I think our reading in 1 John 2:20-28 contains a very powerful idea.  The author concludes his argument by saying, in verses 27 and 28, that because the Holy Spirit lives in believers they don’t need anyone to teach them what is true and what is false. The Spirit is the teacher, and He only teaches what is true. Does that strike you as a powerful idea? It does me… I mean, sometimes life is confusing and there seem to be lots of gray areas. How do we know what is right and what is wrong, when so often it seems impossible to tell the difference? If we are to believe this passage of 1 John, then we can know with certainty what is true and what is false; we don’t have to be confused anymore. Verse 24 reminds us that we must stay faithful in our fellowship with God the Father and Jesus the Son, and it is on that foundation that the Spirit in us is able to guide us into holy discernment.

Psalm 121 has been one of my favorites since college, when I learned a song with these words. You know it? It asks: When I encounter hard times, where do I go for help? Do I look to the mountains? Or to people or to technology (to make the psalm more modern)? I think there’s a rhetorical answer to the question, “does my help come from there?”– NO! Our help, our only true help, comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth. From the Matthew Henry commentary: “We must see all our help in God; from him we must expect it, in his own way and time. This psalm teaches us to comfort ourselves in the Lord, when difficulties and dangers are greatest”. I like the imagery of the poem– of a God who never sleeps, for He is always watching over His children; He shades us from the hot sun and protects us from all other dangers; He keeps us safe wherever we go, forever and ever.

What promises we read today! A God who never slumbers in His care for us, a Spirit who lives within us and guides into truth… and the Love of a perfect Father for His children (1 John 3:1). My prayer as we begin to celebrate the Christmas season is that you will be struck anew by the miracle of the gospel, and the awesome beauty of a triune God who created us and continues to sustain us. May He keep you safe and full of joy.

 http://www.fcaoneyearbible.com

I’ve had some glitches late into the night, but I think everything on the new site is working. If you do find something that isn’t working correctly, please email me (in any window, the top right you will see “Contact” … send me an email with what seems to be malfunctioning, and I’ll work on it ASAP!

 

Genesis 26
It continues to amaze me how God chooses to use people to show 
Himself to others.  Take Isaac here who is cruising around the Valley 
of Gerar digging wells.  He struck water but that only brought 
quarreling and disputes among the people there.  But instead of 
continuing the disputes, he moves on and digs another well.  That 
water also results in quarreling and again he moves on and digs 
another well.  Finally no one disputes it and he settles down.  Then 
the coolest thing happens…the people that fought with Isaac came 
back to him and wanted to be on his side!  Why?  Because they saw the 
LORD was with Isaac!  Has this ever happened to you?  Have you ever 
exposed someone to the Living Water and all they want to do is 
quarrel and dispute over it?  I know that I have.  And there are 
times that I have let myself quarrel and gotten nowhere.  Yet there 
are other times when I have chosen to leave peacefully and to dig 
other wells.  And although it doesn’t happen all the time, there are 
a precious few times when those people who used to quarrel come back 
and want to know the truth.  Why?  Because even in our flawed 
attempts to be “Christians”, it will be evident that Christ is with 
us.  People will see Christ in us and they will want to be on our 
side.  Let’s continue to let His light shine because you never know 
when those people that used to argue with us will see the light and 
want to join in the party!
Matthew 9
What sticks out to me in this entire section is the continual 
misunderstanding of Jesus by the Pharisees.  They continually 
question his actions and his motives.  Because their entire religion 
was centered around works-based salvation, they just can’t grasp what 
Jesus is up to!  Jesus’ answer to them is to go and learn the meaning 
of, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.  Growing up, I too had a works-
based concept of salvation (even though I didn’t really understand 
that I needed to be saved…but that’s not the point.)  The point is 
that the world around us tells us that we need to be “good people.”  
That we need to do and say the right things in order to be the right 
kind of person and to be accepted.  Yet Jesus’ answer is mercy not 
sacrifice.  So I’ve spent a little bit of time doing what Jesus said 
to do and trying to learn the meaning of, “I desire mercy, not 
sacrifice.”  A wise biblical scholar, Jen Price , told me that 
she’s heard Mercy defined as, “not getting judgement that you do 
deserve.”  And this is what Jesus DESIRES.  He desires to forgive 
us!  So He doesn’t want our hearts to be focused on sacrificing and 
trying to be perfect all the time because He desires to be merciful 
to us in our weakness and imperfections!  This has been a continual 
growth process in my walk with Christ.  More and more I am living in 
the FREEDOM of His mercy.  And it is in that freedom that we will 
have hearts that desire to serve Him.
I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on the meaning of “I 
desire mercy, not sacrifice.”  

