Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
For the Lord Most High is awesome,
the great King over all the earth.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne. (Psalm 47:1, 2, 8 NIV)
Lord I pray you fill me with joy for you are the king of all the earth and you are in control. This world is fleeting and will be gone in the blink of an eye. But your words and promises will last forever! Even in this world though it seems the prince of darkness and simple things of the world like business and politics are in control. But help me to remember the spiritual reality that you gave all kings and even the devil the authority they have. There is no battle. There is no question of who will win God. For you are in control and you will show yourself competent victorious in the end.
For now in the present age of darkness you give us the opportunity to grow and test our faith that we might choose you fully Lord, not because we have to but because we want to even in the challenges of life. Thank you Lord for this life where we may have faith in you and your promises even though they are not visible.
Therefore let us rejoice in our God who is more real than all the world around us. As we worship let us declare the spiritual reality in the face of all the world and those who do not believe that what we see is not lasting and it is small and weak compared to our God! For our God is king over all the earth! And he loves us and has eternity planned for all of his new creation!
Amen
Saturday, June 29, 2013
God: Just and Justifier
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
(Romans 3:26 ESV)
God is both just in condemning sin and in bringing the due punishment for sin and yet God himself in the person of Jesus stepped down as the judge to also stand in and take the punishment.
Lord Jesus I pray you continue to work in my heart to understand the reality of both. I think it is exciting and powerful for me and other believers. It is exciting to believe this in a room full of Christians. But it becomes harder to believe as I interact with the world. When I see people who are spiritually lost do I have faith and trust in who God is and his plan. When it seems hopeless that some people close to me would come to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior do I believe this same truth. Do I continue to trust God is good and his judgement against sin is just?
Jesus and the Cross is beautiful for those who believe but what to I believe and feel when people seem to totally or just passively reject Christ. What about my friends and family who seem pretty good? - ( maybe I try to squeeze them in to the part in Romans that talks about having the law written on their hearts)
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. (Romans 2:14 ESV)
This brings up and tests my faith that God is in control and entirely good. For Jesus says he will not lose a single one our Father has given him.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. (John 6:39 NIV)
God I pray you give me faith to trust what you say that you are good and that you are in control despite what I see around me in the world that might say otherwise. But help me to pray as those believers who came before me:
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:"'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.' (Acts 4:25, 26 NIV) for God you can see all things and work them all for your good plans. Lord I pray for myself and those close to me, for students at CU that all those who would believe that together we would turn repent and believe and be saved!
Then humble us to remember Christ our justifier in his humility that we would live patient, joyful and humble lives of love and truth in the midst of a broken world.
Amen
(Romans 3:26 ESV)
God is both just in condemning sin and in bringing the due punishment for sin and yet God himself in the person of Jesus stepped down as the judge to also stand in and take the punishment.
Lord Jesus I pray you continue to work in my heart to understand the reality of both. I think it is exciting and powerful for me and other believers. It is exciting to believe this in a room full of Christians. But it becomes harder to believe as I interact with the world. When I see people who are spiritually lost do I have faith and trust in who God is and his plan. When it seems hopeless that some people close to me would come to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior do I believe this same truth. Do I continue to trust God is good and his judgement against sin is just?
Jesus and the Cross is beautiful for those who believe but what to I believe and feel when people seem to totally or just passively reject Christ. What about my friends and family who seem pretty good? - ( maybe I try to squeeze them in to the part in Romans that talks about having the law written on their hearts)
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. (Romans 2:14 ESV)
This brings up and tests my faith that God is in control and entirely good. For Jesus says he will not lose a single one our Father has given him.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. (John 6:39 NIV)
God I pray you give me faith to trust what you say that you are good and that you are in control despite what I see around me in the world that might say otherwise. But help me to pray as those believers who came before me:
You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:"'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.' (Acts 4:25, 26 NIV) for God you can see all things and work them all for your good plans. Lord I pray for myself and those close to me, for students at CU that all those who would believe that together we would turn repent and believe and be saved!
Then humble us to remember Christ our justifier in his humility that we would live patient, joyful and humble lives of love and truth in the midst of a broken world.
Amen
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Psalm 46: be still and know God is God!
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
"Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (Psalm 46:1-3, 6, 10, 11 ESV)
I read this psalm this morning and it was on my mind and heart and prayers all day. It is so simple and beautiful and encouraging and easy to forget. But this truth is simple: the world is against us and God and brings harm, but God is for us and he is in control and will be victorious in his plans. Therefore we need not fear, but simply be still and let God be God!
Lord in my life, in my fundraising, in my ministry, in my relationship, in everything I want to trust in you and not fear. I want to give my fear to you my mighty fortress and though the told rage against us and it seems the world is crashing around I want to believe and see the spiritual reality. Which is that God is not weak and he is not losing and God will be exalted in the whole earth! He is in control and these things are so insignificant they don't even rattle him. Glory to you Lord!
Amen
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
"Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (Psalm 46:1-3, 6, 10, 11 ESV)
I read this psalm this morning and it was on my mind and heart and prayers all day. It is so simple and beautiful and encouraging and easy to forget. But this truth is simple: the world is against us and God and brings harm, but God is for us and he is in control and will be victorious in his plans. Therefore we need not fear, but simply be still and let God be God!
