Give thanks for the excellent response to the National Day of Prayer yesterday, praising God for the great outpouring of prayer and intercession for the President and the nation...
Pray for President Obama today as he receives his daily briefings and meets with key advisors. Pray for God's grace and guidance for him today and every day that he serves...
Pray also for all Americans to continue the habit of prayer for our nation in the wake of the National Day of Prayer, that hearts will turn to Him in repentance and worship...
1-3 Generous in love�God, give grace! Huge in mercy�wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil. (The Message)
"We will never seriously apply to God for pardon, until we have obtained such a view of our sins as inspires us with fear."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
"The Goodness of the Law"
1 Timothy 1:8
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
"Using the right tool correctly is the only way to do anything successfully." You can't learn from a textbook by putting it under your pillow and sleeping on it.
In the same way, the false teachers that Paul is warning about in 1 Timothy were misusing the law. Paul acknowledges in the above verse that, yes, the law is good, but only if used lawfully! One way it was misused was as a tool to earn righteousness. But the more proper usage is to reveal the depths of our sin, point out our need of a savior, and lead us to the Messiah who meets that need.
Week 3/Friday "A Lifetime Message"
1 Corinthians 1:18
I'm pretty sure it's not talking about that women's cable channel.
Sorry...I couldn't resist...
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
I love this verse, and I joyfully join the ranks of the foolish! Foolish in the eyes of "those who are perishing," that is...
The author asks why, if it's true that our relationship with God is strictly based on grace, do we continue to fall into the "good day, bad day" way of thinking.
Then he says something rather strange. "It's because we've relegated the gospel to the unbeliever."
Are you like me, and scratching your head, saying "Huh??"
Here's what he means. What is the one word that describes what the unbeliever needs to hear? Of course, it's the gospel.
Ok, what's the one word that describes what we need to hear after we are saved? Anybody? Did somebody say discipleship? Probably. And that's not necessarily a bad answer.
However, it is the author's opinion that "there's something more basic than discipleship, something that provides the necessary atmosphere in which discipleship can be practiced--the gospel."
"We need to continue to hear the gospel every day of our Christian lives. Only a continuous reminder of God's grace through Jesus Christ will keep us from falling into good-day-bad-day thinking, where we view our daily relationship with God as based on how good we've been."
Are you getting this? Am I getting this? People this leaves me reeling, because I am one of the prime suspects when it comes to "good-day-bad-day thinking." Have you ever committed a sin in the morning and said, "Well, this day's shot! Might as well skip that prayer time, because God's angry with me." Or, "I can't share Christ with this person because I just did (insert favorite sin here)." (If "this person" was right there with you when you did whatever it was, you might have a good point...but otherwise, no.)
This way of thinking is horribly wrong! Our sins are forgiven in Christ. ALL of them. Past. Present. Future. Our relationship with God is built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, and cannot fail! No matter how hard we try to wreck it!
So, let us immerse ourselves in the gospel daily. Let us remind ourselves daily of the grace of God in our lives and its permanence. Let us be like Natalie Grant..."On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand...I will not be moved!"
It's grace. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace...
Genesis 43-46, Psalm 15
Israel and his sons have eaten all of the food that they "bought" in Egypt. Israel summons them and tells them to go back to Egypt to buy more, but they have to remind him that "the man" warned them not to bother unless they brought Benjamin. Israel whines and moans a bit, but eventually gives in, because they have to have food, or they will all die. Judah pledges his honor to keep the boy safe.
When Joseph sees them coming, he has his servants slaughter an animal to prepare a feast. When they finally appear before Joseph, he asks questions about their father. Then he has to leave the room to weep again. Finally, the meal is served. To the brothers' amazement, they are seated in birth order! And Benjamin gets five times as much food as the rest of them!! It never even crosses their minds...
Then Joseph does something that is really rather devious. He sends them on their way, but has a servant slip his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. After they have been gone a little bit, he sends the servants after them.
When the servants catch up with his brothers, they accuse them of stealing their master's silver cup. Of course, they have no idea where it is, so they swear that whoever has the cup should die. Hehehe...
So Joseph's servants start searching the bags, from oldest to youngest. Verse 12-13..."And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city." I don't know why, but for some reason, I just find this scenario to be terribly humorous. I can just see their faces and the action of them tearing their clothes when the cup is found, and the mumbling and muttering as they have to load up to go back. And the look of total shock on Benjamin's face!
They get back and Joseph accuses them in person. But Judah steps forward and pleads. But get this...he does not plead for them. He pleads on behalf of their father!! I think, perhaps, they have grown a bit.
Finally, Joseph can stand it no more. At the beginning of chapter 45, he sends all of his servants away, so it is just him and his brothers. He wept so loudly that the household of Pharaoh heard it!
"I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" "But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence."
Ya think??
But then Joseph presents the main truth of this whole story. "God sent me before you to preserve your life." "It was not you who sent me here, but God." What wisdom!
Then Joseph sends them to get their father, to bring them all to Egypt to live. When they told Israel that Joseph was still alive, "his heart became numb, for he did not believe them." But they persisted, and he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
In chapter 46, God appears to Jacob one more time, to assure him that he need not be afraid to go to Egypt, "for there I will make you a great nation."
From this, we learn that time and Godly wisdom heal a lot of offenses. Had Joseph met up with his brothers right after they had sold him into slavery, I doubt he would have been quite so gentle with them. But as God worked in his life, he realized that God was the author and the master planner, and it was all part of the plan, even the parts that seemed horrible.
We also learn that God will provide for us, even in the hardest of times. This is so hard for us to wrap our heads around. I can't really talk much about that, because I have never really wanted for anything. It's easy for me to say "God will provide," when I'm living in the middle of his provision. I hope that I would continue to say this, even if we both lost our jobs tomorrow. However, that is not an invitation for a test, ok?
Let me never fall into the trap of thinking that I can earn righteousness by following a set of rules. And keep me from falling into that "good-day-bad-day" trap of thinking. I have been so guilty of that. Just because I slip up doesn't mean that my day is completely lost. Only that moment is lost, and it truly is, because it's gone forever. By falling, I lost an opportunity to glorify you. However, there will be other opportunities, and I can't be looking back at the sin or whatever it was, moaning about how bad I was, or how much I failed you. I must keep looking forward. ("We all struggle with forward motion...") I must keep focused on YOU, not on my sin. Keep the gospel in front of me ALL THE TIME! Let me never think that I am no longer in need of hearing the marvelous story of how your grace has saved me. Praise You, Jesus!! Yes!!
Finally, once again, I thank you that you are in complete control of all things, and that all things that happen are part of your plan. No matter how "bad" they may seem to us, you have the end product in your eyes. Help me to trust that in you!
Grace and peace, friends!