 

Genesis 24:52-26:16

Today we start with Rebekah making the journey back to become the wife of Isaac. God blesses Isaac and Rebekah with twins, but the babies are already fighting in the womb (Genesis 25:22). I think we get just small glimpse of Rebekah’s relationship with the Lord … her immediate response is to ask the Lord, “Why is this happening to me?” Sometimes I think that’s exactly the place God wants us … turning to Him immediately asking, “Why is this happening?”

The twins were born, and it seems their rivalry continues through their life. Esau, the older twin, sells his birthright as the first born son for a bowl of soup made by Jacob, the youngest son!! (Remember the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Guy … “No soup for you!”) We might have a hard time understanding the significance of the birthright in our culture, but (if I understand it correctly … please … someone comment and give us more information!) the eldest son would receive a double portion of the family inheritance. So, if there were two sons, the eldest would receive 2/3 of the inheritance, and youngest 1/3. There were also some other important associations with the birthright, which we’ll see in a few days as we continue the story of Jacob and Esau.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Isaac gets caught in the SAME lie by the SAME king … He tells King Abimelech Rebekah is his sister … this is exactly the same stunt Abraham tried to pull!

Matthew 8:18-34

Ok … before you read any further, let me challenge you to go back and read this passage again … slowly. Imagine yourself as a disciple…

WOW … can you imagine the disciples’ amazement and realization that this Teacher they have been following around can control the weather! But wait … back up a second. When the storm picked up out on the lake, the disciples “went to Him and wok him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown.’” Do you see this? Why would they wake Jesus up, unless they thought He could do something about the storm? They are calling on Him for deliverance … “Lord, save us!” yet when Jesus does exactly that, they are shocked and in awe. Aren’t we like this so many times when we pray! We sort of half-heartedly mutter a prayer, not necessarily thinking it will be heard, let alone answered, so we are completely awed and amazed when it is answered! One of the ideas I loved from the Experiencing God study is this: When you pray, pay attention to the next thing that happens … it’s often God’s answer. Expect an answer! (I heard a great story about this just today … I hope Erin will share in the comments!! )

Psalm 10:1-15

Two quick things I liked in this Psalm … the first is verse 1:

O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?

Can you relate? Oh my … that strikes home in my heart! Sometimes I don’t always put it to words, but that’s often how I feel … like God is standing far away, just watching the world sort of spin out of control. By the way, that’s one of the best reasons to use the Psalms as guides to pray … they put words to thoughts and emotions we have that we can’t seem to express!

The other thing I liked is verse 14:

But you do see the trouble and grie they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you. You are the defender of orphans.

I underlined that part, because I think the Psalmist realizes that even when God seems to be far off, He really still knows what’s happening, and He is involved in the process.

Proverbs 3:7-8

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom …” – can I get an “Amen!”

Wouldn’t life seem way less complicated if it were still the custom that our parent’s were responsible for picking our mate…or maybe that would be way more complicated:)  In Genesis 24, Abraham puts his servent Eliezer in charge of picking a wife for Isaac.  After some guidance from the Lord, the most important character trait was one of service.  Rebekah had a servant’s heart and demonstrated that by going out of her way to help out a complete stranger.  What an example Rebekah is for women today.  Appearance is important to us, and we spend time and money improving it.  But how much effort do we put into developing our inner beauty?  Patience, kindness, and joy are the beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely!

O How I love Proverbs 3:5-6!!  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.�  What incredible freedom we, believers are offered through trusting God with our future.  He tells us if we trust him, he will guide us and direct us into what career we are to pursue, relationship to be in, decision to make, ect.  So easy to say and so very hard to do!! 

I want to have the faith of the centurion!  In Matthew 8:5-13 was a very powerful story of the Roman officer amazing Jesus with his faith.  The centurion could of let so many obsticles get in his way between him and Jesus (Pride,doubt, money, language, distance, time, power, race, self-sufficiency).  I feel like living in America with all of the conviences, wealth, and power a lot of times it is hard to see our need for Jesus.  The Centurion’s faith is a good reminder of what the power of Christ in our lives could look like.

