December 5, 2013

Advent Devotional: Thursday, December 5

1 Timothy 4:10

10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

1 Timothy 9:17-19

17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

December 4, 2013

Advent Devotional: Wedensday, December 4

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 8:18-39

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Our Victory in Christ

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,

“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

December 3, 2013

Advent Devotional: Tuesday, December 3

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Do not trust in princes, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 His spirit departs, he returns to ]the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.

5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever;

7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous;

9 The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked.

10 The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

December 2, 2013

Advent Devotional: Monday, December 2

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is loving kindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

December 2, 2013

Unbelievable Hope

Unbelievable Hope Indeed!

strive4theprize's avatarOne Man's Quest

1st Sunday of Advent. Isaiah 11.1-10.

As I reflected on the passage this week, I thought about how often Israel placed their hope in things other than the LORD. Even though they had seen Him do clearly miraculous things like the ten plagues and parting the sea, of leading them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, of providing manna in the wilderness, of conquering enemies more numerous and powerful than them…yet they continually looked to other gods or other kings or to themselves. Running their own universes was leading them to epic failure. That’s what made guys like Abraham, Moses and David so great…their hope was clearly in the LORD, and they trusted Him to deliver them. They knew that only He could save and that only He could bring about all that He had promised concerning them, Israel and the nations.

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November 26, 2013

Give Thanks To The Lord

A Short Thanksgiving Devotional by Ricky Hemme

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1 ESV)

Every year, on the fourth Thursday of November, people from all around the U.S. gather together with family and friends to share a meal, and reflect upon God’s provision and loving kindness. It is the one time of year, where we slow down and take a good look at our lives, and remember all the ways that God has richly blessed us.  This holiday is a stunning 392 years old, but this practice of annual thanksgiving is not unique to America.

A Meal of Thanksgiving in the Bible

The people of the Bible had their own annual meal of Thanksgiving. Every year in the month of Nisan, Israelites traveled with friends and family to Jerusalem to worship God and share a meal. This feast of Thanksgiving is called the Passover. The Passover feast commemorated God’s faithfulness over the years and highlighted in particular His act of freeing them from slavery in Egypt. Without God’s hand, they would never be a nation, and most of all, without God’s provision of atonement they would never be forgiven of sin. God’s people were spared the judgment which came upon the land of Egypt only through the substitutionary death of a perfect lamb. There is no doubt this annual feast was a time of serious reflection.

As families from around the country made their journey to Jerusalem, it was tradition to sing songs on the road. Many of these songs are recorded in your Bible in the book of Psalms. Some start with the small caption, “A Song of Ascent.” These songs prepared the hearts of the people for the feast, and they were gladly sung by friends and family on the road up to Jerusalem. No matter from what direction you came, North or South, Jerusalem was an ascent. Hint: “A Song of Ascent”

Take a Moment to Reflect

This year, I encourage you to reflect upon some of these Psalms in preparation for your Thanksgiving meal. Most of these Psalms can be found between Psalm 119 and 136. Like the Israelites, prepare your heart by looking back at God’s faithfulness and loving-kindness over the years. Most of all reflect upon his provision of atonement. God demonstrated his love for you by sending his Son into this world to die as your Passover Lamb. When you trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross, God’s wrath passes over you, so that instead of judgment, you are received as a beloved child. Give thanks this Thanksgiving. God is worthy of your praise.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1 ESV)

November 18, 2013

A Life Founded on the Rock

Kingdom Life…#cccsotm

strive4theprize's avatarOne Man's Quest

Matthew 7.13-29

As I reflected on this passage, I was struck by Jesus’ straightforward invitation to experience life in His kingdom. The choice is clear. He only presents two kingdoms, two ways, two kinds of fruit, two foundations… So how do we take Jesus up on His invitation? How do we enter into the kingdom life that He invites us to experience?

There of course is the initial entrance that comes when we trust in Him for eternal life. It’s a free gift available to all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He came and lived a perfect life, died a horrible death on our behalf, paying the penalty for our sins, was raised again the third day and ascended to the Father. And that through His death and resurrection we have peace with God, we’ve been reconciled and adopted into His family, becoming sons and…

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November 13, 2013

Help My Unbelief – Ricky Hemme

It is no secret that the Christian life is a life of faith. The Bible defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1). According to this definition, faith is not just a shot in the dark. It is not a, “blind trust in the face of contrary evidence.” Instead, faith is a confident trust in the eternal God.

 

The problem is, sometimes our faith is lacking. I think it is clear in Scripture that every Christian battles with faith. Every Christian is tempted at times to lean on their own devices rather than God.

 

We even see this with Jesus’ disciples. Time and time again Jesus called them out for their lack of faith. It usually came in the convicting and poignant phrase, “O you of little faith!”

 

The words “little faith” come from the greek word “oligopistos” which means, “ineffective,” “defective,” or “deficient” faith.

 

After reading every instance in Matthew where Jesus called people out for their lack of faith, I became convicted! I realized that a lack of faith was always accompanied by at least one of three things… Fear, anxiety, and a missed opportunity for God to display His power.

 

Fear – And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?” (Matthew 8:23-27, ESV)

 

Anxiety – “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH?” (Matthew 6:27-30)

 

Missed Opportunity – He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25-33, ESV)

 

I know that I am lacking faith when I am afraid of the storm. I know that I am lacking faith when I am anxious about tomorrow. And I know that I am lacking faith when instead of trusting God to do the miraculous, I sink in my doubt. What about you? Where does your faith need to be strengthened?

 

Lord, help our unbelief!

 

November 11, 2013

The Golden Rule

How is your progress in Kingdom living? #cccsotm

strive4theprize's avatarOne Man's Quest

Matthew 7.1-12

As I reflected on this passage, I was struck by the brilliance of Jesus. He is a master Teacher who is able to silence His opponents with a word and expose the futile attempts at a pretend righteousness. How many of us have attempted the Golden Rule, only to find it frustratingly impossible? We’re too busy treating ourselves the way we want to be treated…we don’t have the time or the inclination to treat others that well. That would mean less for me.

The way we judge others is a revealing measure of our progress in kingdom living. It is a good indication of whether or not we are treating others the way we want to be treated. And treating others the way we want to be treated starts with recognizing that they exist and are worthy of the same undeserved love that we have received from the…

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November 4, 2013

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

#cccsotm

strive4theprize's avatarOne Man's Quest

Matthew 6.19-34

As I reflected on this passage, I was struck by the contrast that Jesus makes between the two kingdoms…and the exclusivity of the two. We either pursue an earthly kingdom where we are the hero…everything is geared toward our own glory, or we pursue the kingdom that Jesus came to bring where He is the Hero…everything is geared toward bringing glory to the Father. There is no middle ground. Why are we so stressed out? Because we are busy building a kingdom…running our own universe, and if we are honest, life in the kingdom rarely crosses our minds.

And while Jesus primarily addresses a religious audience, He also mentions the Gentiles, who were running their own kingdoms as well. You don’t have to be religious to court the favor of people. The desire to build our own kingdoms has plagued us since our first parents decided that being…

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