Inside Out Living

It is almost the end of my day in the office for Christmas Eve. Since the sermon is done I did some rework on the old blog here. I hope you like the new look.

We have the Christmas Eve service at 5:00 tonight and then we get to enjoy enchiladas. Snowed another two inches today, glad we didn't try to go see family for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thanks to the worst snowstorm to hit the Pacific Northwest in 40 years we have decided not to travel to see family at Christmas this year. We will see some of them when we move at the end of the month. Hopefully this storm will clear up before then and the roads will be a little more drivable. Even if we made it to our destination from all reports it is taking roughly twice as long to drive the highways that we would need to take which would mean about 10 hours of driving with three little kids.

The bummer part of the whole thing is that we took most of the Christmas gifts, including ours for our own kids, to Kristi's parents at Thanksgiving. So our kids won't get to open all of their gifts until January. I guess it will make for some nice surprises once we get moved into our new house.

This lovely little storm has also delayed the closing of our house here in Burns. The buyers loan approval is being held up because no one can get to the US Bank loan offices to get any work done. It will still close, just not as soon as we had hoped.

Kristi and I enjoyed a nice evening of dinner at the Outpost at Big Bear and shopping at Kings Discount (Burns version of a shopping mall we have been told). Thanks Diana for watching our kids one last time. I don't care what they say I think you are their favorite babysitter.

"Those who plant seeds of injustice will harvest disaster, and their regin of terror will end." - Proverbs 22:8

More snow on the ground today. We now have about 10-12 inches of snow on the ground. It was good to see some more of our college age students back in church today.

Kristi wants to put away all of the Christmas decorations today and get all of the stuff out of our crawl space storage. Fun times:)

The kids are officially on Christmas break now since we don't have school on Fridays. Unlike those of you on the west side of the mountains our kids had school all week. Burns almost never cancels or delays school because of snow. Our first winter here they issued a two hour delay because of 8-10 inches of snow the day before, and people wrote letters to the editor to complain about having a delay. So we have had to become quite skilled on driving on packed snow and ice. Of course four-wheel drive and snow tires help a lot.

Looking forward to more time with the kids and a weekend full of packing. Fortunately Kristi was able to get some boxes from Rite-Aid so we can continue packing. We had used almost all the boxes from Home Depot and what we already had on hand.

Thanks Jeremy for the cheesecake, it was fantastic. Now I have to spend a whole day at the gym to burn the calories, but it was still worth it. I have really enjoyed working alongside you in the youth ministry at FBC. You will never know how much your faithful service has meant to me over the past couple of years.

Today is the last day of school for both Payton and Sydney. They have their Christmas parties today and Sydney also has a Christmas program that we get to attend. She has been working very hard on her singing for this program.

Last night Kristi and Sydney made Christmas ornaments with her good friend Josie whom she will miss very much. They had a really good girl fun night. Earlier in the day Kristi finished packing up the kids room. Only the essentials (clothes, legos, barbies) are left. We officially have less than two weeks til we move. We are now at the point where we are going to start begging for boxes. I think I will have to visit some of the local stores to request some boxes.

Good times!

"Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions." - Proverbs 18:2

I am now also on twitter. You can follow me on www.twitter.com/dcurtis35

So this morning the weather station at the airport in Burns registered a low of minus 22 degreew farenheit. -22 !!! That is the coldest we have every been since moving here.

Last night was our only night this week that both Kristi and I were home. The kids put on a puppet show of Wall-e for us. Actually I think it is a sequel that they are writing. It was very cute. Payton played Wall-e and Sydney was Eve (Eva as Wall-e would say). They do have a lot to learn about puppeteering. They made their puppets out of megablocks and they didn't hide themselves entirely behind the couch which made it all the more adorable.

Kristi packed five more boxes last night. We are starting to feel nostalgic about leaving the first home that we ever bought. It has been a good home for us.

Last night was our last AWANA program. We will definitely miss the AWANA program at Faith Baptist. Our kids really enjoy coming to it and learning verses every week. In fact I am very proud of Payton, our oldest, who completed his book last night. This was his third book that he completed which means he earned a Sparky Plaque. I think he really enjoyed his last night at AWANA. A lot of the leaders we very gracious in making it an extra special night for him since the church in Ocean Park doesn't currently have an AWANA program.

While the kids and I were at AWANA Kristi packed up another seven boxes at the house. We now have a stack of boxes in our bedroom. Fortunately the stack in our bedroom matches the stack in Micah's room and in the living room so at least our boxes are color coordinated:)

We had our last youth group at Faith Baptist last night, our annual Christmas party. Kristi and I are going to miss these students and their families a lot. I was very blessed when they presented me a going away card with all of their signatures on it. It really has been a great group of students and we have a lot of memories from here that we will cherish.

Thank you to all of the students from the youth group through the years here at Faith Baptist. It has really been a joy to hang out with you and to see you guys (and gals) grow in the Lord. I am quite certain that God has wonderful plans for you.

There is a hilarious post over on Ben Witherington's blog. Click here to check it out.

Greetings Curtis Cafe readers,

I wanted to let you know about some changes coming to Curtis Cafe. First of all as some of you know my day job is the Associate Pastor of Youth & Discipleship at Faith Baptist Church in Burns, OR. A couple of weeks ago I accepted a new position of Associate Pastor at Peninsula Baptist Church in Ocean Park, Washington. So now my family and I are in transition and life is a little chaotic.

The devotionals that you have been reading on this website are part of a greater devotional series that my senior pastor and I wrote for the church here in Burns. You can download all of these devotionals from the church's website: www.faithbchc.com. I won't be posting anymore of these devotionals on this particular website. I will most likely continue with some random thoughts on christianity, life and our move until I get settled into my new position in Ocean Park. Thanks for reading.

God Bless,

Pastor David

In January 2007, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that there are now 39,000 Christian denominations today and they project that number to increase to 55,000 by the year 2025. 39,000 denominations! This staggering report makes it hard to believe that the early Christians “were of one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32).

I wonder how it is that the church went from this close-knit group of believers to the highly fractured and often dysfunctional group that we are today. Jesus even prayed for our unity (John 17:21), and yet here we are 2,000 years later, Jesus’ prayer going unanswered.

I think the cause of all of this disunity is that we don’t always keep the main thing, the main thing. Hebrews 12:2 says that we are to keep our eyes on Jesus. This has to do with our focus as individual believers, but also as the church. When we take our focus off Jesus and the unity we have in Him, then disunity develops and the community of faith is fractured.

May you keep your focus on Jesus.

While it is indeed true that it only takes one commonality to generate community, it is also true that community without relationship will die.

Like many couples who get married young, my wife and I lived in a number of apartment complexes during our first couple of years of marriage. Because of our proximity to the other residents, we were a community, but one that lacked relationship. Because of the lack of relationship, the community was of no benefit to us. We now own a home in a quiet neighborhood where we know all of our neighbors by first names. This neighborhood is a far more fulfilling community because of the relationships we enjoy.

In the early days of the church, the believers met together often (Acts 1:14; 2:44). This practice developed the relationships that led to mutual sharing and more satisfying and fulfilling relationships with the Lord. Developing community requires relationship and relationship requires communication.

May you experience genuine Christian community that flows out of authentic relationships.

The last two years I’ve had the privilege of leading students from our church on a mission trip to Mexico. Both times I have been able to participate in a baptismal service with our sister church. What a blessing it has been to baptize some of our Spanish- speaking brothers and sisters. This experience has impressed upon me the common unity we have with Christians who speak a different language. Last year, after a couple of times of hearing our translator, Paul, translate my declaration of their baptism, I began to, with some difficulty, baptize them in Spanish.

I realized that it did not matter what language I was speaking in performing the baptism. I was baptizing a child of God and recognizing their membership into the universal Church. For no matter where or when Christian baptism takes place, “we are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

The theme for this week is community. As we transition from reading about the life of Jesus and his ministry to the formation of the early church, we will explore some elements of the community that was so crucial to the spreading of the gospel. I hope that each of you is connected right now to a nurturing Christian community that encourages your faith and strengthens your relationship with Jesus. God designed us to work and function as a part of community and not as lone rangers.

Today's Devotional:

What do two rich politicians, two uneducated fishermen, and a woman who had been demon-possessed have in common? They were all followers of Jesus. The community of faith brings together a wide variety of people. The very word community can be thought of in two different concepts: common and unity. What creates community is having something in common in spite of differences. Community can be based on zip code, workplace, political affiliation or, in this case, religious affiliation.

The beautiful thing about community is that there is so much variety within community. Two people can be opposites in every aspect except for one thing, and that can be enough to create community. The community of believers in the first century came from different geographical, political and religious backgrounds. The Church today is really no different in this respect; from the Chinese pastor sitting in jail, to the African believer struggling in poverty, to the American Christian who takes God’s blessings for granted, we all have a faith in Christ that unites us.

