might well stand. But the second and third sentences will not, if by "human reason" Aquinas is implying "human reason apart from God's Word." There is no "other hand" for James: if we seek wisdom in faith, then any all of our efforts to improve our moral and intellectual habits must be fully and completely yielded to Him and His word. In the first chapter of James, Verses 6b through 18, we are given several poignant examples of what wisdom looks like when it is fully yielded to God and not corrupted by worldly wisdom. Reason is not abandoned, but it is made subject to faith.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, give me wisdom. Yours, not mine. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Hebrews 11 - 13
Today's Key Verse:  By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Hebrews 11:24  (ESV)
Observation
At Hebrews 12:16, Esau comes in for some severe criticism for selling his birthright for a single meal. He is called godless and unholy, and his behavior is compared to sexual immorality. Moses, on the other hand, is praised for rejecting the resources that God made available to him by allowing him to be adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, Thermutis. What is the difference here? First, the difference is not "adoption" versus biological birthright. The Bible is an entire story about adoption, including our adoption as sons and daughters of God (Hebrews 12:7). Second, the difference is not that Moses obeyed a specific command of God, while Esau did not. Moses' rejection of his status with the royal family predates his encounter with YHWH and the burning bush. And on the other hand, it was not illegal for Esau to willingly chose to sell his birthright.  In fact, while it was clearly stupid, we are really not specifically and directly told that it was unholy or godless or contrary to God's moral law in the Old Testament. (Instead, we have to wait until we find this out in the book of Hebrews, in the New Testament.) So what is the difference? Trusting God (literally, "by faith," as today's verse points out) Moses let go of his status as the Pharaoh's grandson, in the service of a larger call. But Esau let go of his birthright in the service of his belly.
Application
At Job 1:21, Job acknowledges God's sovereignty, and observes that "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." At Job 31, after all of the events described in the book of Job, he circles back to this theme. His prayer is that he avoid grasping for that which is not intended by God to be his (or to be within his control). He says at Job 31:7-8, "if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out." In other words, he acknowledges that there are, and ought to be, terrible consequences when he covets that which is not his, and grasps for that which does not belong to him.  This is actually the theme of Job 31. Behind that chapter, and behind the differences between Moses and Esau in Hebrews 11 and 12, is the knowledge of what God has provided, and the awareness of how those resources ought to be respected. It takes wisdom to see the differences. Some differences are obvious, such as marital fidelity (as described at Job 31:9-10). Other differences are not so obvious, such as the balance between proper financial stewardship on the one hand, and proper charity toward the poor on the other (Job 31:16-24). But it is very important that we seek that wisdom from God and from His Word, so that we can avoid Esau's godlessness and emulate Moses' faith. Job 31 is a good place to start, a good prayer to pray, as we seek that wisdom.
Prayer
Holy Spirit of God, please help me to never grab for that which you did not designate to me, and please also prompt me to be humbly satisfied, respectful, careful with that which you entrust to me. In Jesus' name and for the sake of His kingdom. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Hebrews 8 - 10
Today's Key Verses:  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts,and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Hebrews 8:10-11 (ESV)
Observation
The old covenant was between God and Israel, and every member of the Chosen People was required to learn the covenantal laws. A great deal of teaching was required, but the teaching program was flawed. First, it was not as widespread as it should have been, and there were neighbors, brothers, cousins, and sometimes entire communities that were not reached by the teaching of the Mosaic law. Second, even for those who were in fact taught, the teaching program did not work. No one kept the law to the extent that they should have. This first quotation of Jeremiah 31 (the second one is at Hebrews 10:16-17) is a reminder that things are different after Jesus Christ. The law is no longer the primary pathway to knowing God, so teaching the law has a different purpose. Now, Jesus Christ is the pathway to knowing God (John 14:6). Now, those who are followers of Christ have God's law written on their hearts through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 8:10-11). This change may seem subtle, but it is profound. Before becoming a follower of Christ, we are minding the flesh, in enmity against God, and not subject to the law of God (Romans 8:7). Sin has darkened our minds (Ephesians 4:18), and so the things of the Spirit are silly foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). All of this changes (or at least begins to change) once someone becomes a true follower of Jesus Christ. For the convert, teaching does not stop as such, but teaching among followers of Christ is a more of partnership of induction than a declaration by a teacher of truths. Believers assist each other in seeking, discovering, and conforming to God's heart through His Word, led by the Holy Spirit and made possible by the Gospel. Teaching is an inductive process that gives us a greater sense of God's presence and grace in our lives. The goal of teaching is to better and more fully experience and live out God's truth in our lives, not, as in the Old Testament, to get to know God by studying His law. Followers of Christ already know God, and we know the voice of the Shepherd, when we identify ourselves with Him in response to His Gospel. Of course, the goal of evangelism, is to introduce the Gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him. And the Mosaic law can be a helpful reference point in showing that we are sinners in need of faith in Christ. But this passage in Hebrews does not address evangelism as much as it addresses what it means to be a participant in the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ.
