Author: Aaron Hufty

Re: Verse reading–Luke 22:31-34, 54-62 (day two) But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” 3:33

Petrus – rock. If there is one disciple who you would have picked to stand beside Jesus until the bitter end it probably would have been Peter. Strong, loud, prone to action not cowardice, and yet when the moment came – he froze. In the midst of the chaos Peter forgot about Jesus, and focused on his own safety.

Paul understood: For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. Romans 7:19 When the rubber meets to road and we are called into account, we must not rely on our own strength for the moment. If we think we are strong enough we must remember Peter. God knows our every weakness, and he desire to be the unbending source of strength in times of trial. Never forget that.

Re:Verse reading–Matthew 26:36-46 (day two) 

And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.  Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” vs. 37-38

The apostles’ role in this story has always been one that garners derision from the reader. Rightly so, they were to watch and pray and they fell asleep. This is a cautionary tale that we should all remain vigilant. I never considered, however, Jesus’ desire for company. He went and prayed alone, but before that he took with him some of his closest friends that they may share this time with him. They came to mourn with Jesus, to pray for him, and to protect if need be. Is Jesus giving us a pattern for grieving here? Knowing what lay before him, Jesus took with him friends to share in this trial. Are you there? Have you considered bringing others to watch, pray, and grieve with you? Maybe you should.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 12:22-34 (day two)  But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? vs. 28 

I’m not a native, most know that I am very proud of my Missouri roots. There is one thing that I adopted as soon as I got here 18 years ago…the bluebonnets. There is just nothing that compares to driving down a country highway and seeing that feast of color. Did you know that there are fields of flowers that sometimes go completely unseen? Can you imagine? Why did God make such vibrant beauty and not force folks to take a look at it? As a matter of fact why did he need to create so many different kinds of flowers, with different shapes, colors, and smells at all?

If God would take such care for something so transient, shouldn’t it make you take a breath? Maybe that’s why he did it after all, so that the next time you saw those patches along the highway you would stop, breath, and let go of all the stuff that is cluttering your mind.

Re:Verse reading–Jonah 1:1-3, 3:1-5, 4:1-11 (day two)

He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.”  1:12

Rather that confess or repent for his willful act of disobedience, Jonah’s choice is further rebellion. Knowing that his actions have set this storm in motion, his choice was to kill himself rather than follow God’s command. This act is both arrogant and cowardly. Jonah could not see beyond his own prejudice to God’s greater plan for the Ninevites. Are you where Jonah was? Are you willing to throw everything away to protect your own pride? Jonah knew exactly what he was supposed to do, I would suspect you do too. It’s a matter of figuring out which priority is ultimately going to rule the day: yours or God’s.

Re:Verse reading–Daniel 3:1-2, 8-18, 25-29 (day two)  

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. Vs 16

I won’t know what to say. I don’t know enough scripture. I always think of the answer after the argument, but by then it’s too late. Have you ever thought these thoughts when trying to defend your faith? Who hasn’t? There is certainly a time for each of us to become bold apologists for the cause of Christ, and in those moments we can rely on the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and words.

What about those other times? Those times when you are speaking to someone with no inclination to open their heart to truth. They are arguing to be heard, or to be right, or to make you look/feel foolish. Perhaps then we should look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego. They knew their cause would fall on deaf ears. Not amount of testimony would change the king’s mind. They simply kept silent, and let the Lord convict his heart. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Jesus doesn’t it. Lead before Herod, Pilate, the ruling council he knew they would not be moved by his words. So he let his silence, and his actions on the cross change the hearts of humanity forever. Sometimes the sound of silence is the loudest of all.

Re: Verse reading– Jeremiah 1 (day two) “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” vs. 6

I am too young. I don’t speak well. I have not been summoned before the king. Over the past several weeks we have encountered the very real, very human reactions to the call of God upon those we now consider giants of our faith. How many times and in how many different ways does the Lord need to remind us that he will make whatever limitations we may see into Kingdom opportunities?

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. vs. 7-8

If we continue to look at the broken, imperfect creature that we are and think that we in our own sufficiency will be able to carry out the assignment, then we are right, we can’t do it. But God has not called us to do these things alone. He is more than able. Let him be the source of your strength.

Re: Verse reading–Esther 4:4-17; 7:1-6 (day two) For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place…4:14a

Have you ever found yourself in that place where things are going well. You have worked hard and all the craziness of your life seems to be headed in the same direction. Job is secure, family is healthy, retirement is planned for…and then. Then your brother-in-law asks to move in for a while, or your boss asks you to take on a new assignment, or maybe it is something else calling for your attention. You’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and now change? Perhaps your first reaction is to just sit quietly and hope the issue goes away. How is that working for you?

God hasn’t promised us that things will always go as we hope. He does call us to action. To be a part of his kingdom plan. The truth is that God will accomplish what God has set out to do, so shouldn’t we be grateful that he is using us to that end? Don’t sit on the sidelines if God is calling you to shake up your status quo. Things will change, but remember you are playing on the winning team.

Re: Verse reading–1 Kings 19:1-18 (day two)

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” vs. 2

This is not an unfamiliar narrative. Great triumph or deliverance followed by depression or sin, it happens. Moses knew this very well. How often did God reveal himself in a tremendous way only to have the people forget. Elijah has just experienced an incredible display of God’s “realness”, and know he runs, hides, wallows in his despair. Surely there must be a way to avoid the roller coaster life of faith.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Eph. 6:11 (actually refer to 10-18 for the full passage). The reality is that scripture never instructs us to take the armor off. Once we encounter fierce opposition we should not let down our guard. Remain steadfast, on guard. Otherwise the real battle may come after the one you were ready for.

Re: Verse reading–Numbers 13:26-33; 14:1-9 (day two)

“Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 4:19b

In what would foreshadow Joshua’s first sermon to the people of Israel forty years later, Joshua pleads for his comrades to be strong and courageous.  Joshua 1:6. The Israelites could not see past their own understanding of the world. They had left the oppression of the Egyptians and followed the Lord’s command through the Red Sea, but they could not fathom how the God who did all that could possibly defeat this new foe. Do you do that? Do you limit our Sovereign God’s ability to move any mountain, part any water, or vanquish any foe because of your small understanding of his power? When will we stop measuring God’s power by our earthly yardstick? If God has brought you to it, he’ll bring you through it.

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 3:7-15, 4:1-17 (day two) The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 4:11

Best not to argue with the Lord. Do we really believe that if we are called by the Lord, that he hasn’t thought of how to use us to accomplish the task? In this instance the Lord provides Moses’ brother Aaron to aid in the plan to free the Israelites, the scripture also says that God’s anger “burned against Moses.” 4:14 Are we so proud, fearful, or untrusting that we would risk God’s anger?

Queen Esther faced a similar moment in her call to action. Her Uncle Mordecai reminded her that the Lord would indeed free his people whether she accepted the assignment or not. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews WILL ARISE FROM ANOTHER PLACE…Esther 4:14a

Get on board. Stop making excuses. If he has clearly called you out to be a part of his kingdom building then roll up your sleeves, grab that staff, and march into Pharaoh’s  court.