Author: Jimmy Gunn

The Hard Part…

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 13:24 (day five)

To me, one of the hardest parts about parental discipline is that it is hard and slow work. After discipline is needed and given, I cannot expect my kids to be changed overnight or immediately after a time of discipline and correction. Chances are, there will be more conversations and times of discipline that follow up on the initial moments that follow wrongdoing because our kids (all of us) are prone to sin and selfish behavior. It takes constant vigilance, work, correcting, disciplining, etc. to lovingly and purposefully guide our kids to be who God calls them to be and act how God has called them to act.

But it is necessary. Often, it is tempting to take the easy way out and let things go. Essentially, we are saying that is easier for me to let things go because I don’t want to do it (because we are prone to sin and selfish behavior!). But it is in this grind-it-out, long-term-goal-in-mind where we need to keep steady.

In our personal walk with the Lord, we require daily reminders to follow Him and to do what is righteous in the sight of the Lord. We typically do not change overnight and then consistently follow Him in all we do. The Lord lovingly and purposefully guides us. This is not a “check that box of discipline” off time, but a process of being molded and shaped into who God calls us to be.

It is the same for our kids. Through proper discipline, we are helping our kids know what God has called them to do and who He has called them to be. Parents, do you love your kids? Then keep after it. There is a battle much deeper going on.

Kids’ Time

Re:Verse passage – Proverbs 2:1-15 (day five)

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;” v. 6

I love the Kids’ Time during our Sunday morning services. It is a moment for us to let kids know that our services are for them, also, and that they can expect that God will speak to them during our time together. They are fun and lighthearted mostly, but there is deep meaning and importance to that four or five minute time with them.

I am extremely excited that while we study the book of Proverbs together, our Kids’ Time moments that occur during the Traditional and Logos services will mirror each other. These times will feature many sayings and writings from various people throughout history that deal with wisdom and knowledge, all presented alongside a portion of scripture from our weekly Re:Verse readings.

During our Kids’ Time together each Sunday, we want to highlight for kids that the world has its own version of truth and wisdom that is contrary to what God says in His Word. There are a lot of times that worldly truth and wisdom looks extremely similar to what God says, but is, in fact, not what God says. Proverbs 2:6 carries this tone for us: all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding comes from God. Only by the Lord’s guidance will we know what is right, just, fair, joyful, honest, good, and so on. The world longs to know these things but looks in the wrong places. Our kids need to know where to look and whom to follow.

So, join us each Sunday as we encourage kids to know God’s Word and guide them to seek the Lord, and not the world, for truth and wisdom. See you Sunday!

Mountains

Re:Verse passage – Mark 11:22-25 (day five)

Mountains have much significance throughout the Bible. Here, Jesus talks of the incredible task of asking God to throw a mountain into the sea. In a symbolic respect, we all face mountains throughout our lives. These mountains can be named whatever after whatever stands before us, blocking our way with an arduous and difficult climb: cancer, death of a loved one, lost job, difficult relationships, etc. Most of us have asked, firmly believing with all our hearts, that God move that theoretical mountain out of our way. While these requests may not seem selfish or wrongly motivated in our hearts, they may not be in line with the plan that God has in store.

So, the mountain remains, unmoved.

And herein lies our struggle. I had a brother that passed away from leukemia when he was two years old. I know my parents, their friend’s, and their church prayed diligently for Peter to be healed (the mountain moved), but God had a different plan. Looking back now 40 years later, we can see that God worked all things for His glory and our good through that time. Peter was healed and is now with the Lord, my family grew closer to God, and I was born soon after.

Faith is hard sometimes. There are times that God leaves those mountains unmoved so we can climb the mountain and grow closer to Him in the journey. We may want things (for a good or okay purpose), but what God wants is always better. When you pray that your mountains be moved, remember that He is a good God even when your mountains don’t move.

Ordinary Moments

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day five)

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.” vv. 46-47a

When we read about what the early church did together in this passage, it tells us that they gave themselves to doing four things. Those four activities are fairly ordinary in the grand scheme of things. They may not be the four things you would have done if you were starting a movement or beginning a new religion. Chances are that we might overcomplicate things to get going. Often, we can overcomplicate the gospel and the methodology by which we share it with those that need to hear it. We can overcomplicate our salvation through Christ, thinking that we need to jump through hoops some hoops to be in good standing for our salvation. We can also overcomplicate how we grow as a church.

As Aaron said earlier this week, we don’t need to wait for a church-sanctioned function to get together and to live life. The first church grew because they sought the Lord in their everyday lives together. Their circle of people spurred them on in the Biblical things they should be doing. It is much easier to grow together and to grow in Christ if we allow Him to permeate the ordinary moments of life, rather than just the Sunday morning or occasional church function. What are the ordinary moments that you can invite others to join in with you? How can you allow the Lord to use those moments to help you grow closer to the family of God?

Jimmy Gunn
Associate Pastor, Preschool & Elementary

Revert

Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 17:38-51 (day seven)

“And David strapped on his sword over his military attire and struggled at walking, for he had not trained with the armor. So David said to Saul, ‘I cannot go with these, because I have not trained with them.’ And David took them off.” 1 Samuel 17:39

We usually revert to what we know or are comfortable with. The Israelites reverted to fear because their enemy was stronger than the Israelites. Saul reverted to his use of armor to protect David. For both the Israelites and Saul, they reverted to trusting in themselves or in what they could physically do. David reverted to his stone and slings. But David also reverted to his trust in the Lord.