Application
When I am teaching a Bible lesson or leading a Bible study, I never feel as if I am conveying new information to those who somehow lack the information ... even if I am presenting a fairly rigorous exegesis of a Bible passage, or a fairly robust articulation of a Biblical concept. As I interact with the others in the group that I am "teaching," I always have a sense the I am leading a discussion of God's truths, among other believers who already have an innate sense of those truths. Like me, they have have hunger to better understand the spark of God's righteousness and wisdom that they have experienced through their relationship with Jesus Christ. In some ways, this experience has some common characteristics with the nativism demonstrated by Plato in his Socratic dialogue, The Meno. There, Socrates attempts to prove that all humans have at least some sophisticated innate knowledge (such as knowledge of geometrical relationships) that is embedded within us (for Socrates, this embedding was done by "the gods"). But my experience goes far beyond mere knowledge nativism or concept nativism. It is a "participation in the Spirit." (Philippians 2:1) It is a spiritual experience that leaves no room for pride or arrogance on my part; instead, I am humbled that I find myself searching so hard to extract important ideas and truths and reassurances from God's Word, only to discover that some of the people with whom I share my discoveries already had an instinctive notion of those same truths. Praise God! This thrills me even as it humbles me, because it is evidence of God's partnership in the lives of those folks (some of whom might be relatively recent converts to Biblical Christianity, and some of whom may have never invested much time in scholarly hermeneutics). I don't know by what measure Jeremiah (or the writer of Hebrews) would differentiate "the least of them" from "the greatest," but I have experienced the same conclusion. When it comes to God's grace in putting His laws into our minds, and writing them on our hearts, it's all grace, all the time. (I am grateful that) He is no respecter of persons.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, thank you for promising, through your prophets and your Son, to send your Holy Spirit to put your laws into my mind and heart. Help me to better understand them, and to better live them out. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Hebrews 3 - 7
Today's Key Verse:  Therefore I was provoked with that generation,and said, 'They always go astray in their heart;
   they have not known my ways.' Hebrews 3:10  [ESV]
Observation
Within a few weeks of their amazing Red Sea escape from the Egyptians, the ancient Israelites were tired, hungry, and discouraged (Exodus 16). God blessed them with quail and manna, but then they complained about being desperately thirsty -- in fact, they were tormented by their thirst (Exodus 17:1-7). The "tone" of their entreaties became not only more desperate, but, downright mean-spirited. Instead of simply asking for water, they demanded water, and when it did not arrive fast enough, they lashed out at Moses. They began to believe their own conspiracy theories about Moses' true intentions, and accused him of having planned all along to get them out into the desert so that he could dehydrate them to death (along with their children and livestock). Not only did they convince themselves of this nonsense, but they were so angry about it that they were ready to stone Moses to death. The narrative in Exodus 17:1-7 does not describe any impatience on the part of God in response to this level of nastiness and contempt on the part of His people. There is a sense of quiet, calm, even merciful, lovingkindness as God gives some detailed instructions to Moses: "Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink." Exodus 17:5b-6a [NLT] God responded to the biting bitterness and the outrageous outbursts of the Israelites with grace. This event was not the event that triggered God's oath against the nation, causing them to wander the desert for another 40 years: that oath (Numbers 14:21–35) was in response to the nation's willingness to listen to, accept, and made decisions based on, the report of the 10 faithless spies. The principle that comes through all of this, as articulated in both the processional Psalm 95 and the above passage in Hebrews 3 (quoting Psalm 95), is that faithlessness provokes God. If there is a difference between the Exodus 17 water event, and the Numbers 14 spies event, it is that the Israelites' responses in Exodus 17 were driven mostly by weariness, while their response in Numbers 14 was driven by a more cognitive, willful choice to disbelieve God's word. Their faithlessness had "grown" from mere emotional desperation, to an intentional willingness to confront and disregard God's word and his truth.
Application
When the writer of Hebrews challenges us (with text from Psalm 95) not to harden our hearts, he is speaking to that critical cross-over point where we move from weariness to faithlessness. We can feel desperately lonely, persecuted, disrespected, enslaved by our circumstances, and exhausted from emotional or physical pain and suffering. There is room for us to express some level of frustration to God, perhaps even to the point of asking God what His plans are for us. "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." Psalm 13:1-5 [ESV]. But watch out! Numbers 14, Psalm 95, and Hebrews 3 all provide the same terrible warning: we need to never let our desperation lead us away from our faith in God, our trust in Him, or our obedience. If we do, we will have consciously, cognitively, intentionally and willfully turned away from God. As soon as we would do that, we will have gone from prayer to rebellion. There is no excuse for this: the Israelites experienced forty years of miracles (Psalm 95:10; Hebrews 3:9). We, too, have also experienced countless blessings from the hand of God. Let us never go astray from Him in our heart.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me hear the voice of my Shepherd, and follow it, at all times. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Philemon & Hebrews 1 & 2
Today's Key Verse:  and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Hebrews 2:15  [ESV]
Observation
Jesus has conquered sin and death as well as the enemy who promotes both (1 John 3:8). These words may seem strange when spoken today, as we live in a 21st century world saturated with sin and splattered with death, just as it did to the Pharisees when Jesus declared his sovereignty over death (John 8:51-59). But even though we sin, we are, through Jesus Christ, set free from the bondage of death and decay (as will be all of creation in the new earth) (Romans 8:20-21). And so when we look to Jesus Christ as our light and our salvation, we have nothing to fear (Psalm 27; Hebrews 13:5-6). In fact, we are not only unafraid of death, but we can look forward to it with hope and optimism (Philippians 1:21). And once the fear of death is ameliorated, nothing -- and no one -- else can or should intimidate us (Psalm 48:14). Faith and fear of death become inversely related (Mark 4:38-40). Followers of Christ are not only blessed with freedom from bondage to a fear of death (Hebrews 2:1), but also with a corresponding sense of spiritual safety as we rest in God's love (Jude 1:21). As we more fully realize and appreciate this truth, and rest in it, we are better able to understand the profound truth of 1 Corinthians 15:56: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law [ESV]. This is the why the Gospel matters so much.
