Life Journal 08-31-2009

Personal Choices

(S) Scripture
"Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,
even if these three men--Noah, Daniel and Job--were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.
"Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,
as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
"Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, 'Let the sword pass throughout the land,' and I kill its men and their animals,
as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.
"Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals,
as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.
Ezekiel 14:13-20 (NIV)

(O) Observation
The prophet is describing the judgment that is coming to Israel. In it he cites three of their "faith heroes" and says that even they could only save themselves by their righteousness. Even their sons and daughters were in peril. Each must make his personal decision to follow. The outcome is terrible for those who refuse to follow the Lord.

(A) Application
I am responsible for my relationship with the Lord. I must personally decide to follow the Lord, I cannot get in on my parent's faith. My faith must be my own. It is my responsibility to share and lead and live out my faith before my children and the people around me but they must follow the Lord by personal choice. I cannot coerce them to follow and they will not be spared because of my choice to follow. It is sobering to think about but our relationship with God is not about the country we live in or the family we were born in, although these can be great assets in our faith walk, but it is in our personal choice to trust in Christ's death and resurrection for us and then to follow Him.

(P) Prayer
Lord I thank you for providing a way for me to be made right with you. Thank you for Jesus' death and resurrection on my behalf. I love you and want to live faithfully for you. Use me today and let me be a faithful and true witness of your work on our behalf. Amen

Life Journal 08-27-2009

A Daily Prayer

(S) Scripture
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
Psalm 143:10 (NIV)

(O) Observation
IN this psalm David asks the Lord for a number of things. He asks for mercy, relief from his enemies, answer to his prayers and a sense of God's love. These are just a few of his requests. He also asks for God to teach and lead him. That is a prayer we each should pray daily.

(A) Application
I am struck at how often David, described in the Bible as a man after God's own heart, asks the lord to teach and guide him. If David needed to do this continually how much more do I need to do this? It is my heart's desire to live out God's will in my life. I want to be guided by the Holy Spirit moment by moment. It does not happen automatically, I must constantly yield myself to God's Will and direction. This will be my daily prayer because I want to make a difference for the cause of Christ wherever I am.

(P) Prayer
Lord today I will pray what David prayed. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Amen

Life Journal 08-26-2009

Facebook

(S) Scripture
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 (NIV)

(O) Observation
In writing to the first century believers John reminds them of the great joy he receives when he hears that they are faithfully walking with the Lord.

(A) Application
I had the privilege of serving on college campuses with Campus Crusade for Christ and WV Baptist Campus Ministry. During those years the Lord allowed me to touch many students with the gospel. The pain of Campus Ministry is that the students graduate and move on with their lives and careers. I know that is the goal but it is painful to lose those faithful students. It would be like losing a fourth of a congregation each year. I have often wondered what those students are doing today. Some I have kept in touch with but many I have not. Welcome Facebook!! I have made numerous connections with former students through Facebook. To see their families and hear what they are doing brings great joy. I am so pleased that many are continuing to serve the Lord. They are Christians serving the Lord in their chosen professions. Some are serving in pastoral ministries but most are serving through their local churches. The connections through Facebook have renewed relationships and brought incredible joy to me. I am experiencing the joy John wrote about.

(P) Prayer
Lord, help me to help others follow you. Help me to help them help others so that they might also experience this kind of joy. Amen

Life Journal 08-24-2009

Childhood Lessons

(S) Scripture
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)

(O) Observation
This is a promise to Jeremiah about restoration of the people. Jeremiah has not had much good news in his word from the Lord. This must have come as some refreshing news. God would hear and answer Jeremiah.

(A) Application
As a child, about eight years old, I was part of a Bible memory group at my home church, Highlawn Baptist in Huntington, WV. This club was led by Henry and Theresa Bird. In the course of a couple of years we memorized about 300 Bible verses. We were quizzed each week and at the end we were put in front of the church on a Sunday night and were randomly asked to recite some of the verses. We did not miss one. This verse from Jeremiah was one of the first verses that we memorized. I used the KJV in this post because it is how I memorized it and how I recite it today even though it has been more than 40 years since I have consistently used a King James Version of the Bible. I will never forget the lessons I learned in that Bible Club, they helped shape my life. Bible memory is not something we emphasize much anymore. I wonder what lessons our children are missing because they are not challenged to memorize the scripture. I wonder how much we as adults are missing because we no longer memorize the scripture. I wonder how often we misquote or misrepresent the Scripture because we say what we think it says rather than quoting it verbatim, and thus knowing what it says. Today I thank the Birds for their investment in my life and the example they set for me.

