Isaiah 45:9-13

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
‘He has no hands’? http://read.ly/Isa45.9.NIV

Too often we get caught up in our own thing & the work God set out for us to do becomes an inconvenience or down-played as a "nice to do". Our priorities become our focus rather than God & His work. Just like Adam, we want to lead instead of follow. Knowing intellectually that we are clay, we would never say - "God, what are you making?" - our actions show it.

God, teach us to trust & follow you. We know your ways are perfect but we don't always show it. Help us believe this truth & live it out.

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Psalm 103:11-16

Psalm 103:11-16 NIV

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

God is merciful. He knows who we are & how we behave yet he still loves us. He has compassion on those who fear Him; those who sin yet are humble enough to repent.

Our days here are short. Let them be filled with praise toward our merciful maker. Thank you Lord for another day.

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Comfort Zone - 2/22

Our greatest call as believers is to share the gospel. Most of us would characterize the day we were saved as the most significant day in our lives. If we were to sit back and consider the implications of that moment - our eternal destiny, our new-found purpose, the new direction in our lives, the freedom we attained - it wouldn't compare to any other moment in our lives. In that instant where we surrendered our lives to Jesus, our report card in heaven changed from condemned to forgiven. We became eligible for God's greatest promises (John 5:24, Matthew 28:20, James 1:5, John 15:7, Matthew 11:28-29, etc.)

I found a great deal on some Bengals gear at the mall a few weeks ago, I mean items were marked down 60% (happens a lot when your team loses). So I couldn't wait to get to work & tell a couple of my friends about it. News as good as this just gets better once you share it with people...you see where I'm going here. The people I shared my great deal with - not once have I shared with them the best deal I ever received. I know that sharing about Jesus is way more risky and uncomfortable than sharing about Jesus - my own fears confirm it. But isn't it worth it? Isn't a little discomfort, maybe a little awkward conversation worth it to please the One who did all that stuff in the first paragraph?

In our Bible study we've been discussing how we need to depend more on the Holy Spirit in order to get the results we desire in our spiritual lives. The thing is, we rarely put ourselves in situations where we even need God. We want our finances to be perfect before we give to others. We want our careers in perfect position before we take any risks. We want our words to be perfectly crafted and scriptures memorized before we talk to anyone about Jesus. What we really want is a backup plan just in case God doesn't come through.

Instead of living lives so we don't need God or his Holy Spirit, let's instead look for uncomfortable situations - where you don't know exactly what to say or do - and allow the Holy Spirit to work. So when something supernatural happens you'll know it had nothing to do with you and all the glory will be God's alone.

Matthew 10:19-20

1/12- A Good Conscience

Reading 2 Timothy 1 today and stopped on verse 3:

"I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day."

Paul urges Timothy to serve God in a similar way in 1 Timothy 1:5. It can be safely assumed that in order to serve God with a pure conscience that one must live a certain way to attain that sort of security, namely, by the will of God. When we simply do what God asks of us, it frees us to serve Him in a much more effective way and thereby be led to further live out His will. It's almost like a never-ending cycle - serve God, He honors you, by the Holy Spirit you're compelled to serve more, He honors you, repeat....

The notes in my Johnny Mac (John MacArthur Study Bible) lay this principle out pretty well:

"The Greek word for "good" refers to that which is perfect and produces pleasure and satisfaction. God created man with a "conscience" as his self-judging faculty. Because God has written His law on man's heart (Romans 2:15), man knows the basic standard of right and wrong. When he violates that standard, his conscience produces guilt, which acts as the mind's security system that produces fear, guilt, shame and doubt as warnings of threats to the soul's well-being. On the other hand, when a believer does God's will, he enjoys the affirmation, assurance, peace and joy of a good conscience. "

1/1 - Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a safe & fun night. I know we did - got to finally hang out with our neighbors of 3 years that somehow we still hadn't spoken to yet. Cool stuff & I'm looking forward to experiencing why God put them in our lives. As for the new year, I think I had given up on resolutions a while ago. Instead I wanted to make a resolution just for that day, and it's the same one I'll make today: to be more faithful. A year long resolution is easy to lose sight of but one for today makes things more defined and clear. I'm not even sure how to gauge how faithful I was in 2009, but it's a little more defined if I consider how I did yesterday.