Application
For all earthly creatures except humans, death just is. But we get to ask the question: why must I die? Buried in the question, is an anxiety about death. That anxiety has created opportunities for intimidation, cruelty and slavery throughout the history of humankind. The ultimate power wielded by any human, legitimate or not, is the power to take a life. This is so troubling, that it has prompted inquiry by philosophers, writers, theologians and the like, for as long and as far back in time as the written record can confirm. Lots of ways of dealing with the fear of death have been proposed. Some, like Euripides (and most atheists), have suggested that death ought not be feared because death is nothingness. Nothingness is painless, trouble-free, worry-free. More often, however, others have responded to these efforts (to deny the rationality of the fear of death), by suggesting that it is not irrational if there is something more to the human existence than the molecules that make up the human body. "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," wrote Longellow in his Psalm of Life, "Was not spoken of the soul." And Shakespeare, in Act 3, Scene 1 of Hamlet, really did respond to the question, "To be or not to be?" with a specific answer: the answer ultimately is, "Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all." Not death itself, but, conscience. That's because of our God-given and very rational fear of what may come after death. It is because of this greater fear, that our lives are  "sicklied o'er with the pale case of thought" so that we continue "To grunt and sweat under a weary life" as we worry about "the dread of something after death." In other words, it is not death that troubles us the most. It is what awaits us after death. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is in the law. When sin was addressed at the Cross, the real sting of death was dealt with. Having been delivered from the sting of death (i.e., sin) through our faith in Christ, so we are once and for all delivered from the bondage of the fear of death itself.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help my faith to grow so that I can better appreciate -- and live out and represent to others -- the power of the Gospel in my life, even as I come to better appreciate your awesome (and fearsome) greatness, splendor, grace and love. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Titus 1, 2 & 3
Today's Key Verses:  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2:12-13 (ESV)
Observation
Titus 2:14 would make a good "life verse:" [He] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works [ESV]. It includes the full measure of the Redemption, but also includes the "purpose statement" that gives meaning to our lives. Verse 14 states the "why" of our existence. And verses 12 and 13 state the "how." First, at verse 12, there is the ongoing work of repentance: saying "NO" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and saying "YES" to living self-controlled (sōphronōs), upright (dikaiōs), and godly (eusebōs) lives in this present age. Second, at verse 13, there is the living out of that "blessed hope" as we anticipate the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In an interesting article in the December 1999 edition of Horizons in Biblical Theology, Dr. Reggie M. Kidd contrasts the three traditional Greek virtues of living soberly (sōphronōs), justly (dikaiōs), and piously (eusebōs), intentionally listed at Titus 2:12 by Paul, to their opposites: living for pleasure (e.g., being lazy [argos], gluttonous [gastēr], or both); living wickedly (e.g., like a savage brute or beast [thērion]); and living without regard for right and wrong (e.g., by lying all of the time [kakos]) ... also intentionally listed at Titus 1:12 by Paul, as he quotes the poet Epimenides in reference to Cretans.
Application
I have often wondered about Paul's "Christian kindness" or "Christian compassion", as I read Paul's stinging rebuke, at Titus 1:12, of Cretans (or, at least his stinging affirmation at verse 13 of statements made by the Cretan "prophet" or poet, probably Epimenides). I have also tried to decide whether, as some commentators suggest, Paul is limiting his critique to false teachers, or, whether his critique is more widespread. Is it possible Paul is criticizing individuals, or, and entire culture? As I read Dr. Kidd's article, along with some other commentaries, I have concluded that the answer is, yes. Paul seems to be acknowledging certain tendencies that are characteristic of the Cretan culture (which tendencies are confirmed by any number of external historical sources, including many secular sources). Cultures can be critiqued. After all, some cultures allow for infanticide, slavery, genocide, suppression of women, suppression of free speech, suppression of religion, child abuse and worse, etc. Honesty, furthermore, is treated with greater concern and rigor in some cultures, moreso than others. And some cultures, and some lifestyles, encourage self-control more than others. Just because "it's a different culture," does not make it right. At the same time, Paul's advice to Titus would hold, even at the individual level. Just as Paul advised Timothy to avoid "religious" people or nominal Christians who are not committed to a lifestyle that recognizes and reflects a devotion to Jesus Christ and His Gospel, Paul is advising Titus to be on the lookout for Cretans who remain committed to the vices that are common to their culture. By the way, every culture has its vices. We are Cretans all. Cultures are created by, and comprised of, believers and unbelievers, and so they are never "holy" or "sanctified." Cultures can, however, be influenced and impacted by individuals who, in turn, have committed themselves to the "why" and "how" of the Gospel. That, after all, is why we are here "in the present age."
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me to live a life that is self-controlled, upright and godly. Help me to reflect, to a sad and suffering world, the blessed hope that you have given me through grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  2 Timothy 3-4
Today's Key Verse:  Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 2 Timothy 3:5  (ESV)
Observation
Our God separates.  He separates good from evil. Holiness from unholiness. And he calls upon us to live a life of purity and holiness, as our act of worship of Him, and, as our witness in a lost world to Him and His Name and His Kingdom. The first few verses of 2 Timothy 3 read like a summary and critique of today's culture. The selfishness (and selfolatry), the greed, the pride, the pleasure-seeking, the decadence, and the arrogant self-righteousness. Then, along comes the verb apotrepō at the conclusion of verse 5: avoid, stay away from, turn away from, shun, and have nothing to do with such people. At first reading, this passage seems to call for a separation from the culture and the world around us. And yet that is not what it is saying. This passage is written to Timothy in reference to those who have or hold onto (echō) an appearance or form (morphōsis) of religion or godliness (eusebeia) ... all the while denying the true power of the Gospel and of our faith in Christ. In other words, fake Christians, worldly Christians, false-teacher Christians, and other churchgoers who are walking invitations to apostasy. And so while our God is a God of separation, Jesus was an example of how God inserts himself into a fallen culture for the purpose of redemption. Jesus was always ready to interact personally, empathetically, and compassionately with the lost ... but He was also ready to quickly draw a very clear line of separation between himself and the self-righteous Pharisees of His day. And His disciples had to make the same choices: they had to decide to have nothing to do with those who opposed Christ while pretending to be righteous, or, to go ahead and join His opponents (and invite the wrath of judgment: 2 Timothy 4:1). Shun or be shunned. Shun spending time with the "religious," so that we can invest time into the Kingdom ... or, be shunned by the One who cannot tolerate false religiosity (Matthew 7:21-22).
