February 14th 2012

Are we busy, or just looking busy?

Read Luke 12:35-48 journal your thoughts

It’s not usual to see this sort of thing in jobs, if the boss isn’t around then I’m just going to stop and wait for them. Once the boss comes, then I’ll start working again. If we’re not careful we in the church can fall into that same sort of thinking. I’ll work on Sunday’s or Wednesday’s or whenever I’m at the church then I’ll do the churchy things. Because obviously those are what counts, those are the times that God is watching (Yes, heavy sarcasm).

Sometimes it’s easy for us to categorize our lives, we have our work time, family time, church time, etc. and we leave each one of these in their place never allowing them to bleed into the other. But when we begin to follow Jesus, we begin to see the potential in every moment and every opportunity that it is a time to express who God has created us to be through service and love.

Today pray that God would help you see the potential in every opportunity.

February 13th 2012

Yesterday we talked about how God does not want us to sin against those who are sinning, but this doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to just sit around and watch it.

Read James 2:14-17 and journal your thoughts

We’ve been discussing how when we are waiting on God we’re not just supposed to sit back and not do anything but that we called to keep working. The problem for us is that sometimes it is easy for us to simply turn a blind eye to the problems of the world. When we see someone holding a cardboard sign on the side of the road begging for food, it’s easy to struggle through those awkward for minutes where we pretend not to see them.

Sometimes when we see a situation like that it’s easy for us to pray and wait for God to do something for that person. But what if God is simply waiting on you to take care of them? What if in all the time we’re waiting for God, God is actually the one waiting on us? It’s like an awkward conversation where we’ve missed our cue that it’s our turn to talk. If we’re not really listening to the conversation, then we’ll miss it.

Today pray that God would speak loudly and help you to see those moments when He’s waiting on you.

February 12th 2012

Have you ever been in a situation where you were struggling while you were waiting on God? As you look at the world around you see people who are getting away with all sorts of injustices and are thriving in it?

Read Psalm 37:7-11 and journal your thoughts

When we look at the world around us and it’s filled with all sorts of injustices (poverty, human trafficking, etc.) and it’s easy to get angry and what to lash out and maybe even hurt the ones who are hurting others. It’s in these moments God essentially looks at us and says “Stop, I’ve got this. I’m still here and I’m going to take care of this.”

In other words, we cannot allow the sins of others to cause us to sin, instead we have to trust that God is still here and He is doing something about it. This is why the Psalmist writes that “the meek will inherit the land”. Sadly we’ve interpreted this word “meek” to be “weak”, but that isn’t really what this word means. Instead, to be “meek” means to have a controlled strength or to show self-control. For example you have the ability to run a stop sign, but you show meekness when you stop.

We need to note that in this verse God is calling us not to sin against those who are sinning. This does not mean that we sit back and allow bad things to happen. We’ll be looking at this tomorrow.

Today pray that God would show you those moments when He wants you to show meekness

February 11th 2012

So what exactly are we supposed to be doing while we are waiting on God?

Read Matthew 25:1-13 and journal your initial thoughts

Kind of a strange story, isn’t it? It’s like just because they forgot oil they have to miss out on this great opportunity. The problem was that they weren’t really doing anything at the time (See verse 5), and they missed the one thing that they needed, oil. In their culture, it was expected for the bridesmaids to have lamps with oil, and they didn’t do it. Instead they waiting, they slept.

Sometimes it’s easy for us to get stuck in the habit of not doing anything while we’re waiting. It’s almost like the waiting room mentality has invaded our idea of what God expects from us. But God never brings us to that point where we’re not supposed to be doing anything. We are called to engage and impact the world around us, Jesus constantly calls us to serve. There are things that we should be doing here and God will hold us responsible for those things. When we give up on these things and assume we’re good with God, then we become like these bridesmaids who forgot their oil. To quote Erwin McManus talking about these verses “If the work of art God intends for you to create requires you to work with oils, you better have them with you.”

Today pray that God would show you what you should be doing while you are waiting

February 10th 2012

Have you ever been in a situation when you are waiting on God and it felt like He wasn’t going to do anything? It’s like, would God really leave you there?

Read Deuteronomy 31:1-6 and journal your thoughts

God’s people are in a bad place, and it’s about to go from bad to worse. They are still in the wilderness waiting to go into the Promise Land, and their great leader, Moses is getting old and proclaims that God has told him that he won’t enter the Promise Land. For the Hebrews, Moses was it. He was their fearless leader who took on the Pharaoh and led them out of Egypt. But not even he will be able to enter into the Promise Land? Will God really leave us here?

At this point, God’s people needed to be reminded that He is still with them. He hadn’t left them. He wasn’t quitting on them. He was still going to lead them into their new home, He was going to go ahead of them and fight for them.

Sometimes we get stuck in those moments when we’re waiting for God and things begin to change, maybe they go from bad to worse. Just like the Hebrews, we need to be reminded that God has not given up on us, He hasn’t left us here to fend for ourselves. Instead He is with us and fights for us.

Today pray that God would give you strength in those moments when you feel like you’re all alone to fight for yourself that He would remind you that He never left.

February 9th 2012

There are times in our lives when we have to spend some time waiting on God.

Read Psalm 40:1-3 and journal your initial thoughts

Have you ever been in one of those moments like this? Where you feel like you’re stuck in the mud and mire of life. There you are covered in the dirt and the filth that life seems to throw at you, and you feel like you’re completely out of options. These moments are hard for several reasons; first we are in a place where we feel like we’re stuck in the mud and junk of life. That’s kind of hard by definition. But secondly these moments are hard because we come to the realization that we are not in control.

As a follower of Jesus we feel like we shouldn’t have these moments. The church answer is that we totally trust Jesus and God with everything. But this is reality, and the reality is we like to be in control and we struggle when we’re not.

The first step is simply admitting that you’re not in control. Now go ahead and say it with me. “Hi, my name is ________ and I’m not in control.” As a follower of Jesus the key is not being in control but simply learning to trust the One who is.

Today pray that God would give you the courage and confidence to trust him not only in the hardest times of life, but even in the simplest.

February 8th 2012

Yesterday we looked at how Jesus doesn’t make God’s Law obsolete, but instead amplifies it. Jesus not only calls us to a higher standard of living, but lived it out himself. Today we look at our part.

Read Romans 2:13 and journal your initial thoughts

For so many people the whole idea of being a follower of Jesus is deeply tied to a single moment. For some it’s a moment when they made a public affirmation to follow Jesus, for others it’s that moment when they are baptized. And while those things are good, they become a problem if we simply forget to live it out. In our culture we make decisions every day, but how many of those decisions do we allow to change the very core of who we are? How many decisions have we made in our entire lives that have done that?

Now read 1 John 2:6 and journal your initial thoughts

Pretty blunt, huh? When we claim to follow Jesus we are also called to live a life just like Jesus did. When we do this, we begin to live out the Law. But notice throughout the life of Jesus he didn’t practice a lot of the legalistic stuff that the “religious” people of his day did. In fact he was often condemned because he didn’t do those things. Because the emphasis of the life of Jesus isn’t to pretend to be righteous or Holy or perfect, but to live a life in this beautiful relationship with his Father.

Pray today that God would show you the areas of your life that you are not fully following Jesus with.