Re:Verse reading–Psalm 34 (day two)
“Taste and see that the LORD is good” (34:8). It was a taste that got us into this mess. “She took some of its fruit and ate it…” (Genesis 3:6). Our first parents, Adam and Eve, had tastes that were designed to be satisfied by God Himself but willfully turned their tastes in another direction. They ate it, and like a deadly poison it worked death in them. Now, taste can turn into addiction so quickly that a person can be all but choked to death and not even know it. Food, social media, popularity, alcohol, authority, sex, influence, leisure…how often does taste lead to addiction, and addiction lead to death, relationally, emotionally and even physically? It was taste that got us into this mess, and it will be taste that gets us out. “I am the bread of life…if anyone eats this bread he will live forever” (John 6:35, 51). Willfully turning our taste to Jesus redeems not only our sense of taste but also our eternal soul.
Author: guest
The Gift of Misery
Re:Verse reading–Psalm 32 (day two)
“For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat” (32:4). I think my junior high Sunday school teacher was right. The most miserable person on the planet is not the atheist or agnostic, Muslim or Mormon, rebellious or religious. It is the redeemed, follower of Jesus who is living in willful disobedience to God. Whether in deliberate sin or simply refusing to follow the Spirit’s prompting, the Spirit of God may make that person miserable until he or she yields. To that person, the “still small voice” becomes “like a lion roaring.” This gift of misery is indeed a powerful expression of mercy. The misery reveals the need for forgiveness (5), brings protection (7), opens the door for God Himself to instruct (8) and rejuvenates praise (11). All of this comes to those who will “acknowledge their sin.” What a great gift misery can be!
“…but I trust in the Lord”
Re:Verse reading–Psalm 31 (day two)
“…but I trust in the Lord” (6, 14). I trust in the Lord, not in my success, my family, my future, my money, my happiness or anything else that can shift under me without warning. I trust in the Lord, when life is unfair, uncertain, unkind and I have become unapproachable, unremarkable, unprotectable. I trust in the Lord, and find new hope, new peace, new defense, new strength and new courage. To say with the psalmist, “I trust in the Lord,” requires me to leave behind a way of life and find a new way of life. It is the psalmist’s way of speaking about repentance and faith. A repentance and faith that is required of me every day.
When Good Destroys
Re:Verse reading–Psalm 16 (day two)
Water filling your bathtub… a good thing. Water filling your house… a destructive thing. Fire consuming wood in the fireplace…a good thing. Fire consuming a forest…a destructive thing. Sexual expression between a man and a woman in marriage…a good thing. Sexual expression whenever and with whomever you might desire…a destructive thing. Ambition for excellence guarded by loving my neighbor as myself… a good thing. Ambition for excellence with no thought for my neighbor…a destructive thing.
God’s gift of desire, even the strongest desires, is a good thing. However, every good thing requires a context, an order for it to function properly. A good desire out of order becomes a great evil and destroys lives. What can order my desires? “I have no good besides you,” (Psalm 16:2). When my desire is aimed at God as my only good, all other desires are given their proper order, their appropriate context. Water, fire, sex, ambition; all are proper joys when I am enjoying God as my only good.
A Good Boss
Re:Verse reading–Psalm 8 (day two)
If you’ve never had a good boss, it is hard to appreciate the significance of Psalm 8:6. “You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet.” A good boss makes everyone’s life better. Objectives are clear. Less time is wasted. Conflicts don’t get out of hand. The organization flourishes, and everyone joyfully does their part. When the New Testament authors thought of Jesus, they thought of him as a good boss. Consequently, they referred to this psalm to celebrate Jesus’ reign over their lives and all creation (see Ephesians 1:20-23). When you see an organization well run, a home well-managed, a life well ordered, you are seeing the thumbprint of the perfect boss who “does all things well” (Mark 7:37). His work of restoration is not yet complete, and He invites us to participate in it. Are you a “good boss” of your own life, family and work?