Application
Part of what we can take away from 2 Timothy 3:5 is time management. We have only so much time ... indeed, our lives are wedded to time. And, we are social creatures. This verse reminds us that we need to make intentional choices about who we spend time with. For example, if some worldly churchgoers invite us to spend time at a bar, or to join them at an inappropriate movie, or to engage in other worldly activities that have no redemptive agenda, we should keep this verse in mind. Similarly, if we find ourselves engaged in activities such as gossip, pride-driven consumerism, gluttony, or other self-seeking or pleasure-seeking activities, we should remember this verse as well. Sometimes repentance begins with spending less time with certain people. And we should also consider whether our time can be better used, such as spending time serving or empathizing with those who have not yet found joy in a relationship with Christ. We honor God by our social and time-management discretion.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me to not be a stumbling block. Help me to not be the very person that zealous Christians need to avoid. Help me to repent completely of my own selfishness, greed, pride,  pleasure-seeking, decadence, and arrogant self-righteousness  In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  2 Timothy 1 & 2
Today's Key Verse:  And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 2 Timothy 2:24  (ESV)
Observation
In the context of the passage in 2 Timothy 2 regarding such virtues as endurance (v.3 & 12), focus (v.4), faithfulness (vv. 5 & 6), diligence (v. 15), steadfastness (v. 19), and purity (vv. 20-22), Paul reminds us to stop fighting over words (v. 14) and to avoid worthless, counterproductive talk (vv. 16-18 and vv. 23-24). He ends verse 24 by telling us to be patient. And while the word anexikakos means "patient" (and is translated into the single word, "patient" in most English versions of the New Testament), it means more than simply the quality of patience. It means patience with or patience toward, and patience in the midst of. It points to the object of our patience, and carries with it the expectation that our patience will necessarily be with -- and towards -- those who have severely tested our patience. We are to be not just patient, but very patient (CEV). Patience when we would otherwise find ourselves feeling resentful (TNIV). Patience toward difficult people (NLT); patience toward those who wrong us (NASB); patient in the face of evil (Young's) and wrongdoing (Amplified). Indeed, patience to the point of enduring evil (ESV). And there is lots of evil to go around. Paul's second letter to Timothy is full of warnings about those who would attempt to stir up dissension and try to lead believers astray. Difficult people. Wrong-doing people. People who attack. People who do evil. Paul instructs us not to ignore these folks.  Instead, we are to be patient with them, avoid resentment, arguments, and counter-attacks.  If anything, we are to "gently instruct those who oppose the truth", and leave the rest to God (v. 25).
Application
When I am attacked (or, even more, when a loved one or a member of my family is attacked), my response is not fight or flight, it is fight or forget. I either want to counterattack wildly, sternly, effectively, and with a take-no-prisoners forcefulness. Or, I want to mentally reduce the attacker to zero in my mind, and consider them not worth the trouble of responding to in any way. Both of these responses are wrong and sinful. Not only does the former show a complete lack of patience, but, so does the latter. By ignoring the attacker, I am not representing or reflecting the care and grace and love -- and patience -- that Jesus Christ has poured into my life. And so this passage is very instructive: it acknowledges that there are evil-doers out there: difficult people who do wrong to the point where the natural response is nothing less than bitter resentment. But it calls upon us to rest in God's love and grace, and to respond with the Gospel. The Gospel acted out in patience, and, when possible, the Gospel gently spoken to those who by their words and actions oppose the truth.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, when evil attacks, give me the grace and the strength and the power, to be patience. I acknowledge that that grace and strength and power, can only come from you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Timothy 5-6
Today's Key Verses:  If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 1 Timothy 6:3-4  (ESV)
Observation
The word "godliness" is used more times in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the Bible. The concept of godliness is rich, and has been the subject of many rigorous studies (such as the work The Godly Man's Picture by the great Puritan, Thomas Watson). In fact, Watson's definition of godliness ("Godliness consists in an exact harmony between holy principles and practices") is one of the best ever penned outside of Scripture. Here in this section of 1 Timothy, Paul shows that one characteristic of godliness is the ability to find a balance between holding fast to the teaching of the "sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ," and, avoiding quarrels about words (i.e., quibbling). In other words, godliness requires that we stick to Biblical truth, but, that we don't define Biblical truth so narrowly that we end up quibbling over the interpretation of specific words or doctrines here or there. We also have to be prepared to accept and acknowledge (and not quench) the work of the Holy Spirit in settings (and as a consequence of preaching) that we might find unsound or even heretical. God's plan is larger than our perspective.
Application
Finding a balance between being too quick to label a preachers or teachers or church leader as a "false teacher," on the one hand, and too accommodating of false doctrine, on the other, is not easy. There are many writers, commentators, and preachers who seem to focus almost entirely on pointing fingers at others in order to discredit them: Ken Silva's ongoing and very pointed critiques of just about anyone who has gained some prominence or recognition in the evangelical church or emerging church or otherwise, might be an example. And yet, it is hard for me to deny that God has used, and is using, the Rick Warrens and the Rob Bells and the Tim Kellers (and many others) in powerful ways in the service of the Gospel and the Kingdom. I have seen God at work as I have attended Mars Hill Bible Church and other emerging churches, have experienced God's leading as I have studied and taught through the Purpose Driven Church series and other works by Rick Warren, and have seen God's blessings as I have borrowed heavily from Tim Keller in my teaching (most recently as I taught at a pastors' conference in Costa Rica). Yes, we need to be alert to "a different doctrine" (especially in connection with the emerging church movement, which tends to drift away from the doctrine of sin and in the direction of a contemporary social gospel), but we also need to avoid "an unhealthy craving for controversially and for quarrels about words." To find that balance, is to seek godliness. Indeed, it is to seek the mind of Christ.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, teach me godliness, and help me to recognize and appreciate and be grateful for, both your handiwork among believers and nonbelievers, and, your Truth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Timothy 2-4
Today's Key Verse:  for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.. 1 Timothy 4:8  (ESV)
Observation
We are embodied spirits. It is through our bodies (temples) that we glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). To that end, both body and spirit require training. There is the benefit of (and in) the goals of training of the body (sharper, healthier, faster, less ossified by arthritis, etc.) as well as the spirit (a more Godly perspective, a greater sense of fellowship with God and His Church; a clearer understanding of our reliance upon Him and  upon our role in His kingdom, etc.). There is also benefit in the experience of physical training and spiritual disciplines. Healing of illness, on the other hand, is held out from one end of the Bible to the other as an activity that reminds us of God's sovereignty.  Stephen Olford observes that, for Paul, the body is to be dedicated (Romans 12:1), preserved (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and disciplined (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We are not likely to be successful in trying to get our bodies to control our spiritual state, but, we can use spiritual weapons to control the body (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). In the Greek and Roman cultures of Paul's day, physical exercise -- and physical "perfection" -- took priority over all other aspects of life. Paul observes that for followers of Christ, the tables are turned and godliness takes priority over physical conditioning.
