Author: Danny Panter

Danny is the Associate Pastor for NextGen Marrieds & Community Missions at FBCSA.

All In

Re:Verse passage – Romans 8:28-30 (day six).

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

God is all in. No one is more invested in your life than he is. He is so committed to you that he is working in and through “everything.” No matter the circumstance, heartache, or disappointment, he alone is working things out for your good. Even when you can’t see it or feel it, you can be certain he is working.

Like Joseph, you can declare, “What was meant for evil, God meant for good.” (Gen. 50:20) This good is as certain as Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. You can bet your life on it.

Super Power

Re:Verse passage – 1 John 4:19–21 (day six) 

Loving others is our superpower. We are never more like God than when we love. It’s why John writes, “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.” In other words, when we love like God loves, God reveals himself to others through us. And that is a pretty powerful and cool superpower!

Scott is absolutely right. “What if people see our love for each other, and that leads them to discover and understand God’s love for them (Friday’s blog)?” As image bearers, we were always intended to reflect God’s love (sin messed that up), so when we do, it has a superhuman way of lifting others’ eyes and ears up to see and hear God.

Flex your superpower today!

One Day

19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 1 Corinthians 15:18

Though the world may be in turmoil, a promise of transformation awaits.  This is the assurance of God in Jesus. Just as Jeremiah instilled hope in the exiles, promising a return to a restored Jerusalem, Paul urges us to live with the same confidence in the midst of our current challenges.

For Paul, the promise of Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the dead kept him committed to Jesus even when life was tough. His hope was that one day, life as it should be would be fully restored. We live with the same hope.

Alone

Re:Verse passage – John 10:10 (day six)

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? Luke  15:3-4

The thief will do whatever it takes to keep you alone. That’s the strategy: isolation. Being made in God’s image, we were designed for fellowship with God and others, so it makes sense that the enemy would scheme to lure us away. He successfully convinces us that we don’t need anyone or have time for them, especially God. He does this subtly, of course; never out in the open. He will whisper things like,

“Listen to your heart.”

“You do you.”

“The Bible is so difficult to understand, plus where would you include it in your life? You are too busy.”

Some of his whispers almost sound noble and lofty, and most result in positioning ourselves over others rather than with others.

The thief’s deepest desire is to keep us alone, but abundant life is found under the care and provision of the shepherd, who leads you to green pasture along with other sheep. You can’t get there on your own.

Idol

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 1:26–27 (day six)

“…the scriptural witness to creation is from the first line more like a drama, the beginning of the acts of God, the first of many mighty deeds, upon which hinges both life’s current meaning and the eternal destinies of participants.” -Thomas Oden, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1

Being uniquely made in God’s image, humanity finds itself center stage in God’s mighty acts. In this divine relationship, we are far more than observers or oblivious participants; in fact, we are partakers, ambassadors, and emissaries; we are little idols (“image” is the same word translated as “idol”). We work and speak with the strength and wisdom God supplies (1 Peter 4:11) for the good of others.

This gives new meaning to God’s prohibition of making graven images of his likeness. He prohibits fashioning idols because we are to be his unique image bearers in creation.

Is there any more significant meaning in life?

 

Redemption

Re:Verse passage – John 14:6 (day six)

“In Christ we see the truest human to ever live.” -Megan Langan

If this is true, and it is, then not only is Jesus the perfect portrait of Imago Dei (Image of God), but he is also a reminder of what he is redeeming. We are not redeemed only to become part of a “greater” reality as disembodied spirits; that is a very pagan idea. Jesus became fully human to redeem our humanity in its entirety, body and soul.  Anything less would be less than human.

Knowing that God is redeeming all of your humanity (all that it means to be human), how does it make you feel? How does it shape thankfulness and hopefulness?

Contributor

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 31:10-31 (day six)

The “Woman of Valor” in Proverbs 31 is not a consumer. That much is clear. Consumers always look to add to their portfolio. If they don’t feel like they get what they are entitled to, they move on to somewhere else. Not so with the “Woman of Valor.” She takes the raw ingredients she has received and puts them to work,  producing a return for everyone around her.

Wisdom is not passive. It does not wait to be served or complain about what it deserves. Instead, it actively works, not for personal gain, but for the betterment of others. Wisdom is not a bystander; it is a contributor.

Are you a consumer or a contributor?

Speak the Words of God

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 27:17 (day six)

“God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of man.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together.

This has been true from the beginning, as we were made in God’s image. We were made to speak God’s Word, and therefore, we were made to receive his Word from one another. This also means that one of our greatest needs is to hear God’s Word from a brother or sister and for them to hear from us.

Let me ask you, of all the words you will speak today to your family, friend, or neighbor, how many will be God’s words?

Soil

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 23:17-18 (day six)

Don’t let your heart envy sinners…Proverbs 23:17a (NET)

The most fertile soil on the planet is in our hearts. Whatever is sown there always bears fruit. This is why Solomon advises us to “Guard [your] hearts with all vigilance” (Prov. 4:23), why Paul warns us that “[We] reap what we sow” (Gal. 6:9), and Jesus declares, “The mouth speaks from what fills the heart.” (Matt. 12:34)

We can never leave our hearts unattended or take for granted what we sow. The good news, because our hearts are so fertile, when we sow to the Spirit we are guranteed to grow eternal fruit. So, be quick to respond to the Spirit’s conviction, receive his counsel, and employ his gifts.

Free

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 22:7 (day six)

This proverb is more than a morality tale about the consequences of loving money; it is also about the entropy of worldly systems. Every economic and political system favors the rich and powerful. It is systemic in the truest sense of the word. This is not because of the economic or political persuasion itself but because of what Paul calls the spirit of the world. This undertow pulls and tugs every system toward one trajectory: enslavement. The kind of enslavement doesn’t matter, whether political, economic, or cultural; the spirit of the world finds a way to lock up our time and resources to completely disable our ability to leverage all God has given for his Kingdom.

Jesus would say, “Don’t be naive. Be shrewd. Don’t be duped by worldly systems.  Whether a lot or a little, be free to make the most of the resources God has given you.”