Scott Lane

Learning

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:23-27 (day five) “The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”” The disciples were constantly learning about the nature and character of Jesus. It must have been difficult for them in one moment to see the humanity (ordinariness of Jesus- asleep in the boat) and in the next to witness the true Divinity of Jesus. They, like us, were settled in a perception and perspective of who Jesus was. He shatters those in a powerful display with His words to the storm. I imagine the text of familiar words in Psalm 89 came quickly to mind. “O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the swelling of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.”

They were learning (crash course) who Jesus was. Each day, moment by moment, we have that same opportunity to learn and discover more about the nature and character of our Lord and Savior- storms, victories, tragedies, and struggles. Will you look in His Word and look around so that you may learn and discover more about Him than you knew and understood yesterday?

Leverage

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:14-17 (day five)

“They brought to him many”. Don’t overlook this part of the narrative. Don’t miss the action and activity of Jesus’ followers. “They” were leveraging their friendships and relationships to bring others to Jesus. There was a certainty that if only their friends and family could be in His presence, Jesus could/would meet their needs.

What about now? Where would we bring people to encounter the powerful presence of Jesus? Let me suggest three for starters: First, invite and bring them into sincere and authentic friendship. Allowing them to be close to you (as you live out and proclaim the gospel) will bring them into Jesus’ presence. Second, bring them into your home. Each home should be an incubator for gospel power- a place where God’s Word is both “taught and caught”. The home is a place where God’s presence should be clearly evident. Third, bring them to church. Having others join us as we study and discuss God’s Word as well as gather for authentic worship will place them in God’s promised presence. Will you leverage your friendships and relationships to “bring others to Him”?

Preach It

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 8:1-4 (day five) “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” As we look at Jesus’ encounters with the leper and the centurion, we see great faith being displayed by each of them. But don’t miss their testimony. In both of their statements, there are known and unknown statements about Jesus. The unknown- Jesus’ willingness to heal. The known- His power, His capability, His authority, His majesty and sovereignty. What is it that you know about Jesus? What have you already experienced and encountered? Will you preach to yourself those Gospel truths? (The goodness and greatness of Jesus)
“Preaching the gospel to ourselves is a habit of grace that is both proactive and reactive. It’s reactive as we encounter temptation and frustration and seek to restock in the moment… But it’s also proactive. We go on the offensive when we feed our souls in some regular rhythm before the events and tasks and disappointments of daily life begin streaming our way.”

Lessons and Applications

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:1-11 (day five).

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Three times in this passage Jesus answers, “It is written”. When do you suppose Jesus first heard or read these words from Deuteronomy? How many times do you think He read and reviewed them? In His culture and religious context, we know He started when He was a young child being taught the scriptures. And that He reviewed them regularly.

2 Lessons:
1) God knows the future. He will bring to your attention and heart the scriptures you will need for spiritual growth and strength.

2) Scripture absolutely does what it says it can do- BATTLE SIN- “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”

PREPARE & EQUIP BELIEVERS– “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

2 Applications:
1) Parents/Grandparents, whatever the age of your children start now helping them read, speak, and hear scripture regularly.

2) Adults/Teenagers/Older Children, make time in the scriptures (reading, speaking, and learning) a priority. They will be more valuable to you than you could ever know.

Evidence

Re:Verse passage –Colossians 4:7-18 (day five)

“Tychicus… is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.” “Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.”

What does the work of the Holy Spirit look like in your life? What are signs of transformation that the Gospel has caused? In this week’s Re:Verse passage, we have at least two different indicators that point to the evidence and work of the Holy Spirit. One is faithfulness. The other is change. Tychicus was a faithful friend, supporter, and encourager to Paul and other believers. His trustworthiness and consistency in the faith were a testimony to his life changing encounter with God’s grace and strength. Onesimus, on the other hand, was rebellious, hard hearted, and useless. But an encounter with the living Christ changed him. He became different- useful, faithful, and dear. What a remarkable turnaround! Pause today and ask the Lord to change those qualities that are not Christlike. Also ask Him to build a consistent, faithful, and enduring will and walk in your life. Both will be a testimony of God’s love, His grace, and His power!!

Speaking

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 4:2-6 (day five) “praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

Paul’s personal prayer request is challenging and convicting. Here is a man that has preached, witnessed, and given his testimony countless times. Yet, he is not content. His desire is to make sure that he continues to talk about Jesus and the gospel clearly and continually. Paul is teaching that speaking our faith must be an intentional priority. If he needs to remind himself and ask for prayer, then don’t we need the same reminder and mission? It is easy for us to go through our days conversing with those around us and never give mention of our faith or testimony. Would others know we are believers by the way we talked? Would people know how to find Christ for themselves from the way we speak about Him and the scriptures? Would they want to place their faith and trust in Christ because of our words?

Faith and Relationships

Re:Verse passage –Colossians 3:18-4:1 (day five)

One of the questions I would frequently ask teenagers as we talked about the scriptures and Christian faith was, “If I asked those closest to you to describe your faith, what would they say?” Paul often points to our closest relationships (especially marriage and families) as a litmus for genuine and practical evidence of Christian faith. So, to ask the question again in this context, “How would your family members describe your faith in Christ?” Our faith must permeate all our relationships leaving especially those closest to us with no doubt about the presence and power of the Lord. Our faith not only shapes the way we initiate love and care in our relationships, it also is reflected to the way we respond to that same kind of love and care.

Image

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 3:10-17 (day five) “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”‭‭ Colossians‬ ‭3:10‬
What is the result of “putting on the new self” (verse 10)? It’s certainly to learn and understand who Jesus is. But, there is more. The goal is also for each believer to become more of the person he/she was created to be. Humans were created in the image of God. When sin entered the world thru Adam and Eve, mankind no longer could be completely who God had created them to be- sin tainted and marred the image. But through the life and work of Jesus, we can see that image again, and be transformed into Christ likeness- the untainted and original image. One of the many promises of the gospel is that when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, we can become more like Him, and thus become more of the person we were created by God to be. We can be authentic “ Jesus image-bearers”.

Attention

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 3:1-9 (day five) We added Cliff (who is a delightful yellow lab) to our family about 16 months ago. When he came to us as a 10 week old puppy, he needed to be trained and equipped (discipled) to live with us and in our house. What I discovered about Cliff was when his focus and attention was on me as his master, he was more easily trained. In other words, he learned quicker. He remembered better. He listened more keenly. He was more eager to please me. He would become the obedient dog that I desired him to be. His progress and abilities to be trained were always related to the consistency and intensity of his attention to me, regardless of distractions and disruptions. Still true today.

I think we have that in common. Our attention and focus on “the master” determines our capacity to obey and please Him. “Keep seeking the things above”. “Set your mind on things above”. Still true today. Does God have your constant and faithful attention/determination? Do you keep seeking the things above?

Legalism

Re:Verse passage – Colossians 2:16-23 (day five) They have lost connection with the head,from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

The first danger Paul addresses in this section of his letter, is legalism. Deep within the human heart is the temptation to quantify spirituality. Why is there such a lure for keeping rules and regulations? The feeling and desire to be successful is strong the human heart. When that feeling for personal success overshadows most everything else, that is pride. And the results of legalism are mentioned in verse 19. A disconnection from Jesus. No relationship, no friendship, no communication. Also, no growth. No progress. No discipleship. Legalism comes with a strong warning and a great cost