Application
It is a privilege that I am able to play racquetball regularly, and, even moreso, with brothers in the Lord as well as with others who truly seem to be seekers. It is also a privilege that I am able to participate in a rowing class, and sometimes engage in other forms of exercise. (Of course, there are other physical disciplines that I need to improve in my life, such as being more careful about my diet.) I sometimes worry about followers of Christ who seem to have little regard for their physical condition (although in some cases the responsibilities and circumstances in their lives truly prevent them from exercising or, in some cases, from eating a consistently healthy diet). Sometimes I wonder if Christians who voluntarily live a sedentary life have misread the King James version of 1 Timothy 4:8 ("For bodily exercise profiteth little"), and would benefit from considering the New King James rendering ("For bodily exercise profits a little"). I also sometimes worry about followers of Christ whose dedication to physical exercise is as much a distraction from their spiritual walk as television, spectator sports, boating, hobbies, or discretionary overtime (or over-working) can be for other Christian folks. (I, too, often have difficulty balancing work with down time, time in the Word, prayer, time in fellowship with other believers, time building relationships with nonbelievers, etc.). There is truly a virtue or golden mean of finding balance in both physical and spiritual disciplines ... so long as the spiritual disciplines take priority.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, hank you for the gift of good health and the privilege of being able to eat properly and exercise. Help me to attend to and balance those blessings within a larger and more important life of disciplined discipleship, to your Glory and that of your Kingdom. Help my brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling with these kinds of physical and spiritual health-related issues to be able to rest in You as they follow the leading of your Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Timothy 1
Today's Key Verse:  understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 1 Timothy 1:9  (ESV)
Observation
The first chapter of 1 Timothy offers a compelling and illuminating explanation of the difference between rule-following and discipleship. For Paul, discipleship, first of all, a dedicated faith-based devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. We are challenged at verse 19 to cling or hold onto or keep (echō) our faith. But, Paul also points to the notion of a good or clear (agathos) conscience (syneidēsis) as being a key element of discipleship. In regard to this latter element, Paul blends, at verse 5, the ideas of a clear conscience and faith, with a third ingredient: love. Love, like faith, is a gift from God (verse 14), and it is from  love that Paul is enabled to be patient (verse 16). Discipleship points us to the center of God's will and God's love, so that we can experience and reflect purity of heart, clarity of conscience, and genuineness of faith (verse 5).  That's why discipleship, which is focused on the center of God's will and God's love, is really different from rule-following. Rule-following is focused on the outer boundaries of God's will. If we are truly focused on God's will and love, we are moved to the center of His heart and His goodness ... and discussions about which acts are technically in or out of His will, based on a parsing of Mosaic law (or, for that matter, those "rules" that can be derived from a parsing of the New Testament), are not only pointless (verse 9), but a waste of time (verse 4). On the other hand, when we are in the center of God's will and God's heart, we are able (finally!) to experience true, Godly, "clear-conscienced" freedom and liberty.
Application
Left to our own devices, we have a tendency toward depravity. This was highlighted the story of the myth of the ring of Gyges, as told by Glaucon to Socrates (and recorded by Plato in The Republic) and as borrowed for the Lord of the Ring trilogy. When Gyges turned the ring on his finger, he became invisible, and used this advantage to slay the king, seduce the queen, and rob the palace of its treasures. As Sigmund Freud observed in Civilization and its Discontents, "Men are not gentle, friendly creatures wishing for love, who simply defend themselves if they are attacked, but that a powerful measure of desire for aggression has to be reckoned as part of their instinctual endowment. The result is that their neighbor is to them not only a possible helper or sexual object, but also a temptation to them to gratify their aggressiveness on him, to exploit his capacity for work without recompense, to use him sexually without his consent, to seize his possessions, to humiliate him, to cause him pain, to torture and to kill him." Here, Paul points out that the law makes very clear to us that these human tendencies and depravities radically contradict God's holiness and goodness (verses 8 to 10). Of course, every person, including Paul himself, desperately needs the pedagogy of the law so that they can recognize the justice of the hell that they deserve without the effective grace of the Gospel. But this law-based discourse that points us to the Cross, is different than the love-based discourse that points us to the center of God's heart and God's will and God's blessing of a clear conscience. When the two conversations are improperly mixed, we are not merely wasting time and energy: we are confusing the call upon to the nonbeliever (to change her or his presuppositions) with the call upon the believer (to become more faithful, loving, and Gospel-representing disciples)
Prayer
Holy Spirit, convict me intensely and with a strong sense of conscience-violation when I brazenly and willfully disobey Your holy law. But please do more than that. Draw me away from those outer boundaries of obvious sin, toward the very center of Your heart and your will.. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  2 Thessalonians 1-3
Today's Key Verse:  We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3  (ESV)
Observation
What does it mean for faith to grow abundantly? To say that our faith "is growing abundantly" is a translation of hyperauxanō, which is also translated "growing" (NIV), "greatly enlarged" (NASB), "flourishing" (NLT), and "grows exceedingly" (NKJV). What exactly is this saying about our faith? Does this mean that our faith grows when we accept more and more specific truth-claims from and about the Bible? Does it mean that we accept more deeply and more firmly those truth-claims to which we have already assented? Does it mean that we accept as being more reasonable, the truths that we previously accepted only blindly and without reason? Does it mean that we are prepared to expand our blind acceptance of additional truth-claims, about which we previously had some doubts? Or is it all of the above? The book of 2 Thessalonians offers some insights into Paul's epistemology of faith. First, the growth of faith seems to be connected to discipleship generally, and the discipleship experienced by those who are persecuted in particular, as God shows his justice to those who are persecuted (2 Thessalonians 1:5). Second, faith has to do both with knowing and obeying (2 Thessalonians 1:8), and so the growth of faith must share these characteristics. Third, growth in faith -- including our increased ability to do that which our faith prompts us to do -- is made possible not by our determination and willful good intentions, but, by God's grace (2 Thessalonians 1:12). Fourth, growth in faith requires discernment, even in the face of worldwide deception (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). Fifth, growth in faith, like all aspects of salvation, is experienced and is connected to sanctification (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).  Sixth, growth in faith involves the strengthening of our beliefs through challenges and trials (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and through grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). Seventh, growth in faith is a gift from God that is connected to growth in love and endurance (which are also gifts from God) (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5). Eighth, growth in faith may require separating or isolating ourselves from debilitating or discouraging influences (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). Finally, there is a sense that growth in faith is connected to a growth in a sense of being in peace, and at peace, with God (2 Thessalonians 2:2 and 3:16). The common thread of all of these connections to faith, is that faith is experienced, not simply believed intellectually. There is a holistic quality to faith. We step into faith (in a sense we "put on" our faith and experience it as we literally live in it, as Paul seems to be saying in Colossians 3:1-10, not unlike the manner in which we put on a comfortable pair of jeans or a comfortable hoodie sweatshirt). And so, to grow in faith exceedingly, and to flourish in our faith, is more than an intellectual exercize. To grow in our faith, is to both embrace it so that we are surrounded by it, as well as to live more fully, more comfortably, more protected from adverse elements, more naturally, and more peacefully, in it. So much so that we essentially become one with our faith.