“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In illustrating the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told a story about three servants. This story teaches us about the appropriate response to God’s grace. To receive God’s grace and never change your life, actions, or behaviors is to be like the third servant, to not receive God’s grace at all. This is what the great German theologian Bonhoeffer called cheap grace.

The Apostle Paul was accused of promoting cheap grace by the Jewish believers who wanted the Gentile believers to follow the law. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul sets the story straight, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? The invitation to receive God’s grace includes an expectation to take up your cross and follow Jesus (Matt. 10:38)

“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” – Amazing Grace by John Newton

In Jesus’ description of the time of tribulation, He mentions that there will be attempts “to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22). This statement by Jesus gets me thinking about the role that God’s grace plays in bringing about our salvation. As the words to Amazing Grace declare, “grace will lead me home.” How true.

God’s grace is efficacious in our lives, meaning that it will produce its desired effect in our lives once it has been given by God himself. Simply put, when someone is saved by God’s grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9), that grace will absolutely guarantee their salvation. “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day” (John 6:39).

May you stand confident in God’s grace, knowing that it will indeed lead you home.

“He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice.”
– Sir Henry Taylor

As Jesus and His disciples sat and observed the giving practices of those who came to the temple to worship, Jesus seized a teachable moment when the widow dropped in two small coins (Mark 12:42). In that moment, we see the principle of proportionate giving at work.

As Jesus noted, even though the rich individuals gave more money, the gift of the widow was considered far greater in the eyes of God because of her sacrifice.
Aren’t you glad that, in God’s greatest gift to us, He did not limit Himself to a small portion of His grace, but rather made the ultimate sacrifice in sending Jesus to die on the cross. God is truly generous with His grace, giving it to all who might come to Him. There are no restrictions, no qualifications, no prerequisites. There is only free grace that is offered generously.

Matthew 22:1-14 is the parable of the Great Feast. The parable illustrates how, because of the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews, God’s grace is then made available to the Gentiles. As I read this story, I find it remarkable that one of the guests would show up for the feast without the customary apparel. I would think that the gratitude of even being invited to take part in the festivities would result in the appropriate response by this particular guest.

The parallels in this story to the human predicament we face are clearly seen. All around us are people who are rejecting God’s invitation to enter into relationship with him. Hearing the call of grace, they reject the notion of their need for salvation assuming that their own righteousness is sufficient. Like the out-of-place wedding guest, they refuse to clothe themselves with the righteousness of Christ that comes by faith. Instead, they reject God’s grace, trusting in their own righteousness which, in the eyes of God, is like filthy rags.

The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge had fallen behind schedule because of a number of workers who had fallen to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Eventually, in spite of the enormous cost, a giant net was installed to catch those who might accidentally fall. After it was installed, progress on the project was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net, but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.

Knowing that we need not be perfect in order to avoid judgment removes a great fear for the one who understands grace. Grace is what allowed the tax collectors and prostitutes (Matthew 21:31) of Jesus’ day to be saved. The Pharisees, on the other hand, lived in constant fear of the law.

Like the workers on the bridge who no longer feared death resulting from a misstep, the Christian no longer fears the eternal judgment of God for a misstep.

Jesus never hid the truth of His purpose here on earth. Time and time again He predicted His death to His disciples, and yet they continually struggled to understand. In comparing His death to a kernel of wheat (John 12:24), Jesus makes it clear that His death will bring about new life for many. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “For God made Christ who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was able to serve as the perfect sacrifice making full atonement once and for all for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 10:12).

This sacrifice is what allows God the Father to extend saving grace to all who come to Him in faith for the forgiveness of their sins. As John said in 1 John 2:2, “He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins, but the sins of all the world.”

It is an irony that should cause us all to be humbled, that the horrific death that Jesus endured on the cross was the very event that allows for the beauty of saving grace in our lives.

The theme this week is grace. And as you may be able to tell, I had the lyrics to the wonderful hymn, Amazing Grace, running through my head as I wrote these devotional thoughts for you this week. Grace is a multi-faceted concept in Scripture and I hope that you thoroughly enjoy considering how God’s grace impacts our lives, both as human beings in children and redeemed members of God’s family.

Today's Devotional:

“I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see” – Amazing Grace

The beggar Bartimaeus received the gift of sight in today’s reading. While Mark is the only gospel that names the beggar, all three of them consistently show that the original request was for mercy. Why the connection between mercy and the receiving of sight? I think it is because the healing not only involved a physical need, but a spiritual one as well.

Without God’s intervention in our lives, we are spiritually blind and lack an awareness of our sin and we do not see our need for God. Until the Holy Spirit opens ones’ eyes to his or her spiritual need, they will not come to God for forgiveness and grace.

In His ministry, Jesus restored physical sight, but more importantly, He also restored spiritual sight. The Spirit continues on in this ministry, and our role is to direct those in whom the Spirit is working to the light of Christ that they might follow him as did Bartimaeus.

F.B. Meyer has been credited with saying that “when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know. First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the force that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstance.”

Judging someone in haste, and without full knowledge or consideration of the facts, generates tremendous hurt and damage. Jesus knew this full well when He extended grace to the woman caught in adultery in John 8.

Authentic Christian living requires an awareness of sin in our life. I believe that the more aware we are of our sin and our propensity to repeatedly sin that we are less likely to judge others who are caught in sin. It is those among us who assume that their struggle with sin is done that are often the ones who are so quick to judge. We all must remember that we are all sinners who are equally in need of grace and mercy from a holy and just God.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” – James 4:10

In 1973, Senator John C. Stennis was mugged and shot outside his home. When Senator Mark Hatfield received word of the incident he drove straight to the hospital. Upon arriving, he observed that the hospital staff was overwhelmed with the high volume of incoming calls. Spying an empty switchboard, Hatfield sat down and helped field calls through the night and into the next morning.

It was genuine humility that led Senator Hatfield to assist the hospital staff that night. He was unwilling to view himself as too important to do the mundane task of answering the phone.

Authenticity leads to humility, because when we are willing to see ourselves as we truly are, we learn that we have no greater intrinsic value than the next person. Understanding this lesson allows us to fulfill the command to consider others as more important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3).

Jesus modeled transparency to us in how He lived His life. Jesus opened himself up to His disciples and allowed them to know certain things about Him and His purpose. I do think that it is important to note that He was more transparent with some of his disciples (Peter, James, and John) than He was with the rest.

Part of living an authentic Christian life is the practice of transparency with a trusted brother or sister in Christ. Like Jesus, we need not be as transparent with all as we are with some. Transparency involves giving someone else a window into our soul where our deepest thoughts and emotions lie. Transparency leads to authenticity because, when we allow others to know us fully, we can no longer fool them with our external behavior. They know when we’re faking it because they know the real us.

Like an overhead transparency that is revealed when the light is switched on, may your life become transparent when you encounter the light of Christ.

I have long struggled with the overabundance of denominations that we have within Christianity. Certainly there have been valid reasons involved that led to some of these divisions. Taking a stand on issues such as the deity of Christ or salvation by grace alone through faith alone is never wrong.

That being said, I am often bothered by the attitudes that I sometimes encounter as a result of denominationalism. Accusing someone of not being truly saved because of a disagreement on a secondary or tertiary theological issue is not our place and yet it happens. I hear some accuse people of other denominations of having an insufficient view of God because they are not five-point Calvinists.

Jesus didn’t give the Gentile woman a theological pop quiz to see if she had all the right answers. He recognized her faith, as simple as it may have been, and accepted her for it. Like the thief on the cross, this woman’s salvation was not dependent upon right theology, but an authentic faith in the right One.

“The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.” – 1 Timothy 1:5

Jesus turned the religious system of first century Judaism on its ear. He was able to look through their traditions and recognize that they were attempting to gain acceptance before God by following extensive lists of rules and regulations governing their external behavior.

Living an authentic life for the Christian means that our heart and our actions must match. To practice the externals of religion without a heart that has been changed by God does not make us acceptable before God.

Our acceptance before God is dependent entirely upon the change of heart that occurs when we trust in Christ for forgiveness and salvation. It is this step of faith that allows the Holy Spirit to change us so that our actions will be born out of a heart that beats for God.

The court of public opinion is a powerful force, especially for those who live and work in the political arena. When you read about Herod’s dealings with John the Baptist, you quickly realize that this court of public opinion, or more commonly known as peer pressure, has been influential for 2,000 years.

Peer pressure can make authentic living very challenging. Authentic living can be understood as remaining true to one’s own character when faced with external pressures. When faced with the external pressures, Herod gave up John’s life in spite of his genuine respect for him. Jesus too was confronted with a variety of pressures from both his followers and adversaries. However, unlike Herod, Jesus’ actions were always consistent with His character. In John 6:15 we read that He turned down the opportunity to lead a political coup, choosing instead to remain true to His commitment to do the will of His Father who sent Him (John 8:28-29).

May you, like Jesus, be able to live authentically in the face of peer pressure.