(P) Prayer
Lord, help me to get your word right when I use it. Help me to encourage others to write your word on their hearts. Thank you for bring people like the Birds into my life. Amen

Life Journal 08-20-2009

What We Preach

(S) Scripture
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3 (NIV)

(O) Observation
John gives authenticity to his message by saying it comes from firsthand experience. It comes from what he saw and heard. The result is fellowship with each other and with God.

(A) Application
John gives some great insight in this little statement. The authenticity of my messages comes from my personal experience with the Lord. When I preach from my own life experience with the Lord and His Word the authenticity of the Gospel comes through. Preaching from life experience is not enough. My life experience can also be sinful and apart from God. It is what I have seen and heard from the Lord that produces the fruit of fellowship within the church and with the Lord. I cannot preach from others experience, I must do so from my own. This means that I must continually walk by faith, spend time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word. That is the source of my preaching content, the power in the preaching must come from the Holy Spirit as He takes the Word and applies it to lives through the preaching. I cannot remember who said it but it was in a seminar sometime, "We are to preach from the overflow of our relationship with the Lord." Today I recommit myself to preaching from the overflow in my life.

(P) Prayer
Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit so that my life will overflow with your love and grace. Let me preach from that overflow. Amen

Life Journal 08-19-2009

Training Camp

(S) Scripture
When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
John 21:21-22 (NIV)

(O) Observation
Jesus has just restored Peter. Three times he asks Peter, "Do you love me?" Peter responds each time by affirming his love for Jesus. Most think that Jesus did this three times because f Peter's three denials before the crucifixion. Jesus then tells Peter how he is going to die. Jesus finishes by telling Peter to "Follow Me." Peter see John and immediately asks Jesus how he is going to die. Jesus tells peter that it is not his concern but that he is to follow Jesus regardless of what God has planned for others.

(A) Application
I have been doing a series of messages titled, "Training Camp". In this series I am emphasizing the basics of our faith in Christ. Just as football training camp emphasizes blocking and tackling and band camps emphasize scales and proper marching steps before anything else is added so in our training camp we are going back to the basics that will help us grow as followers of Christ. Jesus' words to peter are about as basic as you can get. "Follow Me" regardless of what anyone else is doing or experiencing. The directive was for Peter to follow Jesus wherever that led. That is where we each must begin our walk with Jesus. It is the basic step of faith that declares that I will follow Jesus.
I am sometimes like Peter. I want things to be fair and equal. After all, why should I suffer and others not? Jesus says my only concern should be to follow him. Now that is basic and that is Training Camp 101. Today I will follow Jesus and not be distracted.

(P) Prayer
father, you know how easy it is to compare and how easily I am distracted from following you completely. Today I want to follow you and you alone. Make me aware of when I am not doing so. Let me make a difference for you today. Amen

Life Journal 08-17-2009

Public Opinion

(S) Scripture
The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
John 19:7-8 (NIV)

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
John 19:12-13 (NIV)

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
John 19:16 (NIV)

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
John 19:38 (NIV)

(O) Observation
Pilate was a politician and was controlled by public opinion. Even when he could find no fault in Jesus he gave in to the cries of the public to crucify Jesus. Pilate was more concerned with keeping his job as governor than he was in doing the right thing with Jesus. In the grand scheme of things I wonder if Pilate really had a choice. I am sure he did and also sure that God knew the decision he would make given his personal integrity. Joseph was also afraid of the Jews and therefore was a secret follower of Jesus. The pressure of public opinion kept these men from being the men they knew they should be. IT is interesting to me that Pilate did do some things to get back at the religious leaders: he had Jesus called the king of the Jews in a plaque on the cross and he allowed Joseph to have the body. I wonder if Pilate smiled some at the irritation this caused the Jewish leaders?

(A) Application
When I read about some of the prophets and preachers of the Bible I see their boldness and fearless trust in God. I think about them and then realize how domesticated we preachers today have become. Where are we challenging the hall of justice or injustice? Where are we challenging the governing authorities? We challenge people to live faithful lives but do we call people to radically follow Jesus? I don't think so. We seem to be satisfied with mediocrity and that pains the heart of God. It seems that we are conscious of what the public thinks of us and do not want to appear intolerant or exclusive or "holier than thou" and so we water down the message and call of Christ in the world. We downplay the wrath of God and make forgiveness something God gives to everyone regardless of their faith. Today I will speak the truth without waver and call people to radically follow Jesus. It is time to let Jesus be Jesus rather than some caricature we have created to continue a view of him that is caged and domesticated.

(P) Prayer
Lord, give me the courage to radically follow you. Let me not be swayed by public opinion that would distort your truth. I want to follow You and make You known as you really are. Amen