Application
In his introductory chapter to Faith Beyond Reason: A Kierkegaardian Account, C. Stephen Evans observes that sometimes the differentiation between faith and reason is often a false dichotomy: "This might occur, for example, if the individual who says faith must be based on 'reason' has a very broad concept of reason, including as 'rational' any belief that seems to be true to the individual, while the individual who says faith does not have to be based on reason regards as rational only beliefs that can be proved by logical argument" (pp 2-3). On the other hand, Evans observes that "two people may appear to agree on the relation between faith and reason, but the agreement may be superficial, hiding  the fact that one person might think of faith as solely intellectual, while the other might consider faith as entirely volitional in character" (p.3). Here, Paul does not deny the role of reason, and does not deny the role of volitional acceptance of claims not fully supported by reason. But he adds two addtional factors: grace and experience.  Faith is a gift, but it is a gift that is experienced. As we experience it, our experience changes,  and his prayer is that this change grows us. I recently bought a new hoodie sweatshirt: at first, I accepted and enjoyed and came to trust the comfort and warmth of the hoodie. But over time, even as my awareness of its specific qualities and characteristics (the cotton fabric, the feel of the zipper, the manner in which the garment fits me) decrease, my sense of oneness with the hoodie increases ... I casually and almost mindlessly wear it, but would sense a great loss if I lost it or was no longer able to wear it. The more accustomed I am to to wearing it, the more I take it for granted and the more I live my life while wearing it without necessarily thinking back on my earlier awareness of its specific qualities and parameters. I think that to some extent this is what happens with our faith. As we grow in our faith, it becomes more and more embedded into our worldview (to the point where our worldview is entirely connected to, if not solely dependent upon, our faith). As we grow in our faith, we are enabled to better love, to better endure, and to better represent the Good News. Faith, like my hoodie sweatshirt, is at its best when we experience it to the point that we are virtually one with it.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, there are many areas in my life where I am not fully and completely living out faith you have given to me. Please give me the grace that I need so that my faith can grow exceedingly and flourish. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Thessalonians 5
Today's Key Verse:  And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 1 Thessalonians 5:14  (ESV)
Observation
Although we are urged, here, to admonish (noutheteō) the idle, the instruction to do so is in the context of encouraging of the weak and being patient with all. Paul is calling for a gentle and patient -- but firm and very clear -- warning. One that is loaded with instruction and gravity. Much like Paul's own warning at 1 Thessalonians 4:3 toward the sexually immoral, or his warning at 1 Thessalonians 4:11 toward busybodies (see "Time to Shut Up"). In fact, Paul offers his own warnings about idleness at 2 Thessalonians 3:6-8 and at 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12. The term idle (ataktos) refers not simply to laziness, but to disorderliness, insubordination, and the undisciplined deviation from the prescribed order or rule. It was often used in reference to soldiers who were out of rank and unruly or disorderly. As it happens, idle folks tend to be disorderly and undisciplined in many ways. According to Kittel, the related verb ataktéō means “to set oneself outside the order,” “to evade obligations,” “to act without discipline, or irresponsibly.” The opposite verb (to which ataktos is also related) is tassō, which means to put things in order. Paul calls upon us to engage in the project of helping our brothers and sisters in the Lord to step up to their responsibilities and to put their lives in order.
Application
As I thought about this passage, I realized that I don't have any idle friend. Apparently I am not drawn in close friendship toward idle people, and I don't have much regard for idleness or laziness.  Idleness is usually not a temptation for me (quite the opposite -- I take on too much and don't spend enough quiet time seeking the Lord, as I observed in "Time to Shut Up"). But it is not uncommon to have acquaintances, relatives, employees, students, and others in our lives -- including folks in the Church -- who tend in the direction of idleness. (Oddly, these folks often don't "struggle" with idleness ... they simply fall into it.) I think that in our culture today, idleness is often engendered by distractions: as Maggie Jackson points out in "Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age," we clutter our lives with so much email, Twitter, Facebook, voice mail, radio, television, text messaging, iPods, and other "noise," that we lose ourselves and our sense of purposefulness in life. But there are other reasons, including laziness and anxiety. I am glad that Paul couches his directive to admonish the idle, with equally important instructions to be patient and to be encouraging.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me to be patient, helpful, encouraging and effective when you place upon me the task of admonishing the idle. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Thessalonians 3 & 4
Today's Key Verse:  and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,  1 Thessalonians 4:11 (ESV)
Observation
Paul observes here that the life of a follower of Christ can be too loud, too busy, and too distracted. He suggests here that we slow things down and take some time away from the business of life, and make sure our own house and our lives are, literally, in order. Our relationship with Christ is spiritual, and to nurture that spiritual relationship we need, from time to time, to place ourselves in God's presence (1 Samuel 12:7), to stop and consider God's handiwork (Job 37:14); to quietly ponder in our heart and on our bed (Psalm 4:4); to be still and acknowledge that He is God (Psalm 46:10); to appreciate that the result of our relationship with Him is, or ought to be, quietness and trust forever (Isaiah 32:17); and to have as a goal a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4). On the other hand, followers of Christ are called upon to not be anxious generally (Philippians 4:6), and to not fret about or be envious of evildoers in particular (Psalm 37:1). There is a contemplative side to our experience as disciples (listeners) of Christ. To paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3, there's a time to speak up, and a time to shut up.