The theme for this week is authenticity. As you read about the life that Jesus lived, I hope you are able to see how authentic He was in His dealings with the people around Him. Whether they were friend or foe, He did not deceive or mislead anyone and always acted authentic.

Today's Devotional:

If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. – Matthew 5:46

In the gospel of Matthew, right before Jesus sends out the 12 disciples, He told His disciples to ask the Lord to send more workers to gather the harvest. In that passage (Matthew 9:35-38), Jesus reveals to the disciples His heart for the lost. As He taught and healed among the people, His heart was genuinely burdened for those people whom He described as a sheep without a shepherd.

A heart for the lost is not easily feigned. This is because the lost are not going to be receptive to the message of Jesus, or the messenger for that matter, most of the time. It is so easy to love those with whom we are comfortable. What about those who have hurt you or persecute you? A heart for the lost means that we must respond with grace and mercy to those who don’t deserve it, but desperately need it.

May you, like Jesus, have an authentic heart for the lost.

“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” – Romans 8:31b

Three times in the seventh chapter of Ezra, the text says “the gracious hand” of the Lord was upon Ezra. Also in 7:28, Ezra states that this was a great source of encouragement for him in knowing that the hand of the Lord was on him.

There is a similar source of encouragement for us today as New Testament believers and partakers of a new and better covenant. Paul picks up on this theme in Romans 8:31. As believers who have been adopted into God’s family (Rom. 8:15), we share in his treasures (Rom. 8:17) for we are co-heirs with Christ.

So take courage believer! As one who is now adopted by God, know that there is nothing that can separate you from his love (Rom. 8:35). There is no greater source of joy or encouragement for us than to know that the One who created us has also redeemed us and has secured our salvation.

A few years ago there was a movie titled Independence Day. Having an affection for action-adventure movies I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. On of my favorite scenes is when the President, played by Bill Pullman, encourages a rag-tag band of fighter pilots who were about to face an invading alien force. Speaking to a group who faced certain death and the potential destruction of the human race, he inspired them to victory.

Facing a similar fate of total destruction and annihilation because one man didn’t like the Jews, God’s people had lost hope. That is until they received the king’s edict from the hand of Mordecai giving them permission and encouraging them to band together and defend themselves.

Mordecai was an encourager. He encouraged Esther to take full advantage of her station as Queen of Persia to help her people. Then he encouraged his people to defend themselves in the face of certain destruction

May you like Mordecai encourage the people around you.

On March 11, 2007 Morgan Tsvangirai, founder of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change, was forced to cancel a prayer meeting because the attendees were in grave danger from riot police. Tsvangirai himself was beaten and jailed later when he attempted to visit the 40 some supporters who were arrested at the prayer gathering. Reflecting on that experience, Tsvangirai said, “Far from killing my spirit, the scars they brutally inflicted on me have re-energized me…”

For men like Tsvangirai and Mordecai, whom we read about today, the courage to stand against oppression and persecution, does not merely come from ones own internal fortitude. Rather it is in God that they find the courage to take a stand when governing authorities are in conflict with God’s will.

When you face potential persecution or humiliation for your Christian faith, may you have the courage of a Mordecai who stood up to Haaman, or of Peter and John who stood up to the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:29).

We are all familiar with the concept of a doomsday prophet, who attempts to strike fear in the hearts of people to bring about repentance today. I remember first seeing them as a child in such movies as Ghostbusters and Superman.

Well today I want you to consider the possibility that courage is also an appropriate response to the coming events in the Day of the Lord. How is it that a description of those events can be an encouragement to us? It is only because of the victory that we have in Jesus.

Zechariah 14:9 says, “And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.” Wow! Now that is something to get excited about. What an encouraging picture. The Lord reigning on earth and He will be the only one receiving praise and worship from His creation. I don’t know about you but that seems far more encouraging to me than the political corruption and idolatry that I see in the world today.

Support and encouragement can come from many different sources and sometimes it can be a little surprising to us. I would imagine that God’s people experienced some anxiety and discouragement when the governors of neighboring provinces began to investigate the work they were doing on the temple. There was no guarantee that Darius would honor the edict of the Babylonian King Cyrus who had gone before him.
However God saw it fit to encourage his people by showing that King Darius fully supported them and included instruction for the governors in the area to support the effort.

It can be very encouraging when our efforts are validated by those who are in authority over us. I am sure that you have experienced this kind of encouragement from parents, teachers, or bosses in your life. So the question is, when was the last time you encouraged someone who has to answer to you?

May you be a surprising source of encouragement for someone today.

I don’t know what it is about human nature that makes us nostalgic. I have observed that in just about every area of life there is something about ‘how it used to be’ that we view as better. And as we read in Haggai this can be a discouragement to us in the present.

As the people began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, they soon realized that it would not be nearly as impressive as the temple Solomon built. Instead of disregarding that fact, the Lord acknowledged it (Hag. 2:2-3) and then encouraged the people to press on in spite of that fact (2:4-5). His message was, that regardless of how less impressive of a building it was, the people were to continue on in the building of it.

No matter what task God has given you to do, whether it is business, ministry, family, whatever it is, you are to take courage and do it regardless of how much better or more successful the past may have been.

May you take courage and fulfill your tasks, know that God is with you.

This week’s theme is on courage. In the readings this week we will read about the courage of people like Esther and Mordecai whose actions saved the Jewish people. We will also examine the courage of the Jews who began to return to Jerusalem after the time of captivity to rebuild the temple of the Lord

Today's Devotional:

In the past few years I have watched Dr. Phil on a number of occasions. I appreciate his bluntness and what I call ‘drphilisms’. One of my favorite ‘isms’ is when he asks his guest ‘how’s that working for ya?’. Having read Haggai again I realize that he didn’t come up with the question. Apparently God used that question as an effective tool to show his people that they were not meeting his standard (Hag. 1:5, 7).

This question is a tool to help someone see the deficiency in tier own actions. Once that objective has been accomplished the real work of change begins. Zerubbabel and the remnant of God’s people responded in obedience and had the courage to change.

We all will realize at some point that either our actions, beliefs, or thoughts will need to be changed because they are in conflict with God’s will. The question you are faced with is do you have the courage to change. To make a change requires admitting mistakes and humbling ourselves to see that God’s way is best.

May you have the courage to do just that.

In our town, the paper has a section called News of Record, which reports every 911 incident and arrests or violations of the law. And when appropriate the names of those involved are listed in the paper. You would think that because people in this town know that they face public humiliation for breaking the law, even traffic laws, that they wouldn’t have much to print, however the section never seems to shrink.
So the thought occurred to me that merely knowing about the consequences of our actions is not sufficient to prevent us from engaging in destructive or sinful behavior. While it is true that knowledge of the consequences can be a strong deterrent, many of us will choose to sin in spite of those consequences.

God’s people diligently studied the Scriptures and knew about the warnings in Deuteronomy about the consequences they would face for covenant unfaithfulness, but that didn’t stop them from abandoning the Lord.

May you recognize the consequences of you actions before you are forced to endure them.

Before the invention of modern fire suppression systems it was required for a hotel of significant size to employ a watchman during the night hours to alert guests in the case of fire. One such hotel in Omaha, Nebraska had a fire on January 23, 1911 and the watchmen failed to notify the guests of the fire. Therefore, a guest who was forced to use a rope fire escape sued the hotel because of injuries resulting from his escape. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the court upheld the decision to hold the hotel responsible for its negligence in alerting the guests to the fire.

Ezekiel was given a similar charge by God, a responsibility to warn people of God’s judgment. It is important to note that Ezekiel wasn’t responsible for the peoples response to his warning, he was merely responsible, as the watchmen, for sounding the warning itself.

The same is true for our sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are not responsible for the consequences one faces for rejecting the gospel, but we are responsible for delivering the message.

In the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, the lead character George Bailey, played by James Stewart, makes the statement that he wished he had never been born. Those of you who know the movie know that George was given a glimpse of what his family, friends and whole town would have been like if he had not been born. Even though George Bailey hadn’t led a charmed life or accomplished all he had hoped for, he had made a difference in many lives. He realized that life was in fact worth living and was given the opportunity to make things right.

That movie strikes a chord with all of us because we all wonder at times if our life has amounted to anything, if it would change the world if we weren’t there.

As we think about consequences, we must recognize that they come in both good and bad varieties, that even the smallest action can be used by God to bring about a positive consequence in someone else’s life. If you ever doubt the significance of your life, just think of George Bailey and the lesson he learned.

Forgiveness is a really curious thing. All this week we have been thinking about consequences in life. Now, forgiveness is like the exact opposite of consequences. When we are forgiven, the one who forgives decides not to bring about potential consequences against us. For example, some insurance companies offer what is called accident forgiveness. It used to be a guarantee that your rates would go up if you were in an accident, but if you have accident forgiveness, you don’t have to face that consequence.