Genesis 20:1-22:24

Oh Abraham … don’t you want to say that! Once again he decides to take matters into his own hands, and he tells King Abimelech Sarah is his sister (because he’s afraid the king will kill him to take Sarah as his own wife). He doubts God’s protection, and he’s forgotten God’s promise … to bring him a son, through Sarah, within the next year. Sarah must have been one hot 90 year old woman for Abraham to have been concerned about this! He says, “I figured this to be a godless place.” I love the reality … “But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, ‘You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married.’” God Himself appeared to this apparently godless king!

I love the opening verses of chapter 21:

Then the Lord did exactly what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would.”

God always keeps His promises! Always … and it always happens exactly in the timing He promised. Sometimes, like in this case, it takes incredible faith to believe in the promise, because we see the obstacles (such as a 90 year old woman and a 100 year old man conceiving a child!)

Now, imagine, you’ve waited for so many years for this promised child, and one day God says to you,

Take your son, your only son – yes Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you.

What has always fascinated me about Abraham’s life is the number of times he’s doubted God, taken things into his own hands, challenged God (like yesterday in the story with Sodom and Gomorrah), yet this time, when God asks him to kill the son he’s waited so long to have, he does so without so much as question. Certainly not the response I would have! What has happened to Abraham? What has changed? Maybe he just finally realized God’s ways are higher than his ways, and he can trust God with his whole life … even the life of his son!

Just as Abraham is ready to kill Isaac on the altar, God stops him and tells him not to do it. Instead, Abraham looks up and there is a ram caught in the bushes (once again … perfect timing!) Here we see another name of God given … Yaweh-yir’eh, or Jehovah Jireh as we may be more familiar with, which is what Abraham named that place … The Lord Will Provide.

Matthew 7:15-29

Maybe I’ll ruffle some feathers with this post, but what hits me in this passage is Jesus’ obvious emphasis on obedience.

Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

We probably all know people like this (and there are times we, ourselves, act like this). It isn’t enough to say you are a Christian, or even to say to God, “You are my Master.” What God is looking for is our sold-out obedience.

Jesus then tells the parable of the wise and foolish man. Those who listen to His teachings are like the wise man who builds his house with a firm foundation. Those who ignore His teaching are like the foolish man who builds his house on sand.

Here’s a discussion question for you … the grace God has given us through Jesus’ death on the cross is free … if only we will receive that grace. Why, then, is our obedience important? Use the comments to give your thoughts!

 Genesis 18:16-19:38 This is a difficult and uncomfortable passage.  I think the thing I am struck by the most is God’s mercy to a boldly pleading Abraham.  In 18:23, Abraham asks, “will you sweep away the righteous along with the wicked you are going to destroy?” and then says in 18:25, “Far be it from You to treat the righteous and the wicked alike.”  And then after trying to shame God with those questions, Abraham has the brass to bargain with God: “What if there are 50 righteous?  Will you spare them?  How about 45? 40? 30? 20? Ok, how about 10 righteous?  Abraham lowers the bar for saving Sodom each time and he goes to the well with God six times!  Six times!  For a city that didn’t even have 10 people who weren’t wicked!  What great patience God had with him and does with us when we pray.  Matthew 6:25-7:14 In this passage, Jesus is still preaching to the multitude and says, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.  May we be as unrelenting in our entreaties to God as Abraham was in the Genesis passage, especially on behalf of others – those who may be stuck amidst a “Sodom” in their life.  May we be encouraged knowing not only what we ask will be given but, “how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  (The exclamation point is the actual punctuation mark at the end of that last sentence!!).  And may our requests and prayers be reflective of Matthew 6:23, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”  Psalm 8 “How majestic is Thy name in all the earth, Who has displayed Thy splendor above the heavens!…When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, The moon and stars, which Though hast ordained; What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him?  What is man that God would take thought of us?  He not only made us but He hears our pleadings as well (just like he did with Abraham!).  Our Father knows our needs and He cares for us (vs.4, MT 7:11).  He has crowned us with glory and majesty in this world (vs. 5) – may we be good stewards of those gifts He has given – He has made us to rule over the works of His hands (vs. 6)! Today at sunrise or sunset, take 15 minutes to watch the “glorious lamp of heaven the sun” (to quote Robert Herrick) and praise the Lord, Our Lord – How majestic is His name in all the earth! Proverbs 2:6-15 The Lord gives wisdom – discover the knowledge of God (vs. 2)!  Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul (vs. 10)… discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you (vs. 11), and wisdom will deliver you from evil (vs. 12)! Matthew 7:7,8 – ask for wisdom!