Application
There was a recent article in a Newsweek blog about Anne Graham Lotz, one of Billy Graham's daughters, and some conclusions she came to about church attendance.  It seems that Anne has been burned and offended by poor behavior so often, in so many churches, that her experience has lead her to the conclusion that church attendance should not be considered mandatory for a follower of Christ. Sometimes a Christian may, like Anne, be a "believer in exile" for a season, at least while they are trying to find their way to a church where they can "live quietly" and worship God while enjoying a peaceful fellowship with other believers. Interestingly, Anne is quoted as saying, "You can really love the Lord, but after a while, if you're all by yourself, the fire goes cold." In some ways, we need to make it a priority to monitor the fire. If the fire is going cold while we are going through the motions of church attendance, this is a problem we should be taking seriously and praying about. If the fire is going cold while we are "in exile," this is also a problem we should be taking seriously and praying about. The Bible challenges us to find a Godly balance between "not forsaking fellowship" (Hebrews 10:24-25), on the one hand, and aspiring to live and worship quietly and at peace, on the other.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, please keep the fire and the zeal in my heart from going cold. Help me to live quietly, to mind my own affairs, and to work humbly and diligently at the tasks you set before me, without reaching beyond those very tasks. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  1 Thessalonians 1 & 2
Today's Key Verse:  because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:5  (ESV)
Observation
Our eternal standing before God is the result of a cause and effect dynamic. Verse 5 describes the cause: The Word of God is not just a collection of words that are from time to time communicated to these or those persons. There is something almost mystical about the Word of God as it arrives on the ears and in the hearts of recipients. That is because it comes "in power and in the Holy Spirit." The effect of this powerful communication is described at 1 Thessalonians 2:13: by God's grace, believers are enabled to receive the Word of God for what it is, and to benefit from its effect on their whole persons (heart, soul, mind, and even body) (Hebrews 4:12). This is very much an existential dynamic that cannot be easily explained to those (nonbelievers) who have not experienced it. I have heard it said that the inspiration of Scripture involves circular logic: Scripture is inspired because it says so. But there is more than logic involved here. When Scripture is given and received in word and in power and in the Holy Spirit, human logic cannot suffice as an explanation.
Application
Despite (or in respect of) the notion that the Word of God does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), we need to find a balance between treating Scripture as some sort of hocus-pocus incantation, on the one hand (which it is not), and mere text on the other. This applies to the ways in which we read Scripture, hear it, teach it, preach it, sing it, and pray it. For my part, I think maybe I drift too easily in the direction of focusing on the text itself (especially since I find word studies and text studies to be so rewarding). This SOAP method has helped me regain some balance, though, because it allows (or prompts) me to read a chapter or two or three at a time, and to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to me through, and in the midst of, that reading. This, in turn, has resulted in some more in-depth studies, many of which I have journaled here on this site, that I would never have experienced if I had limited myself solely to verse by verse exegetical studies.
Prayer
Thank you, God for the gift of your Word. Please continue to lead me to your Word on a daily basis, so that I am allowed to experience the power and your Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Colossians 3 & 4
Today's Key Verse:  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:13 (ESV)
Observation
In 1 Corinthians 5:11 we are instructed to not associate with another Christian  if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler, We are not even to eat with that person. But here in Colossians 3:13, we are instructed to bear with one another. The word "bear" (anechō) means to put up with or endure, but it also contains a sense of building up. Putting up, in other words, for the sake of building up. And so the question can be asked: Under what circumstances, and to what extent, should we tolerate sin or weakness in the lives of other believers? There seem to be two principles that help to sort out different circumstances in an effort to answer this question. First, whether there is genuine repentance (no matter how many times a person recommits himself or herself in genuine repentance) Luke 17:3,4. If there is not genuine repentance, we should not put up with the sin, because to do so does not build up (it actually enables non-repentance). Second, whether the Christian in question needs time to grow spiritually and gain insight so that they can become more aware of, and more sensitive to, less obvious sins. This is the idea of putting up for the sake of building up. In both circumstances, more mature Christians (and, presumably, church leaders) must determine a proper reaction to sin and spiritual weakness on the part of less mature believers. But the standard is different for more mature believers and for church leaders. For this latter group, there is less of a call for tolerance and forbearance, especially since more mature Christians and church leaders are more likely to be a stumbling block for others.
Application
The church suffers when we put up with sin or weakness on the part of believers ... especially church leaders. Church leaders are not perfect, but they must be beyond reproach (that is, respectable or able to be respected) (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7). The balance between a proper intolerance of sin or spiritual weakness, on the one hand, and a proper bearing up with one another, on the other hand, is different in regard to church leaders than it is for, say, new believers. Similarly, the way we much gauge genuine repentance, so that we can properly apply  Luke 17:3,4, is also different in regard to church leaders than it is for new or less mature believers. That is not to say that we can never bear up with the sin or spiritual weakness of church leaders. But it does call upon the Church to insist on a fairly high degree of accountability. Something we are too often reluctant to do.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, bless your Church -- including both leaders and church members -- with wisdom, with a clear conviction of sin, and a with zeal for holiness. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Colossians 1 & 2
Today's Key Verse:  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Colossians 2:15 (ESV)
Observation
"Faith regards the cross, not as the emblem of shame, but as the token of glory. The sons of Belial lay the cross in the dust, but the Christian makes a constellation of it, and sees it glittering in the seventh heaven. Man spits upon it, but believers, having angels for their companions, bow down and worship him who ever liveth though once he was crucified." Charles H. Spurgeon, Christ Triumphant, September 4, 1859.