While Israel did endure consequences and discipline from the Lord for their actions, they did eventually experience restoration. The restoration was based on God’s sovereign decision to forgive and to bless His people on account of His covenant faithfulness. It wasn’t as if their consequences had changed because they had changed.

In the same way, we can experience forgiveness for our sins because of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. Because of God’s sovereign decision to forgive and extend grace, we are freed from the guilt and consequences associated with our sin.

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” – Proverbs 12:15 (NIV)

Have you ever found yourself asking for advice and yet you have already concluded in your mind what you think should be done? This is precisely the situation that the leaders of Israel were in. When Jeremiah gave the answer from the Lord, they concluded that Jeremiah must be lying since it didn’t match what they thought the Lord would say.

Seeking wisdom and counsel does absolutely no good if you don’t listen to it. Routinely we are instructed in Proverbs to seek and listen to counsel.

While none of us can know exactly what the future will hold, it seems that a principle in life is that you will suffer consequences if you ignore wise counsel. It was true for Solomon’s son Rehoboam who lost control of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because he ignored wise counsel. It was true for the remnant of Israel who ignored Jeremiah and suffered their fate in Egypt.

When hurricane Katrina leveled the gulf coast and nearly destroyed the entire city of New Orleans, I heard someone comment on how they felt the city was being judged because of the excessive sin it promotes. Now I do not pretend to know why God allowed that hurricane and the massive damage that resulted, but I do know that it is not our position to sit back and gloat or to pass judgment even if God is using the disaster to judge or discipline.

This was precisely what Edom did to Israel when God’s judgment was carried out by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Because Edom refused to act with compassion towards Israel, God communicated His judgment on them through Obadiah.

So, even if someone is enduring consequences brought on by their own actions, our response is still to extend compassion and mercy.

The reality of the exile has set in and life as the Israelites knew it is gone. They are now living with the consequences of their idolatry and disobedience to the Lord’s covenant. Thus, our theme for this week is consequences. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all live with consequences. As we will discover, some consequences are good and some are bad, and all of them are real.

Today's Devotional:

“Why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?” – Lamentations 3:39

A sign of maturity in the process of human cognitive and emotional development is the ability to accept consequences for our actions. As a parent of young children, I am fully aware that this is an ability that children must learn as opposed to being born with it.

In the reading today it seems as though the nation of Israel is still learning this lesson. Like a spoiled child who has never been disciplined, Israel responded to the Lord with shock and dismay that He would pour out His anger on them.

In the New Testament, Peter picks up on this theme in 1 Peter 2:20-21. Peter says that you will be rewarded for suffering if you suffer for doing good. However, if we suffer for doing wrong there is no reward.

We all must deal with the consequences for our actions. It doesn’t matter if we were right or wrong, every action will bring about some consequence.

“All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6

In Ezekiel 14, the Lord patiently reveals to His people that they have no hope of avoiding His judgments. The point that He is repeatedly making is that your righteousness cannot save you from God’s judgment. He further strengthens the point by declaring that even the righteousness of Noah, Daniel and Job would not spare the people of judgment. This statement rings true for us as well because our righteousness is not sufficient to save us in the face of God’s judgment.

Praise be to God that the story does not end there, for we have a glorious hope in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus we can, through faith, have His righteousness credited to our account. This is the only way we can know and experience the hope of salvation. Attempting to avoid God’s wrath by our own righteousness is as futile for us today as it was in Ezekiel’s day.

At the start of this week, we read about the coming of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34. In God’s expression of hope to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel, we read more details of the coming covenant (Ezekiel 11:14-21). As part of the new covenant, God will do a heart transplant in His people, removing the old heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh that obeys God. This is a picture of what happens in the lives of Christians today. When we come to faith in Christ, God regenerates that life and puts in them a new heart and his Holy Spirit, who now enables them to follow God.

Another element of the new covenant mentioned in this passage is the emphasis on personal relationship with God. “Then they will truly be My people, and I will be their God” (11:20b). While Israel belonged to God as His covenant people, whom He had redeemed, under the new covenant the personal connection we have with the Lord is stronger because of the Holy Spirit, who indwells each believer.

“For I am the LORD! What I threaten always happens.” – Ezekiel 12:25

Ezekiel paints a very bleak picture for the fate of God’s people. But for those who have been reading the Scriptures closely, it should come as no surprise, because Moses informed Israel as to what would happen if they refused to listen to the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Even though God is pouring out His judgment on Israel, there is hope in knowing that He is fulfilling His promises by doing so. This is because there is more to God’s promises in Deuteronomy than just words of destruction. Two chapters later in Deuteronomy 30:1-10, Moses prophesies concerning God’s promise of restoration when those who remain repent and return to the Lord.

While many of us make idle threats, the Lord doesn’t. His promises are real and trustworthy. Reading about God fulfilling His promise of judgment reinforces our hope of salvation and the promises that we have in Christ.

Those of you who know me, know that I love baseball. The game is a wonderful gift from God, in my opinion. Someone once said that the great thing about baseball (professional baseball that is) is that every team goes into the season knowing they will win sixty games and lose sixty games and the rest of them are up for grabs. This gives each team hope in Spring Training.

Ezekiel received a similar statement of hope in 3:27. The Lord told Ezekiel that, when he delivers a message from the Lord, “some will listen, but some will ignore you.” What a comfort and hope to know that some will listen.

We too can share in that hope and comfort Ezekiel had when we share the gospel message. Scripture teaches us that God indeed has elected some to believe in Him. So, while everyone with whom we share the gospel may not repent and believe, we can have the confidence that some will. And since we do not know who God has elected we are to obediently move forward with the command to preach the word, knowing that some will believe.

Leaving home for an unfamiliar world can indeed be a frightening experience. It will be an experience that will be repeated thousands of times in the coming weeks by young men and women heading off to college. For the Christian, it is helpful and comforting to know that God is there with you in that new and different place.
This is also a truth that God’s people who were living in exile in Babylon needed to know. Because the Jewish system of worship was centered around the temple in Jerusalem as the dwelling place of the Lord, it was especially difficult for these exiles to understand that God is omnipresent and is not limited to a single physical location. The vision Ezekiel received served to accomplish just that. The wheels moving in every direction speaks to God’s ability to be present in every situation everywhere.

All of us have that place where God feels especially present and that place where we always feel like we are home. However, we can know and have confidence that, no matter where we are, God will be present with us and our relationship with Him is not dependent upon a location or building.

Ever since the kingdom of Israel became divided under Rehoboam (1 Kings 12), the kings of both Israel and Judah led God’s people through a downward spiral of idolatry and disobedience. This had resulted in Israel no longer being a major player on the world political scene as it had been under David and Solomon. We see in Jeremiah 37 that the only relief Israel had from the Babylonians was when Egypt threatened to attack. While this gave Judah some hope, Jeremiah was quick to point out that trusting in Egypt was a false hope.

False hope can be quite devastating. As we see in the Old Testament, anytime God’s people trusted anyone or anything other than the Lord, it resulted in a false hope. I think this is a key lesson for us to glean from the Old Testament. Anytime we trust someone other than the Lord, including ourselves, for our salvation or for the strength to battle temptation, it will result in tragedy.

The readings for this week will deal with Israel in exile. While there are still some who remain in Jerusalem, the main shift of the Scriptures has been on those who are living in exile in Babylon. Particularly we see this in Ezekiel, whose ministry was directly to God’s people living in exile. Because they were dark days for God’s people, both those left in Jerusalem and those in exile, there is a recurring theme of hope that we will be looking at this week.

Today's Devotional:

The days in which Jeremiah ministered were certainly dark days. Judah as a nation was falling apart and God’s covenant people, the Israelites, had essentially abandoned God at this point. However, as you read today, because of God’s faithfulness there is still hope.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 delivers the promise of a new covenant. It is the covenant that Jesus spoke of during the last supper (Matt. 26:28). It is the covenant that was sealed with the shed blood of Christ. And it is this passage from Jeremiah that was quoted by the author of Hebrews as he contrasted the new and the old covenants (Heb. 8:8-12)

It is a better covenant (Heb. 8:6) because it involves an internal change. Instead of being focused on external obedience and works, Jeremiah says that God will write His word on their hearts. We, as members of this new and better covenant, have the word of God emblazoned on our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

It was this promise of a future covenant that gave hope to the faithful few in Jeremiah’s day and it continues to give us hope as well.

“He will remove all their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:4

Hezekiah’s poem (Isaiah 38:10-20) is a beautiful response of praise to the healing that he experienced from the Lord. In verse 17, I think we see a foreshadowing of the experience we will have when God totally does away with sin and death.

This is the third level of our salvation experience. Not only are we saved from the penalty and the power of sin, but we will also be saved from the presence of sin. And it is at that point that we will no longer have to deal with the curse of sin, for that will have been done away with and all things will be made new.

What it will be like when that curse is lifted is impossible to fully know. But what we can know is the hope of salvation that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.

May you with great anticipation long for that day when we will finally experience the fullness of our salvation.