Lord in my life, in my fundraising, in my ministry, in my relationship, in everything I want to trust in you and not fear. I want to give my fear to you my mighty fortress and though the told rage against us and it seems the world is crashing around I want to believe and see the spiritual reality. Which is that God is not weak and he is not losing and God will be exalted in the whole earth! He is in control and these things are so insignificant they don't even rattle him. Glory to you Lord!
Amen
To understand the Cross we must understand Sin
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
For there is no distinction:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
I think sometime I can too quickly focus on the cross without fully recognizing and understanding the reality if sin. He reality of sin is that myself and every other person has sinned and continues to sin against God. And God who also loves us also hates our acts of sin and our lives in sin.
This is the hardest part:
Sin leads to separation from God
And
We are all therefore already dead in sin now
And eternally:
We deserve eternal punishment and eternal death- separation from God.
Until we fully believe and accept this we cannot fully believe and appreciate the Cross. If we do not accept sin and recognize Gods authority to define sin then we reject the Cross. Event worse we minimize and lie about the cross. In my own heart my failure to believe this reality about sin is a sin in and of itself because of how it affects my understanding and teaching on Jesus on the Cross.
But if we truly understand sin we can fully and joyfully and thankfully from all of our being love and be in complete awe and appreciation of Jesus and the Cross. We can truly sing and say in our hearts: how marvelous and my serious is the Cross.
Lord though it is hard I pray you would reveal and convict us of the reality of sin in our own lives and the world and how sin means we are dead. I pray that would help us to truly understand the significance of what you did for us Jesus in humbling yourself to take on human flesh and die on a cross for us. Lord teach me what it means to be alive by knowing the difference between death in sin and life in the Spirit fighting day by day against sin with victory and hope in you God.
Amen
For there is no distinction:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
I think sometime I can too quickly focus on the cross without fully recognizing and understanding the reality if sin. He reality of sin is that myself and every other person has sinned and continues to sin against God. And God who also loves us also hates our acts of sin and our lives in sin.
This is the hardest part:
Sin leads to separation from God
And
We are all therefore already dead in sin now
And eternally:
We deserve eternal punishment and eternal death- separation from God.
Until we fully believe and accept this we cannot fully believe and appreciate the Cross. If we do not accept sin and recognize Gods authority to define sin then we reject the Cross. Event worse we minimize and lie about the cross. In my own heart my failure to believe this reality about sin is a sin in and of itself because of how it affects my understanding and teaching on Jesus on the Cross.
But if we truly understand sin we can fully and joyfully and thankfully from all of our being love and be in complete awe and appreciation of Jesus and the Cross. We can truly sing and say in our hearts: how marvelous and my serious is the Cross.
Lord though it is hard I pray you would reveal and convict us of the reality of sin in our own lives and the world and how sin means we are dead. I pray that would help us to truly understand the significance of what you did for us Jesus in humbling yourself to take on human flesh and die on a cross for us. Lord teach me what it means to be alive by knowing the difference between death in sin and life in the Spirit fighting day by day against sin with victory and hope in you God.
Amen
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Heart issues: gospel transformation
In the men's small group that I host from my church in Boulder; Calvary Bible group we had a great discussion around heart issues being the real problem of sin in our lives and the root of our exterior behavioral sin. We need to address the heart issues with the truth and hope of the gospel and not just try to manage the behaviors.
And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."
(Mark 7:14, 15 ESV)
"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
(Luke 6:43-49 ESV)
Analogy: Taping fruit and branches on dead trees. Whitewashed tombs like the pharisees. How can we be like that? How am I like that?
How do we address heart issues? Not just behavior management but heart transformation. Also points to need of savior, we are sinners.
Tangible:
We want something we don't have or can't get.
Get to root by looking at who wants what?
Stop yourself in moment and be self aware and management
Ask lots of questions
Identity issues,
Know triggers.
Expectations are huge, but I am not in control
Pray
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
(James 4:1-4 ESV)
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26, 27 ESV)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1, 2 ESV)
How do we know if we are real and healthy trees with right hearts.
How do law and gospel fit into this sin and heart issues?
Law sheds light on sin? Convicts us of sin
Personal laws: ex don't be late. Ex drinking less than 3
Law has no power to change us.
How do we change our hearts?
Examples: tax collector and zaccheus
We can't change our hearts. That is only work of Holy Spirit
But also avoiding temptation
How long should it take?
Over time generally should be process of sanctification increasing holiness over time
Trend up but huge fluctuation
Bumps can lead to new growth up
If we ever say we don't struggle or aren't tempted then we have an idol of ourselves: pride
Sanctification?
Romans 6
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Romans 6:1-4, 15, 16 ESV)
Suffering draws us near to the cross
What external behaviors are we managing to look good and avoid hard work of heart transformation.
Church
Reward system: ex rosary making up for sin
Evangelism, outreach
2 Peter 1:5-9
How to remember forgiveness and cleansed from past sins
Confess specific sins, repent and believe specific gospel truth in that area
Ex acceptance, identity, status, pleasure,
Things I feel convicted of that I want to work on the heart issues:
My snappy heart attitude and unhealthy emotional management
Being unattached from things. Give up anything offer it when someone likes something I have.