Application
The idea of shame, and the opposing idea of glory or fame or a well-respected reputation, are as important today as ever. But sometimes people get confused about what beings shame and what brings glory. Many people who get tattoos for the sake of glorifying themselves, later discover that they are no longer proud of the tattoos. One universal principle, over which there is no disagreement, is the notion of allowing a person to die with dignity. To remove the dignity that ought to accompany the moment of death, is to cause shame for the dying person, and pain for his or her loved ones. There was a recent uproar over a photograph, published by Associated Press, of a dying U.S. soldier (Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard of New Portland, Maine). The photo was taken of him shortly after he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a Taliban ambush of his squad in Dahaneh, Afghanistan. It showed him lying mortally wounded with one leg blown off and another badly mangled as his colleagues try in vain to save him. Among the expressions of outrage that followed the publication of the photo (after the soldier died), was a letter to the AP written by  U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who excoriated AP for its lack of judgment and common decency. By contrast, Jesus Christ chose to be tortured and executed in the most shameful manner invented by mankind. After being forced to endure torture and the spectacle of carrying his own cross past the shouting and spitting crowds in the streets, he was stripped and elevated so that all could watch him die a slow and agonizing death. As Spurgeon observes, this decision to forgo any possible remaining shred of common decency by Jesus, made in obedience to His father, actually brings glory to God ... and shame to the "sons of Belial." Followers of Christ, by definition, need to be willing to let go of the normal human obsessions with glory or fame or a well-respected reputation, for the sake of the Gospel and of His kingdom. We might not be asked to endure the level of shame faced by Jesus Christ, but we need to be prepared to sacrifice everything ... just as He did.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, help me to put your Kingdom ahead of mine, at all times and in all ways. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Phillipians 3 & 4
Today's Key Verses:  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—.  Philippians 3:8-9 (ESV)
Observation
To be found in Him, is to be one with him [NLT]. The word for "found" (eurisko G2147) contains the idea of finally arriving at an ultimate goal, after a careful and diligent search. There is an interesting play on words here. I am already found by him, but I need to found in him (literally, to echo G2192 Him, which in the Greek means to be one with Him). Included in echo is the notion of representing Him, and in particular, His voice. I seek to better gain (kerdaino G2770) Christ, so that I am more obviously found in Him in my life. When He is my goal, I experience and represent more fully my unity with Him (which is already in place). The fact that I am found in Him is not based on me, but it is based on Him. But when I better appreciate the  surpassing worth (hyperechō G5242) of Christ, and seek Him more diligently and singlemindedly, I am able to experience and represent (echo) more fully what it means to be found in Him.
Application
We can "know" in our minds the surpassing value of "knowing" Christ. But we are not always mindful of Christ. We forget the value of knowing Him when we sin, and when we try to gain anything -- including any success in our life, whether it is our career, our control over life's discomforts and circumstances, or our "ministry" -- that does not point to Christ. I have to ask myself which of my "all things" are not part of my seeking after Christ, because I need to discard them like the garbage that they are.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, show me the garbage in my life, so that I may gain Christ and more fully understand and experience what it means to be found in Him, and so that I may better echo His voice to the world around me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapter:  Philippians 2
Today's Key Verse:  Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
Observation
Paul opens the second chapter of this epistle to the Philippians by asking his audience to take stock of God's grace in their lives. He asks the Philippians to consider the encouragement they have experienced in Christ, the comfort that has flowed to them from God's love, and, their sense of participation in God's Spirit.  Paul challenges them to take it to the next step, indeed, to "make my joy complete," by taking on the great Christian virtue of humility. He then defines humility in terms of shedding both eritheia (rivalry, selfish ambition, strife, selfishness) and kenodoxia (vainglory, empty conceit, vain conceit), and replacing them with tapeinophrosune (a deep sense of one's moral littleness).
Application
When politicians electioneer, they run negative attack ads, as well as more positive policy ads. But mostly negative ads. They seek to elevate themselves by pointing out the flaws of their opponents. Not only do negative ads seem to resonate with voters, but, somehow politicians don't seem quite as arrogant and prideful when they are attacking others rather than puffing themselves up.  Besides, human imperfections being what they are, it's often just easier to point to others' faults than to explain one's own strengths and virtues. Maybe the fallen nature of humans is more comprehensive and obvious (Calvin would say, the depravity is total), than the imago Dei. Evan at the personal level, we seldom realize how we are attempting to build up our own stature, when we think (and speak) less of others. Jesus turns this phenomenon upside down, and invites us to follow Him into a life of profound humility. From his lowly birth, to his simple style of ministry, to the Last Supper (including his washing of the apostles' feet), to his death on the cross, He shows us what humility looks like. In this verse, Paul reminds us that as soon as we begin to understand and experience the encouragement, comfort and peace of God's love, we need to realize what it means to walk in the steps of our Lord. It is life project of learning how to shed our prideful tendencies, and replace them with a humility that engages us in the Kingdom work of lifting up others.
Prayer
Father, God in heaven, it's not easy for me to count others more significant than me. Help me to live within a deep sense of my own moral littleness, so that I can do a better job of representing your Gospel by lifting others up (above me). In Jesus' name. Amen.

Scripture
Today's Chapters:  Philippians 1
Today's Key Verse:  Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Philippians 1:1 (ESV)
Observation
In 2 Corinthians 11:16-21, Paul lets go with a blistering, sarcastic and almost bitter castigation of the Corinthians who had readily and willingly placed themselves under the cultic leadership and influence of legalistic Judaizers. In the process, he observes how easily and quickly the Corinthians allowed themselves to come under bondage of these false teachers. This is a troubling human tendency: people do seem all too willing to give up freedom if they are promised even the slightest amount of security or comfort. But in identifying himself here in the first verse of the book of Philippians, as he did in the first verse of the book of Romans, Paul acknowledges that he is a servant (or, literally, a bond-servant or slave). Paul has made a choice: he has given up his reliance on his own credentials, his own subjective reasoning, and his own autonomy, to be a slave to Christ. This reminds me of Hegel's clumsy critique of both the Bible (as understood by the Jews) and of human reasoning (as in the case of Kant): he more or less concluded that from a Biblical perspective we must at the end of the day be a slave to God, or to human reasoning. There is no middle ground.
Application
We like to think of ourselves as autonomous, sovereign, self-willed, self-directed agents. We resent being forced, or even asked, to submit our judgments or actions to those of another. And yet we do it every day. We allow our favorite media outlets to help shape and mold the parameters of our thinking about politics, government, and culture. We select music, television shows, books, magazines, podcasts, and other media that add to the cultural influence on us. We allow our relationships, our "to do" lists, our calendars, and our finances, to gain a firm hold on us. We think we are using our own autonomous reasoning as we come to conclusions, but our reasoning is itself shaped by a lifetime of influences and influencers. Christ's call upon our lives, is an invitation to look to Him as the source of Truth. We don't abandon all of the history, and all of the experiences and relationships, that have helped to form and frame who we are, but, we place ourselves -- and our past, our present, and our future -- in submission (yes, in slavery) to Him. Or do we? Paul told it like it was, and serves as a poignant and powerful example for us.
Prayer
Father God in heaven, help me to be a more dedicated, more loyal, and more completely committed, slave to Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name. Amen.