“You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the evil powers of this world.” – Colossians 2:20

Today we have read the magnificent account of how God responded to the faith of Hezekiah and Isaiah and delivered Jerusalem from the armies of the Assyrians. While nothing is too difficult for God (Jer. 32:17), the defeat of the Assyrian army was no small thing. The Assyrians were the dominant nation in the region at that time. The army they had amassed was over 185,000 troops, and they had already taken the northern territory of Israel into captivity. To say the least, the Assyrians were powerful and had every reason to be in control of Jerusalem except for the intervention of the Lord.

In a similar way, sin has power and control in the lives of people. It is only when someone experiences salvation from the Lord through faith in Christ Jesus that they are set free from this power. And not only that, but every time we choose obedience instead of sin we are saved from the power of sin.

Recently I watched an episode of Nightline, in which they moderated a debate between Christians and atheists. The atheists in the debate worked hard at making the Christian gospel sound foolish. Of course, this would come as no surprise to the Apostle Paul who declared in his own day that the message of the cross, the gospel, was foolishness to those who don’t believe (1 Cor. 1:18).

This dynamic seems to parallel the scene that is taking place in 2 Kings 18 & Isaiah 36. King Sennacherib’s representative mocks the idea of trusting in the Lord for Jerusalem’s deliverance. Even in the Old Testament, those who did not know the Lord were unable to comprehend His power to save and deliver His people.

Do not be surprised when you are mocked or scorned for trusting in Jesus for your salvation. Do not respond harshly, but rather may you “live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity (Col. 4:5).

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” – Romans 6:1-2

In the days that Micah prophesied, Israel was proud and arrogant of their standing before the Lord. They had ignored the need for obedience and holiness and had relied on their position as God’s covenant people. They believed they could act however they wanted without any consequences because the Lord had chosen Jerusalem as His dwelling place (3:11).

A false understanding of grace and our assurance of salvation can lead us into a similar way of living. However, Paul makes it clear in the above verse that grace is not a license to sin but, on the contrary, the new man in Christ is to have nothing to do with sin and is to live by righteousness.

This is not to say that we must be perfect or that our salvation or sanctification is totally based on our obedience and holiness. Rather, the way in which we live is not a means to righteousness, but rather is in response to the great salvation we have in Christ.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” – John 14:6

In today’s reading, Isaiah warns God’s people about relying on outside help for their salvation. Israel as a small nation was weak at this point in history because of civil war and rebelliousness toward God. It was tempting to rely on Egypt’s help in battling the Assyrians instead of relying solely on the Lord.

These international relationships and the need for Israel as a nation to rely on the Lord (Isa. 31:1) is representative of our need to rely on the Lord for our own salvation.

Our salvation is based in the Lord and our standing as righteous before Him is because of the work of Christ and His imputed righteousness in our life. However, many times we attempt to attain righteousness through our own efforts. Any time we add lists of dos and don’ts to our relationship with God, it makes our faith about earning righteousness.

May you begin to see your salvation as complete in the work of Christ, and that you cannot do more than He has already done.

“God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” – Ephesians 2:8-9

I was once asked how I respond to God for His gift of salvation, considering that not everyone will receive that gift. I think that the gratitude and joy expressed in Isaiah 25:9 sums it up well. There is nothing more and nothing less that can be done in response to God’s salvation than to just praise Him. You cannot claim credit for your salvation, for you did not earn it. And it is not that your faith is greater than the next person, for the faith to believe is from God Himself (John 6:44, 65).

Any time you find yourself feeling proud and satisfied about your faith when standing before God, instead of feeling humble and gracious, that is an attitude that should be repented of. The only right response toward our salvation is one of worship and gratitude for the free gift that God has given us.

Our theme for the week is salvation. There are a number of different topics related to salvation that we are going to look at. My prayer is that, by the end of the week, you will be rejoicing even more in the salvation that we have in Christ.

Today's Devotional:

Judgment, Judgment, Judgment. Five chapters of judgment. Judgment is not a pretty thing to look at or encounter or even to think about. However, it is an important part of who God is. Judgment is God’s reaction or response to man’s sin and rebelliousness and, as the verse above indicates, the judgment or penalty for that sin is death.

This is where the need for salvation comes in. It is because, on our own, we stand before God condemned or judged in our sin. This salvation I speak of today is the first level or primary experience of salvation in that we are saved from the penalty of sin. We experience or will experience salvation on two other levels, which we will discuss later in the week.

This experience of being saved from the penalty of sin is often what we think of when we talk about being saved. It is in this salvation that comes by faith in Christ that we experience a regeneration of life and an adoption into the family of God, becoming co-heirs with Jesus.

“The tongue is mightier than the blade” – Euripides, Greek poet ca. 5th century B.C.

The power of the spoken word is often underappreciated. The tongue, or our speech, can do much damage, oftentimes without our planning it or even our awareness of it at the time. James compares the potential for damage by the tongue to a small spark in a forest (James 3:5). We are all familiar with cases where someone’s reputation is damaged or their career is ruined because they said the wrong thing. There is a tremendous power in the spoken word. This is also true of God, who spoke creation into existence (Psalm 104:7). We also see this in Jesus, who was able to speak healing directly into people’s lives (Luke 7:1-10).

So why do we struggle so mightily with taming our tongues? Why do we so often hurt people with our words? It is because speech is permanent and conversation is often spontaneous. Unlike the written word which can be edited, the spoken word is raw and cannot be taken back.

May your speech be filled with grace (Colossians 4:6)

“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” – John Henry Jowett

Yesterday we thought about boasting and pride. One way to approach reducing our tendency towards boasting is to respond with gratitude. As Pastor Jowett so aptly noted, gratitude is good medicine especially towards pride which leads to boastfulness.

We have all seen this difference in the professional athletes of the 21st century. Those who are truly thankful for their opportunity and God-given talent do not boast of their personal exploits.

Thankfulness should be a constant theme of our lives. The Apostle Paul wrote, “no matter what happens, always be thankful” (1 Thess. 5:18). The psalmist in our readings today has declared that it is “good to give thanks to the Lord” (92:1), and that we are to “come before Him with thanksgiving” (95:2). Clearly, thanksgiving should be a significant component of our relationship with the Lord.

How else are we to respond and approach the One who has done so much for us?

“As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead.” – Galatians 6:14

In making the above statement, the Apostle Paul sets the standard regarding boasting quite high. This stands in stark contrast to the words of the psalmist in Psalm 10:3 about how the wicked people brag about their evil desires.

What is it about boasting or bragging that creates a problem in our lives? Could it be that it isn’t so much the boasting itself, but rather that boasting is a symptom of a deeper issue, pride? When you look at the surrounding verses in Psalm 10, you will notice that the psalmist indeed connects boasting and pride. Paul also connects these two traits in two separate lists of vices or sinful tendencies of mankind (Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2).

Are you struggling with boasting? Let me first encourage you to examine your heart for pride. Second, allow me to remind you that every good and perfect thing in your life is from God so, really, your boasting is pointless (James 1:17).

“My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)

A while back, I watched a TV program about how children learn the grammatical structures of language by listening to the people speaking around them. This got me thinking because, before we can ever learn to speak, we can already listen. In fact, we can listen and distinguish voices while still in the womb.

So, if listening is such a natural and easy thing to do, except for the hearing impaired, why is it that once we start speaking we listen so poorly? Why else would James feel led to write the verse above if in actuality we didn’t practice the opposite? So many times I find myself rushing to judgments or giving my input or trying to offer solutions when all I really need to do is just listen.

Is it out of pure laziness that we don’t listen, or is it a deeper spiritual reason that we don’t listen, like pride or rebelliousness? The reasons for not listening may be as many as the times that we fail to do so.

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

Why was Jesus able to be silent in the midst of the mistreatment and accusations He faced? Confidence. Jesus was confident in the fact that His Father was working out His perfect plan of redemption. He did not feel compelled to fight back or argue with His accusers because he knew his Father was in control.

Silence is a sign of assurance and confidence and strength. As it says in Psalm 46:10, “Be silent, and know that I am God.” What does it mean to know that He is God? It means to know who God truly is, the sovereign almighty, all-knowing God whose plans are never frustrated and whose will is always accomplished. Silence demonstrates a genuine trust in God. God does not need a multiplicity of words to defend Himself or to reveal Himself in this world.

May you learn that sometimes the very best response to God is in the form of silence.

Sometimes I wish that we could all be a little more like Pinocchio. Not because of the strings or being made out of wood, but because of his nose. If you recall, Pinocchio’s nose gets him into all sorts of trouble because it grows when he tells a lie. In many ways, it would make life far easier if there was some easy way to tell if someone were lying.

We all know the damage that can come when we choose to lie. It is such a significant issue that Agur, the author of Proverbs 30, asked for help from the Lord to never do it.