How are you doing on the daily readings? I want to take a minute and encourage you! If you’ve missed a day or two, or maybe you’re just starting this journey, don’t be discouraged! If you’re behind in reading, take a couple of days to catch up, or just read the blog posts so you know what’s happening in the story … then start reading today. Please take advantage of the “comments” section to share what YOU’VE learned from the daily readings! The idea behind this is to interact with the daily readings as well as each other! I’m praying for you as you read!

Genesis 16:1-18:15

Abraham is quite a character! At times he demonstrates incredible faith … even faith that God credits to him as righteousness. But then there are times like this … when he obviously doubts God’s plans. In this passage Abraham decides to take things into his own hands. God has promised his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham and Sarah become tired of waiting on the fulfillment of this promise, so Sarah suggests Abraham conceive a child through one of her servants, Hagar. Can you imagine the family dynamics in that household!

This is one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament, as we are given one of the many names of God, El Roi (not to be confused with Elroy Jetson!) El Roi means, The God Who Sees. This name is given by Hagar after she realizes God sees the pain she is in. I love that … I have had this kind of experience more than once in my life … a sudden realization that God sees and cares about the difficulty I’m facing. Hagar returns to Abraham and Sarah’s home, but I doubt if the situation really improves … can you imagine the jealousy between these two women! But I think Hagar returns with the assurance God sees what she’s going through, and He cares deeply for her.

 

I’ve been known to “birth” Ishmaels in my life … ideas that were definitely my own as I attempted to speed up the process of waiting on the Lord for something. You may have heard someone ask the question, “Is that an Ishmael or an Isaac?” meaning, “Is that an idea you have conjured up on your own, or a God-child, birthed in a seemingly impossible situation?” Tomorrow we’ll read more about God’s fulfillment of His promise to Abraham and Sarah … to conceive a child through Sarah and make Abraham the father of many nations.

Matthew 6:1-24

There are lots of teachings packed into these 24 verses of the Sermon on the Mount, but in each teaching I see a common theme … Jesus wants us to avoid religious practices for their appearance. Let’s be honest … we’ve all probably done this at some point … we don’t want to do something (go to church, give to the poor, read your Bible) but we do it, not as an offering to the Lord, but because of who might be watching us. I don’t think Jesus wants us to avoid giving to the poor, homeless man we pass on the street, simply because there are people around, but I think He is asking us to check our motives … are we doing it because people are watching, or because we want to be salt and light and serve the Lord.

Do you have a prayer closet … a quiet place you can get away to and just be in God’s presence … no distractions and no one to see you? It’s kind of cool to read this passage on the same day as the Old Testament story … we serve El Roi (the God who sees … even tucked away in our closet!)

Psalm 7

The Psalms are such raw, unguarded emotions, and this is a great example. David is calling on God to vindicate him from the injustice of his enemies. He recognizes, “My shield is with God.” (vs 10).

Proverbs 2:1-5

This “formula” is almost too simple … if we accept God’s commands and pursue God’s wisdom (with the same passion as if we’re searching for a treasure) then we will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God!

 

Genesis 13:5-15:21
 

Sacrifice…it takes sacrifice.  It mentions throughout the Old Testament of people building altars to the Lord (13:8).  What is an altar?  It is a place of sacrifice.  Not that God needs our sacrifice, but we need to sacrifice.  Often when Abram is blessed he builds an altar in thanksgiving to God for the blessings he has been given.  He sacrifices what he has been given and is given more in return because he knows to “trust the Giver, not the gift.�

Sacrifice must be intentional.  It doesn’t happen without our consent.  It is something that we choose.  We must choose to remember the way God has provided for us in the past as God reminds Abram that He is the one that has given him all of this land (15:7). If we remember how God has led us before and will lead us again and again it might not seem like such a hard thing to sacrifice.  He may not work in our timing but He is faithful.