David had spent so much time trusting and learning from God that the Lord was the point he reverted to. I’ll say it again: we tend to revert to what we know and are comfortable with. When trials of faith come or when attacks threaten to knock you down or defeat you, who is it that you revert to? Do you go to yourself, trusting that you can overcome said trial on your past or on your skills? Do you trust that you will be alright and that this will be something you can handle without going to God first? Or, do you revert to the Lord and to trust that He can do anything, no matter how small and no matter how big? My prayer is that you are ready this week (and all to come!) to gird yourself first with the Lord in all things. We need Him!

The Details

Re:Verse passage – John 21:1-14 (day seven)

One of my favorite classes in college was a hermeneutics course taught by a man named Dr. Bell. During each class, he would help us go through various scriptures, teaching us to find the answers to the details of what we read. Often, our searches led to more questions and more searches throughout the entirety of the Bible. It made reading the Bible in this light an adventure each time we opened it to read. Have you ever paid attention to the seemingly “unnecessary” details of Scripture as you read?

In John’s account of seeing Jesus again in chapter 21, we encounter many details that seem small and insignificant at first. He includes the number of fish caught in the net, (reminding us of another miraculous catch Jesus guided them to). He includes that Jesus cooked breakfast over a charcoal fire (reminding us of another charcoal fire from a few nights prior). John includes that Peter put on his coat to jump into the water to get to Jesus. He writes that seven disciples were present that day, but only names five of them. These details point us to deeper truths in the Word.

Some of the details may simply be in there to provide info on eyewitness accounts, and some may point us to bigger truths that God wants us to know. We may not know why God included some details, but we can rest assured that God doesn’t waste words. No detail was insignificant or unnecessary.

Are there any details that you are missing when you read?

Who Do You Say I Am?

Re:Verse passage – John 18:33-40 (day five)

“Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?’” John 18:34

During this exchange between Jesus and Pilate, you can sense the indifference with which Pilate asks Jesus his questions. Pilate simply wanted to know if an insurrection was brewing and if he should be concerned about anything. Jesus knew that. The answers that Jesus gave drew Pilate in and gives us a clearer picture of the heart of Pilate. Jesus wanted to know what Pilate really thought. Pilate’s answers to Jesus’ questions reveal how little he was thinking of Jesus and how much he was thinking of the wrong things.

Jesus asked a similar question to His disciples in Matthew 16:13-20, and got a vastly different answer. Peter’s heart for the truth was revealed at that moment and helps us further understand what Jesus was talking about when He told Pilate that “everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” At some point, we are all asked that question. Who do you say Jesus is? Do you only know what the world says or know Him secondhandedly? Who do you say, of your own accord, who Jesus is?

Nothing Apart From Him

Re:Verse passage – John 18:15-18, 25-27 (day five)

Peter learned the hard way where His source of strength and power came from. We often think of Peter being an intense, loyal, bold man. After all, Peter was a man that cast out demons. Someone who had said he would follow Jesus anywhere and do anything for Him. A man who was outspoken about how much he loved Jesus. Someone that spoke up in truth and first recognized Jesus as the Christ. On the other hand, we can say that Peter was disloyal, brash, and fearful. He was the one with the quick temper. The one that acted in rashness to cut a man’s ear off. The one to deny Jesus three times, even though he had been warned that it would happen.

The night that Peter denied Jesus showed Peter just how dependent on Jesus he was. He learned that apart from Jesus, he was weak and fearful. He was not strong. He was not loyal. He was not brave. But that is not what defined Peter forever. Soon, Peter would receive restoration and hope from Jesus that would rouse him to be the intense, bold, and loyal man that Jesus knew Him to be. Yes, it was humbling and hard to learn the way he did. But He learned that his strength, power, and everything else came from Jesus. And there is nothing better than to know that.

Apart from Jesus, we are nothing compared to what Jesus knows us to be. Aren’t you grateful for His restoration and hope in spite of your daily failings? Aren’t you grateful that He makes you better?

Justice

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 4:12-19 (day five)

“So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” v. 19

We all want justice, right? Or, maybe we just want revenge for when we are wronged. We all, typically, would like people to get what they deserve if they have done wrong in this world. There have been times when I have been wronged by someone or someone I love has been wronged, and I have wished for justice. There are times, though, that justice seems to be missed. Maybe it is when a criminal gets to go home because of a technicality. Maybe it is that the wicked seem to get richer or to not have anything happen to them after they have been known to be wicked in their actions. Maybe it is simply putting up with incessant insults or criticism for your faith.

Peter’s reminder, here, is for us to simply let God take care of all that. Our job is to continue to do good. We should never need revenge or worry about the justice part because God is a God of justice. He is going to take care of all of that. So, let us continue to do good while trusting that God is going to take care of us and take care of the judgement.

The Author of It All

Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 1:18-25 (day seven)

“For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:25

I take an enormous amount of comfort in the thought and knowledge that God had everything figured out before the foundation of the world. God knew that there was going to be a problem with His creation, so He had a plan to restore it from the very beginning through Jesus Christ. He is the Author of all life and everything that has and will ever happen.

The incredible thing about knowing that God is the Author of all life, is that it causes us to trust Him more. We can be okay with the details of today, tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the years to come because we know that the Author has already figured everything out for the rest of time. Our faith and hope are bound in Him because He wrote the whole Story.