As a parent of young children, I have learned that you do not need to teach a child to lie, rather you must teach them the importance of telling the truth. As sinful humans, we naturally lie to protect ourselves or others. We lie because we fear what might happen if we tell the truth and because, ultimately, we do not trust that God is in control.

May you come to trust that God does know the future and is in control and that you can confidently speak the truth regardless of the outcome.

The theme this week is communication. The wisdom literature of the Proverbs and the poetry of the Psalms have much to say about how we communicate. Sometimes this communication happens internally, sometimes it happens with other people, and sometimes it happens between us and God. So much of life involves communication, so I hope that you are able to glean much from the devotionals this week.

Todays Devotional:

I don’t know if you have heard of the TV show American Idol. Basically the show is a singing competition. My favorite part of the show is the audition segment in the first few weeks. It never fails that a few people will audition who are poor singers, but think they are good because all their friends say they are good. Either these friends are terrible judges of musical talent, or they were saying flattering words to boost this person’s self-esteem.

This is the danger of flattery. It is terribly misleading, if not entirely wrong. Proverbs tells us that flattery causes ruin (26:28), that it is a trap for people (29:5), and that it is less appreciated than frankness (28:23).

Flattery can be as subtle as it is destructive. It can be easy to justify the use of flattery as well. How bad can something we say be if it results in someone feeling better about themselves. Even though you love and care for the person that you are speaking with, the Bible tells us to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), not speak a half-truth or choose to omit the truth.

Flattery may sound nice, but in the end someone will get hurt.

There is something about refusing to show fear that is a rite of passage for boys as they seek to become men. I remember wanting to have a persona of having no fear in high school so badly that I wore shirts that even said “No Fear” on them.

Isaiah was told in chapter 8:11-14 that he was to only fear the LORD Almighty. This message holds true for us today as well. If we fear God we don’t need to fear anything else, including death, for Jesus has conquered death.

I often hear Christians speak of what they fear might happen. They tell me of how they fear our country is falling apart; or they fear that the church is selling out; or they fear that their rights are being eroded. Instead of constantly fearing these things, why don’t we try to trust God and His word?

God’s word tells us that in our faith we have victory through Jesus (1 Cor. 15:57; 1 John 5:4). Jesus, the eternal Word, declared that, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” (Matt. 16:18). In addition, Revelation 20:11-15 tells us that God will ultimately triumph and remove sin and death. Fear God and nothing else!

“Do not test the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7).

While in the wilderness, Jesus quoted the above verse from Deuteronomy 6:16. His purpose in quoting it was to fend off the temptation from Satan. Satan wanted Jesus to test God’s promise of protection (Psalm 91:11-12).

In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz is in a similar situation. God has promised him protection from his enemies (Isa. 7:3-9) and then invites Ahaz to ask for the most difficult sign possible (Isa.7:10-11). Now we know from the historical narratives in Kings and Chronicles that Ahaz was not righteous. So I am surprised by his response of refusing to ask for a sign. He actually demonstrates a proper fear of the Lord in this instance.

If you were in Ahaz’ shoes, what would you have done?

Someone who fears the Lord also knows what it means to trust in the Lord. When we ask God for a sign to confirm His word, we reveal a lack of faith and trust in that word.

May you learn to trust God at His word each and every day.

Like many kids, my oldest son had a paralyzing fear of Santa Clause when he was younger. I find this phenomenon very curious since there is nothing about this character, even if he were real, that is to be truly feared. The worst he could do would be to give you coal in your stocking instead of toys.

The fear Isaiah experienced when he encountered the LORD was a more legitimate fear, I think. Certainly Isaiah was familiar with God’s declaration to Moses that no one may see God and live (Ex. 33:20).

Why is it that we observe so few people who exhibit a genuine fear of God? It is directly related to how they view God. Isaiah feared God when he saw him for who He really is. People who view God more like a divine Santa Clause find that there is nothing to fear. They believe that God is merely a kind, loving, benevolent being who can only withhold gifts, not bring judgment.

May you come to a full understanding of who God is and realize that it is right to fear God.

I want you to think of that one person or that particular group of people that you know for certain deserves God’s judgment.

For God’s people that would have been the surrounding nations against whom Amos declared God’s judgment. How popular Amos’ message must have been as he spoke of the very thing God’s people wanted to hear. And then that all changed as God turned His focus toward His own people declaring judgment against their wickedness.

Through Amos, Israel and Judah learned that you cannot pray for God’s judgment on sin and not be included in the process. This is because God does not show favoritism in his judgments (Rom. 2:11).

So why are we to fear God? We do not fear God because He is some kind of vindictive or cruel deity. Rather, we fear him because He is just in His judgments and cannot allow sin to go unpunished.

Faith in Christ does not spare us from God’s judgment, for all men will be judged (Matt. 16:27). But our faith allows us to be declared righteous because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice in spite of our being judged guilty.

We are all very familiar with the story of Jonah; it is after all a whale of a tale. Sorry, I know – bad joke. But seriously, I encourage you to look at the story with a fresh perspective and consider for me, if you will, the use of irony in this historical story.

Jonah, a prophet of God should model a proper fear of God. And yet, as you may have noticed, the sailors and the wicked Ninevites demonstrated more fear of God than Jonah. How can this be? How can people who do not know God as well as Jonah does, demonstrate more fear than Jonah would?

One possible explanation that I would have for this is familiarity. Jonah was far more familiar with the Lord than was anyone else in the story. I think this curse of familiarity can happen to anyone who has known the Lord for a long time. We can grow so accustomed to His grace and forgiveness that we forget about His wrath and justice in dealing with sin.

May you fear God like someone who is encountering Him for the first time.

"Have no fear, have no fear, said the cat in the hat.” I read that line today at lunch in the book I was reading to my daughter. As I was reading it, I thought about our theme this week and the subsequent mess that the cat in the hat made. Fortunately for the children in the story, the cat cleaned up his mess, but life doesn’t always play out like a Dr. Seuss book.

Today we read about more kings over God’s people that made one mess after the other. The idolatry they allowed showed a total lack of fear towards the LORD. What do we see as a result of this lack of fear? We see the consequence of incurring God’s judgment. Both Joash, king of Judah (2 Chr. 24:24), and Jehoahaz, king of Israel (2 Kings 13:2-3), invited God’s judgment on their people because they didn’t fear God and practiced idolatry.

So why should we fear God? We fear God because He is the one who judges our actions (Eccl. 12:13-14). We fear God because of the consequences that result when our actions invite His judgment.

This week’s theme is the fear of the Lord. This is an often puzzling subject and can be difficult to fully comprehend. God loves us and we love Him in return, and yet we are also supposed to fear Him. Sometimes this fear is a sense of awe and respect because of the holiness of God and the fact that He is so vastly different than we are. Sometimes this fear of God is because, as the sovereign Lord, He is the one who judges our actions and thoughts and has the power and authority to save and to condemn at the same time.

Today's Devotional:

At lunch today I had to do a little maintenance on our home computer that my wife uses for work. I suggested to her that she begin to solve these problems without my help. She promptly declared that, as long as I was around, she didn’t need to; she had a ‘learned helplessness’ when it came to our computer.

King Joash took the throne when he was seven years old. I wonder if his early ascension didn’t develop in him a learned helplessness. As a child he surely had been taught, if not just told, what to do by Jehoiada. He never developed an ability to think independently. Joash remained fully dependent upon the input and influence of others around him as is clear from his departure from the Lord following Jehoiada’s death.

Do you suffer from a spiritual learned helplessness? May you fear the Lord and may your faith mature that you will “no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth” (Eph. 4:14).

“If you just ignored your family you would have time to get it all done.”

As I thought about this comment my wife jokingly made to me as we talked about the disheveled state of our van, I realized that she was right. I could accomplish a lot more in life by ignoring all of the people that I cared the most about. And in reality many people achieve success by this method, but at what cost.

Today you read a brief statement about the man who rebuilt Jericho. Certainly it must have been a proud accomplishment for him. The only downside was that it resulted in the death of two sons because of the curses spoken by Joshua son of Nun (Josh. 16:34).

Achieving success in life is a driving force for many people. However, at what point do the costs associated with that success become too great. We may not cause someone to lose their life because of our success, but if we ignore loved ones or neglect relationships, the pain and hurt we can cause is immeasurable.

We have been thinking some this week about the connection between obediently following God and living a simple life. While it is true that our own sin often complicates life, it is not the only reason why life can be difficult and complicated. It is no small thing to live a simple life that results from making wise choices.

Sometimes life is difficult, not because of any fault of our own, but because of the decisions of those around us. In 1 Kings 15 we read of two different kings of Judah, Abijam and Asa. One of them, Abijam, was not right with God; the other, Asa, remained faithful to the LORD throughout his life. In spite of this difference we read that both of these kings dealt with constant wars with Israel during their reigns. So even though he walked with God, Asa experienced the same political difficulties as Abijam. In fact, when you think about it, doing what is right and walking with God can sometimes make life more complicated, not simpler.