Sacrifice takes trust.  The things that God asks us to sacrifice may not always make sense to us in the moment.  In chapter 15 God asks Abram to get a three year old heifer, goat and ram, along with a dove and a pigeon.  Now that sounds pretty random and pointless to me.  Not quite knowing why yet trusting so much that he is willing to fight for them (15:11).  Yet this leads to more blessings (15:15, 15:18). 

Sacrifice is hard.  At least it seems hard to us to give up our own desires and our own plans or the way that we think things would work best.  How quickly we forget that when we give up something for the Lord’s sake He gives us even more in return. God never said that it would be easy.  In fact he guarantees Abram it will be hard.  “Know for certain that your descendants…will be mistreated four hundred years.  But…afterward they will come out with great possessions� (15:13-14).  

How can we remember the things God has done for us so that when He asks us to sacrifice things that seem crazy we can choose to trust Him, though it will be hard because we know He has something better for us?!
 

 

Matthew 5:27-48
 

Keep sacrificing!  God calls us to make sacrifices just as He did.  We must go the extra step to sacrifice our own desires.  In our sins we must sacrifice that which causes us to sin though it may seem an important part of us…like an eye, or a hand (5:27-30).   Even more in our lives we must give and keep giving, love and keep loving like our Father in heaven.  We are to imitate that of Christ to follow Him as our example, our perfect example and never stop seeking that (5:48).  He didn’t just love those who were easy to love, or do the things that were easy to do (5:46).  This is the power why He changed lives forever. His life looked different.  We are called to do more, we are called to sacrifice ourselves for Himself. 

 

Psalm 6:1-10
I can so relate to this prayer wondering how long God is going to take to show Himself but that’s where I usually stop.  I don’t get much past the groaning and frustration.  Yet David keeps going into declaration and expectancy.  “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping…all my enemies will… turn back� (8-10).  He speaks out the truth God has promised in the power God has given us. 

 

Proverbs 1:29-33
Obedience from a fear of God is a choice (1:29).  We can choose waywardness…disobedience, and complacency….self-satisfaction (which P.S. is in opposition to sacrifice) or we can choose to listen to God and receive the blessing of safety and ease (32,33).  Choose to fear the Lord!

 

Genesis 11 – Genesis 13:4

Abram is one of the most amazing men in the Bible in my opinion, because of his obedience to God, and his steadfast hope in God’s promise. By faith, he leaves his people and his father’s household solely because of God’s promise. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” It seems illogical that Abram could become a great nation, because he had no children AND his wife Sarai was barren. This raises up the challenge in my life: What is God asking me to do, and am I willing to become obedient? God’s logic doesn’t necessarily add up to my logic, and planning doesn’t always line up with my momentary desires or comfort. God is looking for people to do work for His kingdom. He also gives us the promise that He will not give us something we cannot handle, and will never leave or forsake us. We have two options: To shun God’s plan for us, or in the words of Paul “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13-14)

Matthew 5:1-26

Jesus gives such hope to the weak and weary. The poor in spirit, the meek, the mourners, the pure in heart; Jesus has not forgotten them. He also gives strength to His people in times of hardship and persecution. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven…” It is definitely against our human instinct to celebrate in the midst of suffering or persecution, but Jesus is telling us that is what our reaction should be.

So often in my life I try and blend in, as if it were a bad thing to be different. It is often easier to go with the flow and not be the sore thumb. Passing up on gossip can be hard. Forgiving when you have every right to be angry can be downright impossible. Monitoring the things we watch and the things we listen to can be frustrating and arduous. We are called to be different though. As Christians we are to be the “light of the world” and are to let our “light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Psalm 5

“But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord in your righteousness because of my enemies– make straight your way before me.” Ps. 5:7-8
I like this Psalm because it acknowledges that we only come into His house because of His great mercy. It has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him. We should worship Him with reverence and awe because of this, and should be led by His righteousness.

Proverbs 1:24-28

“But since you rejected me when I called…I in turn will laugh at your disaster” –Prov. 1:24, 26

What sticks out to me here is that wisdom will mock those who shun it. When they look for wisdom, they shall not find it. I guess the moral here is to listen to wisdom and do the right thing the first time around, so one doesn’t have to learn from his mistakes. This is easier said than done.