The Pursuit of Happiness
Re:Verse reading–Psalm 2, Psalm 110 (day two)
Everybody wants to be happy, and we all choose a path to that happiness. Our culture trumpets that the path to happiness is through freely expressing and pursuing my desires. Any restriction of my desires should be cast-off. And so Psalm 2:3 is fulfilled, “let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints…” The Scripture teaches another path to happiness. A path walked not by unhindered desires but by willingly surrendered freedoms. I can best pursue happiness not by being the master of my own fate but by surrendering myself to the Master. In this surrender, I find Psalm 2:12 fulfilled in me. “All who take refuge in Him are happy.” I can say, “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6).
You can’t go over it
RE Verse reading–Mark 15:40-47, Mark 16: 1-8 (Day three)
“You can’t go over it. You can’t go under it. You’ve got to go through it.” So goes the kids book about a bear hunt. What’s true of bear hunts is also true of following Jesus. “There were also some women looking on from a distance” (15:40). These women learned firsthand that following Jesus requires you to stand and look at the cross. Try as one might to go over the cross on the precarious scaffolding of religious devotion or to go under the cross by relativizing truth and justifying sin, the path of Jesus stubbornly, persistently leads his followers face to face with the horror of the cross. You’ve got to go through it…and face the horror of your own sin. You’ve got to go through it…and accept a substitute Savior. You’ve got to go through it…and submit to a resurrected King. You’ve got to go through it…have you faced the cross?
What’s Worse? Betrayal or Betrayal?
RE Verse reading–Mark 14:10-11, 17-21, 41-50 (day two)
What’s worse: premeditated, cold-blooded betrayal or passive, save-your-own-skin betrayal? Judas “looked” intently for a chance to have Jesus murdered (14:11). The disciples abandoned him in an attempt to save their own lives (14:50). As the saying goes, “I don’t have to out run the bear. I just have to out run you!” Both betrayals reveal a morbidly self-centered person. Both destroy the trust that sustains relationship. Both end in death. But both share something else. Both are taken up by the sovereign God and become instruments of redeeming love. Jesus’ death at their hands makes Jesus able to offer forgiveness through his hands. As James Edwards puts it, “divine grace uses even human evil for its saving purpose.” It is broken trust in the Sovereign God that leads to betrayal. It is through that betrayal that God demonstrates His own unswerving trustworthiness. God doesn’t ask, “can I trust you?” God asks, “will you trust Me again?”
All In
Mark 14:1-11 (day two)
“She broke the jar…” (Mark 14:3). A broken jar is a useless jar. What once symbolized wealth, beauty, opportunity and hope now depicts emptiness, uselessness, future-lessness and lifelessness. The moment that jar broke there was no turning back. The bridges were burned. She made the leap. She stepped out in faith. She went all in. The woman was not merely turning to honor Jesus. She was turning from a former source of hope, security and happiness. She gave it all up for a new hope, a new refuge and a new contentment. That’s the way it must be with Jesus. He cannot ever be one of many hopes any more than you can drive two cars at the same time. To follow Jesus requires “breaking the jar” of your past life, past security, past hope and pouring it out to honor Jesus, trust in Jesus, rest in Jesus, count on Jesus, be like Jesus, hope in Jesus. Following Jesus requires going all in. Are you in?
I’m Hungry
“Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend?” Jesus sensed the great struggle for power at work all around him. The Pharisees wanted it through religious compulsion. The Herodians wanted it through political action. Both groups were chasing popular opinion through compromised integrity. Where did Jesus’ followers side in this epic struggle for power?! They were just worried about who was going to have to skip the next meal! If only we were gripped with the cosmic struggle for power all around us! If only we were engaged in confronting and redeeming the culture all around us. If only we would get hungry for “your kingdom come!” But sadly, I think we are much too like the disciples…hungry for immediate comfort instead of hungry for lifelong transformation.