May you have the courage to walk with God regardless of how difficult life may become.

I have a problem. You may very well have the same problem. I often find myself thinking that it will be easier to honor God and make Him more of a priority in my life down the road. If I can just survive until some day in the future, life will be better and easier, right? Not necessarily.

The older I get the more I realize that if I don’t make the changes now, I probably won’t do it in the future.

Solomon exhorts his readers to “Honor God in your youth” (Eccl. 12:1). We are not to wait until we are older to take God seriously, but rather we are to do it today.

A while back, my wife and I enjoyed the movie The Last Holiday. In that movie, the lead character made a decision to enjoy life and start working towards her dreams. As you can imagine, her life changed drastically and she finally truly enjoyed her life.

It took a doctor’s report that she was dying in order to change her life. What will it take for you to really start living today? When will you make God and His perfect will for your life a priority?

Have you ever had a chance to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset? Another sight that I really enjoy is to watch the sunrise over the alfalfa fields of the high desert in the fall with the cool air of a frosty morning surrounding me. Of course these sights pale in comparison to that of my three-year-old daughter’s smile.

In writing Ecclesiastes, Solomon makes it clear that enjoying the simple things in life is okay, and I think it even brings pleasure to God. In the second half of this book we read that we can enjoy prosperity (7:14), eating (8:15), drinking (8:15), life (8:15) and marriage (9:9).

Life is something that is meant to be enjoyed. It is a gift from God and it is a desire of God to see His children enjoying His gift. We are still living in God’s creation and He is still that author and sustainer of life even though the world has been tainted by sin. Remember, “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all Heaven’s lights…” (James 1:17).

The book of Ecclesiastes is filled with numerous observations about how life tends to work in general. Written by Solomon towards the end of his life, it is a reflection on much of what he has learned. Solomon lived a far from simple life and, in this book, he recounts some of his attempts to enjoy life.

Why does life have to be so complicated? The main reason life gets complicated is because of the person staring back at you in the mirror. Like Solomon we strive after money, power, career success, pleasure and knowledge in our efforts to bring meaning to our lives.

Rather than pursuing these avenues, we are to find our meaning and purpose in God. God is the one who establishes our purpose and destiny (Eccl. 6:10). We are to fear God (3:14; 5:7) and enjoy the benefits of the work he has for us to do (3:13; 5:12).

Are you fighting against God in your life? Are you striving for those things that do not satisfy? Try simplifying your life. Tell that person in the mirror that God is in control and you will find meaning and purpose in Him.

Solomon inherited a peaceful kingdom from his father David. Early in his reign Solomon and his people enjoyed living in peace (1 Kings 4:24-25). In all his wisdom, Solomon did not realize that the success of his Kingdom and the peace that he and his people enjoyed was dependent upon his obedience to the Lord.

As we read today, Solomon’s life and reign as king became increasingly more complicated as his heart wandered from the Lord. He was constantly building new and different shrines and altars as he attempted to keep his many wives happy. Then there were the political issues and the Lord raised up different adversaries to Solomon.

Instead of chasing religion like Solomon, we ought to be more like the blind man in John 9, who experienced healing at the hands (and spit) of Jesus. When he was questioned about the one who healed him, he said, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner, but I know this; I was blind, and now I can see” (John 9:25).

The theme for this week is simplicity. This concept is brought out especially in the book of Ecclesiastes. We are not looking at simplicity as the ultimate goal of life during this week, for bringing pleasure to God is our greatest purpose. Rather we are studying and thinking about simplicity because of the many connections that exist between obediently following God, making wise decisions and living a simple life.

Today's Devotional:

God created sex (Gen 2:24-25) and blesses it in the proper context of a committed, loving marriage relationship. This book is a beautiful description of the intimate relationship that takes place between a husband and a wife.

Many have wondered how Solomon, the author of this book, could have written such a beautiful love poem considering his 700 wives and 300 concubines. It is most likely written about his relationship with his first wife, the daughter of Pharaoh. The playfulness and intimacy they share is reflective of a simpler time in Solomon’s reign before the building projects and rapid expansion of his wealth and influence. Solomon had it all – God’s blessing, money, wisdom, power, influence and women. And yet the more he had, the worse his relationship with God became.

Many lives have been complicated and pain compounded as a result of extramarital affairs. Not only is it an obedience issue, it makes for a far simpler life if we heed Proverbs 5:18, “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.”

As a Father of two (soon to be three) children, I think often about the legacy that I am building within my own family. Proverbs 4 provides us with some good lessons on how to build and leave a meaningful legacy. This proverb demonstrates that wisdom is so interconnected with legacy building that, without it, we are in danger of leaving a negative or destructive legacy that will cause pain in the generations to come.

So if wisdom is so important, where does it come from? Scripture reveals a number of sources of wisdom and today I want to encourage you to consider five of them:

1) Wisdom comes from the Lord (Pro. 2:6; James 1:5).
2) Wisdom comes from seeking other’s counsel (Pro. 13:10).
3) Wisdom comes from receiving the Lord’s discipline (Pro. 19:20).
4) Wisdom comes from obeying the Lord (Pro. 4:4-5).
5) Wisdom comes from observing God’s creation (Pro. 6:6).

If you want to leave a legacy that is a blessing to your family, then acquire wisdom.

Solomon was a prolific writer. 1 Kings 4:32 tells us that he wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. What a legacy, right? Well, yes, that is until much of that was lost.

What we have remaining of Solomon’s writings is that which was inspired by God and was incorporated into the word of God. So ultimately Solomon’s legacy was dependent upon the eternal Word of God.

I think that this is instructive to us as we consider the legacy we will leave behind. Much of what we will accomplish or produce will either end up lost or forgotten. I am not trying to depress you; I just want to give you a reality check. As with Solomon, only that which we do that involves eternal things will truly last. Awards, accolades, stuff, money, these things will all pass away. It is what we do in and for people that will truly build our legacy.

Will the legacy of your life be sold in a garage sale, or lost in a fire some day? How sad that would be if it were true?

Follow the example of Jesus and pour your time and energy into the people around you. If you do, you will not be disappointed and the impact of your life will not be forgotten.

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself, and he must never send his people to Egypt to buy horses there, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will lead him away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” – Deuteronomy 17:14-17

Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. In spite of all the good that Solomon did, he neglected to follow the Lord’s instructions for a king. So instead of leaving a legacy of obedience to the Lord, he left a legacy of following his own path and fulfilling his own desires. It is a legacy that will result in disaster for his son, Rehoboam.

What kind of legacy are you leaving for those who follow after you? Is it one of obedience or one of defiance? Think about it –you just can’t leave a legacy of loving God without obeying His commandments for, “loving God means keeping His commandments” (1 John 5:3).

Solomon received a great legacy from his father David and he had an opportunity to pass it on to his son Rehoboam but failed. Here is a story about a Father who chose to pass on a legacy:

“I need you,” was all his wife had to say for the successful traveling evangelist to come home. Their sixteen-year-old son was pushing his limits and his father knew what he had to do. Canceling the rest of his speaking engagements, he accepted a call to pastor a small church in another state.

For two years he served that church and mentored his son until he went off to college. After his son left, the father attempted to return to his evangelistic ministry, but quickly learned that he was no longer in demand as a speaker. Indeed the decision to go home had come at a great price.

But because he had made the tough decision and went home to focus on his family, years later his son would begin a ministry known as Focus on the Family. James Dobson is the product of his father, James Dobson Sr.
(This story excerpted from the book King Me by Steve Farrar)

In part of Solomon’s address to the people of Israel, he refers to the Davidic covenant. Solomon recognizes that he has fulfilled the portion of the covenant that says one of David’s descendants will build the Lord’s temple. However, what Solomon did not know was that this prophetic statement in 2 Sam. 7:12-14 was not only fulfilled by Solomon, but would ultimately be fulfilled by the Messiah.

In the last two days we have emphasized the individual role each of us has as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament also teaches us that the Church is collectively a temple whose foundation is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).

This temple established by Jesus is being continually built upon by those who have put their faith in Christ (1 Cor. 3:10-16). When we are doing the Lord’s work, we are building onto this temple. Paul speaks of building with gold, silver and jewels which will last, or building with wood, hay and straw which will be burned up. So how are you building onto the temple? Will your works of service last and be rewarded?

Solomon did many great things and was a good king for a while, but as you will discover from your reading this week, not everything he did was right. In chapter 7 of 1 Kings we read the details of the palace compound that Solomon built for himself. Now certainly the temple of the Lord was impressive, but the palace of the Forest of Lebanon described in 7:2-5 was over 4 times the size of the temple alone.

At this point in his reign as king, Solomon is still following the Lord closely, but the amount of effort and material that went into building his own palace compared to the temple indicate to me the direction that Solomon’s heart is really going. Whose legacy is he more concerned with, his own or the Lord he serves?