So I'm still in 1 Timothy, chapter 4 this time. Verse 6 points out something really cool. Paul explains to Timothy that if he'll instruct believers in truth that he'd be a good minister for Christ, "nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which [he has] carefully followed." In recent weeks, I must admit I've been a pretty slack in my devotional time and now I realize that I've been malnourished. Proper nourishment happens on a regular basis. Any healthy person would know that they didn't get where they are by a few healthy choices here and there but rather by a lifestyle of healthy eating. Every day, consistent, almost second nature. Spiritual nourishment is no different. Consistent time with God & investment into that relationship will produce the results of a well-fed individual.

So choosing the right diet is key, I think, to this whole being faithful thing. What I've learned in this time of malnutrition is that I didn't go hungry. I just replaced the good stuff with stuff that wasn't good for me and the benefits, well, didn't turn out to be benefits at all. Logically it makes sense - do what God says and you can be satisfied. Don't do what He says and end up in the midst of confusion and chaos. I think Romans 6:21 put it best, "What fruit did you have in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death."

So here I am in a place of rededicating myself and Lord knows this ain't the first time. So often, in fact, that sometimes I wonder if God is bored with the whole act. In any case, I'm still resolved to press on.

12/16 - 1 Timothy 2

"¹ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

The promise involved with this passage is pretty amazing. These verses provide hope in that it reveals a connectedness between prayer and life's circumstances. It reveals that our prayers are more than just lip service to God but have the power to actually change things. In this example it shows that if we'll dedicate ourselves to prayer and intercession for men, particularly those in leadership, that things can go well for us and that we can live peacefully. For those of us who pray, this isn't anything new but a biblical reassurance of what we've always hoped to be true - that our prayers matter. It is one of many biblical examples that prayer changes things.

Verse 4 can be a little tough to deal with. God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The one problem with that verse is that we know that this just won't happen. In fact, most men likely won't be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). So if God is in control of everything (1 Chronicles 29:11) and everyone won't be saved, despite His desires, doesn't that present a problem? Well, not necessarily. That which God wants from us He won't force out of us. If He did, we might as well be robots. The good news is that He at least wants us to abide in Him in spite of our sin. The difficulty is that it requires a decision on our part. This decision God may influence but the final call is up to us.

12/14 - We Play To Win The Game

Sometimes its the most simple statements that can have a profound impact. Herm Edwards, former NFL head coach, understands this. As NFL experts opine on the philosophical aspects of the game and make complex theories on what teams need to do to become successful, Herm's philosophy has really been quite simple - "we play to win the game." Right now there's discussion among NFL analysts about whether the Saints and Colts, two undefeated teams, should rest their starters and prevent them from getting injured for the playoffs. In another example, there has historically been a philosophy that when you're ahead on a team during a game that you never ease up but instead keep trying to score to ensure your victory. As a Bengals fan, I've seen it countless times. We'll have a lead and instead of trying to put our opponent away, we play conservative and scared and the outcome is very predictable - we lose. In both of these examples the risk taken is that instead of playing to win, you start playing not to lose. Instead of fixing your eyes on the goal, your focus becomes the very thing opposite of your goal - failure.

I think the apostle Paul & Coach Edwards had similar philosophies. In 1 Corinthians 9: 24 Paul says,

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Or quite simply - run to win the race. Everything about the word of God doesn't have to be deep. Some things right on the surface can be life changing. We would all be well served to heed this advice and run this race, our Christian race, with the goal of winning. It sounds simple, but the truth is most of us don't run this way. Many of us are playing not to lose.

We don't strive for heaven, we try to avoid hell. We don't seek God desperately, we try to get just enough of Him. We don't engage ourselves in worship at church service, we just show up. We don't crucify our flesh daily, we hope we don't get caught in tempting situations. We don't speak words of encouragement, we try not to curse. This is what I mean by "playing not to lose." It almost sounds like "playing to win" but in light of these examples, it's clear they are diametrically different. Very recently I've been guilty of doing this very thing. Instead of trying to do what's right I tried with all my might not to do what's wrong and believe me it's a vicious cycle.

In the 1 Cor 9:24 verse, Paul described this phenomenon so well. All the runners run. We're all running, all trying to win the race. But not everyone has the right mindset. "Run in such a way as to get the prize" instead of running so you don't lose it. We should be living our lives focused on what God wants us to do rather than what we shouldn't do. The simple truth found in that would be a relief to you as well as the NFL teams I mentioned before - by playing to win, you need not fear losing.