Performance
Lust
Pride
Lord in those areas I pray for your Holy Spirit to be at work convicting and bringing real heart repentance and transformation by believing gospel truth and affirming my identity in Christ.
Amen
And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."
(Mark 7:14, 15 ESV)
"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
(Luke 6:43-49 ESV)
Analogy: Taping fruit and branches on dead trees. Whitewashed tombs like the pharisees. How can we be like that? How am I like that?
How do we address heart issues? Not just behavior management but heart transformation. Also points to need of savior, we are sinners.
Tangible:
We want something we don't have or can't get.
Get to root by looking at who wants what?
Stop yourself in moment and be self aware and management
Ask lots of questions
Identity issues,
Know triggers.
Expectations are huge, but I am not in control
Pray
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
(James 4:1-4 ESV)
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26, 27 ESV)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1, 2 ESV)
How do we know if we are real and healthy trees with right hearts.
How do law and gospel fit into this sin and heart issues?
Law sheds light on sin? Convicts us of sin
Personal laws: ex don't be late. Ex drinking less than 3
Law has no power to change us.
How do we change our hearts?
Examples: tax collector and zaccheus
We can't change our hearts. That is only work of Holy Spirit
But also avoiding temptation
How long should it take?
Over time generally should be process of sanctification increasing holiness over time
Trend up but huge fluctuation
Bumps can lead to new growth up
If we ever say we don't struggle or aren't tempted then we have an idol of ourselves: pride
Sanctification?
Romans 6
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(Romans 6:1-4, 15, 16 ESV)
Suffering draws us near to the cross
What external behaviors are we managing to look good and avoid hard work of heart transformation.
Church
Reward system: ex rosary making up for sin
Evangelism, outreach
2 Peter 1:5-9
How to remember forgiveness and cleansed from past sins
Confess specific sins, repent and believe specific gospel truth in that area
Ex acceptance, identity, status, pleasure,
Things I feel convicted of that I want to work on the heart issues:
My snappy heart attitude and unhealthy emotional management
Being unattached from things. Give up anything offer it when someone likes something I have.
Performance
Lust
Pride
Lord in those areas I pray for your Holy Spirit to be at work convicting and bringing real heart repentance and transformation by believing gospel truth and affirming my identity in Christ.
Amen
Friday, June 14, 2013
Remember The Lord Deuteronomy 8
Devotional June 14: Remember The Lord your God in times of abundance. For it is him who provides not us.
"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his
commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you
today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good
houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and
your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is
multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery, Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of
my hand have gotten me this wealth." You shall remember the Lord your
God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may
confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
(Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17, 18 ESV)
This is a good reminder especially for us in the U.S. I know even in
my work as a minister I am so tempted to become prideful. Even in
doing God's work I can get discouraged or caught up in what I can and
can't do. I get overwhelmed and often get angry at God because I
foolishly think I am the one working and God isn't. Yet the reality is
God is the only worker and if he was not working nothing would happen.
Instead it is gracious of God to invite me into his work that I can
partner with him and see his power up close and personally.
Beyond that I think there are a few big things we often look to hoping
to find joy and fulfillment outside of The Lord. Work, wealth,
contentment, relationships. And yet we so quickly forget all things
are a gift from God and none of them last. At any moment we could lose
them. And we will certainly lose them because we will all die.
Lord in all things I pray I remember you and in humility you are the
creator and provider and worker in all things. I pray my heart would
turn to gratitude to the Lord instead of pride. Thank you Lord for all
the small things and life and your provision and most of all your Son
Jesus who died for us that we could be reconciled to God and receive
eternity and a heavenly home with you Lord!
Amen
"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his
commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you
today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good
houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and
your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is
multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery, Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of
my hand have gotten me this wealth." You shall remember the Lord your
God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may
confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
(Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17, 18 ESV)
This is a good reminder especially for us in the U.S. I know even in
my work as a minister I am so tempted to become prideful. Even in
doing God's work I can get discouraged or caught up in what I can and
can't do. I get overwhelmed and often get angry at God because I
foolishly think I am the one working and God isn't. Yet the reality is
God is the only worker and if he was not working nothing would happen.
Instead it is gracious of God to invite me into his work that I can
partner with him and see his power up close and personally.
Beyond that I think there are a few big things we often look to hoping
to find joy and fulfillment outside of The Lord. Work, wealth,
contentment, relationships. And yet we so quickly forget all things
are a gift from God and none of them last. At any moment we could lose
them. And we will certainly lose them because we will all die.
Lord in all things I pray I remember you and in humility you are the
creator and provider and worker in all things. I pray my heart would
turn to gratitude to the Lord instead of pride. Thank you Lord for all
the small things and life and your provision and most of all your Son
Jesus who died for us that we could be reconciled to God and receive
eternity and a heavenly home with you Lord!
Amen
Thursday, June 13, 2013
1 Tim 2 Pray!
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
(1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV)
(1 Timothy 2:1-6 ESV)
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