Or maybe I should ask you that same question. Are you more concerned with the legacy of your temple (your life: body, soul, mind and spirit); or are you more concerned with the legacy of your palace (your earthly treasures: house, cars, toys, etc.).

Remember the words of Jesus, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

This week’s reading covers the early part of Solomon’s reign over Israel. During this time Solomon accomplished many great things, leaving a tremendous legacy. He built the temple and a massive palace compound in Jerusalem. He also built storage cities and outposts for the defending Israel.

Because of the legacy that Solomon left we are going to look at what it means to build a legacy. A legacy is far more than what we accomplish in our careers. It involves choices that we make and things that we value. I hope that, through this week, you are encouraged to evaluate your life and the legacy that you are currently building and the legacy that you desire to leave.

Today's Devotional:

If ever anyone had everything going for them it was Solomon. He was the King of Israel during the peak of the nation’s prosperity. He was wealthy and possessed wisdom beyond compare and, on top of all that, he was chosen by God to build the temple in Jerusalem. Other than his role as one of the authors of Scripture, Solomon’s building of the temple was the biggest part of the legacy he left. I say this because of the significance that the temple played in the worship of God.

For us, as New Testament believers, the concept of temple is different. We no longer worship a God who dwells in a temple (Acts 7:48, 17:24); rather, He dwells inside the individual believer (1 Cor. 3:16). So, even though it is different, the importance of the temple is still very real. Paul emphasizes the need for holiness and care for the body (1 Cor. 6:20).

Solomon built a majestic temple leaving quite the legacy. What kind of legacy will your temple leave? What will people say about your life when you’re gone?

In reading Psalm 69 today you probably made many direct connections to the life of Jesus. Verse 9 was quoted by the apostle John (John 2:17) and verse 21 was fulfilled with Jesus on the cross (John 19:29).

How can we, though, connect verse 5 to Jesus since it indicates that the Messiah was guilty of sin; and yet Scripture is clear that Jesus never sinned. Paul explains this mystery in 2 Cor. 5:21; “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us.” Jesus became sin for the entire world, experiencing the guilt and shame of all those sins. This psalm reveals what it was like for Jesus to take on these sins?

He cries out for salvation (vs. 1-4)
He feels shame and humiliation (5-8)
He is scoffed at, mocked and gossiped about (9-12)
He expresses faith in God’s ability to deliver (13-18)
He recognizes that comfort is not available from men (19-21)
He calls for judgment on the unrighteous (22-28)
He pleads for salvation (29)
He expresses faith in God and praises His name (30-36)

How do you respond to the guilt and shame of sin?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with life? Have you ever felt distant from God and troubled? If so, don’t be alarmed. We have all been there, every person, including Jesus. The first four verses of Psalm 61 seem to indicate that Jesus experienced these emotions as well.

The very fact that Jesus experienced these emotions tells me that our experience of them is not always because of our sin. While sometimes it is our sin that leads us to a sense of despair, it never was for His personal sin that Jesus felt this way since He was without sin. Rather, it was because He was dwelling in a broken world and living among broken people that Jesus experienced these low moments.
So what are we to do when we, who live in this same broken world among broken people, are overwhelmed? I see three things from this psalm that we can do:

1) Cry out to God for help
2) Trust in Him for shelter and protection
3) Respond with praise and thanksgiving

Is this your practice when you are overwhelmed by this world?

Have you ever struggled to do God’s will? You know what I am talking about, those situations where what you should do is very apparent and yet you still rebel and choose to sin.

Jesus never had that kind of experience, for He always followed God’s will.

Psalm 40:6-8 declares that Jesus delights to do the Father’s will. These verses are also quoted in Hebrews in reference to Jesus coming to do the will of the Father. Also in Jesus’ own declaration of His purpose in John 6:38 he said, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want.”

Everything that Jesus did in His earthly ministry was to carry out the will of the Father in His life. Jesus spent time with His Father in prayer and solitude, He submitted to his Father, He exercised compassion on people, He knew the Scriptures and taught them to others, and He resisted temptation. Much of what Jesus did is also God’s will for us, so if you desire to know God’s will for your life, you need not look farther that how Jesus lived His life.

Have you ever considered the treatment that Jesus received from those he came to save? I think Psalm 35:11-14 provides insight into how He felt and increases our understanding of the mistreatment He received. The ones He has prayed for, fasted for, and grieved over are now rejoicing because of the trouble He is now in.

A striking example of this is in Luke 19:41 when Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. He wept, not just because He knew the city would be destroyed, but also because of their sin and rebelliousness. Later the same crowd that Jesus wept for was yelling, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).

His mistreatment was obvious, but He did not retaliate. Rather, we see in this psalm and the gospels that He trusted His fate and the fate of those mistreating Him to a holy and righteous God.

How do you respond to mistreatment? Remember what Paul wrote, “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance, I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Psalm 28 is what Bible scholars call an imprecatory psalm. This is because the psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and the enemies of the righteous. Some have been troubled by the presence of such psalms. They wonder how a God of love and grace could receive such a request. Will God really act in response to this request?

Today I am challenging you to think differently about this psalm and others like it. If these psalms are prophetically the words or prayers of the Messiah, then it changes their message, the reason being that Jesus came for the purpose of taking the punishment for the sins of mankind. Thus Jesus, in praying these imprecatory psalms, actually prayed for God’s judgment and wrath to come and then willingly became the object of that judgment and wrath on our behalf.

Because of Jesus, these imprecatory psalms are no longer messages of condemnation and judgment, but rather of grace and love, for “He personally carried away our sins in His own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds.” – 1 Peter 2:24

Psalm 22 is another psalm of David or the beloved one and, once again, it is prophetically speaking of the Messiah. This psalm is so interconnected in the life of the Messiah that the first line was spoken by Jesus as He hung on the cross.

The four gospel accounts give us information on the details of Jesus’ crucifixion, but Psalm 22 allows us to enter into His emotions as He hung on the cross. And as we look, we see an overwhelming trust in the Father’s will and a dependence upon Him for deliverance.

You may be wondering, how does this relate to me? Remember that Jesus possessed full humanity, including emotions and free will. The crucifixion was when Jesus was at His lowest point. He was physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually drained. He was dying a criminal’s death having done nothing wrong, and yet we see Him continuing to praise the Father and trust in Him. How do you respond when you are at your lowest? Will you still trust and praise God when all hope seems lost?

When I was in seminary, one of my professors challenged us with this question: how can the ancient prayers written in the psalms to God, be God’s Word to us today? The answer, I propose to you, is that the psalms are prophetically the prayers of Jesus, the Messiah Himself. I know this may be a different way of understanding the psalms for you, but I believe that there is sufficient biblical evidence to support this.

So, as you read through the psalms this week, I hope you enjoy some insights into the life of the Messiah by reading through the prayers of the Messiah.

Today's Devotional:

Psalm 16 is a fitting start to our study in the Psalms this week. If you read Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, you will discover that Peter quotes verse 8-11 of this psalm in Acts 2:25-28. Peter then goes on to declare that David was not writing of himself, but rather of the coming Messiah. However, we recognize that the whole psalm is in the first person, so logically we conclude all of it to prophetically be the words of the Messiah Himself.

As I read through the rest of this psalm, I am encouraged by verse three, “The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” Have you ever considered that living a godly life is a source of joy for Jesus?

Not that living a godly life is possible on our own, but rather because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we are then able to live godly lives. No wonder it brings Him joy to see us living a godly life. It is one of the reasons He died. His joy is in seeing our lives reflect the benefit of His sacrifice. May you bring joy to God by living a godly life through the power of Christ who is in you.

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given, they all died anyway…” (Romans 5:12-14a).

Absalom’s death was tragic and unnecessary. It deeply impacted his father, David, as is obvious from the narrative. Had either David or Absalom made some different choices, this tragedy could have been avoided.

The reality is that this instance of death and pain is representative of human life and history. Death was not a part of God’s perfect creation. Rather, death was introduced into the human race as a result of Adam’s sin. Death is wrong and this is why we grieve when it happens.

The hope that we have in Christ is because He defeated sin and death through His redemptive work on the cross (Col. 2:13-15).

We have all been there. We are at our lowest moment and someone says or does something to make it even worse. This must have been how David felt as he was fleeing Jerusalem and endured the insult from Shimei. How tempting it must have been to let Abishai kill Shimei. However, David exercises self-control and humility in not retaliating against Shimei. Not only did David exercise restraint at this moment, but he practiced forgiveness when Shimei met him at the Jordan River as David returned to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 19:18b-23).

How do you respond when you are wronged? Jesus forgave those who put him on the cross (Luke 23:34). Stephen forgave those who stoned him (Acts 7:60). Scripture teaches us that there is a connection between receiving forgiveness and extending forgiveness (Luke 6:37; Mark 11:25; Matt. 6:15).

So how do you feel about forgiveness? Are you willing to forgive like David and others did? Would you rather take revenge and even the score? Do you trust in God’s ability to judge rightly and work it out according to His will when you are wronged?